Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 15, 2026

Pan Hui

Pan Hui is a computer scientist specializing in mobile computing, networking, augmented reality and data science. He received B.Eng. and M.Phil. degrees from the University of Hong Kong and a PhD from the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory. He holds the Nokia Chair in Data Science and is Professor of Computer Science at the University of Helsinki. He also holds professorships at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), where he directs the Center for Metaverse and Computational Creativity. He was an ACM Distinguished Scientist in 2016, elected a Fellow of the IEEE in 2018, is a member of the Academia Europaea, and became an International Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2020.

Last revised
Jul 15, 2026
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Pan Hui
Hui in 2020
Alma materUniversity of Hong Kong (B.Eng., M.Phil.)
University of Cambridge (PhD)2
Scientific career
FieldsMobile computing
Networking
Augmented reality
Data science
InstitutionsUniversity of Helsinki
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
ThesisPeople are the network: experimental design and evaluation of social-based forwarding algorithms (2008)
Jon Crowcroft1

Pan Hui (Chinese: 許彬3) is a computer scientist specializing in mobile computing, networking, augmented reality and data science. He received B.Eng. and M.Phil. degrees from the University of Hong Kong and a PhD from the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory. He holds the Nokia Chair in Data Science and is Professor of Computer Science at the University of Helsinki. He also holds professorships at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), where he directs the Center for Metaverse and Computational Creativity. He was an ACM Distinguished Scientist in 2016,4 elected a Fellow of the IEEE in 2018,5 is a member of the Academia Europaea,6 and became an International Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2020.7

Research

Hui holds the Nokia Chair in Data Science at the University of Helsinki, a professorship established through a Nokia Bell Labs Endowment.8 His research spans opportunistic networking, mobile offloading, augmented reality, the metaverse, and the use of AI in education.

Opportunistic networking

Hui's early research examined human mobility patterns and their implications for delay-tolerant network design. A 2005 paper at the ACM SIGCOMM Workshop on Delay-Tolerant Networking introduced the concept of pocket switched networks based on measurements of contact patterns at conferences.9 A follow-up study in IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing found that inter-contact times between mobile devices follow a power-law distribution, contradicting the exponential model assumed in earlier forwarding algorithms.10

Mobile offloading

During research collaboration with Deutsche Telekom, Hui contributed to work on offloading computation from mobile devices to cloud and edge servers. This included ThinkAir, a system for dynamic resource allocation and parallel execution in the cloud for mobile code offloading, presented at IEEE INFOCOM 2012.11

Metaverse and augmented reality

His work on augmented reality contributed to CloudAR, an open software development kit for mobile augmented reality applications.12 His research on AR/VR applications covers augmented driving, gesture control, social interaction, visual privacy protection, and assistive technologies for the elderly and visually impaired.13 He served on the Global Future Council on the Future of the Metaverse at the World Economic Forum.14 He leads the MetaHKUST project at HKUST, which explores the use of extended reality (XR) in learning and infotainment, connecting the university's Clear Water Bay and Guangzhou campuses.1516

AI in education

In 2024, Hui and colleagues at HKUST developed AI-generated lecture avatars for a postgraduate course on social media and immersive technologies, including one modelled on Albert Einstein for a module on game theory.1718 A 2025 article in Nature reported that students responded more positively to photorealistic avatars than to stylized ones.19 A co-authored paper from the project was included in a Forbes list of notable AI education research publications of 2025.20

SURREALITY

Hui is the founder and curator of SURREALITY (幻實之境), a series of digital art exhibitions combining mixed reality, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence presented at HKUST campuses since 2025.2122

References

References

  1. "Phd Family Tree of Jon's". Retrieved 2 Dec 2020.
  2. "Prof. Pan Hui - Hong Kong University of Science and Technology". panhui.people.ust.hk. Retrieved 2026-03-10.
  3. "Pan Hui (Finland)".
  4. "Pan Hui ACM Distinguished Member". Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  5. "IEEE Computer Society Members Elevated to Fellow for 2018". 12 April 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  6. "Academy of Europe: Hui Pan". Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  7. "Professor Dr Pan Hui FREng (Finland)". raeng.org.uk. Retrieved 2026-03-22.
  8. "Professor Pan Hui - University of Helsinki". www.cs.helsinki.fi. Retrieved 2026-03-22.
  9. Hui, Pan; Chaintreau, Augustin; Scott, James; Gass, Richard; Crowcroft, Jon; Diot, Christophe (2005). "Pocket switched networks and human mobility in conference environments". Proceeding of the 2005 ACM SIGCOMM workshop on Delay-tolerant networking - WDTN '05. ACM Press. pp. 244–251. doi:10.1145/1080139.1080142. ISBN 1595930264.
  10. Chaintreau, Augustin; Hui, Pan; Crowcroft, Jon; Diot, Christophe; Gass, Richard; Scott, James (2007). "Impact of Human Mobility on Opportunistic Forwarding Algorithms". IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing. 6 (6): 606–620. doi:10.1109/tmc.2007.1060. S2CID 206745317.
  11. Kosta, Sokol; Aucinas, Andrius; Mortier, Richard (2012). "ThinkAir: Dynamic resource allocation and parallel execution in the cloud for mobile code offloading". 2012 Proceedings IEEE INFOCOM. IEEE. pp. 945–953. doi:10.1109/infcom.2012.6195845. ISBN 978-1-4673-0775-8.
  12. Zhang, Wenxiao; Lin, Sikun; Bijarbooneh, Farshid Hassani; Cheng, Hao Fei; Hui, Pan (2017-10-23). "CloudAR". Proceedings of the on Thematic Workshops of ACM Multimedia 2017. New York, NY, USA: ACM. pp. 194–200. doi:10.1145/3126686.3126739. ISBN 9781450354165.
  13. Lee, Lik-Hang; Braud, Tristan; Hosio, Simo; Hui, Pan (2021-10-04). "Towards Augmented Reality Driven Human-City Interaction: Current Research on Mobile Headsets and Future Challenges". ACM Computing Surveys. 54 (8): 1–38. doi:10.1145/3467963.
  14. "Global Future Council on the Future of Metaverse". Retrieved 2023-10-29.
  15. "HKUST to Launch World's First Twin Campuses in Metaverse". hkust.edu.hk. Retrieved 2022-12-30.
  16. "Hong Kong University of Science and Technology to launch virtual reality class". South China Morning Post. 2022-07-28. Retrieved 2022-12-30.
  17. "Einstein and anime: Hong Kong university tests AI professors". Radio France Internationale. 2024-05-10.
  18. "AI-generated Einstein teaches students from a Hong Kong university about game theory". South China Morning Post. 2024-05-10.
  19. "What would an AI university look like and how might it change education?". Nature Index. 2025-12-10.
  20. "8 AI Research Papers Published In 2025 That Every Educator Should Read". Forbes. 2025-12-30.
  21. "HKUST campuses partner for cross-city digital art exhibition blending AI and mixed reality". The Standard. 2026-06-16.
  22. "科大辦混合實境「MR」及AI展覽". 明報 Ming Pao. 2026-06-16.