R E S E A R C H @ H K U S T
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HKUST technologies and applications
are enabling the massive amounts of
information now being generated to drive
forward business and social change
BIG DATA,
DISRUPTIVE
INNOVATION
In 1998, Google received around 10,000
search queries per day.* Now the search
engine handles over 3.5 billion search
queries per day or an average of 40,000
every second. Where decision-makers
used to rely largely on experience, in
today’s mega-dataset digital era, huge
amounts and varieties of information
can be quickly accessed, integrated and
analyzed to reveal fresh knowledge
and quantitative patterns that widen
established perspectives and norms.
Traffic jam predictions for bad weather
through combining meteorological and
transport data, or analysis of Twitter
messages discussing illness together
with flight information to prevent the
spread of diseases are examples.
Through exciting advances in this
brave new world of colossal and
integrated data, HKUST computer
scientists and engineers are playing a
major role in bridging the traditional
gap between academia and industry
practice. The focus of the cutting-
edge research at the University and
through the HKUST Big Data Institute is
to tackle problems with real-world
relevance and to collaborate with industry
front-runners to turn theory into
applications leading to innovative services
andnewways of understandingourselves.
To further develop cognitive
computing, researchers are fostering
novel insights into artificial intelligence,
machine learning, and computer
visualization that are extending big
data analytics into areas such as
thearts andbusinesswriting (stylometry
and machine reading), retail/consumer
recommendation systems (transfer
learning), education (learner behavior),
and smart city infrastructure (for
example, route planning, visitor traffic).
To assist such breakthroughs,
HKUST computer engineers are
making significant contributions
to big data infrastructure support
through leading-edge improvements in
speed and efficiency. These advances
include developments in database
query processing and interactive data
exploration; and faster communication
between machines in the physical data
centers that keep search engines and
cloud computing in operation.
In doing so, the University’s
researchers are helping both machines
and humans become smarter.
* Statistic Brain Research Institute
