Xu Cheng-Zhong and Mak Pui In receive the Guanghua Engineering Science and Technology Prize
Xu Cheng-Zhong, chair professor and dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) at the University of Macau (UM), and Mak Pui In, chair professor at UM and director of the State Key Laboratory of Analog and Mixed-Signal VLSI (SKL-AMSV), have been named recipients of the 16th Guanghua Engineering Science and Technology Prize. Widely regarded as the highest honour in the field of engineering in China, the award recognises Chinese engineering and technology experts who have made significant contributions to and achieved outstanding accomplishments in engineering science and technology and engineering management. The award underscores the ongoing exploration and exceptional contributions of UM scholars in these areas.
Prof Xu is an expert in cloud computing and parallel and distributed computing technologies. He currently serves as dean of FST, interim director of the Institute of Collaborative Innovation, and chair professor in the Department of Computer and Information Science at UM. He has long been engaged in research in the fields of distributed systems, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and smart cities, and has produced a number of research outcomes with significant international impact.
Prof Xu is a national expert, a recipient of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Overseas), and a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He has been awarded the second prize of the Guangdong Technological Invention Award (2023) and the second prize of the Macao Technological Invention Award (2024). Prof Xu has developed a theoretical model for large-scale microservice-based AI applications and efficient resource management systems. These innovations have been used to optimise Alibaba’s microservice clusters, significantly improving resource utilisation and the quality of their online applications. In terms of AI applications, Prof Xu has developed efficient, real-time data fusion and intelligent inference algorithms, as well as cloud-edge frameworks. These have been applied to Alibaba’s City Brain system and intelligent transportation systems in several cities, including Shenzhen and Hangzhou. Furthermore, he has developed key embodied AI technologies for predicting driving behaviour and path planning. These technologies have improved the generalisation and robustness of autonomous driving in extreme scenarios, thereby driving the development and real-world application of unmanned autonomous systems in Macao.
Prof Mak is an expert in analogue and mixed-signal integrated circuits. He currently serves as director of SKL-AMSV, deputy director (research) of the Institute of Microelectronics, and chair professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at UM. He has devoted his career to integrated circuit design and has made multiple research breakthroughs in wireless communication chips and intelligent digital microfluidics, with his findings frequently published in leading international journals.
Prof Mak has received a number of awards, including the second prize of the State Scientific and Technological Progress Award (2011), the Medal of Merit – Education and the Honorific Title – Merit presented by the Macao SAR government, as well as the first prize of the Macao Technological Invention Award (2020). He was also named one of the Top Paper Contributors at the 70th anniversary of the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) in 2023. Prof Mak is a foreign corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of Lisbon (ACL), a fellow of IEEE, a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), a visiting fellow of Clare Hall at the University of Cambridge, a Changjiang Scholar Chair Professor, and an overseas peer-review expert for the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He was previously an associate editor of the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits and is currently the editor-in-chief of the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Letters.
The Guanghua Engineering Science and Technology Prize is an engineering science and technology award administered by the Chinese Academy of Engineering. It was established in 1995 and is presented every two years. This year, only 40 experts from across the country received the award. The conferment of the award on Prof Xu and Prof Mak not only recognises UM’s strong research capacity but also highlights the university’s expertise and innovation in the field of engineering science and technology.