nobel prize winner prof. sir konstantin novoselov gave a lecture at must
organized by the macau university of science and technology (must), the “masters of science and technology” lecture series on “advanced materials for sustainability, energy, new computing and telecommunication” was successfully held oon the afternoon of november 14, 2024, in auditorium n101 of must. the lecture was delivered by prof. sir konstantin novoselov, 2010 nobel prize laureate in physics, honoree of the chinese government friendship award 2021, fellow of the royal society, the langworthy professor of physics and the royal society research professor at the university of manchester, tan chin tuan centennial professor at the national university of singapore (nus), and distinguished professor of macau university of science and technology.
before the lecture began, vice-chancellor and president of must, chair prof. joseph hun-wei lee, delivered a speech by video, and vice-president dr. tong ka lok presented a souvenir to prof. sir konstantin novoselov.
vice-president tong ka lok (right) presents a souvenir to prof. sir konstantin novoselov (left)
the main guests attended this lecture included: mr. carlos roberto xavier, head of the department of tertiary education of the macao sar government education and youth development bureau; ms. cen jiayi, director of the department of education and youth affairs of the liaison office of the central people’s government in the macao sar; mr. sin weng hong, acting head of technology application and support division of the government of the macao sar - economic and technological development bureau; dr. liu chak wan, chancellor of must; dr. tong ka lok, vice-president of must; prof. aliana, leong man wai, associate vice-president of must; prof. ge qi, deputy director of centre for advanced 2d material, national university of singapore; and mr. luke lin, chairman of the singapore united tower group.
prof. sir konstantin novoselov
at the beginning of the lecture, prof. novoselov introduced the importance of “materials” to the development of human society by asking the question, “what breakthroughs can we expect from future technologies?” he then used the example of the periodic table of elements to illustrate that the skillful utilization of a single material can lead to various challenges, such as financial problems. prof. novoselov also mentioned the limitations in the development of computer technology and the solutions to them, including the exploration of new composite materials that can be combined and upgraded to provide more functionality. he suggested that the materials of the future will be living materials that can adapt and repair themselves according to the environment.
the professor then explained the design process of new materials that do not exist in nature and their applications in politics, telecommunication, computing, and many other fields. he illustrated the need for new materials research by citing the cost of energy production in biofuel cells and the impact of new material inputs on healthcare and biology. prof. novoselov also pointed out that as ai continues to evolve, databases are constantly being updated, new methods of computation are being innovated, and more new materials are being developed to advance ai systems. these newly developed ai systems, in turn, help human beings create new materials, thus creating a cycle of continuous renewal, which will greatly benefit the future development of humanity.
during the q&a session, a student asked prof. novoselov about his views on 2d transistors. prof. novoselov believes that the problem is not with the individual transistors themselves, but with their integration. the main challenge now is how to combine them with other materials and apply them to a wide range of applications.