HKUST Annual Report 2024-2025

28 HKUST ANNUAL REPORT 2024-25 LEADING-EDGE RESEARCH RECOGNIZED AND REINFORCED In national and international research developments, HKUST secured approval from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) to establish its third State Key Lab, and launched its fifth InnoHK center under the Government of the HKSAR’s flagship initiative. The new State Key Laboratory of Climate Resilience for Coastal Cities (SKLCRCC), established in collaboration with The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, is directed by Prof. Charles NG Wang-Wai, Vice-President for Institutional Advancement and CLP Holdings Professor of Sustainability. The laboratory will address national priorities such as extreme weather, urban safety, and disaster prevention. This expansion of our State Key Laboratory (SKL) network coincided with a strategic restructuring of our two existing labs. The State Key Laboratory of Nervous System Disorders (SKLNSD), under the leadership of Prof. Nancy IP, President and the Morningside Professor of Life Science of HKUST has refined its research direction to focus on the mechanisms of neurological diseases and the development of new diagnostics and therapies, leveraging interdisciplinary teams and AI. Meanwhile, the State Key Laboratory of Displays and Opto-Electronics (SKLDOE), directed by Prof. Kristiaan NEYTS and co-directed by Prof. FAN Zhiyong, has expanded its research portfolio into areas such as perovskite-based optoelectronics, quantum dot LEDs (QLEDs), augmented and extended reality (AR/XR) displays, flexible sensors, organic solar cells, and ultra-wideband semiconductors.