From Ocean to Orbit: Tech Innovations Transforming Nature Monitoring and Climate Action

Professor Hui Su is a Chair Professor and Global STEM Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the Director of the Space Science and Technology Institute at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). Prior to joining HKUST in 2022, she served as a Principal Scientist and Weather Discipline Program Manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). She received her Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Washington and her B.S. from Peking University.

Professor Su is the co-lead of the HKUST-FYBB#1 satellite project and currently leads the MUSICO (Multi-Spectral Imaging Carbon Observatory) project at HKUST. MUSICO is a lightweight, high-resolution greenhouse gas point-source monitoring payload aboard China’s Space Station, providing measurements of CO₂ and CH₄ concentrations for selected point sources across latitudes from 42°S to 42°N.

Her research interests centre on extreme weather, climate change, and remote sensing. She has published over 160 peer-reviewed articles. In 2024, she received the Banner I. Miller Award from the American Meteorological Society. She was twice awarded the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal (2010, 2022), received JPL’s Edward Stone Award (2021), and was honoured with the Lew Allen Award for Excellence in 2008.

Professor Su serves as a Member of the WCRP CLIVAR/GEWEX Global Monsoons Panel and as Co-Chair of the Global Precipitation Experiment Working Group 2 (Precipitation Data). She is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society and the Asia Oceania Geosciences Society, and serves as an Editor for Geophysical Research Letters and Communications Earth & Environment.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

• I aim to improve extreme rainfall forecast in Hong Kong and contribute to the city’s climate resilience.
• I also aim to use satellite data to help Hong Kong to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Prof Kenneth LEUNG is the Director of Sustainability/Net-Zero Office at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Prior to joining the university, he was the Principal Assistant Secretary (Air Policy) at the Environment and Ecology Bureau and Assistant Director (Air Policy) at the Environmental Protection Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Prof Leung obtained his PhD in mechanical engineering from Imperial College London and has expertise in combustion science, air quality management, environmental impact assessment, policy formulation relating to climate change, electric vehicles and new energy applications.

My Sustainability Goals for 2026:

• Establish a food waste processing facility at HKUST to upscale waste to valuable products.
• Establish a carbon emissions calculation framework for the shipping sector.