Annual Report 2020–21

研究、創新與創業 Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship 37 The University has made new grounds in leading-edge research in ways that inspire the global community. Earth system science experts at the University revealed that slow earthquakes follow similar scaling relations as regular ones. This discovery opens a pathway for scientists to use slow earthquakes to probe the physics governing the power and timing of devastating earthquakes, potentially improving our ability to forecast what remain often devastating natural disasters. Researchers from the Department of Electrical Engineering made a fundamental breakthrough by discovering a new degree of freedom in nanomechanical topological insulators , which lays the foundation for manufacturing new types of computer chips. The research is set to have a powerful impact on next generation optical communication systems and nanochip technologies. A new computational strategy was developed by researchers from the School of Life Sciences to date the origin and diversification of alphaproteobacteria using information from fossils of eukaryotes. This opens a new window for understanding the evolution of the microbial tree of life and brings new insights into the emergence of pathogenic bacteria. 大學研究成員尋求突破，開拓人類知 識領域。 中大地球系統科學專家揭示 慢地震 遵 循一般地震的比例關係，此發現為地 震研究提供新方向，令科學家可透過 分析慢地震來了解大地震的物理機制， 從而更準確地預測可造成重大傷亡的 天然災害。 電子工程學系的團隊在研究上取得重 大突破，發現 納米機械拓樸絕緣體 呈現 一種新的自由度。此研究為製造新型電 腦晶片奠下重要基礎，對光通信系統及 納米芯片技術的未來帶來深遠影響。 生命科學學院開創嶄新方法，透過分 析真核生物化石，獲取與 阿爾法變形 桿菌的演化 相關的信息，不但為推算 微生物生命之源提供新思路，亦為了解 致病細菌的起源帶來重要啟示。 建構知識 締造文明 Building knowledge for advancement