Over 40 students led by Prof. Chu Ming-chung of Physics Department of CUHK, took part in the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment and discovered a new type of neutrino transformation, which might eventually solve one of the biggest problems in Big Bang cosmology—why there is far more matter than antimatter in the universe today. The experiment result was announced on 8 March. Professor Chu said, ‘It’s an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I am particularly proud that many CUHK physics students have contributed. We are all thrilled to play a part in this significant discovery.’

Scientists observed tens of thousands of interactions of electron antineutrinos, caught by six massive detectors buried in the mountains adjacent to the powerful nuclear reactors of the China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group. The Hong Kong team, with Professor Chu as the principal investigator; and Prof. John Leung and Prof. Jason C.S. Pun, Department of Physics, University of Hong Kong, as co-investigators, has designed and built subsystems for detector monitoring, background measurement and data acquisition.

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