Issue 60 - October 2015

Table of Contents

• CEE Scholars to Lead Branches of Chinese National Engineering Research Centre at PolyU
• Sustainable Development of Beijing Promoted by Trilateral Collaboration
• University Fellowship Bestowed on Outstanding PolyU Alumnus
• AOAFST Lifetime Contribution Award for Head of BSE
• Funding for Large Equipment
  
• PolyU Micro Fund Awards
• Visit by the Beijing Jiaotong University
• FCE Awards for Outstanding PhD Thesis 2014/15
• FCE One-year Top-up Studentship Scheme
• PolyU Entry Scholarship Award Ceremony for International Students
• Entry Scholarships for Outstanding Local Admittees
• CIOB (HK) Outstanding Student Award for BRE Graduate
• Dean’s Honours List 2015
• 22nd FCE Students’ Association
• PolyU Education Info Day 2015
• Alumnus Shared Tips for Career Success
• LSGI Distinguished Lecture
• New Academic Staff
• Alumnus to Oversee Campus Development and Facilities
• Faculty Public Lectures
• Forthcoming Events

A signing ceremony to promote the sustainable development of Beijing and youth entrepreneurship was held on 16 October 2015 between PolyU, Beijing University of Technology (BUT), and Zhongguanchun Dongsheng Science Park. The trilateral collaboration was facilitated by the Leading Group for Beijing’s Talent Affairs, Office of Higher Education and Science & Technology Commission of the Municipal Government of Beijing and widely reported in the mainland media.

Representing PolyU were Prof. Angelina Yuen, Vice President (Institutional Advancement and Partnership), Prof. Keith Chan, Dean of Students, and Prof. You-lin Xu, Dean of the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE). Before the signing ceremony, Prof. Yuen had a chance to introduce the FCE professors who were on hand that day to participate in a round-table conference on the opportunities and challenges for the sustainable development of Beijing, while Prof. Xu shared his perspective on the work that could be done by PolyU and BUT in the areas of air pollution, wastewater treatment, intelligent transportation, hazards mitigation, smart cities, and low-carbon construction. Afterwards, six professors from each institution took turns discussing a range of related issues in the six research areas. Participating professors from FCE also included Prof. Geoffrey Shen, Associate Dean (Teaching) of FCE; Prof. William Lam, Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE); Prof. John Shi, Head of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI); Dr Hai Guo, and Dr Henry Lee, both of CEE. It is expected the conference cum signing ceremony will pave the way for further research collaboration.

Four years after being honoured with an Outstanding PolyU Alumni Award, Ir Prof. James Lau received a University Fellowship on 20 October 2015 for his significant contributions to PolyU and the community. Ir Prof. Lau graduated with a Higher Diploma in Structural Engineering in 1968 from PolyU’s predecessor, the Hong Kong Technical College, before earning two Master’s degrees and a PhD in the UK. He is Managing Director of James Lau & Associates Limited and Fong On Construction Limited. In 2009, he was awarded the Bronze Bauhinia Star. A strong supporter of education, he shares his valuable experience with students as an Adjunct Professor of several tertiary institutions, including PolyU.

PolyU began conferring University Fellowships on distinguished individuals in 2000. 91 people from different walks of life have received this honour so far. The conferment ceremony was officiated by Ms Marjorie Yang, Chairman of the PolyU Council.

At the 10th Asia-Oceania Symposium on Fire Science and Technology in Tsukuba, Japan, on 5-7 October 2015, Prof. Wan-ki Chow, Head of the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE), was honoured with a Lifetime Contribution Award by the Asia-Oceania Association for Fire Science and Technology (AOAFST). Previous recipients of the award included Prof. T. Hirano of the University of Tokyo and Prof. Weicheng Fan of the University of Science and Technology of China, who are all renowned scientists in this field. Besides picking up his award at the symposium, Prof. Chow gave an invited lecture on fire safety in tall buildings in the Asia-Oceania regions.

A proposal by Dr Charles Wong of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) for ‘Smart City’ research has recently been approved for funding of HK$1,576,573 by the Areas of Excellence Committee (AoEC) of PolyU. The funding will be used for the purchase of geospatial infrastructure and equipment, software and data such as hand-held reflectometer, digital aerial orthophotos, high resolution satellite images, and world population data. They will effectively assist the research team to advance research on ‘Smart City’ in Hong Kong, which is expected to impact government decision-making and facilitate the long-term development of the city.

