UTM Life

UTM’s Dr. Sonny Su is guiding students in using digital data to make a positive impact

UTM Assistant Professor Dr. Sonny Su Qinglang
中文摘要 / Summary in Chinese
In a data-driven era, industries that can handle and analyse it efficiently are the ones most likely to ensure product quality and the boosting of profitability. At UTM, Assistant Professor Dr. Sonny Su wants to make sure students are sufficiently literate in data science to apply such knowledge across disciplines including tourism and heritage management, as well as other fields

UTM Assistant Professor Dr. Sonny Su Qinglang boasts no fewer than five national-level patents to his name. The scholar received three of them in 2022 for digital microscopy lens innovation, making possible – as an example – non-invasive analysis of heritage-related artefacts and materials.

The other two national patents were received last year and relate to point cloud 3D modelling and image enhancement. Those innovations can be used in heritage management and conservation, for creation of highly-accurate 3D scale models of monuments and other structures. Such models can be used, for instance, for detecting damage and analysing likely deformation in the real-life structures.

At UTM, Dr. Su is linked to the Faculty of Creative Tourism and Intelligent Technologies. One of his teaching fields is data science: a multidisciplinary approach to analysing large amounts of data.

He emphasises in his classes that it is “very important” for future-proof professionals to be able to master the logic of data analysis. “With the vast amount of data available,” relevant portions of it “must be clearly identified and selected for analysis in order to maximise the effectiveness of data visualisation,” he tells his students.

One of Dr. Su’s concerns is to ensure students have a solid foundation in mathematics, statistics, and computer science. These are basic elements for success when using data science techniques to analyse large, complex datasets, develop predictive models, and communicate results effectively, he explains.

However, the scholar highlights that students should look at ‘big data’ usage with a critical mind. That includes being aware of its limitations, being concerned about the ethical implications of such a type of science, and endeavouring to use data science to make a positive impact on society.

Dr. Su has a variety of key research topics. That selection includes ‘smart’ traffic management, issues linked to ‘smart’ city development, systems engineering, digital image processing, and big-data processing and applications.

He has more than a decade of teaching experience in higher education institutions. He holds two doctoral degrees: one in Electrical and Electronic Engineering in the field of Digital Image Processing, from the University of Central Lancashire in the United Kingdom; and a second one in Applied Psychology, obtained from the University of Macau.

As a scholar, Dr. Su has supervised the work of many postgraduate students. He has also been involved in more than 10 research projects, including as principal investigator. Some of those research projects were financed by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China, some by the Macao Government. His work has led to the publication of one book and many high-impact scholarly articles.

His professional experience outside academia includes stints as a systems engineer at the IGT brand, one of the world’s largest suppliers of casino equipment, and also as a technical sales manager of TransAct Technologies, a multinational company which delivers high-tech printers and advanced software products for casinos and gaming.

Editor: UTM Public Relations Team