Source: Media Outreach
Hong Kong Secondary School Students Tackle Mathematics Problems at Postgraduate Level
Demonstrating Exceptional Analytical Strengths in Mathematics and Science
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 16 December 2021 – Tsz Hin Chan from Pui Ching Middle School received the Gold Award for his research report titled “On Non-Torsion Solutions of Homogeneous Linear Systems over Rings” at the 2021 Hang Lung Mathematics Awards. The Scientific Committee noted that Tsz Hin’s research report was at postgraduate level and demonstrated outstanding logical thinking and analytical ability. On Ki Luo from Pui Ching Middle School and Wai Lok Lai from St. Paul’s Co-educational College won the Silver Award and the Bronze Award, respectively. Together with the five Honorable Mentions of equal ranking, HK$1 million in prize money will be shared among winning students, and their teachers and schools, in recognition of their mathematics research projects that meet the highest academic standards in terms of methodology, research, and scholarship.
The Hon. Mrs. Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, presents the 2021 Hang Lung Mathematics Awards Gold Award to Principal Mr. Lik Ko Ho (third right) and Teacher Mr. Ho Fung Lee (second right) of Pui Ching Middle School, and the Gold Award winner Tsz Hin Chan, attends the ceremony online and shares his thoughts on winning
(From right) Mr. Adriel Chan, Vice Chair of Hang Lung Properties, holds a dialog with Mr. Jay Cheng, 2006 Hang Lung Mathematics Awards Gold Award winner and currently a District Engineer of the Civil Engineering and Development Department of the Government of the HKSAR, on how mathematics can tackle the impacts of climate change
A photo of the winning teams of the 2021 Hang Lung Mathematics Awards with The Hon. Mrs. Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr. Ronnie C. Chan, Chair; Mr. Adriel Chan, Vice Chair; and Mr. Weber Lo, Chief Executive Officer of Hang Lung Properties; Professor Wei Shyy, President of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; and members of 2021 Hang Lung Mathematics Awards Scientific Committee, Steering Committee, Executive Committee, and Screening Panel
The Announcement and Awards Presentation of the 2021 Hang Lung Mathematics Awards, co-organized by Hang Lung Properties Limited (“Hang Lung Properties”) and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (“HKUST”), was held at the Conrad Hong Kong last night. The Hon. Mrs. Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, a longtime supporter of the Hang Lung Mathematics Awards for many years, attended as the Guest of Honor.
Mr. Ronnie C. Chan, Chair of Hang Lung Properties, said, “The Hang Lung Mathematics Awards (HLMA) is our signature community investment initiative. I am pleased that HLMA continues to flourish under the new partnership formed early this year with The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. We are delighted to be working closely with The Chinese University of Hong Kong, our inaugural partner, as well as other local universities and top mathematicians around the world on this meaningful project. It is very encouraging to see a strong turnout of high-quality research reports submitted this year after a long disruption in classroom learning. I hope that the participation of our young talented students in this competition would ignite their lifelong passion for mathematics, science, and technology.”
Professor Wei Shyy, President of HKUST, said, “HKUST attaches great importance to innovation and believes that knowledge and research will bring about new discoveries and promote the sustainable development of society. We are equally committed to encouraging and nurturing talent development in basic science. We are very pleased to have cooperated with Hang Lung Properties in the organization of the ‘Hang Lung Mathematics Awards’, which aims to stimulate the interest and creativity of secondary school students in mathematics research and identify those with talent and potential in the subject. Looking ahead, HKUST will continue to contribute to mathematics and popular science education development in Hong Kong and nurture more outstanding academic elites for society.”
Professor Richard Schoen, 2017 Wolf Prize Laureate in Mathematics and Chair of the 2021 Hang Lung Mathematics Awards Scientific Committee, expressed his appreciation of the high-standard research reports submitted by the participants, “I am very pleased to see that Hong Kong secondary school students not only possess outstanding abilities in mathematics and science, but also have a passion for research. The quality of the research reports submitted by the participating teams to the competition is very impressive to me. The breadth of topics, the depth and clarity of the solutions given are very high. The ability to model and isolate the central features of a complex problem, and to develop a language and method to solve it efficiently, are tools which will serve our students well in the future. I hope they could further use these abilities to advance the century-long development of mathematics, or apply to the immediate good of the society and mankind.”
The 2021 Hang Lung Mathematics Awards attracted the participation of over 60 teams from nearly 40 secondary schools in Hong Kong. Under the supervision of a teacher, each team decided on a mathematics topic, designed and conducted research, and submitted a research report. A Scientific Committee comprising internationally renowned scholars and educators then evaluated the research reports in a rigorous, multi-step review process. The teams selected to continue to the final round were invited to attend an Oral Defense where they presented their research in front of the Scientific Committee.
Founded in 2004, the Hang Lung Mathematics Awards is a biennial event that encourages secondary school students to fulfill their creative potential in mathematics and science and stimulate their passion for intellectual discovery. In the past eight editions of the Awards, over 2,400 students from 200 schools have participated in the competition, and over 400 research reports have been submitted. Hang Lung Properties donates HK$2.5 million to each competition, of which HK$1 million is set aside as prize money, with the remainder used for academic consultancy, assessment process, the administration of the competition, as well as education promotion activities. HKUST also provides scholarships for teachers nominated by the winning schools to enroll in the Master of Science Program in Mathematics for Educators.
For a detailed list of winners of the 2021 Hang Lung Mathematics Awards, please refer to the attachment.
Attachment:
List of Winners of the 2021 Hang Lung Mathematics Awards
Award
Topic
Team Member(s)
Teacher
School Name
Gold
On Non-Torsion Solutions of Homogeneous Linear Systems over Rings
Tsz Hin Chan
Mr. Ho Fung Lee
Pui Ching Middle School
Silver
The Johnson-Leader-Russell Question on Square Posets
On Ki Luo
Mr. Ho Fung Lee
Pui Ching Middle School
Bronze
Solvability of the General Pell’s Equation, Quadratic Residuosity, and Real Quadratic Fields of Class Number Two
Wai Lok Lai
Mr. Pak Leong Cheung
St. Paul’s Co-educational College
Honorable Mentions (listed by school name in alphabetical order)
Topic
Team Member(s)
Teacher
School Name
An Investigation on the Rings of Integer-Valued Polynomials on Gaussian Integers and Integer-Valued Continuous Functions
Myron Lam
Mr. Long Tin Chan
Diocesan Boys’ School
On the Basel Problem: Generalizations to Other Power Series
Tsz Fung Chui
Mr. Long Tin Chan
Diocesan Boys’ School
On the Variations of the Brachistochrone Curve
Nick Hang Cheng,
Hei Chai Shum,
Chun Shing Tong
Mr. Long Tin Chan
Diocesan Boys’ School
On the Generalization of the Triangle Peg Problem to Higher Dimensions
Chun Hei Mok,
Chi Kong Wei,
Wang Kin To
Mr. Ka On Cho
S.K.H. Tsang Shiu Tim Secondary School
Investigation on the Buffon-Laplace Needle Problem
Hui Yat Cheung,
Pak Kiu Fong,
Shing Him Lee,
Justin Ka Chai Leung, Siu Lam Ting
Mr. Wai Man Chu
Wah Yan College, Kowloon
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