U R P O Proceedings 2023-24 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
Table of Contents Message from the President i Sharing by Students ii-iii 2023–24 UROP Overview iv 2024 Kerry Holdings Limited UROP Award v-vi 2023–24 UROP Sponsorship Recipients vii-xv 2023–24 Winners and Finalists of Mini-conferences xvi-xviii for UROP 3200 Abstracts of UROP Projects – 2023–24* • School of Science (CHEM, LIFS, MATH, OCES, PHYS) 2–63 • School of Engineering (CBE, CIVL, CSE, ECE, MAE) 66–168 • School of Business and Management (ACCT, ECON, FINA, ISOM, MARK, MGMT) 170–189 • School of Humanities and Social Science (HUMA, SOSC) 192–204 • Academy of Interdisciplinary Studies (ENVR, ISD, PPOL) 206–218 * Abstracts from each School are listed rst by alphabetical order of the Department code, and then by Advisor’s surname.
Summary of UROP Courses UROP 1000 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (0 credit with stipend option, offered in summer sessions only) UROP 1100 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Series 1 (1 credit, offered throughout the year) UROP 2100 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Series 2 (1 credit, offered throughout the year; prerequisite is Pass in UROP 1100, with approval by project advisors) UROP 3100 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Series 3 (1 credit, offered throughout the year; prerequisite is Pass in UROP 2100 OR UROP 3200, with approval by project advisors) UROP 3200 *NEW* Undergraduate Research Opportunities with Mini-conference Experience Common Core course under the Undergraduate experiential Opportunities Programs (UxOP) starting from Fall 2024–25 (1 credit, offered throughout the year; prerequisite is Pass in two UROP1100 OR Pass in UROP 1100 and UROP 2100, with approval by project advisors) UROP 4100 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Series 4 (1 credit, offered throughout the year; prerequisite is Pass in UROP 3100 OR UROP 3200, with approval by project advisors)
Message from the President It is with great pleasure that I present to you the annual proceedings of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP). This publication encapsulates the hard work, intellectual curiosity, and innovative spirit demonstrated by our undergraduate students over the past year. The abstracts contained within these pages showcase a diverse range of projects, all of which have contributed to the advancement of knowledge. At HKUST, we pride ourselves on fostering a vibrant research culture that encourages faculty–student exchange and discoveries across various disciplines. UROP embodies the spirit of inquiry, collaboration, and academic excellence that de nes our university. I am heartened to see so many talented students engaging in scholarly exploration. Participation in this program not only enriches their academic journeys but also equips them with valuable skills that will help them in their future endeavors. I am delighted to learn that UROP 3200, a new Common Core course rst offered under the Undergraduate experiential Opportunities Program (UxOP) in Fall 2024–25, has been well received by our students and faculty supervisors. In this course, students present their research outcomes in a mini-conference and exchange ideas with their peers and faculty supervisors across different disciplines, which provides them with an authentic experience of being a researcher. While this publication celebrates the achievements of our UROP participants, I hope it also serves to inspire those of you who have yet to embrace this unique experience. UROP offers an invaluable opportunity to deep dive into an area you are passionate about, address real-world challenges, and expand understanding in your eld. None of this would be possible without our dedicated faculty supervisors, and I extend my deepest gratitude to the faculty members who have previously and currently serve as mentors, guiding, inspiring, and empowering our students to explore new frontiers of knowledge. I look forward to seeing the continued impact of UROP at HKUST and the bright future that awaits our young scholars. Happy reading! Prof. Nancy Ip President HKUST i
Sharing by Students FU Lala BSc in Biotechnology • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Participating in UROP has been a transformative experience for me. When I rst joined UROP, I only wished to have a taste of research, especially since many of my peers were also doing it. However, as I gradually got the hang of it, I found myself enjoying the excitement of formulating research questions, designing experiments, and nding out ways to make it work. One aspect of research that was particularly memorable to me is troubleshooting. I recalled the days, weeks, and months we spent on struggling with unexpected obstacles and setbacks. It was during these moments of frustration and uncertainty that I learned the true value of perseverance and resilience. Besides, there were many practical details that can only be learned through rst-hand experiences in the laboratory but not in the classroom. UROP also provided me a platform to showcase my project and enhance my communication skills. Participating in academic conferences and business conventions allowed me to share my research ndings to audiences with different backgrounds. These experiences taught me to tailor my communication and language style for different purposes. Personally speaking, joining UROP is the best decision I have ever made in HKUST. LEUNG Cheuk Fung Alvin BSc in Biochemistry and Cell Biology & Chemistry • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Ever since my freshman year, I have been deeply engaged in this UROP project, which has profoundly shaped my academic journey. This invaluable experience has provided me with an unparalleled opportunity to explore the intricate world of rigorous scienti c research early on. I vividly recalled my trepidation when I rst joined the research team, lacking prior experience in computational research or programming. Undeterred, I embarked on a path of independent learning. The knowledge served as key stepping stones for my subsequent work. The iterative nature of research taught me the importance of perseverance, as I learned to accept feedback from my supervisor and fellow members of the research lab, re ne my methodologies, and interpret new results. It is only with continual communication between individuals with diverse academic backgrounds that better ideas be fostered. The culmination of these efforts has been particularly rewarding, as a peer-reviewed paper partially containing works from my UROP project has been recently accepted and published in the prestigious Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal, in which I am one of the co- rst authors. ii
