The annual meeting of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Working Group to Investigate Climate Change and Global Trends of Phytoplankton in the Oceans (IOC WG TrendsPO) recently held its annual meeting at University of Macau and Sun Yat-sen University Zhuhai Campus. This conference brought together top scientists from 18 countries across Asia, North America, South America, Europe, Australia, and Africa, to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing marine ecosystems. This conference not only fostered collaboration among research institutions worldwide, but also delved into how interdisciplinary cooperation can address the complex issues of global ocean conservation and climate change. The discussions held during this meeting are significant for advancing global marine ecological protection and responding to climate change.

During the meeting, experts engaged in thorough and productive discussions on a range of ocean-related topics , including qualitative and quantitative indicators of phytoplankton responses to ecosystem changes, the impact of human activities on phytoplankton ecology, and the effects of long-term climate change on red tides. Furthermore, the meeting delved into using molecular diversity data to predict phytoplankton changes and provided forward-looking analyses on the future development direction of the global ocean observing system.

The IOC WG TrendsPO consists of scientists from 18 countries spanning Asia, North America, South America, Europe, Australia, and Africa. Established at the IOC 49^th Executive Council in Paris in June 2016, the group focuses on exploring the intricate relationship between climate change and phytoplankton trends. Prof. Jie XU from the Faculty of Science and Technology at the University of Macau and Prof. Jacob Carstensen from Aarhus University are currently co-chair of the IOC WG TrendsPO.

A team of students from the Department of Physics and Chemistry (DPC) at the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST), University of Macau (UM), has excelled in the final of the “10th China Undergraduate Physics Experiment Competition (Innovation)” with their innovative experimental work titled “Electromagnetic Induction Emission Tutorial Video,” earning them a national first prize. This competition gathered 2,755 teams from 667 universities across the country, with only approximately the top 20% of teams advancing to the finals. In the final, the UM student team competed against 584 teams from 280 universities, receiving high praise from the judges for their outstanding project and performance, thereby standing out among numerous entries. FST will encourage students to participate in more national and international competitions in the future to broaden their horizons and cultivate more competitive and innovative professionals for society.

The competition aims to promote reform in physics experiment teaching, facilitate the exchange and cooperation of teaching experiences between universities, stimulate students’ interest in physics, and identify and nurture talents with international competitiveness. The final included multiple segments such as project presentations, report speeches, and judge Q&A sessions. Under the guidance of DPC professors Hongchao Liu and Hui Pan, team members Xinqi Li, Chuqi Tang, Chit Hun Mok, Chi Chon Lam, and Mingyu Chan stood out with their solid physics foundation, outstanding innovative thinking, teamwork skills, and rigorous scientific spirit. Their experimental projects covered a wide range of areas from basic physical experiments to cutting-edge technologies, possessing not only significant academic value but also potential application prospects.

The China Undergraduate Physics Experiment Competition has been held since 2010 and is a highly recognized and widely participated national-level event, providing students with a broad platform for learning and exchange. This competition was held at Beihang University and was co-organized by the Physics Discipline Group of the National Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center Joint Conference, the Chinese Society for College Experimental Physics Teaching, the University Physics Curriculum Teaching Steering Committee of the Ministry of Education, and the Physics Teaching Committee of the Chinese Physical Society. Since its launch in August, the team received strong support from DPC. The team leaders and advisors closely monitored each team’s progress, providing robust support and joint guidance. In the future, UM will continue to stimulate students’ innovation and practical abilities through diversified platforms, continuously optimizing talent cultivation models and providing students with broader learning and development platforms.

The Innovative Project “Digital Twin · Supercomputing · Virtual Reality · Remote Diagnosis,” jointly launched by the Centre for Applied Mathematics of the University of Macau (UM) and the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of Chinese Academy of Sciences, was exhibited at the 26th edition of China Hi-Tech Fair and garnered extensive attention. Utilizing digital twin technology, the project achieves precise digital modeling of people, objects, and events in the physical world. By leveraging supercomputers for rapid and high-precision numerical simulations of physical fields and integrating mixed reality (MR) technology, the team has constructed highly realistic virtual models that vividly present their computational achievements, highlighting the core strengths of their technology.

During the fair, the booth of the joint team drew attention from provincial and municipal leaders, research institutions, universities, and media reporters, including those from China Central Television (CCTV). Experts in attendance provided high praise for the project and engaged actively with questions, to which team members responded enthusiastically. Additionally, the project has collaborated with multiple medical institutions to validate the practical application effects of numerical simulation technology, not only significantly enhancing the project’s practical value but also demonstrating the vast application prospects of digital twin technology across different fields.

