Topic: Exploring the Nano-World

Speaker: Prof. David TONG Shuk Yin

Date: Friday, March 26, 2021

Time：4:15 pm - 5:30 pm

Language:  Chinese & English

Abstract:

In this talk, Prof. David TONG shall trace the history of his immersion in the world of nano- and subnano-dimensions. It is the story between mentor and mentee. A story of serendipity. He shall also tell a story between a father and a son, how their work complemented each other and how they competed against each other. Using specific examples, Prof.  TONG shall describe to the audience how we can “see” atoms, objects that measure only a third of a nanometer. And how we can be confident that an answer for such a tiny object is correct. He shall also give examples where the answers are wrong, due to incomplete or insufficient research.

Speaker Profile:

Prof. David TONG Shuk Yin is currently the Dean of the Graduate School at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Prof. TONG graduated from the University of Hong Kong in 1964, and received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California in 1967 and 1969, respectively. Prof. TONG was awarded the Croucher Foundation Senior Research Fellowship in 1997. He was elected as a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2001, and later a TWAS Fellow in 2010.  He is also the receiver of second prize of the Natural Science Award from the Ministry of Education in 2019.

Prof. TONG is a world-renowned expert in materials science and engineering as well as solid mechanics. He has long studied the surface and interface structures and properties of low-dimensional materials, and has developed multiple-scattering theories for low-energy electron diffraction in solids. He has made creative contributions to the quantitative analysis of low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), photoelectron diffraction (PHD) high-resolution electron-energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS), and reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) techniques. Recently, he has conducted research on the growth of GaN materials on other substrates. He has also explored the mechanism of surface catalysis in the fields of clean energy and fuel cells.