Research Degree Programmes > Research Areas for MPhil/PhD Studies

Research Areas for MPhil/PhD Studies
The University offers research degree studies in a wide range of research areas including the following:

 
Administrative and Policy Sciences Electronic Engineering
  行政與政策科學   電子工程
Advanced Manufacturing Technology and Management Environmental Science
  先進製造科技及管理   環境科學
Applied Mathematics International Economics, Corporate Governance, Accounting and Finance
  應用數學    
Built Environment Knowledge and Innovation Management
      知識與創新管理
Chinese and Comparative Law Linguistics and Communications
  中國法與比較法    
Computer Science and Digital Media Materials Science and Engineering
      材料科學及工程
E-Business and Internet Marketing    
       

For more information on pursuing a research degree in the above areas or in other areas offered at the University, please contact the relevant coordinators.

Administrative and Policy Sciences 行政與政策科學

The field of Administrative and Policy Sciences (APS) has established excellence at an internationally competitive level in the University.

APS researchers work in the areas of governance, public and social policy, personal and social services, public management, applied ethics, and regional/international studies. Established expertise, much of it at the cutting edge of the field, lies in a range of applied policy areas and themes: labor, health care, education, transport, public finance, personnel management, government/political reforms, central-local relations, civil society, community and social development, gender, family, youth and aging, ethnicity and criminal justice. This research work is empirically embedded in the local and regional contexts (Hong Kong and Greater China, East and Southeast Asia) and theoretically informed, involving vigorous collaboration with some of the best researchers from the region, Australia, UK and the United States.

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Advanced Manufacturing Technology and Management 先進製造科技及管理

The Department of Manufacturing Engineering and Engineering Management aspires to provide infrastructural support to the growing manufacturing industries in the Asian Pacific region by supplying highly skilled professionals, research facilities and technical support to all aspect of modern manufacturing processes. As the type of products as well as the manufacturing processes continue to shift and move into high technology sectors, MEEM is changing and expanding its research portfolio to meet the current and future needs.

The advanced manufacturing technology and management area focuses mainly on the following: advanced surface coating; advanced material processing; condition monitoring and fault diagnosis; optical sensing and nano-metrology; non-destructive testing; quality inspection; compensatory control of machine tools; design for manufacture and assembly; advanced robotics and automation; machine vision; RFID technology; mechatronics; tribology and wear; CAD/CAM application; embedded systems; rapid prototyping and reverse engineering design; virtual manufacturing; quality management; AHP applications; conflict management; environmental management and green manufacturing; ergonomics and human factors; experiential and activity-based learning in industrial engineering; factory performance analysis; global manufacturing and product development; occupational health and safety management; organizational learning in manufacturing; production modeling and scheduling methodologies; project management; re-structuring of Hong Kong manufacturing industries; and smart engineering asset management.

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Applied Mathematics 應用數學
The applied mathematics area focuses mainly on the following: asymptotics and perturbation methods; complexity theory; control and system theory; dynamical system; fluid mechanics; granular materials; learning theory; mathematical finance; modeling of new materials; nonlinear elasticity; linear and nonlinear waves; numerical analysis; partial differential equations; scientific computation; shell theory; stochastic analysis; and wave propagation.

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Built Environment
Wind, water, fire, earthquake, disasters and collapses; building maintenance, construction, machineries, energy, day lighting, indoor air quality, health and safety; construction management, disputes, economy, contracts, law and regulations; building structures and construction materials; town planning, regional air quality, computational fluid dynamics; Tunneling, foundations, slopes and geotechnics; intelligent and green buildings, indoor air quality; mechanics, nano-mechanics and simulation; bridges, roads and rail; transportation, evacuation, GPS, GIS; design, computer drafting, electronic submission; housing and real estates, finance and management.

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Chinese and Comparative Law 中國法與比較法

The Chinese and comparative law area focuses mainly on the following: comparative law theory and practice, constitutional and administrative law, human rights, socio-legal studies, economic analysis of law, civil and commercial law, foreign investment and trade law, cross-border legal issues, banking law, international law, arbitration and alternative dispute resolution, law of torts, law of contract, environmental and planning law, criminal law and criminal justice, professional legal studies.

A vigorous and cooperative research culture provides a platform for creation, exchange, discussion and debate of ideas and perspectives on Chinese and comparative law. The focus is on both theoretical and practical aspects of legal research and emphasizes studies in global issues from a Chinese and Asian perspective and with an interdisciplinary focus. Research output is disseminated in Greater China and overseas.

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Computer Science and Digital Media

The Department of Computer Science (CS) has established and maintained an excellent record in publishing original research results and developing high quality applied research deliverables in the last few years. In addition, the Department also works together with the School of Creative Media (SCM) since certain research interests are developed and overlapped to an extent.

