Dr. Joanne YEUNG
楊作衡
Interdisciplinary sustainability strategist
跨學科可持續性策略顧問
Deeply moved by “The Story of Mr. Earth”, a short video about the destiny of the Earth, Joanne has committed to finding sustainable formula for curing Mr. Earth since she was a kid. After graduating from Stanford University, she has been working with stakeholders in the public and private sectors to bring environmental innovations to business operations and public policy. She led numerous international collaboration in projects on environmental biotechnology and informatics, water technology, carbon management, product development and consultancy in green technologies and sustainability strategy. Upon her return to academia as a Research Assistant Professor in The University of Hong Kong, she has initiated interdisciplinary research projects, including the application of advanced imaging and photonics technology for microplastics assessment, to bring experts from multiple disciplines to develop innovative solutions to address pressing environmental issues.
楊作衡（Joanne）深受有關地球命運的短片「地球先生的故事」所感動，從小就致力於尋找治癒地球先生的可持續配方。從史丹福大學畢業後，她一直跟公共和私營部門的持份者合作，將環境創新帶入公共政策和企業營運中。 她發起了許多國際合作計劃，涉及環境生物技術和資訊學、淨水科技、低碳管理、產品開發以及綠色技術和可持續性戰略顧問等項目。 回到香港大學擔任研究助理教授後，她開始了跨學科研究項目，包括將先進的成像和光子學技術應用於微塑料評估，以吸引來自多個學科的專家開發創新的解決方案，以解決迫切的環境問題。
The journey of a piece of microplastics
About the Talk
講座內容
Once hailed as one of the greatest invention in the 20th century, the high durability, bio-inertness and low thermal conductivity of plastics make it an ideal material for a wide variety of household goods, clothing, packaging and personal care products. Nonetheless, these very same properties also turn plastics into a nightmare for the environment. Plastics are now found in almost every corner of the planet Earth and in the body of many microbes, organisms and human beings. While the public focuses on the ecotoxicology of microplastics, their linkage to climate change should not be neglected. In this talk, I will bring the audience to follow the footprint of a piece of plastics from its birth to death to have a better understanding of how its life is closely tied to the planet’s destiny, and more importantly, how interdisciplinary collaboration will be critical for us and the future generations to tackle the challenges posed by the plastics.
塑膠一度被譽為二十世紀最偉大發明之一，它耐用、生物穩定、隔熱，廣泛應用於生活用品、衣物、包裝及個人護理產品。然而，塑膠的特性正是環境噩耗。今日，全球幾乎每一個角落，微生物、動植物以至人類體內皆有塑膠存在。固然，公眾對微塑膠環境毒理十分關注，其與氣候變化關係亦不可忽略。演講中，我講帶領聽眾，透過追蹤一塊塑料，深入介紹塑料與地球的命運，以及跨領域合作對我們及後代處理塑膠帶來挑戰的必要。
Click the link below to watch Joanne's video on Ted.com
點按以下連結前往Ted.com觀看Joanne的演講吧！
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