新闻及香港科大故事

「每棵树都是活着的生命!」土木及环境工程学系教授暨副系主任王幼行教授一边欣赏科大海旁附近山坡的一棵大树，一边有感而发。2018年9月， 台风「山竹」袭港，将这棵树几乎吹断一半。王教授最初心想大树受此重创，也许「难逃一刧」，但它却如奇迹般存活下来；树木应对恶劣天气的韧力和复原能力，的确叫他惊喜不已! 事实上，随着气候转变，极端天气越趋频密。为了监测这棵树的稳定性，王教授在树干底部装设了智能传感器，以便监察其倾斜角度。 这个安装在树上的传感器，是由以王教授为首的研究团队研发，而且源自七年前一项由学生主导、运用遥感技术探测斜坡稳定性的专题研习项目。 土木工程研究生陈斌祥是王教授团队的成员。他说：「身为工程师，我们要寻找一个可以准确评定树木健康状况的方法。透过研究一棵树的物理数据，可以准确评估树干倾斜是否不可逆转，并于必要时立即进行补救。」  2017年，香港特区政府主动接触研究团队，探讨将遥感技术用于监测树木的可行性。当时，市场上的传统传感器无法符合树木传感器的两大基本要求：第一、数据传输不会受极端天气干扰；第二、省电耐用。 2018年2月，王教授的团队成功为研发这套用于监测树木稳定性的智能遥感技术取得一年半外界经费；与此同时，他们亦孜孜不倦，花了一年时间提升技术，最终取得突破：改良后的传感器使用长距离广域网络 (LoRaWAN)，不但可实时传输数据，而且功耗低，非常省电。 有关数据会发送至处理中心进行大数据分析，以便让树木得到及时处理。年半间，团队已先后研发三代传感器，使数据传输距离增长四倍。 有效管理树木向来是政府其中一项要务。城中珍贵的古树与大自然密不可分，台风对其威胁尤大；树木一旦倒下，更会危害市民安全。 2018年8月底，天文台预测本地历来威力最强的台风「山竹」将直扑香港。研究团队因此加速优化其程序设计，在短短一星期内，成功将 32个第三代传感器安装在元朗大棠和市区的部分树木。  「山竹」一役虽导致 46,000 棵树木倒塌 ，但亦为研究团队提供了珍贵的第一手科学数据，可用于分析为何有些树木会因此倒塌，而有些却可以屹立不倒。

  本书集合科大教职员每周在《英文虎报》一个独家专栏发表的文章，启发读者利用创新及创意缔造更好未来。

佘焯成是2011年的数学理学士毕业生，一路走着顺遂且丰富多彩的人生旅程。毕业短短数年，他用两年时间苦心经营的数学补习社，已让他尝得创业成功的滋味。  身为数学科补习名师，数学让畲焯成名利双收，但沉重的工作压力亦令其健康在2017年响起警号，意外地改写了他的人生。  他忆述：「我当时受肠胃问题困扰，朋友建议我服用天然原蜜调理身体，效果很好，立时引起我对蜜糖和蜜蜂的兴趣，自此不停研究，我的人生亦因此改变。」 焯成向元朗一位本地蜂农拜师，学习怎样在不用抗生素、不加糖、不热压的情况下生产蜂蜜，愈是钻研，兴趣愈浓，2017年更与两位科大校友合作创办自己的第二盘生意「香港原蜜」。自此，他不仅积极宣扬原蜜对健康的好处，更致力保育蜜蜂，以协助全球生态系统保持平衡。  近十年来的絶大部份时间，很多蜂农都表示每年失去三成或以上的蜂巢。全球蜜蜂数量锐减，严重威胁各式各样人类赖以生存的植物及谷物，情况令人忧虑。 他说：「这是我投身养蜂业的其中一个重要原因。全球暖化和使用杀虫剂，导致蜜蜂数量急跌，但不少植物倚赖蜜蜂授粉，人类约有七成食粮是由蜜蜂支持生产。」 在人口稠密的城市，无休止的发展令野生蜜蜂及其食物供应饱受威胁，加上热带风暴的破坏力有增无减，即使业界努力补救，蜂蜜供应依然不甚稳定。  解决问题的其中一个有效办法，就是大量在城市养殖独居蜂。焯成说，独居蜂占了全球蜜蜂的九成，生性温驯，无需倚靠蜂巢存活，因此是家居养蜂的首选。用木头和其他物料搭建小小的蜂箱，已可为独居蜂提供基地。这些蜂箱可放置在家居或公园任何角落，在自然环境中增添蜜蜂授粉的机会。 在城市设置「蜜蜂酒店」的做法在全球越见普遍。他说：「这在台湾非常盛行，甚至深入学校，但香港仍需努力推广。」 科大对促成畲焯成的「甜蜜」人生居功不少。他攻读数学学位时，副修生态研究及中国研究，对全球暖化有一定认识，明白气候变化如何影响地球。他亦热衷与别人分享其所学知识。 现时，焯成既要打理补习社，又忙于在大屿山和大帽山郊野公园附近建立生产基地、举办蜂场生态教育团向参观者讲解香港常见的花蜜植物、蜜蜂生活习性、采收蜜糖方法，以及设置蜜蜂酒店。

