UM wins the most prizes at 1st Macao Science and Technology Awards

At the Macao Science and Technology Awards 2012, held today (19 October) at Macao’s Cultural Centre, the University of Macau (UM) won more prizes than any other higher education institutions in Macao. In addition to nine prizes across three categories of the Science and Technology Awards, UM also won nineteen prizes in the Postgraduate Science and Technology Research and Development Award category.

Macao SAR Chief Executive Chui Sai On, Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Macao SAR Gao Yan, Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of PRC in Macao SAR Hu Zhengyue, Vice Minister of Science and Technology of PRC Chen Xiaoya, Chairman of the Evaluation Committee of the Macao Science and Technology Awards Zhu Lilan, Secretary for Transport and Public Works of Macao SAR Lau Si Io, and President of the Administrative Committee of the Science and Technology Development Fund of Macao SAR Tong Chi Kin were invited to present prizes at the ceremony.

Secretary for Transport and Public Works of Macao SAR Lau Si Io congratulated all recipients, praising them for their contributions to science and technology development in Macao. He noted that with the great support of China and the joint efforts of various parties, Macao has made marked progress in science and technology achievements both in quantity and in quality. He said that some research achievements have made an appearance in the international academic circle, and a large number of young scholars have formed the backbone of the science and technology circle in Macao. Secretary Lau stressed that the Macao SAR government will increase investment in scientific research and science popularization, and will identify certain areas for priority development, in order to provide more room for those involved in the science and technology scene to display their talent. He added that the SAR government will step up efforts to explore various ways to combine science and technology development with industrial development in order to make greater contributions to the moderate economic diversification in Macao.

In her speech, Chairman of the Evaluation Committee of the Macao Science and Technology Awards Zhu Lilan reviewed the evaluation process, saying that she thinks the Macao Science and Technology Awards have allowed the public to have a comprehensive understanding of science and technology development in Macao. She said that within just a couple of years Macao has made great progress in scientific research, which shows how much the SAR government attaches importance to science and technology development. Zhu expressed her hope that the SAR government could continue to increase input in science and technology, to lay the groundwork for the transformation and sustainable development of Macao.

UM professor Qian Tao, whose project, “Time-Frequency Analysis of Transient Signals and Algorithm: Harmonic and Clifford Analysis of Signals”, won the sole first prize in the Natural Science Award category, gave a speech on behalf of all recipients. He thanked Evaluation Committee members for their recognition of the invention, without focusing on the immediate application or the short-term benefits of the invention. He noted that a good scientific research achievement should have both theoretical and application-wise breakthroughs, and the latter usually takes longer time. He described winning the prize as very “encouraging”, because, explained Prof. Qian, invention is a process of creating something from scratch. He promised that he will turn the encouragement represented by the prize into greater motivation at work. In closing, he thanked the longstanding support of the committee, with special mention of UM Rector Wei Zhao, who he said has raised UM’s scientific research to a new height and has provided a lot of valuable advice for him during his research.

At the inaugural Macao Science and Technology Awards 2012, UM received one first-class prize, one second-class prize and one third-class prize in the Natural Science Award category, one second-class prize and two third-class prizes in the Technological Invention Award category, one second-class prize and two third-class prizes in the Technology Progress Award category, as well as nineteen prizes in the Postgraduate Science and Technology Research and Development Award category.

UM recipients of the Macao Science and Technology Awards and their projects

**Prof. Li Xiaoshan from FST and the United Nations University—International Institute for Software Technology jointly submitted an application for this project

Recipients of the Postgraduate Science and Technology Research and Development Award

Should you have any inquiries about the press release, please feel free to contact Ms. Kay Lai at (853)8397 4325 or kaylai@um.edu.mo or visit UM webpage www.umac.mo.