The Council of CUHK has approved the appointment of Professor Tsang Hon-ki as Dean of the Faculty of Engineering for five years, with effect from 1 May 2024.

Professor Tsang joined CUHK as an Assistant Professor in September 1993. He has served as the Interim Dean of the Faculty of Engineering since August 2023, and is the Wei Lun Professor of Electronic Engineering. From 2018 to 2023 he served as Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Engineering. He also served as Director of the Institute of Optical Science, and Technology. He was Chairman of the Department of Electronic Engineering from 2010 to 2016 . He is a member of the Assembly of Fellows and the Board of Trustees of Shaw College, and the Director of the Center for Advanced Research in Photonics.

Professor Tsang stated, “I am greatly honoured to be selected as Dean of the Faculty of Engineering. I have witnessed the transformation of the Faculty from its inception by Professor Sir Charles Kao to a new Faculty with a position today as a world-class hub of engineering research, with professors recognised for their contributions. After taking up the position of Dean, I will encourage our professors to seek opportunities to develop new high-tech industries in Hong Kong, in accordance with government initiatives such as the Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus Scheme (RAISe+) launched by the Innovation and Technology Commission, which I hope can drive future economic growth in the city.”

Professor Tsang was born in Hong Kong and completed his Bachelor’s degree and PhD in Engineering at the University of Cambridge in 1987 and 1991 respectively. His research expertise is in the field of silicon photonics. In 2002, he served as R&D Director at a public listed company, Bookham Technology (UK), where he led the successful development and first ever field deployment of silicon photonics products in telecommunication networks. Today, silicon photonics has become one of the mainstream technologies supporting the rapid growth of internet traffic and generative AI in data centres. His research on the subject spans over 20 years and his contributions in advancing the field have been recognised with numerous accolades, including election as a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and a Fellow of the Optical Society (now known as Optica), and a 2nd Class Award, Natural Science from the Ministry of Education, People’s Republic of China.

The Faculty of Engineering is home to over 1,000 professors and PhD students who are among the best in the world. A key objective during Professor Tsang’s tenure as Dean is to further advance the legacy of his predecessors in recruiting the best talents in the world. They will be instrumental in helping Hong Kong tackle the future problems of healthcare for an ageing population, the introduction of AI technologies in all parts of society, improving the economy and sustainability.

By encouraging more cross-disciplinary research, the Faculty’s cutting-edge work in artificial intelligence, data analytics, robotics, photonic integrated circuits, battery technologies, photovoltaics, environmental monitoring, electronic design automation, information theory, cybersecurity, fintech, smart grids, nanomedicine and medical imaging will have beneficial impacts on society.