SON Moo Hyun BSc in Data Science and Technology • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • UROP proved to be an eye-opening experience that transcended the boundaries of my conventional university life. While I joined this research journey comparatively late, the timing ultimately did not diminish the profound impact it had on shaping my personal and professional growth. With the guidance of my professor and seniors, coupled with my own hard work, I culminated in writing a paper that was accepted to an international conference in medical imaging (MICCAI 2024), a notable achievement in the eld. Additionally, I had the opportunity to share and present my research to professors and fellow students and was honored with the UROP Champion Award. These experiences not only broadened my academic horizons but also profoundly shaped my future career aspirations. The skills, mindset, and accomplishments I acquired during this journey have become invaluable assets that will undoubtedly serve me well in any professional endeavor I pursue. KIM Won Joon BEng in Bioengineering • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • The project has been both a challenge and a revelation. It has taught me to navigate the complexities of interdisciplinary research, where I needed to extract necessary information from various elds without extensive prior experience and to communicate effectively with team members from diverse backgrounds so that everyone’s scienti c intentions were considered. Moreover, my engagement with commercial sequencing providers further enhanced my understanding of the biotechnology industry, providing me with a holistic view of the modern research landscape where commercial and academic collaborations were becoming an integral part. As I continued to contribute to this ground-breaking yet challenging project, I was reminded of the potential impact our work could have on gene therapy. It is a driving force that motivates me daily, inspiring me to delve deeper into biomedical informatics and its power to help advance both basic and translational medicine. The experience has not only enriched my technical expertise but has also sharpened my leadership skills, preparing me to take on future challenges in the dynamic eld of bioengineering. iii
2023 – 2024 UROP Overview In the 2023–24 academic year, the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) continues to be a popular agship program among the HKUST community. More than 260 faculty supervisors from four Schools and from the Academy of Interdisciplinary Studies offered around 600 projects for our undergraduate students. We have received over 1,100 applications throughout the academic year, and 621 students were successfully enrolled to the program. To enhance the continuous development of existing UROP projects, the UROP Support Grant Scheme continues offering nancial support for faculty supervisors and their students. Through the Scheme, students can have a taste of applying for research grants by preparing a proposal and submitting a joint application with their supervisors. In 2023–24, 44 out of 50 received applications were awarded with an aggregate funding amount of over HK$604,000, after the review by the UROP Of ce and by the UROP Advisory Board. In the year 2024, with the generous donation from the Kerry Group Limited, the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Award was renamed as the Kerry Holdings Limited Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Award. 24 students with excellent research performance were nominated by their UROP supervisors for the Awards. Among the nominees, 12 candidates were shortlisted and invited to give an oral presentation on their research ndings to the UROP Advisory Board. The Board recommended 1 Champion, 2 First Runner-Ups and 3 Second Runner-Ups. The faculty supervisors of those 6 student awardees were also recognized by the UROP Faculty Research Award. The award presentation ceremony was organised on 26 April 2024. The 2024 Kerry Holdings Limited Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program Award iv
2024 Kerry Holdings Limited Undergraduate Research Oppor Champion SON Moo Hyun Major / Year : DSCT / Graduated Supervised by : Prof. CHEN Hao / CSE Project Title : AI in Medical Imaging: Automatic Stroke Analysis on Brain CT Scans First Runner-up FU Lala Major / Year : BIOT / 4 Supervised by : Prof. KUANG Becki Yi / CBE Project Title : Engineering of the Next-generation mRNA Vaccine Construct First Runner-up LEUNG Cheuk Fung Alvin Major / Year : BCB & CHEM / 3 Supervised by : Prof. SU Haibin / CHEM Project Title : The Impact of Spike Mutations on SARS-CoV-2 Neutralisation List of Awardees v
rtunities Program Award Second Runner-up LI Yunqi Major / Year : COSC & MATH / 3 Supervised by : Prof. ZHOU Xiaofang / CSE Project Title : Towards Ef cient Queries on Graph Databases Second Runner-up KIM Won Joon Major / Year : BIEN / 4 Supervised by : Dr ZHU Bonnie Danqing / CBE Project Title : Engineering Adeno-associated Viruses to Enhance Immune Evasion Best Poster Award KIM Won Joon Major / Year : BIEN / 4 Supervised by : Dr ZHU Bonnie Danqing / CBE Project Title : Engineering Adeno-associated Viruses to Enhance Immune Evasion Second Runner-up XU Ziyi Major / Year : ISD / 2 Supervised by : Prof. DUAN Molong / MAE Project Title : Recyclable Continuous 3D Printing with Basalt Fiber vi
2023–24 UROP Sponsorship Recipients The UROP sponsorship scheme is intended to provide UROP students with nancial support to publish their papers in international journals, to present their posters or papers at academic conferences, or to participate in research-related summer schools or workshops during their undergraduate studies. Students who have been awarded the UROP sponsorships in the 2023–24 academic year are listed as follows: LEUNG Cheuk Fung Alvin Major : BCB & CHEM Supervised by : Prof. SU Haibin / CHEM Publication : Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal Issue : December 2024, Vol. 23 Pape : Dynamic Expedition of Leading Mutations in SARS-CoV-2 Spike Glycoproteins UROP Publication Sponsorship vii
