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@
U S T . H K
Envision a quiet construction site. An
air-conditioner without any hum. The
elimination of the roar of traffic in an
apartment building located near a high-
way. It is no longer so fantastical. Such
everyday noise pollution could now be
consigned to history, given pace-setting
research carried out at HKUST into acoustic
metamaterials.
From Curiosity to
Commercialization
It has been a long road of more than 15
years’ continuous enquiry and experi-
mentation, challenges and rejection in
the world beyond for HKUST researchers.
However, the promise and premise of
acoustic metamaterials, artificial materials
designed to control or manipulate sound
waves, are now being widely acknowl-
edged in both academia and industry. A
NOWYOU HEAR IT,
NOW YOU DON’T
whole newfield has emerged. In addition,
far-reaching applications and practical
sound absorbency products that could
“silence” pernicious low-frequency noise,
such as fans, turbines, and cabin noise,
now appear set to move on to the “can-
do” list.
Prof Ping Sheng, Chair Professor of
Physics, together with Prof Che Ting Chan
and Prof Jason Yang, are among HKUST’s
key inventors of locally sonic resonant ma-
terials, which can break the mass density
law in providing protection from such noise.
“We started out knowing nothing about
acoustics and noise. It was purely curiosity-
driven,” Prof Sheng said. “Initially a lot of
people thought we were crazy. Anything
with acoustics and sound had already
been done 50 years ago and it was deemed
that nothing new could occur. Everything
that can be known was already known.”
PROF PING SHENG
Dr William MW Mong
Professor of Nanoscience
If something is truly
new, it may not be easy
to gain acceptance
for it