Through this grand event, the joint team demonstrated its innovative capabilities in the field of digital twins, laying a solid foundation for future exchanges and cooperation with domestic and international research institutions and enterprises. In the future, UM will continue to expand cooperation with other scientific research institutions, strengthen research on innovative technologies, explore more possibilities of virtual reality, and promote the industrialization process of digital twin technology.

The 26th China Hi-Tech Fair was successfully held from November 14 to 16, at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center. As one of the largest and most influential technology fairs in China, the fair brought together top-tier innovative technologies and projects from around the globe, attracting scholars, experts, and industry leaders from all over the world.

Dear Colleagues and Students,

We are delighted to present to you the 17th issue of the Faculty of Science and Technology’s E-Newsletter of the University of Macau. This edition highlights the latest news, research endeavors, and activities of the Faculty from August to October 2024. You can access the E-Newsletter by visiting the following link: https://www.fst.um.edu.mo/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Issue-17-August-October-2024.pdf

Additionally, if you would like to explore our previous E-Newsletters, please visit the FST website at: https://www.fst.um.edu.mo/annual-report/

We extend our warmest wishes for the well-being and happiness of you and your families.

Best Regards,
Faculty of Science and Technology
University of Macau

Mr. Jiahang Chen, a doctoral student, Mr. Yifan Yang, a doctoral student, and Ms. Lam Lam, a master student, from the Department of Electromechanical Engineering (EME), Faculty of Science and Technology (FST), University of Macau (UM), have won the best paper awards at the 5th International Symposium on Thermal-Fluid Dynamics (ISTFD 2024), which was hosted by Xi’an Jiaotong University (XJTU). Experts at the symposium fully recognized the effort and achievement of the research team of UM. This year’s symposium gathered over a hundred scholars and researchers from around the world, featuring more than 100 oral and poster presentations, 9 plenary lectures, and 20 thematic lectures, all led by distinguished researchers in the field of thermal fluids, showcasing the most advanced knowledge and technology in the domain.

In the symposium, Mr. Jiahang Chen represented the research group to present a paper titled “Experimental Investigation of Pressure Drop and Heat Transfer Characteristics of 3D-Printed Mini Tubes using Different Fabrication Parameters”. As an advanced manufacturing technology, Selective Laser Melting (SLM) 3D printing technique, which was one of the additive manufacturing methods, could be used to print sophisticated and small-sized heat exchangers with large heat transfer areas so it has attracted high attention in the thermal engineering community in recent years. Due to the differences in inside wall surface characteristics between 3D-printed tubes and traditional tubes, the research team experimentally compared the pressure drop and heat transfer characteristics of 3D-printed stainless-steel tubes under different fabrication parameters. The results showed that the friction factors and heat transfer coefficients of the 3D-printed tube were directly affected by different printing parameters.

Ms. Lam Lam represented the group to present a paper titled “Experimental Investigation on Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop Characteristics of 3D Printed Tubes with Semicircular and Round-edge Semicircular Channels”. A pair of semicircular channels and rounded semicircular channels were manufactured by 3D printing methods to imitate the different channels in printed circuit heat exchangers (PCHE). The pressure drop of the two tubes was measured and compared under isothermal and uniform heat flux boundary conditions. The research results of this study provide a fundamental understanding of the semicircular channel with or without round-edge inside the PCHE.

The two research projects were supervised by Prof. Lam Mou Tam, Professor of Department of EME. Mr. Jiahang Chen’s research project is sponsored by the Science and Technology Development Fund (FDCT) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). Ms. Lam Lam’s research project is sponsored by the Macao Science and Technology Development Fund (FDCT) and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (MOST).

A former Ph. D. graduate of the Biomedical Imaging Laboratory (BIG) from the Faculty of Science and Technology at the University of Macau, Jingzhang Sun, received the best technical paper award of the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology (JNC) at the 29^th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC), held in Austin, Texas, US. ASNC, the world’s largest and most specialized academic association in nuclear cardiology, selects one exceptional technical paper published in JNC from hundreds of submissions worldwide each year.

The awarded study, entitled “Deep Learning-Based Denoising in Projection-Domain and Reconstruction-Domain for Low-Dose Myocardial Perfusion SPECT”, was led by Prof. Greta Mok from FST, collaborated with Taipei Veterans General Hospital and Yale University. This work demonstrates that using deep learning techniques in denoising in the projection domain (raw data) is superior to the denoising in the reconstruction domain (processed data) for myocardial perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), a well-established method for diagnosing coronary artery disease yet with radiation concern. This study demonstrates the state-of-the-art deep learning-based denoising performance for SPECT, which can be translated to reduced ionizing radiation to patients and medical staff, as well as shortened scan time to increase patient throughput and enhanced patients’ comfort.

BIG is one of the world-leading teams in applying deep learning techniques in SPECT, with strong emphasis on clinical translation. This study was supported by the first Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Hong Kong and Macau) from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81922080).