This month, we experienced the hottest day of the year as temperatures in Hong Kong reached 35.1 degrees Celsius. Countries across western Europe also struggled in record-breaking temperatures recently, with France hit the worst at 45.9 degrees in June. The grim situation appears to have been a repeat of last year's conditions. Although there are ongoing indepth analyses and further studies to examine the causes of individual extreme temperature events, many experts believe that extreme heat waves would not be feasible without anthropogenic climate change, meaning human activities are the main culprit for global warming ravages. Such an assumption has been proven by climate models - a complex computer simulation of physical processes and mathematical formulae used mainly to predict climate and understand how the climate system responds to elevated greenhouse gas emissions.

A recent Consumer Council survey has found that only two out of eight tested anti-bacterial handwash products can live up to their claims of having 99.9 percent efficacy in killing germs, sparking worries amongst the public. Advertisements often imply that bacteria in homes are harmful and must be eliminated by using any antibacterial or antimicrobial products available. However, Boston University's School of Public Health suggests only about 5 percent of bacterial species are disease-causing, in other words pathogenic. In fact, the pursuit of a germ-free environment is futile. Some bacteria are just impossible to eliminate with chemicals in the cleansing agents, or at the concentrations level of the chemicals we are commonly using. Even the so-called 99.9 percent efficacy must rely on perfect usage of the product.

The recent Extinction Rebellion movement in the UK protested against climate breakdown, biodiversity loss and the risk of social and ecological collapse. Protesters called for policies that can achieve a net zero carbon footprint by 2025, one of the 17 sustainable development goals agreed by world leaders at the United Nations in 2015. Meeting these goals requires more than addressing climate change. Sustainable development is a balance between the needs of the environment, society and economy in order to maintain a quality standard of life for both present and future generations. Many countries, including the UK, have implemented goal-specific measures in a bid to achieve the 17 goals, with voluntary national reviews to see if the measures are effective.

Air pollution is a major environmental and health concern in Hong Kong and the largest environmental health risk, according to the World Health Organization, tying it to seven million premature deaths globally in 2016. Yet many of us accept it as part of city living. In a bid to help city dwellers take their health into their own hands, HKUST's Institute for the Environment recently launched a game-changing mobile app that lets users monitor air quality to reduce their exposure to air pollution. Titled PRAISE-HK (Personalized Real-time Air-quality Informatics System for Exposure), the app provides real-time air quality and health risk information and forecasts, down to the street you are at, up to two days in advance, helping Hongkongers live a smarter and healthier life. One of the world-leading technologies behind the app is our dynamic transport modeling.

Our fishery gave birth to a love of seafood, but it is also contributing to the global fish stocks decline. We degraded it through overfishing, pollution and reclamation before building a fleet to ravage fisheries in other places. Many cities have actually done the same. Ironically, calls to save global fish stocks come from cities that sacrificed their own fisheries. Yet, Hong Kong also shows the way to a solution. It retains a resilient population of people who fish, those with the expertise and toughness to build a sustainable fishery, that is, such as those where catch volume and fishing practices allow for continual regeneration of stock, while enabling fishers to achieve a decent standard of living. People in the industry will overfish and abuse the ecosystem to provide more income if they can't afford a living. But our highly adaptable fishermen can demonstrate a global model for sustainable fishery.