PhD Student DONG Wei Received the SENG PhD Research Excellence Award 2022-23

The School of Engineering (SENG) at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has announced the winner and finalist for the PhD Research Excellence Award 2022-23. The award recognizes outstanding achievements by PhD students or graduates who have made a significant contribution to knowledge in their discipline.

After a rigorous selection process, DONG Wei from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) at HKUST has been named the winner of the SENG PhD Research Excellence Award 2022-23. DONG Wei's research outputs, which include publications and patents, were highly original and innovative, and demonstrated a significant impact on society and the relevant engineering disciplines. DONG Wei's academic qualifications and awards also demonstrate exceptional achievements in the field of computer science.

The finalist for the award was WU Aoyu from the CSE department, who demonstrated exceptional originality and innovativeness in their research outputs, which had a significant impact on society and the relevant engineering disciplines. WU Aoyu's contributions to the field of computer science were highly commended by the panel committee.

All shortlisted candidates were required to present their research work and accomplishments to the panel committee at HKUST. The selection process was highly competitive, and the panel committee was impressed by the quality of the research and the achievements of all the nominees.

DONG Wei expressed his sincere gratitude to his supervisor, Prof. Ke Yi, and the selective committees for their acknowledgment and support in his application for the SENG Ph.D. Research Excellence Award. He sees this recognition as a significant inspiration for him to continue to strive for excellence in his field of research.

In his research field, DONG Wei believes that the protection of individual privacy has become a major concern for both academia and industry, especially in the era of big data. He sees differential privacy (DP) as the de facto standard for private data analysis and plans to focus on solving problems in the fields of databases and statistics, such as answering SQL queries, which is a commonly used data analysis tool. Moving forward, DONG Wei plans to dedicate more efforts to private data analysis in various fields, pursuing a one-year PostDoc at Carnegie Mellon University and then seeking a tenure-track position in Hong Kong.

The SENG PhD Research Excellence Award 2022-23 showcases the exceptional talent of the researchers in the School of Engineering at HKUST, and DONG Wei's achievements and future plans demonstrate the promising research direction in the fields of data security and privacy. HKUST also congratulates WU Aoyu for being a finalist for the award and recognizes their exceptional contributions to the field of computer science. The university is proud to have such outstanding individuals who have made a significant contribution to knowledge in their respective fields and looks forward to their future contributions to society.

Wei Dong is a Ph.D. student from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Hiking is Wei's largest hobby "Conquering mountains not only strengthens my body but also hones my will to overcome difficulties. During my Ph.D. study, I often hike with my friends on weekends."