On 5-7 December 2012, an international conference on Performance-based and Life-cycle Structural Engineering (PLSE) was held at the Regal Kowloon Hotel. Co-organized by the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) and the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD), the conference is the first in a series on a new direction of structural engineering research and practice. The conference included about 240 presentations and attracted almost 300 people from 25 countries.

The opening ceremony was officiated by Ms Marjorie Mun-tak Yang, Council Chairman of PolyU, and Prof. Jin-Guang Teng, Dean of FCE and Director of RISUD. In her welcome address, Ms Yang spoke of FCE’s dynamic history in shaping the transformation of Hong Kong into a bustling metropolis. She pointed out the unique role that Hong Kong has in contributing to the development of sustainable cities in the Chinese mainland as well as the remarkable fit between the conference theme and the strategic focus of PolyU on urban sustainability. Praising the goal for a sustainable urban infrastructure as a noble and necessary one, she enthused about the establishment of RISUD earlier this year and its aspirations for becoming a world leader in this field.

The conference program included 9 keynote lectures, 35 invited presentations, 11 mini-symposia and 13 parallel sessions on specialized topics. Below are details of the keynote speakers and their lecture topics.

With the financial support of half a dozen leading organizations, such as the Croucher Foundation, Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited, Chun Wo Development Holdings Limited, Gammon Construction Limited, Paul Y. Engineering Group Limited, and Vantage International (Holdings) Limited, the conference was a great success in bringing together industry practitioners and engineering scholars for the exchange of ideas related to the theme of the conference. The presentation of nearly 240 papers was well received by those in attendance. Numerous discussions were generated. New friendships were made and old acquaintances renewed.

Website: www.polyu.edu.hk/fce/plse2012/

To attract outstanding PhD graduates for world-class research, the Faculty of Construction and Environment launched a Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme where candidates can apply to work on projects led by our academics in 2011/12. Half of funding required comes from FCE, while the other half comes from the relevant department. In this academic year, 5 projects have been selected for support. Below are their details:

Dept	Principal Investigator	Co-Investigator(s)	PDF Candidate	Project Title	Decision and Amount of Matching Funding
BRE	Prof. Albert CHAN	Dr Esther CHEUNG (HKU) Dr Binqing ZHAI (Xian JTU)	Dr Irene WONG	Evaluating the Economic, Social, and Cultural Impacts of Revitalizing Industrial Buildings in Hong Kong	Supported BRE: $157,500 FCE: $157,500
BSE	Prof. J.L. NIU	Dr Fu XIAO (BSE)	Dr Shuo ZHANG	Development of Advanced Thermal Energy Storage Technologies	Supported BSE: $157,500 FCE: $157,500
CEE	Prof. Tao WANG	Prof. Scot T. MARTIN (SEAS) Dr H. GUO (CEE)	Dr Zhe WANG	Heterogeneous Production of Atmospheric Secondary Aerosol in Subtropical Hong Kong	Supported CEE: $157,500 FCE: $157,500
CEE	Prof. Y.L. XU	N.A.	Dr Jia HE	Structural Health Monitoring and Damage Detection of Building Structures Subjected to Multiple Hazards Effects	Supported CEE: $126,000 FCE: $126,000
CEE	Prof. X.D. LI	N.A.	Dr Junjun ZHANG	Mercury Isotope Fractionation by Biological Transport in Aquatic Systems	Supported CEE: $163,500 FCE: $163,500

Congratulations to them all.

As part of its Early Career Scheme, the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC) rewards promising scholars in the early stages of their careers. Launched in 2011, the scheme attracted more than 300 applicants. In its inaugural year, the Early Career Award was given to 19 scholars from local universities, who were honoured at a dinner on 12 December 2012 for their outstanding achievements. Among them was Dr George Zhizhao Liu, an Assistant Professor from the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics. The project that led to his award was entitled “Innovative Real-Time Cycle Slip Detection and Rectification for High Precision GPS Positioning” and proposed an innovative algorithm for processing Global Positioning Systems (GPS)/Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) to enhance the precision and reliability of GPS/GNSS solutions.

Since GPS/GNSS have become the dominant technologies for precise Positioning, Navigation, Velocity and Timing (PNaVT), they have been successfully used in solving many scientific and engineering problems such as earthquake monitoring, structure health monitoring, atmospheric water vapor observation, space weather ionosphere studies, aircraft navigation and precision landing, human and logistics navigation and tracking, among others. In addition, millions of consumers routinely use smart phones with GPS/GNSS and in-car navigation systems. Many applications demand GPS solutions with very high precision (millimeter level) and reliability. For instance, a probability of 99.99999% meeting the specified precision and reliability is often required in aircraft landing applications. However, the occurrence of cycle slips in GPS/GNSS precise carrier phase measurements has been constantly threatening the reliability and precision of GPS/GNSS solutions. By proposing the use of ionospheric total electron contents rate (TECR), a type of physical information often ignored in the past, to detect and rectify cycle slips in GPS/GNSS measurements, Dr Liu ensures the precision and reliability of GPS/GNSS PNaVT solutions. Kudos to Dr Liu for his award.

