PolyU's State Key Laboratories: Ultra-precision Machining and Climate Resilience for Coastal Cities

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) comprehensive information database · 04 Research module PolyU hosts State Key Laboratories (SKLs) accredited by the central government — a mark of national-level endorsement of its research strength. This article focuses on PolyU's two current SKLs — Ultra-precision Machining Technology and Climate Resilience for Coastal Cities — examining their positioning, research directions and cross-border footprint, and documenting the history of the "Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery" laboratory through the 2023 restructuring. For an overview of research institutes, see institutes-and-labs.md. Information is drawn primarily from PolyU's official pages, PolyU publications and the Research and Innovation Office; laboratory names and branch layouts follow the latest official pages.

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# 1. What are "State Key Laboratories" and how did PolyU's evolve?

State Key Laboratories (SKLs) are national-level research bases established by China in priority research fields, representing the national research standard in their respective areas. From the 2000s onward, Hong Kong universities were successively permitted to establish or host SKLs (some upgraded/renamed from existing "partner laboratories"). According to a PolyU publication report^※, in 2018 Hong Kong's 16 partner laboratories uniformly dropped the "Partner" prefix and were renamed "State Key Laboratories"; PolyU had two at the time: Ultra-precision Machining Technology and Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery.

Subsequently, the central government launched a new round of restructuring reviews in 2023. According to PolyU's Research and Innovation Office (RIO), on 25 August 2025, following review by the Ministry of Science and Technology, PolyU's State Key Laboratory system completed its reorganisation^※. PolyU's current core SKLs are two:

Source strength: The "two renamed as State Key Laboratories" (2018), the restructuring beginning in 2023, and the completion of the reorganisation on 25.8.2025 are all documented in PolyU publications and RIO materials.

The name changed with the restructuring. After the 2025 reorganisation, official usage increasingly favours "National Key Laboratory" over the earlier "State Key Laboratory" — both refer to the same system; the 2025 batch simply standardised on the term "National." According to a China News Service report^※, on 25 August 2025 the Hong Kong SAR government held a unified plaque-presentation ceremony for the territory's 15 National Key Laboratories, with Chief Executive John Lee attending and speaking. This article follows the "State Key Laboratory" phrasing commonly used on PolyU's official pages; the two terms are interchangeable in this context.

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# 2. The 2025 territory-wide "National Key Laboratory" landscape: distribution of the 15 and PolyU's position

One-line answer: The 2025 restructuring adjusted the territory-wide total from 16 laboratories in earlier years to 15 (12 reorganised from old laboratories, 3 newly established). PolyU holds two seats within this: Ultra-precision Machining Technology (independently) and Climate Resilience for Coastal Cities (jointly with HKUST).

According to Global Times coverage^※ and a Bauhinia Magazine report^※, the distribution of the 15 National Key Laboratories across the five local universities in 2025 is:

According to the Bauhinia Magazine report^※, the Innovation and Technology Commission continues to provide HK$20 million per year to each laboratory, while the host university must contribute matching funds of no less than 20% of the Innovation and Technology Fund amount (i.e., no less than HK$4 million); approved laboratories must set out a five-year work plan with stage goals and performance indicators, reporting progress to the Commission annually.

Source strength: The total of 15, the 12 reorganised/3 newly established split, and the per-university distribution all appear in China News Service and Global Times reports; the funding figures (HK$20M/year + matching ≥HK$4M) come from the Bauhinia Magazine report.

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# 3. State Key Laboratory of Ultra-precision Machining Technology (SKL-UPMT)

# 3.1 Positioning and research directions

The State Key Laboratory of Ultra-precision Machining Technology (SKL-UPMT) focuses on ultra-precision manufacturing and precision metrology — a core capability of high-end manufacturing involving optical components, precision moulds and micro/nano structures requiring nanometre- or sub-nanometre-level precision. According to the SKL-UPMT website and PolyU departmental materials, the laboratory was approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2009, serving as PolyU's national-level platform for precision engineering. Its research spans ultra-precision manufacturing technologies applied across aerospace, semiconductors, optics, telecommunications and energy. The current Director is Prof. Benny C. F. Cheung (张志辉), Chair Professor of Ultra-precision Machining and Metrology.