Summary of Research Activities: Thanks to the UROP Sponsorship, this experience provided me with the chance to summarize and to share our most recent ndings in the UROP project with professionals in the related elds from all over the world. The Q&A session after the oral presentation enabled me to exchange ideas with the professionals. Positive and constructive feedback was received in the Q&A session. Aside from giving the presentation, I also attended different focus sessions, received fascinating talks from the Nobel laureates on the prize-winning topics and visited the exhibition, where exhibitors were showcasing their latest products including the rst quantum computer at a conference. This was a perfect time for me to explore the diversity in the scienti c research and to learn more about some of the cutting-edge technologies, which aroused my curiosity in different research areas. CHEUNG Ho Tin Major : PHYS & CHEM Supervised by : Prof. WONG Michael Kwok Yee / PHYS Conference : American Physical Society's March Meeting 2024 Venue : Minneapolis, USA Duration : March 3–8, 2024 Summary of Research Activities: World-class researchers and scholars were gathered to share the latest innovations in the eld of bio-health, including but not limited to AI & Digital Healthcare and microbiome-based drug development. During the convention, we presented our project Triple the mRNA Vaccine Ef cacy via Tailored Tail Sequence. We substitute the natural adenosine(A)-only tails with cytidine(C)-containing tails to enhance the stability and protein production ef ciency of the mRNA vaccine. Besides presenting our project, we exchanged ideas with fellow UST teams as well as researchers from other institutions, such as AI-assisted medical care by CHA University. We also attended a talk by Moderna on mRNA engineering for mRNA-based therapeutics. It was quite inspiring as I learned the details of codon prediction/optimization as another approach to improve the performance of mRNA vaccines in addition to our method. FU Lala Major : BIOT Supervised by : Prof. KUANG Becki Yi / CBE Conference : BIO Korea 2024 International Convention Venue : Seoul, South Korea Duration : May 8–10, 2024 UROP Research Travel Sponsorship (by alphabetical order of student’s surname) viii
Summary of Research Activities: Attending this conference was a fruitful experience. I would like to highlight two things gained at the conference. The rst thing was about sound systems, which was a major topic at the conference. Although digital systems predominated the consumer market, analogue systems were still used extensively when ultra-low latency was required. One use-case of analog sound systems was in opera houses. When a singer sang on the stage, the singer also heard the voice using an earphone. If a digital sound capturing device was used, the digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital conversion might result in delay in the playback of the sound heard by the singer. To minimize the delay, analogue systems were used to avoid conversions between analog signals and digital signals. The second thing was about the sound classi cation systems using deep learning, which was another major topic at the conference. With the success in machine learning, machine learning models had been widely adopted, but human found it dif cult to understand what the model had learnt. A researcher presented an interpretable deep learning model for automatic sound classi cation, which included a prototype layer to assist humans in understanding the workings inside the model, thus helping humans to predict the model’s behaviour. The use-case of such design might not be limited to sound classi cation. HE Weike Major : ELEC Supervised by : Prof. CHAU Kevin / ECE Conference : 156th Convention of the Audio Engineering Society Venue : Madrid, Spain Duration : June 15–17, 2024 ix
Summary of Research Activities: In my sophomore year, I worked with Prof. Zhou and Prof. Huang on UROP projects "Towards Ef cient Queries on Graph Databases". We published a research paper on ICDE 2024 and attended the conference in mid-May. We attended the opening ceremony and keynote session by Oracle. I also went to Amsterdam to visit old Dutch palace with my friends. In the following days till 16th May, I enjoyed visiting various museums in Utrecht, Amsterdam and Den Haag and admired a lot of paintings that I only saw on textbook before. On the last day, 17th, was our presentation day. At the poster session, I chatted with different researchers about our work, met professors from Canada, Unite States and China. I was pretty satis ed that most of the attendees understood the key points of our work. LI Yunqi Major : COSC & MATH Supervised by : Prof. ZHOU Xiaofang / CSE Conference : IEEE International Conference on Data Engineering Venue : Utrecht, Netherlands Duration : May 13–17, 2024 Summary of Research Activities: Presenting my research on gender diversity perception in the poster session was a truly enriching experience. Engaging with fellow scholars sparked dynamic discussions that added depth to the study. The exchange of ideas and perspectives with other researchers created a vibrant atmosphere, offering valuable insights and constructive feedback. Participants were particularly intrigued by the nuanced ndings regarding how female job seekers assess career opportunities. The discourse during and after the presentation revealed a shared enthusiasm for understanding the intricacies of gender dynamics in the workplace. Scholars highlighted the practical implications of the research, emphasizing its relevance in shaping corporate policies and recruitment strategies. The diverse viewpoints brought forth during these discussions contributed to a holistic understanding of the subject, making the conference an intellectually stimulating and memorable event. The collaborative atmosphere fostered a sense of community among scholars, underscoring the collective commitment to advancing knowledge in the eld of social judgment and decision-making. LIAO Yi-tsen Major : ECOF Supervised by : Prof. HAGMANN David / MGMT Conference : Society of Judgment and Decision Making Annual Meeting Venue : San Francisco, USA Duration : November 17–20, 2023 Yunqi (the rightmost) Yi-tsen (the right) x
Summary of Research Activities: I had the invaluable opportunity to present my research through a poster presentation for the rst time. This experience allowed me to delve into a variety of intriguing studies across different symposium sessions. Additionally, I had the chance to network and form connections with new friends who share similar research interests, enhancing the collaborative aspect of my academic journey. Numerous professors attended our presentation, offering diverse and constructive feedback on our project. Their insights were encouraging as they found our project notably interesting. This engagement not only broadened my understanding and perspective on my own research but also highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary discourse in advancing academic and practical knowledge. The conference proved to be an enriching platform for learning, networking, and receiving valuable expert advice. MUI Pui Ka Major : QSA Supervised by : Prof. CHENG Chen / SOSC Conference : 1st EdUHK International Conference for Research in Early Childhood Education and Development Venue : Hong Kong Duration : June 1–3, 2024 Summary of Research Activities: I presented research on an Active Queue Management (AQM) design on TCP send buffer. The study involved minimizing the latency by queuing delay on this buffer tested under two Linux Docker Containers with traf c controllers to simulate network conditions. The evaluation, based on average latency from 10 test rounds, demonstrated signi cantly reduced latency with our AQM design. I presented a poster summarizing these ndings at the conference. This work advanced to the next round of the Student Research Competition (SRC). This conference illuminated the profound signi cance and challenges these researchers were tackling in computer network design, and their passion towards solving these complicated problems was truly inspring. This transformed my perspective, showing me that impactful real-world problem-solving is not limited to industry. PARK Hyun Hu Major : COMP Supervised by : Prof. MENG Zili / ECE Conference : Special Interest Group on Data Communication of the Association for Computing Machinery Venue : Sydney, Australia Duration : August 4–8, 2024 xi
RA Hoonjoo Major : CPEG Supervised by : Prof. SHEN Yajing / ECE Conference : 20th IEEE International Conference on Advanced Robotics and Its Social Impacts Venue : Hong Kong Duration : May 20–22, 2024 Summary of Research Activities: It was a very good opportunity to learn different research being held across the world about the Robotics. The opening presentation of the conference was quite interesting as it discussed human-robot interaction. It discussed how we should try to make robots predict the uncertainties of humans, which is an issue that I have not tried to solve as I studied robotics. After listening to some more presentations, I presented my project. I had some good questions from professors and postgraduate students that I luckily have discussed with my mentors. However, I was really surprised when one of the professors fully understood my project and asked if I could measure a shear force, which was the topic that I was working on currently. I believe this experience will be a good guideline for me as I was very interested in different research topics that were discussed and very impressed by senior researchers’ highly experienced insights. Summary of Research Activities: My involvement was two-fold: presenting my research orally and through a detailed poster. During my oral presentation, I delved into the technical intricacies of my work, providing a comprehensive overview that encompassed various complex aspects. However, this approach led to a valuable lesson: the importance of tailoring the content to the audience's capacity for absorbing technical details in a limited time. I realized that while the audience was knowledgeable, a more succinct and focused presentation might have been more effective. To balance this, my poster served as a detailed extension of my presentation, allowing interested individuals to explore the technicalities at their own pace. This experience taught me the signi cance of striking the right balance between depth and accessibility in academic presentations, ensuring that the audience can both grasp and engage with the core concepts of the research. SU Hong Major : DSCT Supervised by : Prof. WONG Raymond Chi Wing / CSE Conference : International Conference on Advances in Geographic Information Systems Venue : Hamburg, Germany Duration : November 13–16, 2023 xii
Summary of Research Activities: During the UROP, I focused on the intersection of abductive reasoning and knowledge graphs. My research aimed to explore the largely uncharted territory of generating complex logical hypotheses to explain observations using structured knowledge. We introduced a new task for hypothesis generation and discovered that while a supervised generative model could produce hypotheses closely aligned with reference examples, it struggled with generalization to unseen data. To enhance this, we developed the Reinforcement Learning from Knowledge Graph (RLF-KG) method, which effectively minimized discrepancies between observations and conclusions derived from the generated hypotheses. Through experiments, we demonstrated that RLF-KG signi cantly improved the quality of explanations provided by the hypotheses, achieving state-of-the-art results on three prominent knowledge graphs. This experience deepened my understanding of logical reasoning, machine learning, and the practical applications of knowledge graphs in arti cial intelligence. Summary of Research Activities: My research activities concerning ACL-2024 involve participating in the DialAM-2024 workshop (the rst shared task in dialogical argument mining), submitting a workshop paper to ACL-2024 and making a virtual poster presentation at the conference. I gained valuable insights into the latest advancements in natural language processing and machine learning. I also learned about innovative techniques in language modeling, including transformer architectures and their applications in various linguistic tasks. My presentation skills also improved during my preparation for the poster talk at the conference. Overall, the conference enriched my understanding of both the technical and social dimensions of computational linguistics. WANG Yicheng Major : COSC Supervised by : Prof. SONG Yangqiu / CSE Conference : 62nd Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics Venue : Bangkok, Thailand Duration : August 11–16, 2024 ZHOU Yukai Major : MATH & COSC Supervised by : Prof. SONG Yangqiu / CSE Conference : 62nd Annual Meeting of the Association for Computational Linguistics Venue : Virtual participation Duration : August 11–16, 2024 Yicheng (in square) xiii
Summary of Research Activities: The research program aimed to explore the intrinsic properties of twisted photonic crystal slabs (TPCS), focusing on their chiral responses. Circular dichroism (CD) is used to characterize this chirality by measuring the differential transmission of right-handed versus left-handed polarized light. Understanding these properties is crucial for applications in optical devices and advanced material science. The research program successfully advanced the understanding of TPCS, particularly regarding chirality and symmetry. By leveraging advanced simulation tools and theoretical approaches, the study provided valuable insights into the complex interactions within these materials. Continued investigations will address challenges in twisted con gurations and enhance computational models, aiming for better predictive accuracy and practical applications in optical technologies. This work paves the way for designing innovative materials with tailored optical properties, potentially transforming various technological applications. Summary of Research Activities: During my 9-week internship in Prof. Wei’s lab, at the University of Chicago, I worked on a research project in which I independently explored the neural mechanism of motion detection in the mouse retina. I speci cally learned how to perform whole-cell patch clamp recording experiments, use a two-photon microscope, analyze immunohistochemistry data, and use MATLAB software to produce my stimulus and analyze the data. I worked directly with a third-year graduate student and the principal investigator of the lab (Prof. Wei). I participated and presented in the weekly lab meeting and had a weekly individual meeting with Prof. Wei and the graduate student to discuss relevant papers. Techniques I learned included learning how to perform dissections, collecting mouse retinas, performing whole-cell voltage recordings of SACs, using two-photon microscopy to visualize SACs, and possibly collecting z-stack of lled cells. Matlab was used to produce visual stimuli to present to the tissue under the two-photon microscope and analyze collected voltage recordings. ImageJ/Matlab was used to analyze existing immunohistochemistry data. LIU Yifan Major : ELEC Supervised by : Prof. SHAO Qiming / ECE Activity : Visting Undergraduate Research Intern of the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Venue : Harvard University, USA Duration : July 5 to September 10, 2024 UROP Summer School Sponsorship (by alphabetical order of student’s surname) TAN Lianxing Major : BCB Supervised by : Prof. LIU Kai / LIFS Activity : UChicago Summer Session Venue : University of Chicago, USA Duration : June 10 to August 7, 2024 Yifan (second left at the back) Lianxing (Second from the left) xiv
Summary of Research Activities: During my research internship in Prof. Voskoboynik’s lab, I contributed to the establishment of a work ow that identi es adaptive immunity gene candidates based on sample-speci c variation—a key feature of adaptive immunity. Previous efforts focused on constructing a gene model, highlighting regions with high sequence similarity to known adaptive immunity genes. Unfortunately, these efforts did not yield many signi cant results. My contributions involved a different approach, which showed promise in identifying potential adaptive immunity genes in Botryllus. This experience has been invaluable in deepening my understanding of immunology and bioinformatics, as well as providing me with hands-on experience in cutting-edge research. One of the most inspiring aspects of my internship was the opportunity to work alongside the talented researchers at Hopkins Marine Station. I had the privilege of interacting with creative engineers who brought ideas to life, such as physically visualizing DNA sequencing using custom LEGOs and employing 3D printing to turn memories into tangible objects. I also met researchers whose working hypotheses are exciting in themselves. Being surrounded by experts who were so skilled in their respective elds was both humbling and motivating. It brought me closer to the forefront of scienti c discovery, making the process of extending the boundaries of human knowledge feel tangible and within reach. YU Jiamu Major : BCB Supervised by : Prof. WU Angela Ruohao / LIFS Activity : Undergraduate Visiting Research Interns Venue : Stanford University, USA Duration : June 17 to August 31, 2024 xv
2023–24 Winners and Finalists of the Mini-conferences for UROP 3200 The Best UROP Mini-conference Paper Award The Mini-conferences for UROP 3200 (Fall 2023, Spring 2024 and Summer 2024) were organised to provide a platform for UROP 3200 students to present their projects and exchange ideas with fellow students and faculty supervisors from other elds. is offered to the best student who presents in the mini-conference of UROP 3200, based on the voting by participating UROP 3200 supervisors and UROP Advisory Board members. The winning students can receive a top-up travel sponsorship of HK$15,000 in addition to the existing UROP Research Travel Sponsorship of HK$20,000 for presenting their UROP 3200 project in academic conference(s). The students’ supervisor can receive a research fund of HK$15,000 in recognition of their mentorship of the student. Students who receive at least one vote will be the nalists and presented with a certi cate as a token of appreciation. Mini-conference (Fall 2023) held on 6 December 2023 Mini-conference (Summer 2024) held on 5 August 2024 Mini-conference (Spring 2024) held on 6 May 2024 xvi
