A theoretical physicist at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), Professor Che-Ting Chan, was today awarded the prestigious Senior Research Fellowship by the Croucher Foundation in recognition of his achievements in material science.
A Chair Professor in the Department of Physics, Prof Chan is a pioneer in the simulation and understanding of material properties. His research team is now working on the theory of a variety of advanced materials, including photonic crystals, metamaterials and nanomaterials. Prof Chan has over 200 publications in reputable journals and several US patents.
Professor Chan has made outstanding achievements in the theory of photonic crystals and metamaterials which belong to a new class of advanced materials designed to have superb control of waves including electromagnetic waves and sound waves. He and his research team have recently achieved breakthroughs in exploring theories with the possibility of making materials invisible since the materials cannot be detected by waves. The team has also designed conceptual devices which can create optical illusions.
As the director of William Mong Institute of NanoScience and Technology at HKUST, Professor Chan takes the lead in the Institute’s research in nanoscience and nanotechnology. He takes particular interest in understanding the physical properties of nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes and the interaction of nano-sized particles with light.
Professor Chan received his BSc degree from the University of Hong Kong in 1980 and his PhD degree at the University of California at Berkeley in 1985. He then spent about 10 years as a staff physicist at Ames Laboratory in Iowa prior to joining HKUST as an associate professor of Physics in 1995. He was promoted to professor in 2001 and became a chair professor in 2005. He served as the director of the Institute of NanoMaterial and NanoTechnology from 2003 to 2006, and he is currently the Director of William Mong Institute of NanoScience and Technology at HKUST. He was awarded the Michael Gale Medal for Distinguished Teaching by HKUST in 1999 for his outstanding performance in teaching.
Professor Chan was elected Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1996, and Fellow of the Electromagnetics Academy in 2004. He was a co-recipient of an Outstanding Scientific Accomplishment Award in the US Department of Energy Material Science Research Competition in 1992. He was also the recipient of the Achievement in Asia Award of the Overseas Chinese Physics Association in 2000.
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