20
@ U S . H K
G WING
ovel light-emitting molecules
created through the curiosity-inspired
research of Prof Ben Zhong Tang could
bring quantum improvements in key
technologies we rely on today, ranging
from biomedicine and healthcare to opto-
electronics. Prof Tang, Chair Professor of
Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering,
is the father of “aggregation-induced
emission” (AIE). Prof Tang and his team
have already discovered hundreds of AIE
materials, including one used for track-
ing cancer cells inside the human body,
another for more effective visualization
of fingerprints, yet another for assaying
bacterial activities.
Prof Tang’s endeavors, spurred by an
experimental anomaly observed in 2001,
led to the identification of molecules
that emit light when crowded together, a
concept Prof Tang named AIE. Driven by
the spirit of enquiry to explore further,
Prof Tang went on to research AIE phe-
nomena, processes, theories and applica-
tions. He has gained national and inter-
national recognition for his discoveries.
In December 2015, HKUST gained
approval from the Ministry of Science and
Technology to establish the Hong Kong
Branch of Chinese National Engineering
Research Center (CNERC) for Tissue Res-
toration and Reconstruction. The Center
Prof Ben Zhong Tang
(right) received the
Khwarizmi International
Award (Second Class)
from the Iranian
Organization for
Science and Technology
in 2014 for his research
into AIE-gens.
PROF BEN ZHONG TANG
Stephen K.C. Cheong Professor of Science,
Academician, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chemists at HKUST are leading a
revolution in luminescence
We have been working on AIE-gens for
a decade and a half but there is much
more still to uncover. Seeing research
that started with the simple question
‘why?’ develop into a global field of
discovery is tremendously exciting. A
whole new world is opening up
SUCCESS