xvii Fall 2023 RA Hoonjoo Major / Year : CPEG / 3 Supervised by : Prof. SHEN Yajing / ECE Project Title : Development of bioinspired tactile sensor Summer 2024 YOON Dayeong Major / Year : BCB / 2 Supervised by : Prof. XIE Ting / LIFS Project Title : Genetic Screen to Identify Metabolic Factors Involved in Regulating Germline Stem Cells Development List of Awardees Spring 2024 FU Lala Major / Year : BIOT / 4 Supervised by : Prof. KUANG Becki Yi / CBE Project Title : Engineering of the Next-generation mRNA Vaccine Construct
xviii Spring 2024 LIANG Danxuan Major / Year : COMP / 3 Supervised by : Prof. MA Xiaojuan / CSE Project Title : Designing Conversational Agents for Neurocognitive Disorders Screening Spring 2024 ZENG Yuhang Major / Year : DSCT / 3 Supervised by : Prof. MA Xiaojuan / CSE Project Title : Designing Conversational Agents for Neurocognitive Disorders Screening Summer 2024 WANG Shen Martin Major / Year : CHEM / 2 Supervised by : Prof. SU Haibin / CHEM Project Title : Developing Deep Learning Enabled Nucleic Acid Structural Generator Summer 2024 ZHANG Jinming Major / Year : DSCT / 3 Supervised by : Prof. WONG Raymond Chi Wing / CSE Project Title : Ef cient Queries over Database List of Finalists
Abstracts of UROP Projects 2023–24 School of Science
School of Science Department of Chemistry 2 Department of Chemistry Lead-free Perovskite Nanocrystals for Photo-induced Water Splitting Supervisor: HALPERT Jonathan Eugene / CHEM Student: LEE Yan Yee / CHEM-IRE Course: UROP 2100, Fall In recent years, numerous methods have been gradually developed to create hydrogen (H2) from water when exposed to sun radiation. This fuel manufacturing method is environmentally benign, clean, and may even be economical. Currently, however, the high cost, limited photoresponse, and inadequate catalytic performance of existing technologies make them unsuitable for meeting industrial needs. CdS is regarded as an intriguing and significant material among water splitting photocatalysts because of its inexpensive cost, strong catalytic activity, and high absorption in the visible spectrum. This report focuses on the synthesis of CdS and MoS2/CdS nanocomposites and their subsequent analysis using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and EDX. The objective of this study is to investigate the structural and morphological properties of these materials in preparation for future assessment of their photocatalytic activity. The integration of MoS2 with CdS aims to enhance the photocatalytic efficiency, making these nanocomposites promising candidates for various applications in energy conversion and environmental remediation. Single Molecule Manipulation and Characterization of Biomolecules Supervisor: HUANG Jinqing / CHEM Student: GUO Yichen / CHEM Course: UROP 1000, Summer The study of the mechanism of λ-DNA and drug interactions using Optical Tweezer has been conducted in this study. Double stranded λ-DNA were pulled under a constant velocity in 100 μM drug solution. The drug and DNA interactions was tracked through the change in the shape of the Force distance plot in drug compared to the graph in buffer. With the difference between distance of the bare DNA and drug interacted DNA taken, possible binding intercalations results in longer DNA contour length gives information to characterize the feature of different drugs interactions as easy intercalated or force induced interaction favoured. The size of sterically bulky ligands on the drug complex prohibits the insertion to bind with DNA when base pairs are broken under the applied force. The metal centre of the complex is also a factor that drives the amount of intercalation to react with drug, more positively charged metal center will have a higher affinity to interact with negatively charged DNA. The size control of ligands in drug synthesis is important to optimized with the separation distance between DNA base pairs to interact in expected time or distance under zero force for better selectivity.
School of Science Department of Chemistry 3 Medicinal Chemistry on Novel Type I1/2 ALK Inhibitors for Combating Drug-resistant Mutants Supervisor: HUANG Yong / CHEM Student: WONG Pui Ying / CHEM Course: UROP 1100, Spring This study explores the NHC-catalyzed asymmetric α-fluorination of carboxylic acid derivatives, which are branched on the α position. Hence shedding light on the unknown reactivity and selectivity of C-F bond construction on α-branched carboxylic acids. In this study, the use of electrophilic fluorination agent, Nfluorobenzenesulfonimide (NFSI) enables F atom installation on the α carbon. While NHC catalyst governs the stereoselectivity leading to formation of optical active α-branched and fluorinated esters. The resulting products provides valuable approach in synthesis of fluorinated compounds from easily accessible carboxylic acid derivatives. Synthesis, Reactivity and Catalytic Properties of Transition Metal Carbyne Complexes Supervisor: JIA Guocheng / CHEM Student: SU Zijie / CHEM Course: UROP 2100, Fall This report focuses on the synthesis of osmabenzyne through the cyclometalation process involving osmium and a specific precursor, namely (Z)-1-triphenylphosphonium-5-(trimethylsilyl)pent-2-en-4-yne tetraphenylborate. The subsequent section will present the synthetic scheme of the desired precursor, followed by detailed discussions on the reaction procedure. The attempted cyclometalation reaction between osmium and the precursor will also be discussed. Despite we encounter the challenges in conducting the experiment and the reaction's failure, the report will thoroughly analyze the causes behind this outcome and offer suggestions to address the encountered problems. Structure, Bonding and Reactivity Studies of Transition-metal Complexes Supervisor: LIN Zhenyang / CHEM Student: TONG Sin Hang / PHYS-IRE Course: UROP 1100, Summer Mechanistic studies unveiled that the activation of N2O using Ni complexes bearing tridentate-bipyridinebased ligand for C(sp2 )-O bond formation may involve a SN2-type attack on O by Ni. Recently, experimental reports showed that similar Ni complexes with bidentate ligands can extend the above reaction to C(sp3 )-O bond formation. In view of the similarities, quantum chemical computational methods were used to verify if the new reaction also follows the same pathway. Calculation results show an alternate mechanism involving electron pair donation from Ni to terminal N of N2O may be more favorable than the proposed SN2-type mechanism. Moreover, it is hinted that there may exist an even more favorable mechanism involving the complex in triplet spin state.
