CBE Department Hosted Industry Engagement Event in Health & Medicine and Celebrated Grand Opening of Food Technology Lab

28 May 2026

An Industry Engagement Event in the theme of “Health & Medicine” was successfully hosted by the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE) on May 15, 2026, drawing around 70 industry guests, faculty members, alumni and students for an evening of insightful exchange and community building.

The event began with a warm welcome from Prof. Hong K. LO, Dean of Engineering, and Prof. Minhua SHAO, Head and Chair Professor of the CBE Department. They emphasized the importance of fostering close collaboration between academia and industry. Following the welcome remarks, three distinguished speakers from the industry delivered invited talks:

Dr. NI Ming, Vice President, MGI Tech Co., Ltd., BGI Group
Dr. Aldrin YIM, CEO, Codex Genetics
Dr. Jeffrey LAI Chun-Wan, Managing Director & Medical Laboratory Director, Elite Medical Global Limited

Prof. Terence WONG, Associate Head and Associate Professor of the CBE Department, then shared about his work on the CHAMP microscope, an advanced AI-based microscopic imaging system that was awarded funding in the first round of RAISe+ Scheme. A panel discussion, moderated by Prof. Wong and featuring the three industry leaders, sparked further dialogue around the theme of health and medicine. Overall, the event successfully facilitated valuable networking and discussions, underscoring the department’s commitment to establishing strong ties with the industry.

Another highlight of the event – held before the talks – was the grand opening of the Food Technology Laboratory, which is now located on the sixth floor of the Cheng Yu Tung Building. Established in 2017 and managed by Prof. Marshal LIU, the laboratory has over the years supported the award-winning Food Science and Technology common core course under his instruction. It also serves as an experiential learning platform for students to design, develop and ultimately commercialize their products. Some of the products that were developed in the lab and have been successfully commercialized include an antimicrobial hand cream, biodegradable flocculants for wastewater treatment, zero-alcohol beer, cat litter made from spent grains, smoothies produced from surplus fruit, and plant-based protein products.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to signify the official opening of the lab. After that, the result of the Food Technology Lab Wall Design Competition was announced. Gretel LAU Sze-Wan, Technical Officer and a CBE alumna, was named the winner. CBE undergraduate students Siqi LIN and Yuet YAU were recognized with Honorable Mentions. Gretel’s design illustrates the mission of the lab by capturing how students transform low-value raw materials into high-value food and beverage products through chemical engineering processes, showcasing a journey from experimentation and prototyping to scaling up and commercialization. Research project displays were also set up in the lab, enabling participants to explore the innovations stemming from the lab.

(This news was originally published by the HKUST School of Engineering here.)