Researchers at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) debuted four projects at the Silicon Valley International Invention Festival (SVIIF) 2024, focusing on healthcare, sustainability, clean energy, and biomedical research. The CityUHK teams achieved outstanding results, winning five awards, including one Semi-Grand Prix and four Gold Medals.

Professor Freddy Boey, President of CityUHK, congratulated all the awardees on their well-deserved international recognition. He expressed his pride in the researchers’ significant achievements. “The extraordinary accomplishments reflect CityUHK’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of science and technology,” he said.

With the establishment of the CityUHK Academy of Innovation and the CityUHK Institute of Digital Medicine this year, he emphasised that the University will continue to advance research in critical areas, ensuring that their innovations have positive social impact. “CityUHK is committed to promoting inspirational, interactive and innovative education, fostering a culture of innovation and excellence in research. The University’s cutting-edge research introduces innovative solutions to address and tackle global healthcare and sustainable development issues, ultimately benefiting the local and global community.” he added.

The Semi-Grand Prix and Gold Medal projects are:

The “Solar-Electrocatalytic System for Hydrogen Generation from Seawater” project, is led by Professor Johnny C. Ho, in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, won the Semi-Grand Prix and the Gold Medal. The team has engineered a 3D porous micro-nanostructure surface to perform solar-driven seawater evaporation to freshwater and solar-driven electrocatalytic hydrogen production from pre-evaporated seawater. This enables large-scale deployment for eco-friendly and low-cost solar-driven hydrogen fuel production from local seawater.

The “Design and Nanofabrication of Highly Sensitive Plasmonic Sensors for Biomedical Cell and Molecule Detection” project, is led by Professor Stella W. Pang, Chair Professor of Electrical Engineering, won the Gold Medal. The team developed a high-sensitivity plasmonic biosensor for early disease screening and diagnosis, with the unique capability to detect nanometer-sized filopodia and biomolecules. Nanofabrication technology is applied to produce an integrated microsystem that is compact, user-friendly, and portable for point-of-care applications at low cost.

The “Artificial Intelligence Immunostaining for Diagnostic Pathology” project, led by Professor Condon Lau, in the Department of Physics, is also a start-up incubated by HK Tech 300. This project won a Gold Medal under ITsci Company Limited. The AI invention is considerably faster, less expensive and easier to use than current staining methods. The invention is currently undergoing clinical trials at the CityU Veterinary Medical Centre.

The “Key Components for EV: Next-generation High-power Nanocrystalline Smart Wireless EV Charger” project, is led by Professor Derrick C.Q. Jiang, in the Department of Electrical Engineering. For the first time across the globe, the team has applied a hybrid nanocrystalline core, successfully breaking through the limitations of traditional ferrite cores, and achieving high AC system efficiency of over 97%. The team is supported by HK Tech 300 and won a Gold Medal under NanoIPT.

Held from 26 to 28 July in the Santa Clara Convention Center in California, SVIIF is an annual event that brings together inventors, entrepreneurs, and industry. The festival provides a platform for inventors to present their latest inventions and connect with potential investors, partners, and clients. This year’s participation marks the first time CityUHK has taken part in this esteemed event. The Semi-Grand Prix and four Gold Medals garnered by the CityUHK teams are extremely remarkable.