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The University Grants Committee’s Research Grants Council (RGC) has announced the funding results of the RGC Strategic Topics Grant (STG) and the Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS) 2023/24. Two scholars from The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) have been awarded a total grant of more than HK$33 million. Professor Zhang Li, Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering, has been granted HK$26.69 million by the STG to support his five-year research project “AI-assisted Microrobotic Platform for Minimally Invasive Interventions”. A research team led by Professor Liu Renbao, Professor in the Department of Physics, has been awarded a grant of more than HK$7 million to carry out research on “Diamond-based Multi-modal Quantum Sensing of Nanomagnetism”. (Please see the attachment for the project details.)

CUHK’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Sham Mai-har said, “Receiving these generous grants from the STG and the TRS is a testament to the innovative research being conducted at CUHK. The funding will help Professor Zhang Li and Professor Liu Renbao achieve breakthrough results in their research areas. I anticipate seeing the novel solutions and impact on various industries that these projects will bring.”

Professor Zhang said, “Autonomy and intelligence of medical robots are fundamentally important research topics across scales. With the STG’s funding support, we will work with local and international partners to explore the practical applications of miniature medical robots and an AI-assisted microrobotic platform for minimally invasive interventions.”

Professor Liu said: “We appreciate that the Research Grants Council identifies quantum technology as an important topic and the panel decides to fund our research on quantum sensing. Through this project, our team will strive to establish diamond-based quantum sensing as a practical quantum technology and contribute to fortifying Hong Kong as a hub of quantum technology.”

About Strategic Topics Grant and Theme-based Research Scheme

The STG was introduced in August 2022. This new scheme is set up to support collaborative research in specific areas which can help Hong Kong overcome imminent challenges and tap fast-evolving opportunities. While TRS aims to focus academic research efforts of UGC-funded universities on themes of strategic importance to the long-term development of Hong Kong.