Calendar 2006–07

Research Institutes and Centres 339 sufferers of hearing and speech disorders in Hong Kong and mainland China, organize educational activities, and conduct research in related areas. The three constituent centres have performed hearing restoration surgeries, organized academic exchange schemes and academic forums, and organized teaching activities in Hong Kong and mainland China. To deal with the rise in age-related hearing problems, the institute launched a research project on ‘Hearing Problems of Elderly People in Hong Kong’ in 2004. It will further investigate if provision of hearing aid contributes to better mental health of the elderly. The Institute of Human Communicative Research is constructing a ‘Hearing Aid Laboratory’ to develop practical and affordable hearing aids for Chinese-speaking patients. The 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 theory and applications in science, engineering and other disciplines. The Institute of Mathematical Sciences was set up 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. The 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. Its 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. The institute offers postgraduate study programmes for both master’s and doctoral degrees and runs a postdoctoral fellowship programme and a short-term visitor programme. It regularly organizes postgraduate courses, academic colloquia and workshops, and lectures by visitors. It also publishes research reports and runs three international research journals. Activities in the pipeline include yearly programmes in geometrical analysis; algebraic geometry and complex geometry; nonlinear evolution partial differential equations and computational fluid dynamics; numerical and theoretical analysis of inverse problems; harmonic functions, fractals and wavelets. The institute plans to strengthen collaboration with institutions on the mainland and abroad, and to lead research in the region.