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CEE Departmental Visit – Tongji University (7 Aug)

CEE has long been maintaining strong alliances and partnerships with different renowned institutions to foster knowledge exchange and international collaboration. CEE welcomed 15 students from 𝐓𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐣𝐢 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 for a departmental visit focused on “𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧” on 7 August 2024 (Wednesday). The students, eager to explore cutting-edge research in the field, were given a comprehensive overview of the department's capabilities and ongoing projects.  𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟. 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐲𝐞 𝐙𝐡𝐮, Professor of CEE, and 𝐃𝐫 𝐀𝐧𝐝𝐲 𝐋𝐞𝐮𝐧, Associate Professor of CEE, presented an introduction of CEE, highlighting the achievements and groundbreaking research endeavors. 𝐃𝐫 𝐘𝐢𝐱𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐋𝐢, CEE Postdoctoral Fellow supervised by Prof. Yong Xia, introduced the structural health monitoring system which is applied to the footbridge at PolyU. 𝐃𝐫 𝐒𝐢𝐪𝐢 𝐃𝐢𝐧𝐠 and 𝐃𝐫 𝐕𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐨, Research Assistant Professors of CEE, showcased the innovative technologies in 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 (𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐊𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡) (𝐂𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐂-𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐥)where the practical applications of “Smart Construction” including MIC structures and railway systems were demonstrated. The group also visited the 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐋𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, where students gained insights on the testing of high strength steel components. The group enjoyed the visit and gained deeper understanding into the future of 'Smart Construction' and its potential to revolutionize the built environment. CEE looks forward to hosting more departmental visit in the future and creating valuable exchange opportunities.   

Dr An Wang’s Article Being Published on Nature Cities

Congratulations to 𝐃𝐫 𝐀𝐧 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐠, Assistant Professor of CEE, whose paper titled “𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐌𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐇𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐢𝐫 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐱, 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐘𝐨𝐫𝐤” has been published on 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 and reported by 𝘔𝘐𝘛 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘴.  𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 is a newly launched online journal in 2024 from 𝘕𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘰 publishing leading research, commentary and analysis in urban research. Nature Cities aims to deepen and integrate basic and applied understanding of the character and dynamics of cities by featuring cutting-edge research that advance knowledge and address some of the greatest challenges that the society is facing today.  For original article, please refer to:  https://www.nature.com/articles/s44284-024-00093-x?utm_source=rct_congratemailt&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nonoa_20240729&utm_content=10.1038/s44284-024-00093-x MIT News: https://news.mit.edu/2024/study-tracks-air-pollution-exposure-through-day-0729 Project Visualization: https://senseable.mit.edu/breathing-disparity/

PolyU CEE Webinar Series: From Micro to Macro: Advanced Multiscale Modeling of Granular Materials

Dr Weijian Liang delivered a seminar with the topic of “From Micro to Macro: Advanced Multiscale Modeling of Granular Materials” on 31 July 2024. It was co-organized with HKIE Civil Division. Find the full version of the webinar in the below link: https://youtu.be/9N6qpzyl_Zk.   

Dr Tony Sze Invited to Speak on RTHK Radio 3 Programme

Dr Tony Sze, Associate Professor of CEE, was invited by RTHK Radio 3 to speak on a news programme “Backchat” on 5 August 2024 (Monday). Transport Department have approved five premium taxi fleet licenses, launching quality personalized door-to-door transport services in a year. Fleet operators are required to provide online booking platform, e-payment options, and install CCTV systems. The discussion address the issues including reputation of local taxi industry, passenger demands, traffic congestion, and governance and competition among ride-hailing service providers in Hong Kong. A revisit can be found at RTHK webpage (from 27:50) and Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/RD5tCqq54zw29hrH/ https://www.rthk.hk/radio/radio3/programme/backchat/episode/968302/autoplay/contentindex/1   

Twenty-Two CEE Projects Secured General Research Fund (GRF) and Early Career Scheme (ECS) 2024/25