School of Science Department of Chemistry 4 Borane Functionalization via Boryl Radical Supervisor: QUAN Yangjian / CHEM Student: FU Yiyi / CHEM XU Yinghe / CHEM Course: UROP 1100, Fall UROP 1100, Fall A radical process of β-addition of borane to “polarized” alkyne by visible light irradiation is reported. The selectivity control of E (trans)/Z (cis) isomers and their interconversions are still under investigation. The current optimal conditions provide a E/Z ratio of 85/15. During the substrate scope investigation, a group of alkynes with electron-withdrawing groups (EWD), such as ester or amide, are synthesized through Sonogashira coupling or other condensation processes. Herein, we present a progress report of substrate synthesis. The substrates will be transformed to the hydroboration products after further condition screening. Borane Functionalization via Boryl Radical Supervisor: QUAN Yangjian / CHEM Student: GAO Bin / CHEM Course: UROP 1100, Fall Despite the well-established practice of remote functionalization catalyzed by transition metals, research on metal-free systems remains relatively unexplored. Recently, Prof. Quan’s lab developed a method for the remote functionalization via boron catalysis instead of transition metal ones. This innovative method has several advantages over previous techniques such as the absence of metal and good functional group tolerance, showing its potential in the synthesis field. In this report, relevant academic studies will be discussed. Additionally, I would summarize the practical skills gained from conducting experiments such as the synthesis of substrates, the remote functionalization, and the diversification of products. Design, Synthesis, and Applications of New Metal-Organic Frameworks Supervisor: QUAN, Yangjian / CHEM Student: CHAN Fung / CHEM Course: UROP 1100, Fall Through this project I have learnt various reaction related to Metal-Organic Framework and usually play a role as a photocatalyst. Moreover, I have also learnt the proper separation approach to separate the metalorganic framework from the reaction mixture and carry out characterization.
School of Science Department of Chemistry 5 New Methodologies for Organoborane Synthesis Supervisor: QUAN Yangjian / CHEM Student: CHANG Vincent / CHEM Course: UROP 1000, Summer This research Paper aims to give an in-depth analysis in molecular modification via the implementation of the elemental Boron. Molecular modification through bioisosteric replacement is a powerful strategy for enhancing the structural and functional complexity of drug candidates. This research puts effort in emphasizing the significance of molecular modification in designing drug molecules and their related derivatives. The incentive for developing new methodologies for the synthesis of similar Bio-active drugs is because the discovery and development of drugs are crucial to humanity, being able to provide new methods of synthesis contributes greatly to the human society. Our research has attempted to perform Bio isosteric replacement which is to change a fragment in a bioactive molecule with its analogue. This complements the traditional high throughput screening process, often highlighting improved efficiency. In medicinal Chemistry, Bioisosteres are chemical substituents or groups with similar physical or chemical properties that produces broadly similar biological properties in the same chemical compound. In drug design, the purpose of exchanging one bio isostere for another is to enhance the desired biological properties of a compound without making significant changes in the chemical structure. Among different types of Bioisosteric analogues, the boron-based ones stand out and it worths for an in-depth research on synthesizing new organoborane compounds. Due to this kind of reason, we have selected Borane compounds to undergo molecular modification. New Methodologies for Organoborane Synthesis Supervisor: QUAN Yangjian / CHEM Student: GAO Bin / CHEM Course: UROP 2100, Summer N-Heterocyclic carbene boranes exhibit distinct reactivities and stabilities compared to traditional boraneLewis base adducts (BH3•THF, BH3•NMe3, etc.). This is attributed to the presence of a π-system that stabilizes the Lewis acid-base interaction within the compound, preventing dissociation even at high temperatures (above 100 °C) and making them less sensitive to air and moisture. In this project, different kinds of N‐ Heterocyclic Carbene Boranes were synthesized to explore new methodologies for developing novel boron compounds. Three synthesis methods were employed: reflux of imidazolium salt with NaBH4, carbene generation in situ through deprotonation of imidazolium salt, and carbene formation via reduction of thiourea with potassium. Additionally, a novel recrystallization method was developed to further refine the synthesis process.
School of Science Department of Chemistry 6 Data Analytics of Homogeneous Transition Metal Catalyzed Reactions Supervisor: SU Haibin / CHEM Student: LI Changwen / CHEM Course: UROP 1100, Fall This UROP project focuses on constructing a citation network to support our team's research paper on homogeneous nickel catalyzed (HoNiCa) reactions. Using Python-based tools for graphic analysis, such as main path analysis, we aim to gain deeper insights into the relationships among our team’s reference papers in the field and track knowledge flows in the HoNiCa reaction field. Cytoscape is the primary tool used for building and visualizing the citation network to show papers relationships. By implementing these methods, we obtained an overview of our team’s reference papers, and have a deeper understanding of the research focus and popular topics. Data Analytics of Homogeneous Transition Metal Catalyzed Reactions Supervisor: SU Haibin / CHEM Student: WONG Jemson Jun Peng / COMP Course: UROP 2100, Fall UROP 3100, Spring The advent of sophisticated tools has revolutionized the deployment and sharing of machine learning models, enabling developers to concentrate more on crafting these models rather than their distribution. In the realm of chemistry, groundbreaking advancements such as reaction extractors and molecule recognition tools have emerged, propelled by the swift advancements in machine learning, NLP, AI, and GPT technologies. Currently, the focus is on deploying machine-learning models more efficiently and delving into the effectiveness of chemistry paper extractors. In this pursuit, I plan to utilize YOLOv8 as a core component of my toolkit, significantly enhancing the process of document recognition and streamlining the journey of information extraction. Developing Deep Learning Enabled Nucleic Acid Structural Generator Supervisor: SU Haibin / CHEM Student: WANG Martin Shen / CHEM-IRE Course: UROP 3200, Summer The requirement for accurate structure predictions of novel nucleic acid structures has become everincreasingly important as the discovery of more diverse nucleic acid families have become important in understanding key biological interactions besides the storage of genetic information, and the feasibility of developing de novo nucleic acid structures like aptamers and nanostructures to serve as drug molecules or carriers, biosensors, or nanofabrication applications. While existing nucleic acid structure predictors that use an attention-based architecture to decipher features of nucleic acid tertiary structures have recently become popular, their large computational requirements, long training time, and narrow scope in terms of what species of nucleic acids the model can generate have all limited their widespread usage in structural biology. This work demonstrates and evaluates universal approach to nucleic acid structure prediction that focuses on modelling trends based on the chemical and physical features of both DNA and RNA from a much more streamlined attention mechanism that uses lower computational power.
