We are pleased to announce the 2024 awardees of the Outstanding Alumni Award (OPAA) for the PolyU Department of Applied Mathematics, who were nominated and selected in May. OPAA recognizes successful graduates of PolyU who have excelled in their chosen fields, supported their alma mater, and contributed to the wider community. Since 2022, achievement categories have been established to celebrate considerable accomplishments of our alumni in specific areas, including professional achievement, entrepreneurial achievement, scholarly achievement, and community service achievement. The Award is organized at three levels to engage alumni at the departmental, faculty/school, and university levels.
Congratulations to the following awardees on their well-deserved recognition for their outstanding achievements:
Scholarly Achievement (Young Alumni)
Professor HU Shenglong
Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Applied Mathematics, PolyU (2013)
Professor HU Shenglong is a Professor at Hangzhou Dianzi University. He earned his Doctoral Degree from PolyU in 2013, and both his Master’s and Bachelor’s Degrees from Tianjin University in 2010 and 2008, respectively.
Prof. Hu is a leading expert in tensor computation in China and globally. He has authored over 60 papers in prestigious journals, including Mathematical Programming and Numerische Mathematik. His research has resolved significant open problems, such as those proposed by SIAM Fellow Yousef Saad and Gene Golub, and has addressed the linear convergence of the higher-order power method (HOPM) for best rank-one approximations of tensors. He was invited speaker at major conferences like ICIAM 2019 and 2023 and has served as a plenary speaker at various academic meetings. Prof. Hu has also organized minisymposia at international conferences, including SIAM ALA.
In collaboration with Prof. Liqun Qi, he pioneered spectral hypergraph theory via tensors, establishing the symmetric spectra theorem of uniform hypergraphs and publishing the first monograph on the subject. His work has led to annual workshops and summer schools, promoting over twenty students to professorships. Prof. Hu's research has received over 1300 SCI citations.
Scholarly Achievement
Professor KONG Kwok Hing
Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Applied Mathematics, Department of Applied Mathematics, PolyU (1995)
Higher Diploma in Mathematics, Statistics and Computing, Department of Applied Mathematics, PolyU (1993)
Professor Albert Kong Kwok Hing is a Distinguished Professor at the Institute of Astronomy, National Tsing Hua University, and President of the Astronomical Society of Taiwan. He earned his PhD in Astrophysics from the University of Oxford in 2000, an MPhil in Physics from The University of Hong Kong in 1997, and a BSc and HD from PolyU in 1995 and 1993, respectively.
Prof. Kong is internationally renowned for his multi-wavelength research on compact astrophysical objects like black holes and neutron stars. Over the past 15 years, many of his discoveries have been world-firsts. He has published over 265 refereed papers in leading journals such as Nature, Nature Astronomy, Physical Review Letters, and the Astrophysical Journal, accumulating more than 12,600 citations and an h-index of 54 in the Astrophysics Data System (ADS).Recognized as a dynamic leader in high-energy astrophysics and gravitational wave astronomy, Prof. Kong discovered gamma-ray emission from a globular cluster using data from the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. His contributions have earned him prestigious awards, including the Academia Sinica Research Award for Junior Research Investigators (2013) and the Outstanding Research Award from the Ministry of Science and Technology (2015).
Prof. Kong is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in the UK and an elected Fellow of The Physical Society of Taiwan (2018). He received the Outstanding Scholar Award in 2022 and the University Industry Collaboration Excellence Award from NTHU in 2023.
Entrepreneurial Achievement
Mr. TSE Pak Kin Tammy
Higher Diploma in Mathematics, Statistics and Computing, Department of Applied Mathematics, PolyU (1981)
Mr. Tse Pak Kin Tammy is the Senior Vice President and Head of the Information Technology Group at Fubon Bank (Hong Kong) Limited. He earned his MBA from The University of Western Sydney, Australia, in 2001 and a Higher Diploma in Mathematics, Statistics, and Computing from PolyU in 1981.
Mr. Tse is a prominent leader in Hong Kong's Fintech industry, specializing in Portfolio and Program Management, Merger and Acquisitions Initiatives, and Core Banking System Migration. With 25 years of experience in the financial services sector, he has managed numerous initiatives from international mergers and acquisitions, global market and treasury businesses, and regulatory mandates across Asia. He has extensive product knowledge in securities, foreign exchange, and money market activities, as well as global treasury products from a major US corporate and investment bank.Mr. Tse is adept in project and program management, utilizing Six Sigma methodologies and iterative processes to deliver and manage organizational change effectively. His contributions have been recognized with several awards, including the Fintech Talent Development Award (Bank) from Cyberport in 2022 and the Product Innovation Award from Infosys in 2023.
In 2024, he served as a Bank Coordinator for Fubon Bank HK, supervising and supporting four project teams in the PolyU x Hong Kong Monetary Authority Industry Project Masters Network (IPMN) Programme.
Professional Achievement
Professor ZHANG Kai
Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Applied Mathematics, PolyU (2006)
Professor ZHANG Kai is a Vice President of The Guangdong University of Finance and Economics. He received a PhD from The Department of Applied Mathematics from PolyU in 2006. Currently, Prof. Zhang is a member of the Financial Business Expert Advisory Committee of the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court and the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao Financial Technology Engineer Qualification Examination Proposition Committee.
Prof. Zhang is a renowned expert in financial economics, financial derivatives, and financial technology. He has published over 50 academic papers and two monographs, and serves as an associate editor for the international journal NACO. His research has been supported by numerous prestigious projects, including those funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Ministry of Education, and the State Administration of Taxation. He has also led significant projects for financial institutions such as Bank of China, WeBank, and Guosen Securities.During his postdoctoral research period in Australia, Prof. Zhang participated in two national scientific research projects. Upon returning to China, he continued to lead and contribute to various national, provincial, and municipal research initiatives. Notable projects include research on option pricing, tax revenue analysis, and financial support for innovation-driven development in special economic zones.
Prof. Zhang is highly regarded for fostering collaboration between education and industry in financial technology. He founded the Shenzhen Audencia Financial School, a joint venture between Audencia Business School and Shenzhen University, and established the WeBank Institute of Fintech, a collaboration between WeBank, Ping An Bank, and Shenzhen University. He also founded the Global Institute of Fintech (Xiangmihu).
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