Institute of Network Coding
Total Funding Approved
- HK$80.27M
(1st Phase: HK$53.36M (2010-2013) + 2nd Phase: HK$26.91M (2014-2017))
Indicative Project Time-Frame
Coordinating Institution
- The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Prof. Raymond Yeung)
The paradigm for data transport through a computer network has long been store-and-forward. An intermediate node in routing does not alter the data being forwarded. For this reason, broadband infrastructure is often referred to as the information superhighway.
Network Coding is considered one of the most significant breakthroughs in Information Science. Its fundamental concept was introduced in the late 1990s, largely due to the work of this team. Network Coding has brought about a paradigm shift in data transport by allowing for the combination and processing of data along the way, making communications (e.g., the Internet) more efficient, reliable, robust and secure.
The main objective of this Areas of Excellence project is to make Hong Kong a major centre of Network Coding by building a world-leading Institute of Network Coding. This institute will conduct forefront research on the theory of Network Coding and its various applications on the Internet, wireless communications, information security, data storage, and bioinformatics. Top quality postgraduate students will also be trained.
This Areas of Excellence project is expected to help Hong Kong to elevate its research and higher education to world level and to fuel its economy by creating completely new technologies related to Network Coding.
The Historical Anthropology of Chinese Society
Total Funding Approved
- HK$23.447M
(1st Phase: HK$14.865M (2010-2013) +
2nd Phase: HK$8.582M (2014-2017))
Indicative Project Time-Frame
Coordinating Institution
- The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Prof. David Faure)
This project follows the approach of anthropologists Maurice Freedman and G. William Skinner to Chinese history, which combines field and documentary research, but attempts another explanation for variations in Chinese local society. Focusing on the past millennium of Chinese history, it recognizes that while the Chinese state had grown both in geographic extent and influence, many social and cultural changes had evolved locally and independently. Yet, different parts of China had been incorporated into the state at different times, and consequently, had come under the unifying influence of the state under different administrative arrangements. Local society, therefore, varies from one part of China to another, but many of its similarities may be related to the history of its incorporation into the Chinese state and the administrative arrangement by which it was incorporated.
This project will study 15 geographic areas in China to recover the history of both how local society identified with its own characteristics, and incorporated into the broad expanse of a unified culture. It will document objectively observable indications of local ritual traditions and reconstruct the history of the local institutions in which they were employed. By comparing the time frame of separate local histories, this project will construct a history of China from the bottom up. It will demonstrate the very significance of historical anthropology as an approach to understanding China's history.
Centre for Research into Circulating Fetal Nucleic Acids
Total Funding Approved
- HK$29.92M
(1st Phase: HK$11.28M (2008-2011) +
2nd Phase: HK$18.64M (2012-2015))
Indicative Project Time-Frame
Coordinating Institution
- The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Prof. Dennis Y.M. Lo)
Prenatal diagnosis is an indispensable component of health care. Definitive diagnostic methods in current use, e.g., amniocentesis, are invasive and pose a risk to the unborn child. In 1997, Prof. Dennis Lo and his team discovered, for the first time in the world, the presence of cell-free foetal DNA in the plasma of pregnant women, offering new possibilities for non-invasive prenatal diagnosis. The team has further pioneered many diagnostic applications, a number of which are now used clinically by many centres globally. A Centre consisting of a multidisciplinary conglomerate of local and international researchers is formed under this Areas of Excellence project, to address a number of high-profile unsolved questions in the field of circulating foetal nucleic acids, including non-invasive molecular methods for the diagnosis of foetal Down syndrome. Its ultimate goal is to make safe prenatal diagnosis available to citizens around the world and to promote the development of expertise in molecular diagnostics in this region.
Chinese Medicine Research and Further Development
Total Funding Approved
- HK$32.992M
(HK$25M (2001-2007) +
HK$7.992M Sustained Funding (2008-2011))
Indicative Project Time-Frame
Coordinating Institution
- The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Prof. Leung Ping-chung)
A consortium coordinated by CUHK with close collaboration from the City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, has been formed to promote the modernization of Chinese medicine and to provide clinical research for drug development. The efficacy-driven approach adopted by this consortium has received wide recognition and enabled it to establish a unique evidence-based scientific model for Chinese medicine research, with a view to identifying complementary or alternative treatments for clinical problems that are not adequately solved by modern medicine.
Five selected herbal formulae for anti-hepatitis B infection, alleviating menopausal symptoms, promoting ulcer healing, managing childhood asthma and promoting cardiovascular health, have been fully explored for their clinical efficacies, underlying mechanisms of action and safe applications. The present project represents a continuation of the joint efforts of the consortium in further pursuit of the two formulae for promoting ulcer healing and cardiovascular health. It will not only set models for clinical evidence on the efficacy of selected herbal formulae, but will also establish models for clinical trials and drug authentication for Chinese medicine, thereby paving the way for drug development and commercialization.
Centre for Plant and Agricultural Biotechnology
Total Funding Approved
- HK$63.823M
(HK$38.823M (2000-2006) +
HK$25M Sustained Funding (2007-2010))
Indicative Project Time-Frame
Coordinating Institution
- The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Prof. Samuel Sun Sai-ming)
To address problems related to increasing populations, shrinking and low-yielding cultivation lands that China and the region face, this project aims at boosting crop production and enhancing quality through biotechnology. This is done by generating improved agricultural products, novel technological platforms and knowledge, and well-trained manpower in the field of biotechnology.
The main issues related to agricultural production include improving nutritional value, enhancing per acreage yield, and improving stress tolerance. This project focuses on issues most pertinent to the emerging needs of China and the world. The project team will also attempt to generate value-added products from crop plants.
The overall strategy of the project is to build a pipeline for biotechnology crop production, through identification of useful genes from elite germplasms; transfer those genes into designated crops, e.g., rice to produce new lines with improved agronomic performance; conduct field trials and safety assessment; and to deliver a set of carefully designed and assessed parental lines to traditional breeders.
Information Technology
Total Funding Approved
Project Time-Frame
Coordinating Institution
- The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Prof. Roland Chin)
Building on the proven strengths of world-class researchers and the excellent facilities of each university in information technology, the project aims to put Hong Kong on the world map as one of the key players in information technology, thereby contributing to the transformation of Hong Kong into an information technology society with a strong value-added economy. This collaborative effort of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and The University of Hong Kong will achieve its mission through the promotion of information technology education; the conduct of high impact research and development projects including networking technology, multi-media technology and Internet applications; and the transfer of relevant technology to the commercial world.
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