The computer science and digital media area focuses mainly on the following: (1) Multimedia Technology, Pattern Recognition and Image Computing: Image, Video and 3D Model Retrieval; Intelligent Systems; Bioinformatic; Machine Learning; Statistical Deformable Models; (2) Distributed Mobile Computing and Wireless Networking: Distributed Algorithms; P2P Systems; Computer Communications; Internetworking; Network Protocols; Mobile Computing; Wireless Networks; Wireless Sensor Networks; WDM Optical Networks; Network Security; (3) Applied Algorithms: Bioinformatics; Computational Geometry; Data and Internet Security; Equilibrium Algorithms; Scheduling; (4) Artificial Intelligence and Knowledge and Data Management: AI Search; Scheduling; Optimization; Evolutionary Computing; Constraint Programming; Rules; Machine Learning; Text Mining; Information Retrieval; Semantic Object Modeling; (Web) Data Mining and Warehousing; Mobile/Multimedia Data Indexing and Caching; XML and Interoperability; Workflow and Web Services; (5) Digital Media: Ambient Intelligence; Digital Sound Applications; Electronic Art; Art/Multimodal Interface; Interactive Media; and (6) Critical Media Arts: History/Theory of New Media; Film/Animation/Game Studies.

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E-Business and Internet Marketing
This area deals mainly with business models, processes and systems enabled by Web-based technologies. It is concerned essentially with marketing, management and socio-technical issues surrounding the application of web-based technologies in business and organizations for improving efficiency, effectiveness, and competitiveness. This area is composed of three inter-related sub-domains: (1) Internet Business Systems (e.g. customer relation management systems, enterprise resource planning systems); (2) Enterprise Collaboration (e.g. virtual communities, inter-organizational systems); and (3) Electronic Commerce (e.g. online shop, Internet marketing). Internet marketing in particular deals with the processes of growing and promoting businesses using online media, and tackles issues such as search engine marketing and interactive advertising. Special attention is placed on E-Business and Internet marketing issues in the Greater China region where potential for research and applications are enormous.

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Electronic Engineering 電子工程
The electronic engineering area focuses mainly on the following: (1) Communication Engineering: Wireless communications; Computational electromagnetics; Antennas; Radio frequency circuits and systems; Optical communications; Digital communications; Signal processing; Information and Coding; (2) Electronic Devices and Systems: Microwave and millimeter-wave materials, devices, components and systems; Integrated optics; Optical fiber devices and sensors; Semiconductor devices; Microelectronics; Advanced electronics manufacturing technology; Power electronics; (3) Intelligent Systems: Machine learning; Neural Networks; Evolutionary computing; Computer vision; Pattern recognition; Bioinformatics; Automatic control; Robotics; Chaos control; Complex networks; (4) Multimedia Technology: Image and video processing; Speech and audio processing; Computer graphics; Digital right management; and (5) Computer Networks and Systems: Broadband networks; Network protocols; Network security and cryptographic algorithms; Wireless networks; Teletraffic engineering; Computer architecture; Embedded systems.

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Environmental Science 環境科學
Environmental science is the application of biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics to studies of the atmospheric, terrestrial and aquatic environments. Our research areas in environmental sciences include a diversity of topics: marine ecology and conservation, with a strong focus on coastal and mangrove ecosystems; environmental physiology; ecotoxicology; environmental biotechnology; environmental chemistry; environmental physics; environmental monitoring; environmental measurement; remediation technologies; environmental impact and risk assessment; green chemistry and chemical biology. Many of these studies are multidisciplinary and directed towards the development of government policies to support environmental and especially marine conservation.

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International Economics, Corporate Governance, Accounting and Finance

This area of research spans over some major fields in economics, corporate governance, accounting and finance. For International Economics, it covers a wide scope of issues and topics, ranging from free trade vs. protectionism to human and physic capital mobility; from WTO to exchange rates; from FDI to migration; from intellectual property protection to regional development and growth, just to name a few. As for Corporate Governance, Accounting and Finance, the research focuses on the corporate landscape issues in Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and other Asian Pacific countries. Using capital market data, the research more specifically examines the interrelationships between corporate governance, financial disclosure and reporting, ownership structure and corporate performance, family firms, legal and regulatory environment and accounting quality, earnings quality, compensation and earnings management, economic consequences of accounting choices, audit pricing, auditor switch, audit opinion, auditor reputation and specialization, the impact of accounting information on securities markets, international dimensions of accounting and financial management, international comparison of accounting and auditing practices, dividend and debt policies.

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Knowledge and Innovation Management 知識與創新管理

The focus of this area is on the management of innovation and knowledge for business decision making and organizational competitiveness, particularly in the Asian context. Research issues in this area are complex and cross-functional, calling for an interdisciplinary research approach. The research area spreads across the disciplines of information systems, management, management sciences, marketing and economics. Examples of specific problem areas researchers in this group address include (among others) knowledge-based logistics and transportation management; knowledge/information systems design, adoption and security; methodologies and models for transforming data into information/knowledge aiding management decisions; product innovation management and strategy; impact of knowledge and innovation management; and the human, economic and marketing aspects of knowledge and innovation. Research in this area often involves a cross-cultural perspective.

