CUHK professor named as a top 10 winner for pioneering advances in nanoscale fabrication
Prof. Shih-Chi Chen of the Department of Mechanical and Automation Engineering has been named as a top 10 winner for the prestigious Falling Walls Science Breakthroughs Award in the Engineering and Technology category. This is recognition of his revolutionary research in nanoscale 3D fabrication, which has shattered conventional barriers in the field.
Prof. Chen’s major breakthrough is a 3D nanofabrication platform that for the first time allows for multi-material fabrication of 20-nanometer precision at a light patterning rate of 400 mm3/hr, and at the significantly lower cost of US$1.5/mm3. The platform supports nanofabrication of different materials, including metals, alloys, semiconductors, polymers, ceramics and biomaterials. The new method has advanced all the key metrics in manufacturing: resolution, fabrication rate and cost, making the technology possible for industry-scale application in photonics, health, automobiles and even aerospace.
One of Prof. Chen’s CUHK start-ups, Precision Cut Ltd, was also shortlisted as a finalist in the ‘Science Start-ups’ category of the Falling Walls Science Breakthroughs Award for developing an ultrafast microtome to section fresh tissues and soft materials into thin slices; and the application of it to create a precise and effective drug screening platform for cancer patients, which is considered a major breakthrough in personalised medicine.
The Falling Walls Foundation, a charity supported by the German government and numerous acclaimed academic institutions, foundations, companies, and NGOs, has been hosting the Falling Walls Summit annually since 9 November 2009, the 20th anniversary of the peaceful fall of the Berlin Wall. It is a leading international, interdisciplinary and intersectoral forum for scientific breakthroughs and science dialogue. The Falling Walls Science Breakthroughs of the Year Award is a world-renowned international competition that honours the people who are pioneering solutions to the world’s greatest challenges and creating breakthroughs across borders and disciplines. This year, it celebrates work in eight scientific, innovation, and humanistic categories.
To learn more about Prof. Chen’s breakthrough, please read the interview article. To learn more about the Falling Walls, please visit the website.