On 30 September 2015, three projects led by entrepreneurial students/alumni from the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) were each rewarded with HK$100,000 seed fund from the PolyU Micro Fund for their implementation. Launched in 2011, the PolyU Micro Fund Scheme is a knowledge transfer initiative that nurtures socially responsible youngsters with an entrepreneurial spirit through hands-on business endeavours. In addition to seed funding, the Scheme also provides much needed pre-incubation support to the awardees in the early stage of their business. Following are the details of the winning projects:

On 29 October 2015, a delegation from the Beijing Jiaotong University (BJTU) led by the Founding Dean of BJTU’s new International College in Renewable Energy, Prof. Jin Ho Kwak, and the Dean of the School of Electrical Engineering, Prof. Jiuchun Jiang visited PolyU to learn more about its university system. The visitors were welcomed by the Dean of the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE), Prof. You-lin Xu, and introduced to the PolyU faculty system, particularly with respect to its staffing practices. They also exchanged information on university administration and research in building energy efficiency as well as renewable energy.

The Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) is pleased that the following PhD graduates were selected for its Outstanding PhD Thesis Awards, which come with a cash prize of HK$10,000 and a certificate signed by the Dean. Details of the awardees are as follows:

Effah Ernest Ameyaw	Tao Ma	Lijie Xu	Rui Xu

Three PhD candidates have been supported by the FCE one-year top-up studentship scheme since September 2015. The scheme was established in 2010 to encourage FCE colleagues to admit promising students to PhD programmes and support them with their external research grants. Details are as follows:

For 2015/16, PolyU admitted 154 international students, 50 of whom received the University Entry Scholarship. An award ceremony for them was held on 5 October 2015. The President of PolyU, Prof. Timothy W. Tong, was on hand to present certificates to the scholarship winners. The Dean of the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE), Prof. You-Lin Xu, welcomed the nine international students who are studying in FCE. Following are their details:

Name	Country of Origin	Dept.
Chariya Dithiswatvate	Thailand	BRE
Abay Abilov	Kazakhstan	CEE
Kamila Akhmetova	Kazakhstan	CEE
Yerkezhan Kassenova	Kazakhstan	CEE
Junaid Khan	Pakistan	CEE
Shuang Ao Lim	Malaysia	CEE
Anar Mussina	Kazakhstan	CEE
Nurzhan Satuov	Kazakhstan	CEE
Yong Kang Wong	Malaysia	CEE

Outstanding local students admitted to PolyU’s full-time undergraduate programmes are automatically considered for an Entry Scholarship. The Faculty of Construction and Environment has 21 freshmen receiving Entry Scholarships this year. 16 of them were admitted under the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS). They received the scholarship as a result of their impressive academic achievements. One was a non-JUPAS admittee who had outstanding International Baccalaureate (IB) results. Four others received the scholarship based on their non-academic achievements in areas such as art, leadership, music, sports, service etc. More information on Entry Scholarships can be found at
http://www.polyu.edu.hk/stars/scholarships/scholarships-and-prizes

Details of the local students who received an Entry Scholarship this year are listed below.

A recent graduate of the BSc (Hons) in Surveying from the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), Mr Alfred Man Lai Ho, has won a CIOB (HK) Outstanding Student Award. Organized by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) to promote excellence in construction project management, the award was presented to Alfred for his empirical study identifying and analyzing the critical factors for successful implementation of Building Information Modelling in Hong Kong. His final year dissertation on this topic was supervised by Dr Daniel Chan, Associate Professor of BRE. An award certificate and a cheque for HK$4000 were given to Alfred at the CIOB (HK) Annual Dinner, which was held at the New World Millennium Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui East on 11 September 2015.

Since 2002, students in the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) who have achieved outstanding academic performance are selected for the Dean’s Honours List, which is now limited to the top 5% of students in each programme of study leading to a Higher Diploma, Bachelor’s degree, or MEng, who have fulfilled 85% of the normal load of credits for the stage of study and attained a yearly GPA of at least 3.5 in the academic year in question with a semester GPA of not less than 3.0 in all the semesters concerned. 148 students made it to the Dean’s Honours List this year. Details can be found at: http://www.polyu.edu.hk/fce/congregation/DeansList2015.pdf

Students on the Dean’s Honours List who have graduated will be presented with prizes at the 21st Congregation of FCE in early November.