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Linguistics and Communications
CityU research in the field of Linguistics includes cross-linguistic (Chinese and other languages) and cross-cultural studies and is based on a humanistic vision of a socially accountable linguistics. Research includes such applications of linguistics and language technology as machine translation, corpus linguistics, language and law, computer assisted language learning, forensic phonetics and speech analysis, as well as studies in syntax, semantics, terminology, translation and comparative cultural studies. In the field of Communication, research takes a social science approach and focuses on the structures, processes, and effects of various modes of media communication in relation to their larger political, economic, technological, and cultural contexts.

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Materials Science and Engineering 材料科學及工程
The materials science and engineering area focuses mainly on the following: diamond and superhard thin films; nanotechnology: nanowires, nanoribbons, nanotubes, nanocoatings, nano metal oxide particles and nanocomposites, development of devices based on nanomaterials; phase transformation of advanced material systems; display technology: organic light emitting materials and devices; materials modeling and computational tools; surface structure determination; semiconductor heterostructures and devices; electrical ceramics: ferro-, piezo- and pyro-electric materials and thin films; optical coatings; electron microscopy and advanced materials characterization techniques; plasma surface modification of materials; biomaterials; microelectronic materials; electrical packaging materials; lead-free solder alloys; stainless steels; aluminium sheet metal processing; amorphous alloys; shape memory and smart materials; biomedical materials; battery materials; plastic materials; fibre composites; metal matrix composites; corrosion, impact, creep, fatigue and high strain rate deformation of materials; temperature sensors for hostile environments; fracture mechanics; finite element stress analysis; and expert systems in materials design.

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Research Degree Coordinators
  Name of Coordinator
Tel. No.
Fax No.
E-mail
Faculty of Business
Department of Accountancy Dr Xijia SU
2788-7995
2788-7944
acsu@cityu.edu.hk
Department of Economics and Finance Dr Jun CAI
2788-7975/
2788-8808
2788-8842
efgstudy@cityu.edu.hk
Department of Information Systems Prof Douglas VOGEL
2788-7560
2788-8694
isdoug@cityu.edu.hk
Department of Management Prof Kwok LEUNG
(September - December 2008)
2788-7969
2788-9085
mgkleung@cityu.edu.hk
Dr Jenny Lee
(January - May 2009)
2788-7954
2788-7220
mgjenny@cityu.edu.hk
Department of Management Sciences Dr Kelvin YAU
2788-8585
2788-8560
mskyau@cityu.edu.hk
Department of Marketing Dr Daniel DING
2788-8667
2788-9146
mkding@cityu.edu.hk
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Department of Applied Social Studies Dr K K LEUNG
2788-8985
2788-8960
k.k.leung@cityu.edu.hk
Department of Asian and International Studies
Prof William CASE
3442-6302
2788-8092
w.case@cityu.edu.hk
Department of Chinese, Translation and Linguistics Dr Alex FANG
2788-8793
2788-8706
acfang@cityu.edu.hk
Department of English
Dr Alice Y W Chan
2788-9752
2788-8894
enalice@cityu.edu.hk
Department of Media and Communication Prof C C LEE
3442-8736
3442-0228
chinchuan.lee@cityu.edu.hk
Department of Public and Social Administration Prof GONG Ting
For enquiries, please contact Mr Davis Lau
2784-4667
2788-8926
davislau2@cityu.edu.hk
Faculty of Science and Engineering
Department of Biology and Chemistry Dr Kenneth LO
2788-7231
2788-7406
bhkenlo@cityu.edu.hk
Department of Building and Construction Dr Richard K K YUEN
2788-7621
2788-7612
bckkyuen@cityu.edu.hk
Department of Computer Science Dr Sam KWONG
2788-8580
2788-8614
csadm@cityu.edu.hk
Department of Electronic Engineering Dr Derek PAO
2788-8607
2788-7791
postgrad@ee.cityu.edu.hk
Department of Manufacturing Engineering and Engineering Management Dr. KAMINENI Pitcheswara Rao
2788-8409
2788-8423
mekprao@cityu.edu.hk
Department of Mathematics Prof Y Y LU
2788-7436
2788-8561
mayylu@math.cityu.edu.hk
Department of Physics and Materials Science Dr K S CHAN
2788-7814
2788-7830
apkschan@cityu.edu.hk
School of Creative Media
  Dr Steve FORE
2788-8156
2788-7165
smfore@cityu.edu.hk
School of Law
  Dr Frank HE
2788-7202
2788-7530
lwxin@cityu.edu.hk

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