Education plan

See also Opportunities.

For undergraduates, we aim to offer participation in the project via the following 5-8 projects, to be available at suitable points in the 3-year grant:

  • One or two Final Year / Graduation Thesis Project(s) in Chemistry. Focus is on methods for air sampling and Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry [GCMS]. Air samples will be collected at the sites of the proposed project, i.e. places for Street food, Chinese temples, and Wet markets. Initial analysis will be ‘blind’ to data reference (no identification of chemical compounds required) and focus on classification using machine learning methods such as principal component analysis [PCA], support vector machines [SVM], or neural networks (linked to Objective 1);
  • One Final Year / Graduation Thesis Project in Chemistry. Focus is on methods for identifying and analysising GCMS data (‘smellprints’) (linked to Objectives 1 and 2);
  • One or two Final Year / Graduation Thesis (Chemistry or Creative Media) on methods for encoding and decoding ‘smellprints’, i.e. GCMS data as described above. Methods for encoding will seek to be efficacious and parsimonious, and directed towards exploratory methods for decoding, i.e. replication of complex olfactory mixtures in the laboratory (linked to Objective 2);
  • One Final Year / Graduation Thesis Project in Creative Media, to research methods for presenting decoded ‘smellprints’ in a public setting, i.e. designing a physical exhibition of smellscapes (linked to Objective 2 and 4);
  • One or two Final Year / Graduation Thesis Project(s) in Creative Media. This project  will explore methods for presenting audiovisual, textual, and other material available at that point in the multimodal database, in a suitable VR setting e.g. with head mounted displays or on the Internet (linked to Objectives 1 and 4).

Additionally, for suitably talented undergraduates (Chemistry or Creative Media), we will explore the options to supervise 1-2 “Research Experience for Undergraduate Students”, along the lines of the projects outlined above. Note however that the Budget does not, at this point, make provisions for any associated costs, in the interest of keeping the total sum within moderate limits.

Additionally, for MFA students in Creative Media, and depending on suitable candidates, we will explore the options to supervise 1-3 projects under SM5315 Independent Study 1 and/or SM6310 Independent Study 2, along the lines of the projects outlined above.

For PhD, we welcome candidates with a suitable background and who express a keen interest in ‘Multimodal Hong Kong’. In particular, we will be favourable to interdisciplinary candidates, combining, for example, biochemistry, or urban studies, with creative media.