Hong Kong

This course will study the design and analysis of exact and approximation algorithms for various optimization problems using advanced techniques such as combinatorial methods, probabilistic methods, linear programming, semidefinite programming, and spectral methods. The course also covers spectral algorithms and related convex programs, SDP duality, multiplicative weight update, graph spectrum, eigenvalue interlacing, Cheeger–Alon–Milman inequality, random walks, local graph partitioning, expanders, Laplacian solver, effective resistance, sparsification, matrix scaling, abstract simplicial complex, and random spanning trees.

This course discusses statistical mechanics and thermodynamics in the advanced undergraduate level with vigorous mathematical treatment. It serves as a core course for physics major students as well as an elective core for those who are interested to gain a deep understanding of statistical mechanics and thermodynamics and to apply related techniques in their own majors. This is also an essential course for those who plan to pursue postgraduate studies in physics or related disciplines. Both conceptual ideas and mathematical treatment are emphasized. Topics include: Elements of Ensemble Theory, Boltzmann, Fermi and Bose-Einstein statistics. Partition function and the laws of Thermodynamics. Disorder and entropy; concept of temperature; the free energy. Density of states. Classical gas, electrons in metals, and black body radiation. Heat capacities. Thermal properties of magnetic systems. Assessment: assignments, final exam, test, lab reports.

This course examines the rapidly emerging functional food/nutraceutical industry with an emphasis on the history, regulation, chemical basis and quality control of  healthy ingredients/products and their effects on human health. It covers concepts, history and global regulations of functional foods and nutraceuticals; classification of functional foods and nutraceuticals based on their chemical structures; unsaturated fatty acids, proteins, food pigments and dietary fibers as healthy food ingredients; health benefits of dietary phenolics, terpenes, phytosterols and sulphur-containing compounds; probiotics and prebiotics; small berries, spices, teas and herbs for health; and quality control and assurance of functional foods and nutraceuticals.

This course examines everyday ethical questions through the lens of different scales of human relationships. It will examine five key relationships through cross-cultural perspectives: (1) with oneself—including self-care, self-forgiveness, and conscience; (2) with friendship and dating; (3) with one’s immediate community—including family and professional life; (4) the larger society in which one lives—including social media and the politics of respect; and (5) with the transcendence of mystery, the divine, and the sacred—including urban space and the ecological other with which we participate.