Physics Research and Education at University of Macau

Wei GE

Vice Rector, University of Macau

Abstract: Founded in 1981, the University of Macau (UM) is an international public comprehensive university in Macao, with a multicultural campus and a system of whole-person education underpinned by faculties and residential colleges in an international education setup. After 43 years development, UM now ranked No. 193 in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings and No. 245 in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings. In 2014, UM relocated from its original campus in Taipa to a new one on Hengqin Island, reaching a significant milestone. Later, the Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering (IAPME) was founded, marking the beginning of physics research and education at UM. IAPME at the UM offers a well-balanced fundamental and applied research, which is a unique entity in bridging the gap between pure science and engineering. In this talk, I will first introduce the history of UM and IAPME, then focus on the development, achievement of both physics research and education in IAPME.

Bio: Professor Wei Ge is currently a Vice Rector (Research) and Chair Professor at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau. Prof. Ge received his BSc from Nanjing University (1982), MSc from the Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (1985), and PhD from University of Alberta, Canada (1992). After obtaining his PhD, he received a postdoctoral scholarship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to work at the National Institute for Basic Biology, Japan (1993-1995). In 1995, Prof. Ge joined The Chinese University of Hong Kong where he established his teaching and research career. He was a professor at the School of Life Sciences at CUHK until 2013 when he moved to University of Macau (UM). He helped establish the Faculty of Health Sciences as an Interim Dean. Prof. Ge has published about 110 papers and his research focuses on reproduction, development and aging using zebrafish as the model, including: (1) endocrine regulation of reproduction by the reproductive and growth axes; (2) intra-follicular paracrine/autocrine communication network in the ovary; (3) impacts of environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on reproduction and public health; and (4) zebrafish as a model for aging, human diseases and drug discovery. Prof. Ge has served as the council member for the International Federation of Comparative Endocrinological Societies (IFCES) (2009-2013), the Asia and Oceania Society for Comparative Endocrinology (AOSEC) (2012-), the Chinese Society of Comparative Endocrinology (2013-), and the International Society for Fish Endocrinology (ISFE) (2014-).  He has served as Associate Editor or editorial board member for several international journals, including Frontier in Endocrinology, General and Comparative Endocrinology, and Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology.