Calendar 2001–02

96 Part 3 • Research Units and University Extensions investment environment information systems, spatial population analysis, land surface stability monitoring and modelling, and watershed management systems. Materials Science and Technology Research Centre Tel.: 2609 8276 Fax.: 2603 5558 E-mail: leol@phy.cuhk.edu.hk Established in 1992, the centre provides a base for interdisciplinary and collaborative research on materials. Activities include the analysis of the structure and properties of advanced materials, the development of applications for new materials, and the synthesis and processing of new materials to serve the needs of local industries. To accomplish such tasks, a tandem accelerator worth HK$8 million was installed in March 1997 for ion beam analysis — Rutherford back-scattering spectroscopy, ion channelling, nuclear reaction analysis, particle-induced X-ray emission, elastic recoil detection, MeV ion implantation, and ion beam mixing for the modification of materials. This facility is the only one of its type in Hong Kong and southern China. The research centre is staffed by faculty members of the departments of physics, chemistry, mechanical and automation engineering, and electronic engineering, whose research interests cover elemental and compound semiconductors, exotic ceramics, and metal alloys. Particular emphasis is placed on studies of the properties of many materials and their processing in various forms — single crystal, heteroepitaxial, microcrystalline, amorphous, and porous. Institute of Mathematical Sciences Tel.: 2609 8038 Fax.: 2603 7636 E-mail: ims@ims.cuhk.edu.hk The mathematical sciences are in a period of unprecedented growth. Sophisticated mathematical and computational tools are rapidly bridging the gap between abstract theory and applications in science, engineering and other disciplines. The University thus set up the Institute of Mathematical Sciences in 1993 to promote research in relevant fields — pure and applied mathematics, large scale scientific computation, nonlinear sciences, image processing, mathematical and theoretical physics, statistics, and probability. Emphasis is on their interaction and linkage with the physical sciences, engineering, industry, and commerce. The institute’s major research projects are led by senior academics in the institute and the departments of mathematics, physics, and statistics. The institute also organizes international mathematical conferences to promote academic exchange. The institute’s objectives are to promote and stimulate research in new frontiers, train and nurture young scientists, attract grants and contracts from governmental organizations and the private sector, and develop into a centre of excellence.