According to the SKL-UPMT research directions page^※, the laboratory now organises its work into five research directions:

These five directions trace a complete chain from "mechanism research → process development → precision verification → equipment manufacturing → industrial crossover" — from understanding how material is removed at the nanometre scale to converting that understanding into equipment that can be produced at scale.

# 3.2 Representative achievements

SKL-UPMT has earned recognition at both international and national levels. According to a PolyU publication report^※, the laboratory received the 2017 IET Innovation Awards in the Manufacturing Technology category for its "in-situ multi-sensor 3D precision manufacturing metrology system"; separately, the team's research on modelling and characterising nanometre surface generation in ultra-precision machining has earned a Second Class Award in Natural Science from China's Ministry of Education.

At the technology level, according to a European Business & Finance Magazine report^※, the team led by Prof. Sandy To (杜诗) has developed a laser-magnetic field dual-energy-field assisted diamond cutting technology (LMDFDC) that enhances machined surface quality, reduces subsurface damage to materials and tool wear through synergistic multi-energy-field action, and is suited to difficult-to-machine high-performance materials. The laboratory has also developed, per a PRWeb report^※, a high-efficiency, high-quality ultra-precision polishing technology (MJP) for complex freeform surfaces, applicable to high-precision optical components, moulds, aerospace parts, automotive systems, semiconductor fabrication plants and biomedical engineering. These technology-translation pathways echo the industry-academia-research model documented in PolyU's InnoHK and knowledge transfer.

# 3.3 A cross-border "one hub, multiple nodes" footprint

A distinctive feature of SKL-UPMT is its cross-border distributed structure. According to the laboratory's official facilities page^※, the laboratory comprises:

• Main laboratory: at PolyU's Hung Hom campus;
• Branch laboratories: at the Hong Kong Science Park and the Shenzhen Virtual University Park;
• Wenzhou Research Centre: the "Ultra-precision Manufacturing Technology Research Centre (Wenzhou)" housed within PolyU's Wenzhou Technological Innovation Research Institute, occupying over 1,700 square metres.

According to the SKL-UPMT metrology equipment page^※, the laboratory is equipped with precision metrology and inspection instruments used to verify the accuracy of ultra-precision machining — machining and metrology are mutually reinforcing: without nanometre-level measurement capability, nanometre-level machining results cannot be validated.

Source strength: The 2009 establishment, Director Cheung, branch layout, Wenzhou centre area (over 1,700 m²) and metrology facilities all appear on SKL-UPMT's official pages; the five research directions appear on the SKL-UPMT research directions page; awards and the LMDFDC/MJP technologies appear in PolyU publications, European Business & Finance Magazine and PRWeb reports.

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# 4. State Key Laboratory of Climate Resilience for Coastal Cities (SKL-CRCC)

According to a PolyU press release, this is PolyU's newest State Key Laboratory, jointly established by PolyU and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) — approved as a State Key Laboratory by the Ministry of Science and Technology on 25 August 2025, and formally inaugurated on 4 December 2025 at PolyU's Hotel ICON^※. The Director is PolyU's Prof. Xiang-dong Li (李向东) and the Co-Director is HKUST's Prof. Charles Ng Wang-Wai (吴宏伟), with research focusing on the resilience of coastal cities in responding to climate change.

This is PolyU's first SKL jointly established with another local university — in contrast to SKL-UPMT's "single university leads, branches set up across borders" model, SKL-CRCC adopts a "two universities co-build, joint governance" structure, reflecting the inherently interdisciplinary and cross-institutional nature of climate resilience: coastal city climate adaptation spans civil engineering, marine science, urban planning and environmental policy, fields in which PolyU's and HKUST's strengths are complementary.

# 4.1 Six research directions

According to the PolyU press release^※, SKL-CRCC's research spans six directions:

These six directions string "meteorological science — civil engineering — coastal engineering — public policy" into a complete chain, echoing the stated position of Director Li and Co-Director Ng: "the data collected through various research programmes will significantly enhance the accuracy of predictions and response capabilities of coastal cities to extreme weather in the future"^※ (as quoted in the PolyU press release).

# 4.2 Inauguration symposium and international networks

According to the PolyU press release, a two-day international symposium was held on the day of SKL-CRCC's inauguration, with around 30 invited speakers from leading universities in Hong Kong, mainland China, Asia, Europe, the Americas and Australia^※, covering topics including marine heatwaves, earthquakes, urban water management and AI applications. According to the press release, the laboratory's positioning aligns with the national "National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change 2035", serving Hong Kong's climate-resilient city development goals. Such international research collaboration networks align with PolyU's overall international research footprint described in 04 Research · Research Impact and International Networks.

