Inter-disciplinary awards
The assessment panel for the first round of the Interdisciplinary Professional Development Awards (IPDAs) has selected five projects for funding out of the 12 proposals received.

The five are Data is Beautiful: Visualization in the Humanities—Professor Jonathan Webster (CTL), Dr Daniel Howe (SCM), Dr Sarah Kenderdine (CTL) and Dr John Lee Sie-yuen (CTL); Death: A Discovery Approach—Dr Lam Yun-wah (BCH), Dr Doris Au Wai-ting (BCH), Dr Alice Chong Ming-lin (SS) and Dr Avnita Lakhani (SLW); Integrating Social Sciences and Technological Networks to Develop a New Framework for Interdisciplinary Research and Education—Professor Jonathan Zhu Jian Hua (COM) and Professor Chen Guanrong (EE); Law, Reasoning, and Morality: A Critical Analysis—Dr Avnita Lakhani (SLW), Dr Chan Ho-mun (SA) and Dr Julian Lai Chuk-ling (SS); The Science and Humanities of Vision—Dr Juan Antonio Zapien (AP), Dr Hector Rodriguez (SCM), Professor Felipe Cucker (MA) and Dr Fozia Lone (SLW).

The aim of the IPDAs is to enable teams to create inter-disciplinary Gateway Education courses that promote a culture of discovery and innovation for our students at CityU. 

Energy centre naming
The Ability R&D Energy Research Centre is being established by the School of Energy and Environment to develop technologies and innovations that offer a clean, safe, cost-effective and sustainable energy supply. A naming ceremony will be held on 24 August in appreciation of the donation by Ability R&D Limited to the centre. Officiating guests at the ceremony will include Mr Frank Leung Hin-ting, Managing Director of Ability R&D Limited, and his wife, plus the Hon Leung Chun-ying, Council Chairman and Professor Way Kuo, University President.

President's talk
Professor Way Kuo, University President, will give a talk at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on 30 August titled "Reliability and Survivability: Nuclear Energy and the Future of Energy" for the Tsinghua Alumni Association. The core of the talk will focus on nuclear power as a clean energy source and the safety issues that arise in the industry. The talk is based on a lecture that Professor Kuo gave in Sendai, Japan a few weeks after the earthquake and tsunami hit the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant earlier this year.

New appointments
Professor Yan Houmin is the new Head of the Department of Management Sciences with effect from 1 August. Professor Yan joined the University in June and is currently Chair Professor of the Department. He received his BS and MS from Tsinghua University and his PhD from the University of Toronto. His main research areas are stochastic models, simulations, and supply chain management.

Professor Tsui Kwok-leung takes over as Head of Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management with effect from 1 August. Professor Tsui joined the University in 2009 and is currently Chair Professor of the Department. He holds a PhD in statistics from University of Wisconsin at Madison and his research interests include, among others, quality engineering, process control and surveillance, system informatics and data mining.

Professor Cheng Shuk Han has been made the new Director of the Office of Education Development and General Education with effect from 11 July. This appointment is concurrent with Professor Cheng's appointment as Professor in the Department of Biology and Chemistry. Professor Cheng obtained her PhD from the University of London and she joined CityU in 1997. Her role encompasses strengthening the teaching and learning environment at the University and facilitating the development of Gateway Education programmes.

Law conference
A multi-disciplinary group of professors from CityU, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Peking University, Tongji University and Tsinghua University, among others, will speak at the School of Law conference "Letters & Visits System, Democracy and the Rule of Law in Mainland China". The aim is to strengthen mutual understanding of the system of letters and visits in mainland China and to influence the practice of law and policy-making in this area. The conference will take place on campus on 11 August.

Kudos
Ms Karen Kim Won Kyung, Instructor in the Department of Chinese, Translation and Linguistics, has been awarded the Minster's Prize by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Republic of Korea, for her contributions to promoting and developing Korean studies programmes in Hong Kong. According to the ministry, she has demonstrated a strong commitment to Korean studies. She is also the sole recipient of the prize in Hong Kong this year.

Poon Ho-ting, a Year 3 student from the Department of Applied Social Studies, and Huang Ji, a Year 1 student from the Division of Commerce in the Community College of CityU, won the Gold and Bronze prizes respectively in Beijing last month in the stage category of a 4th Magic Competition For University Students from the Mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

Two PhD students of the Department of Electronic Engineering, Wang Huai and Zhang Ruihong, won the Silver Award in the Jardine Engineering Corporation Outstanding Engineering Project Award for their project "Novel Power Conversion System Contributing to Green Public Transport". Professor Henry Chung Shu-hung of the Department of Electronic Engineering was the students' supervisor. Over 30 teams from local universities participated in the competition this year, of which eight were invited into the final round presentation.