On the afternoon of 14 December 2012, a presentation ceremony for the winners of the President’s Awards and Faculty/School Awards was held at the Jockey Club Auditorium of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. 5 academics and 1 non-academic staff from the Faculty of Construction and Environment were honored with Faculty Awards. For his excellent teaching, Dr Joseph Lai from the Department of Building Services Engineering was singled out for an individual award. Team teaching was also rewarded. The team who taught the subject “Construction Materials” enhanced students’ understanding with an online platform and animated videos. It was led by Prof. C. S. Poon of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Team members included Dr Kou Shicong, Ir Dr Wallace Wai Lok Lai, and Mr Wong King Hee. In the category for research, Dr Agachai Sumalee of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering was honoured for his prolific research and his scholarly activities worldwide. Congratulations to all the above winners.

On the afternoon of 8 December 2012, Dr Lam Ka-se of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering gave a public lecture in Cantonese on regional air pollution in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta area. Supported by the Research Grants Council, his lecture at the Hong Kong Science Museum is part of a series to inform the public about scientific issues. In particular, he summarized the research and developments related to the air quality problems in the region in the last two decades, drawing from basic scientific research to understand and address them. The important role that government policies in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta region have played in controlling emissions was discussed. It is expected that roadside air quality will improve but the problems of smog and photochemical smog will deteriorate.

On the morning of 1 December 2012, Dr Andy Wong and Dr Daniel Chan from the Department of Building and Real Estate led a technical seminar on the latest version of a new engineering contract that facilitates the implementation of sound project management principles and practices. Delivered at the invitation of the technical committee of the Hong Kong Federation of Electrical and Mechanical Contractors (HKFEMC), they shared their expertise with an audience of more than 120, including some senior government officials and representatives from the member organizations of HKFEMC. In particular, Dr Wong outlined (1) the rationale for this new contract, (2) its core clauses, optional clauses, and components, (3) the roles and duties of various contracting parties, and (4) compared its crucial provisions with the common standard forms of contracts in Hong Kong. Following his presentation, Dr Chan highlighted (1) the research findings on the benefits, difficulties, and factors for success in such contracts/ target cost contracting, (2) the management and assessment of their risks, (3) case studies of relevant projects in Hong Kong and the U.K., and (4) trends in their future development. Their seminar was well received by all who attended.

To meet the needs of executives in managing the city’s growing mall complexes, a new postgraduate programme in Shopping Mall Management has been jointly developed by PolyU’s Institute of Advanced Executive Education and the Link Management Limited (LML), a major employer of professionals in retail space management. The signing ceremony on the afternoon of 12 December 2012 was attended by Prof. Judy Tsui, PolyU’s Vice President for International and Executive Education, Prof. Eddie Hui of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), and George Hongchoy, CEO of LML, who is pleased to have partnered with PolyU in the launch of this development programme for working professionals.

Scheduled to commence in January 2013, the programme consists of eight subjects that can be completed in 2 years of part-time study on Saturdays.

Prof. Hui is responsible for the overall quality of the programme, which combines classroom learning with real life applications. The integration of theory and practice is especially appealing to LML, which is investing nearly HK$3,800,000 to support 70 of its employees in professional development by means of this innovative programme. Taught by industry practitioners as well as academics from BRE and the School of Accounting and Finance, students will sharpen their skills in corporate finance, managerial accounting, and real estate valuation.

On 6 December 2012, the academic staff of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics visited the headquarters of the Hong Kong Police Force in Wanchai to discuss ways that they can collaborate for mutual benefits. These include activities related to teaching, research, career paths for students, WIE etc. The opportunity to exchange information was appreciated by both parties.

Academic staff of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics

Two alumnae from the Department of Building and Real Estate have won awards in the annual Students Project Competition organized by the Safety Specialist Committee of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE). Ms Choi Nga Yee, Tracy, staved off competition for the championship in the postgraduate category with her project investigating the application and future development of the Pay for Safety Scheme (PFSS) in the Hong Kong construction industry. She will be honored at the HKIE-SSC annual dinner and award presentation ceremony on 11 January 2013 at the YMCA Salisbury in Tsim Sha Tsui. She was a student of Dr Daniel Chan, who also had another former student, Ms Law Ka Man, receiving a certificate of merit for evaluating the feasibility of implementing the PFSS in local private sector building projects. Congratulations to all of them.

Information Seminar on Postgraduate Scheme in Construction and Environment
Date & Time: 19 January 2013 (Saturday), 2:30 - 4:00 pm
Venue: Room AG710, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
For details and registration, please visit http://www.polyu.edu.hk/fce/events/20130119_msc_infoday/form.html

FCE Public Lecture:
Nanostructured Electrodes for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
Date & Time: 31 January 2013 (Thursday), 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Venue: Room M1603, Senate Room, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Website: http://www.polyu.edu.hk/fce/events/20130131_lecture/