School of Science Department of Chemistry 7 Evolutionary Analysis of Hemagglutinin and Neuraminidase Mutations in Influenza Virus Supervisor: SU Haibin / CHEM Student: CUI Yikuan / CHEM Course: UROP 1000, Summer As a member of Professor Su's research group focused on the "Evolutionary Analysis of Hemagglutinin and Neuraminidase Mutations in Influenza Virus," I have undertaken several tasks as part of this project. This has included reviewing the current scientific literature, modeling molecular structures using PyMOL, conducting multiple sequences alignment (MSA) to find mutant regions and sites, and collecting and analyzing relevant data. In this essay, I will summarize the key insights gained from the literature review, discuss our further findings about molecular interactions using PyMOL and MSA, and explain the progress our group has made toward influenza treatment options in the computational chemistry field. Evolutionary Analysis of Hemagglutinin and Neuraminidase Mutations in Influenza Virus Supervisor: SU Haibin / CHEM Student: GUI Weishi / BCB XIONG Yule / BIBU Course: UROP 1000, Summer UROP 1100, Summer Influenza A virus (IAV) is a highly pathogenic virus with a single-stranded, segmented RNA genome encased in a lipid envelope. Hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) are key viral proteins that play essential roles in the infection process. This study focuses on the mutational impact and drug resistance patterns of Influenza A virus, particularly in relation to the neuraminidase enzyme and neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs). Through deep mutational scanning and structural analysis, the research delves into the molecular mechanisms of drug resistance in H5N1 strains. Additionally, the study explores the local fitness landscape of HA antigenic site B across different human virus strains, revealing how the virus adapts and explores new antigenic regions despite functional constraints. Evolutionary Analysis of Hemagglutinin and Neuraminidase Mutations in Influenza Virus Supervisor: SU Haibin / CHEM Student: XIE Yunfei / BIBU Course: UROP 1000, Summer Through studying in a group with the aim of creating a comprehensive network of knowledge about influenza viruses, I learned about how these specific viruses threaten humans and how they transition from animals. Additionally, we focused on data related to mutations and recombination and the evolutionary progress of certain influenza viruses. By reading related articles, we gained different insights into how to further refine the model we were using and clarified the type of data or sequences we needed. By combining the knowledge gained from articles and the results or conclusions reached through data analysis, we gained a clearer view of the field of influenza.
School of Science Department of Chemistry 8 Methodology Development for Time Series Data Supervisor: SU Haibin / CHEM Student: DING Kangyuan / CPEG SZE Wai Yin / QFIN Course: UROP 1100, Summer UROP 1100, Summer Stock market data is considered dynamic and changeable, predicting stock prices using different technical methods has been a puzzle for people for a long time. The goal of this study is to evaluate the performance of two wide-use time series forecast methods: ARIMA, LSTM in the stock market, and compare their performance in different industry, size of company and time, trying to find underlying predictability patterns among instruments, help practitioners acknowledge which method is better to get more accurate results in certain circumstance when they want to make prediction or analysis on their data. Methodology Development for Time Series Data Supervisor: SU Haibin / CHEM Student: LAI Yi-an / QFIN Course: UROP 1100, Summer Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have surged in popularity due to their simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and easydiversification. Standard ETF typically track specific indices or a basket of stocks, such as QQQ by Invesco, which tracks the Nasdaq 100, and XLK by SPDR Funds, which delicately targets the technology sector. However, the needs of investors have evolved, leading to the creation of leveraged and inverse ETFs like TQQQ by ProShares, which seeks to deliver three times the return of the Nasdaq 100 using derivatives like Total Return Swaps (TRS). Despite their appeal, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) advises against long-term investments in leveraged ETFs (LETF) due to Volatility Decay (or Volatility Drag). This paper delves into this concept and examines the use of machine learning to optimise LETF investments and outperform benchmarks. We provide a comparative analysis of QQQ and TQQQ, illustrate the impact of volatility decay, and propose strategies utilising technical indicators and machine learning algorithms, such as Decision Tree, Support Vector Machine, and Neural Networks. Methodology Development for Time Series Data Supervisor: SU Haibin / CHEM Student: SU Yilin Hanako / MATH-AM Course: UROP 1100, Summer In the diverse time-dependent phenomena, the one overarching theme is to develop quantitative methods which are crucial for understanding the evolution of complex systems. This highlights the importance of the time-dependent nature of chemical and physical phenomena, and the need for theoretical frameworks to explain temporal dynamics. This report aims to explore the scientific background, as well as mathematical tools involved in both kinetics and dynamics to exemplify the critical role of one key factor - time. In particular, this report will dive into the theories and principles of kinetics in the field of electrochemistry, and dynamics with multiscale character.
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