Two faculty members in Department of Physics achieved Outstanding Performance Award 2025
Two faculty members in Department of Physics achieved Outstanding Performance Award 2025
Prof. Zhu Furong was presented with President’s Award for Outstanding Performance in Scholarly Work
Professor Zhu Furong attended Awards Presentation For Outstanding Performance 2025 (second from right)
Throughout his illustrious career, Professor Zhu Furong, Associate Dean (Research and Postgraduate Studies) of the Faculty of Science and Professor of Department of Physics of HKBU, has made significant contributions in the realms of high-performance organic electronic devices. His achievements have been most notable in his pioneering efforts in organic photodetectors (OPDs) for multispectral sensing and visible blind near infrared (NIR) sensor technologies for fast and portable detection. In addition to publishing in high-impact international journals, Prof. Zhu has led projects to secure external competitive grants and has successfully translated NIR technologies to the commercial sector.
Prof. Zhu’s influence in the field is exemplified by his recognition as one of the world’s top 2% most-cited scholars by Stanford University. His rich portfolio of works includes more than 130 research papers in top-tier journals including “Nature Communications”, “Science Advances” and “Advanced Materials”, among others. Furthermore, over the past five years he has obtained more than HK$11 million in external research grants, including for projects in the General Research Fund, National Natural Science Foundation of China / Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Joint Research Scheme, and Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Commission.
Under his exceptional leadership, Prof. Zhu’s team has developed novel multi-mode OPDs for detecting light in both visible and NIR ranges without interference, as well as light with different polarisation statuses without the need for filters. With patents granted in China, Japan and the United States, these advancements resulted in high-performance multi-mode photodetection technologies named “Multi-mode Photodetectors and Methods of Fabricating the Same”.
With their immense industrial application potentials in food and Chinese medicinal material authentication and smart agriculture, these technologies received critical acclaim internationally and regionally. These include securing the Gold Medal at the International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva, an Excellence Award in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area High-value Patent Portfolio Layout Competition in 2023, as well as the Gold Medal in the 7th China (Shanghai) International Invention and Innovation Exhibition in 2024.
Subsequently, these technologies are translated into commercial use by Crimson Vision Limited, a spin-off company established by Prof. Zhu. An affordable handheld device that measures fruit quality in a reliable and non-invasive manner, the technology helps farmers to improve cultivation methods and quality control. Through pilot programmes in three farms, it has enabled a high-end Hong Kong retailer to confirm the provenance of its premium imported produce.
Prof. Zhu is currently serving at HKBU as the Director of the Research Centre of Excellence for Organic Electronics and the Institute of Advanced Materials. In his concurrent leadership roles, he has fostered numerous interdisciplinary collaborative projects in materials synthesis, materials engineering, photo-physics and device integration. These projects have secured external competitive grants with a total funding of over HK$30 million. His research publications been cited in more than 10,000 times. The research team has filed 6 patent applications over the past five years.
With the impressive track record in innovating multi-mode OPDs and NIR detection technologies, Prof. Zhu has emerged as a remarkable scholar with superb leadership in high-impact and translatable projects. He has certainly earned his place as a recipient of the President's Award for Outstanding Performance in Scholarly Work.
Prof. Zhou Changsong was presented with Faculty Performance Award in Research Supervision
With his international standing as an excellent scholar, Professor Zhou Changsong, Chair Professor of Department of Physics of HKBU and Director of the Life Science Imaging Centre, has attracted 24 quality research postgraduates, including five overseas students from France, Ghana, India, Indonesia and Iran. Under his supervision, students have generated excellent research outcomes as first authors, with 48 publications in the past five years in high-impact journals such as Nature Communications, PNAS and Physical Review Letters. Most of his students have secured impressive career advancements, either continuing to work in research as independent scholars and faculty members in prestigious institutes, or securing prominent positions in reputable companies. The undisputed quality of Prof. Zhou’s research work and leadership in supervision has been recognised by the Research Grant Council Senior Research Fellowship in 2023.
From all us in Department of Physics, congratulations for this achievement!