On June 11, 2024, the Imaging Systems Laboratory at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) hosted a significant workshop titled “Optical and Computational Technologies to Combat Microplastics and Nanoplastics Pollution.” The event took place in Room 603 of the Chow Yei Ching Building and was attended by experts from various institutions, aiming to address the growing concerns surrounding microplastics pollution.
The workshop commenced at 10:00 AM following a half-hour registration period and featured a series of enlightening talks from notable academics. Prof. Edmund Lam from HKU opened the session with a welcoming message, setting the tone for a day focused on innovative solutions and scientific advancements.
The first presentation of the day was delivered by Prof. Patrick Lee from City University (CityU), who discussed the microbial ecosystems associated with microplastics in aquatic environments and their broader ecological impacts. Following Prof. Lee, the floor was taken by Prof. Kevin Tsia from HKU, who introduced the audience to the challenges and developments in petabyte-scale optofluidic imaging and analytics.
Mid-morning discussions were led by Dr. Wa Tat Yan from the Hong Kong Marine Environmental Agency (HKMEA), who provided insights from the perspective of marine biology. Dr. Jianqing Huang from HKU then detailed a pioneering approach using a portable polarization holographic imaging system designed for in-situ detection of microplastics.
After a lunch break, the workshop resumed with a presentation from Dr. Derek Ho of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), who presented a comprehensive survey on the presence of microplastics across various ecosystems and organisms. This was followed by a presentation on ultrafast coherent Raman techniques by Najia Sharmin from HKU, emphasizing rapid detection and imaging techniques for microplastics identification.
The final talk was given by Shaopeng Xu from CityU, discussing the environmental risks associated with tire additives in water bodies. The workshop concluded with a panel discussion led by Prof. Edmund Lam, focusing on summarizing the day’s findings and discussing future research directions.
The workshop underscored the Imaging Systems Laboratory’s commitment to advancing scientific research and developing technologies to tackle environmental challenges, particularly in the realm of microplastics pollution. The event facilitated a productive exchange of ideas and fostered collaboration among leading scientists and researchers.