Issue 3 | 2024

On 13 July 2024, HITS opened its doors to the public again and welcomed more than 500 visitors. The program titled “Weather, viruses and the universe – exploring the role of AI in tomorrow’s world” comprised hands-on stations, guided garden tours, and scientific talks which are available on the HITS YouTube channel. Highlights for the younger guests involved face painting and a photo station with a green screen, where everyone had lots of fun. More impressions here.

“Digital twins” already existed for adults. However, such models have been lacking for infants until now. Elaine Zaunseder, lead author and member of the Data Mining and Uncertainty Quantification (DMQ) group at HITS, created computer models together with an international team, simulating the unique metabolic processes of each baby. The team aims to improve the diagnosis and treatment of diseases in the first days of an infant’s life. The research results were published in the journal “Cell Metabolism”.

In the section “Beyond the limits”, we feature “Croucher Research Fellow” Mike Lau. He has been part of the Physics of Stellar Objects (PSO) group at HITS for almost a year, conducting research in binary star systems. In the interview he reveals what he likes most about HITS and what he misses about his home Hong Kong.