The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) has announced the awardees of the Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Hong Kong and Macao) for the year 2022. Hao Tianwei, assistant professor in UM’s Faculty of Science and Technology (FST), have been awarded the fund. Since the fund was first open for applications from young scholars at eight universities in Hong Kong and Macao in 2019, UM scholars have made the list every year and a total of 11 scholars have been awarded the fund, which is testament to the university’s achievement in research innovation and talent development.
The NSFC Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Hong Kong and Macao) is a national talent development programme, with the aim of supporting young scientists with outstanding achievements in basic research by giving them the freedom to choose the innovative research topic of their interest. The programme also aims to promote the growth of young scholars in science and technology so that they will become the backbone of academic research and will have a chance to reach the forefront of science and technology in the world. UM scholars who were awarded the fund between 2019 and 2021 are Chen Meiwan, professor in the Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences (ICMS); Hu Guanghui, associate professor in the FST; Mok Seng Peng, associate professor in the FST; Qu Songnan, professor in the Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering (IAPME); Cai Yongqing, assistant professor in the IAPME; Wang Chunming, professor in the ICMS; Zhou Wanhuan, professor in the FST; Lu Yan, associate professor in the Institute of Microelectronics; and Sun Guoxing, associate professor in the IAPME.
With a focus on the biotransformation of pollutants in wastewater and wastewater resource recovery, Prof Hao has published 53 papers as first or corresponding author and has obtained eight patents in the United States, Japan, and China. Some of his research results have been applied in UNESCO-assisted demonstration projects of urban wastewater treatment and waste leachate treatment in Cuba. He has received different awards, including the grand prize of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers Innovation Awards for Young Members, a gold prize from the Green Tech international competition, and a prize from the International Water Association Project Innovation Awards. Prof Hao’s awarded project, titled ‘Waster Treatment and Resource Recovery’, proposes a solution for the recovery of high-value microbial metabolites and the efficient removal of pollutants in wastewater. Through the development of a microbial genetic metabolism model and self-agglutinating granular sludge, Prof Hao’s research team successfully converted water pollutants into the scarce sulfated polysaccharides, which can be widely used in the industrial, food, and medical sectors. The subsequent research and development of a drug-free and environmentally-friendly disposal technology has also solved the problem of secondary pollution brought by the by-product of wastewater treatment, achieving a breakthrough in pollution prevention and control, which also helps to promote continuous improvement in the quality of the aquatic environment.
國家自然科學基金2022年度“優秀青年科學基金項目（港澳）”結果公佈，澳門大學科技學院助理教授郝天偉入選。“優秀青年科學基金項目”自2019年首次開放給港澳8間大學的年輕學者申請，澳大連續4年共11名學者入選，展示了澳大在科研創新和青年人才培養取得的成果。
國家自然科學基金“優秀青年科學基金項目”是一項國家級人才項目，支持在基礎研究方面已取得較好成績的青年學者自主選擇研究方向開展創新研究，促進青年科學技術人才的快速成長，培養一批有望進入世界科技前沿的優秀學術骨幹。自2019至2021年入選的澳大學者有中華醫藥研究院教授陳美婉、科技學院副教授胡光輝、科技學院副教授莫昇萍、應用物理及材料工程研究院教授曲松楠、應用物理及材料工程研究院助理教授蔡永青、中華醫藥研究院教授王春明、科技學院教授周萬歡、微電子研究院副教授路延和應用物理及材料工程研究院副教授孫國星。
是次入選學者科技學院助理教授郝天偉專注於廢水中污染物的定向生物轉化與資源化研究，以通訊／第一作者發表SCI論文53篇，已獲美國、日本和中國授權專利8項，部分研究成果應用於聯合國教科文組織援助古巴城市污水處理示範工程及垃圾滲濾液處理。郝天偉先後獲得香港工程師學會青年學者創新特等獎、Green Tech國際金獎、國際水協項目創新獎等。其入選項目“污水處理與資源化”提出微生物高價值代謝產物回收與污染物高效去除並進的解決思路，通過開發微生物基因代謝模型和自凝集顆粒污泥成功的將水中污染物轉化為稀缺資源硫酸多糖，可廣泛的應用在工業、食品及醫療領域。及後研發的免藥劑無害化處置技術讓污水處理副產物——污泥擺脫二次污染問題，實現污染防治瓶頸突破，推動水環境質量持續改善。
Hao Tianwei, Awardee of
NSFC Excellent Young Scientists Fund