Source strength: The 25.8.2025 approval, 4.12 inauguration, joint establishment with HKUST, Director Li/Co-Director Ng, six research directions, symposium scale and alignment with the national strategy all appear in the PolyU press release.

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# 5. Historical note: the State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery

According to PolyU's 2018 materials, the university's two State Key Laboratories at the time were Ultra-precision Machining Technology and Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery. According to the PolyU "Research Laboratories, Institutes and Centres" page^※, the latter originated from the "State Key Laboratory of Chiral Science — Partner Laboratory" approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology at the end of 2010, established as a partner of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry "State Key Laboratory of Bio-organic and Natural Products Chemistry," before being renamed to its current title; its research focuses on organic synthesis and catalysis, chemical biology and related diagnostics.

Chemical biology and drug discovery is a crucial link between basic science and the pharmaceutical industry — although PolyU has no medical school, through this laboratory it once maintained national-level research capability in drug discovery, bioactive molecules and disease mechanisms, which together with its rehabilitation, nursing and other health disciplines (see 01 Academics · Rehabilitation and Health) formed PolyU's research landscape of "no medical school, yet deep engagement with health and life sciences."

Source strength: The 2018 listing appears in PolyU publications; the 2010 partner laboratory origin, renaming and research directions appear on PolyU's official research institutions page; the restructuring from 2023 and the current two SKLs appear in PolyU RIO materials.

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# 6. Placing the SKLs in PolyU's research landscape

PolyU's State Key Laboratories, together with its achievements in aerospace research (see aerospace-and-space.md), advanced textiles and new materials (see materials-and-textile-breakthroughs.md), and the interdisciplinary research academy PAIR (see pair-interdisciplinary-research.md), constitute a research identity that is "application-oriented, industry-facing":

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# 7. Frequently asked questions (Q&A)

Q1: How do PolyU's two State Key Laboratories compare with those of other Hong Kong universities?

According to China News Service^※ and Global Times^※, after the 2025 restructuring Hong Kong has 15 National Key Laboratories in total (an adjustment from the 16 of 2018; 12 reorganised from old laboratories, 3 newly established), distributed as HKU 5, CUHK 4, CityU 2, HKUST 2 independent + 1 joint with PolyU, and PolyU 1 independent + 1 joint with HKUST. By the "participation" count PolyU holds two (Ultra-precision Machining Technology, Climate Resilience for Coastal Cities), comparable in number to CityU and HKUST but fewer than HKU and CUHK — consistent with PolyU's discipline structure as an engineering-oriented, non-comprehensive university.

Q2: What are the main application scenarios of the State Key Laboratory of Ultra-precision Machining Technology (SKL-UPMT)?

According to the SKL-UPMT website, its technologies are applied mainly across aerospace, semiconductors, optics, telecommunications and energy — five fields. Specifically: ultra-precision grinding and polishing of optical components (lenses, mirrors); nanometre-level surface machining of aerospace instrument parts; precision dicing and planarisation of semiconductor substrates (wafers); and fabrication of micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) components. The laboratory's LMDFDC laser-magnetic field assisted diamond cutting technology and MJP polishing technology (see Section 3.2 above) are already used in high-precision optical components, moulds and biomedical engineering.

Q3: What impact did the 2023 restructuring of State Key Laboratories have on PolyU?

According to PolyU RIO materials, from 2023 the central government launched a new round of restructuring reviews for all SKLs at Hong Kong universities, completed on 25 August 2025 with the unified plaque presentation under the "National Key Laboratory" title. Outcomes: the status of the "State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery" changed; simultaneously, the newly established "State Key Laboratory of Climate Resilience for Coastal Cities" (jointly with HKUST) was approved on the same day. Overall, PolyU retains two SKLs, but their composition differs from 2018 and the title has been standardised to "National Key Laboratory."

Q4: Is a "State Key Laboratory" the same as a "National Key Laboratory"?

Yes. According to China News Service, the 2025 batch of restructured and plaque-awarded laboratories uniformly adopted the name "National Key Laboratory," replacing the previously used "State Key Laboratory" phrasing across regions. Both refer to the same national-level research platform system; this article uses the two terms interchangeably depending on context.

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