On 10 October 2015, the campus of PolyU was swamped with prospective students eager to learn more about the programmes offered by the university. The opening ceremony of the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) was officiated by Prof. Timothy W. Tong, President of PolyU; Prof. Siu-lau Ho, Associate Vice President (Academic Support) and Academic Secretary; Prof. You-lin Xu, Dean of FCE; Prof. Xiaoli Ding, Associate Dean (Partnership) of FCE; Prof. Geoffrey Shen, Associate Dean (Teaching) of FCE; Prof. Albert Chan, Head of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE); Prof. Jianlei Niu, Associate Head of the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE); Prof. William Lam, Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE); and Prof. John Shi, Head of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI). Numerous info-seminars on various Bachelor’s and Higher Diploma programmes in FCE were held. The ones on Civil Engineering attracted the biggest crowds, followed by those on Geomatics and on Building Engineering and Management. Besides consultation sessions and guided visits, there were also games and demonstrations to pique the interest of those in attendance. It was a great opportunity for the public to get first hand information about the general admission criteria of our different programmes.

More photos of the Info Day can be viewed at
http://www.polyu.edu.hk/fce/Photo/fce_infoday2015/

On 5 October 2015, about 100 people attended a talk on how to get on the road to a successful career in the construction industry. The speaker was industry veteran Ir Prof. Tack-kong Tsui, Managing Director of T.K. Tsui & Associates Limited and a PolyU Outstanding Alumnus in 2011, who made his fortune as a registered Structural Engineer and Geotechnical Engineer after graduating from the Hong Kong Technical College, the predecessor of PolyU, with a Diploma in Building in 1959 and getting a Postgraduate Diploma in Building Science from the University of Liverpool in 1963. Ir Prof. Tsui drew from his wealth of experience over the last 50 years to inspire and motivate his audience to succeed in their chosen profession. His storied career is exemplary of his dedication to serve, not only industry, but also his alma mater, which conferred a University Fellowship on him in 2013. A staunch supporter of PolyU for many years, Ir Prof. Tsui is well known for his generosity. He donated another cheque for HK$200,000 to help needy students in the Faculty of Construction and Environment that evening.

At the invitation of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI), Prof. Qingming Zhan, Director of the Research Centre for Digital City at Wuhan University, gave a lecture on spatial-temporal data mining and its applications to urban planning on 7 October 2015 as part of LSGI’s Distinguished Lecture Series. An expert in this particular topic, Prof. Zhan demonstrated the relevant issues with real examples drawn from several cities in China, which has provided abundant opportunities and challenges from its rapid urbanization. His timely lecture was well received by all those in attendance.

The Department of Building Services Engineering welcomed a new Assistant Professor on 29 October 2015. Dr Minchen (Tommy) Wei received his Bachelor’s degree from the Department of Illuminating Engineering & Light Sources at Fudan University in China in 2009. He obtained his Master’s degree and PhD in Architectural Engineering-Illuminating Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University in the USA in 2011 and 2015 respectively.

Dr Wei serves on various technical committees in the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES). He is also a member of the Science & Technology Committee of the International Forum on Automotive Lighting (IFAL). In addition, he is an active reviewer for various journals in the field of building science and illuminating engineering. At Penn State, he worked with GE Lighting and Soraa Inc. on LED product development and worked on the Energy Efficient Buildings Hub sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

His research has focused on LED spectral engineering, visual responses to light stimuli, light and health, daylighting, energy efficient buildings, and indoor/outdoor environmental quality. He has published about 20 papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings.

Mr Andy Tong, a Hong Kong Polytechnic graduate of the Associateship Programme in Structural Engineering in 1974, will take up the post of Vice President (Campus Development and Facilities) [VP(CDF)] from 27 November 2015. He is a seasoned leader with 40 years of experience in structural engineering consultancy and property development in Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland and overseas. Prior to his appointment as VP(CDF) at PolyU, Mr Tong was the General Manager – Tianjin Property, China and International Business Division of the MTR Corporation. With his extensive experience in building and leading teams of multi-disciplinary professionals, Mr Tong is well qualified to lead and manage various capital/ special projects related to campus development and facilities management for his alma mater. The University also expressed thanks to the Interim VP(CDF) Prof. Jan-ming Ko, Professor Emeritus of FCE, for his dedicated service and support to the University since March 2015.

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