We are pleased to share that 22 CEE projects have been awarded a total grant of HK$23.1 million from the Research Grants Council’s General Research Fund (GRF) and Early Career Scheme (ECS) 2024/25. Noteworthily, CEE accounts for 20 projects among 42 funded PolyU projects from GRF under the field of “Civil Engineering, Surveying, Building & Construction”, amounting to HK$21.9 million. The GRF and the ECS are individual research funding schemes under RGC. The GRF aims to supplement universities' own research support for researchers who have achieved or have the potential to achieve excellence while the ECS intends to nurture junior academics and to prepare them for a career in education and research. Kudos to all CEE scholars whose unwavering commitment in research excellence have made this achievement possible. Moving forward, CEE will continue to pursue high-caliber research and bring positive impact to the society. 20 CEE Projects Received General Research Fund (GRF): Project Title Principal Investigator (Alphabetical order of surname) Fund Awarded (HK$) One-Part Alkali-Activation Approach for Resource Recovery from Steel Industry Byproducts for Carbon Neutrality Dr Yazan ALREFAEI 865,385 Bayesian Full-waveform Inversion for Leak Localization in Uncertainty-riddled Water Supply Pipes Dr Tong-chuan CHE 1,134,931 Exponentiated Random Utility Model: From Individual Travel Choices to Network Equilibrium Analysis of Transportation Systems Prof. Anthony CHEN 942,702 Flow Evolution Characteristics, Dynamic Instability Mechanism, and Aerodynamic Load Rebalancing Method for High-speed Maglev Train Operational Safety in Time-varying Wind Environments: From Numerical Modelling to Model Testing Dr Zheng-wei CHEN 1,134,931 Catalytically Reconstructed Covalent Organic Framework Membranes for Water Purification Dr Yi JIANG 1,134,931 How Urbanization Alters Airborne Fungal Communities and Antifungal Resistance as Part of What Humans Breathe Dr Ling JIN 1,005,833 Empowering a Multifunctional Acoustically Driven TENG-based Particulate Capturing System for a Healthy Living Environment Dr S.K. LAI 1,134,931 A Novel Thermal Healing System Based on Nano-Carbon Coating of Aggregate towards More Durable Porous Asphalt Road Surfaces: Mechanism Investigation and Performance Optimization Prof. Zhen LENG 1,134,931 Investigation of Shear Transfer Behaviour of Low-carbon high-performance Materials for Rock-socketed Steel H-piles Dr Andy Y.F. LEUNG 1,134,931 Network-wide Traffic Flow Estimation with Sparse Volume Detectors and Global Open Multi-Source Data: An Integrated Data-driven and Model-based Method on Computational Graphs Dr Wei MA 1,134,931 Application of Embossed Cold-Formed Steel Sections for Remedy to Instability Failure and Reuse Design Dr Sivaganesh SELVARAJ 990,228 Natural and Anthropogenic Influence on the Long-term Morphodynamic Evolution of the Lingdingyang Estuary under Climate Changes Dr Alessandro STOCCHINO 1,134,931 Unveil the Mystery of Coastal Rogue Waves: Spatiotemporal Evolution Mechanisms and Predictions Dr Jing-Hua WANG 1,134,931 Intra- and Inter-graph Learning towards Structural Health Monitoring with Edge Computing Dr Xiaoyou WANG 1,134,931 Multiscale, Multiphysics Modeling of Water Ice-Bearing Lunar Regolith Considering Thermal, Vacuum, and Microgravity Effects Dr Meng-meng WU 1,134,931 From Air to Human Airway: Colonization of Occupationally Acquired Bacteria in the Upper Respiratory Tract of Workers in Wastewater Treatment Plants Dr Jia-wen XIE 1,134,931 Multiscale Multiphysics Study of Scour-induced Bearing Capacity Degradation of Suction Anchor Foundation in Sandy Seabed Prof. Zhen-Yu YIN 1,134,931 Hybrid FRP Tube-Confined Prestressed Wind Turbine Towers Prof. Tao YU 1,134,931 Behaviour and Design of High-strength U-rib-stiffened Orthotropic Steel Decks under Fatigue Loading Prof. Xiao Lin ZHAO 1,134,931 Novel Latched Tuned Mass Dampers for Vibration Control of Flexible Structures with Ultra-low Frequencies Prof. Songye ZHU 1,134,931   2 CEE Projects Supported by Early Career Scheme (ECS): Project Title Principal Investigator (Alphabetical order of surname) Fund Awarded (HK$) Public Adoption of Charging-as-a-Service for Electric Vehicles in Hong Kong Dr Sung-hoon JANG 476,364 "One Stone Two Birds" - Simultaneous Removal of Nitrogen and Dissolved Methane towards Sustainable Wastewater Management Dr Tao LIU 667,989  

CEE Departmental Visit - Fanling Kau Yan College (22 July)

A group of 21 students from Fanling Kau Yan College visited CEE on 22 July 2024 (Monday). Dr Andy Y. F. Leung, Associate Head of CEE, introduced the admission information and the recent developments of the civil engineering industry to the students.  Students then were divided into groups to compete in the "Tower Challenge: Engineering with Straws, Tape, and Imagination". They were tasked with using paper straws and tape to construct a tower as tall as possible that could also support a pack of 375ml lemon tea for 10 seconds. The best-performing group managed to build a tower reaching a height of 63cm. Besides, they had the opportunity to visit Noise and Safety Laboratory, where they gained more knowledge on noise reduction and environmental safety through experiment and demonstration of laboratory equipment. They all found the visit was interesting and rewarding.

PolyU Ranked 2nd in Best University for Civil Engineering in U.S. News & World Report Best Global University Ranking 2024-2025

We are proud to announce that PolyU celebrates another year of outstanding achievement in the U.S. News & World Report Best Global Universities Ranking 2024-2025 for Civil Engineering! PolyU has maintained its prestigious position as the 2nd best for Civil Engineering globally and has secured the top spot in Hong Kong in this discipline. This remarkable success showcases CEE’s unwavering commitment to excellence in research, teaching and innovation, as well as reaffirming our leading position in civil engineering within the region. The 2024-2025 Best Global Universities subject rankings by U.S. News & World Report examines 51 subject areas and evaluates 2,250 universities across 104 countries. The Rankings focus exclusively on institution’s overall academic research and reputations and the 13 ranking indicators include global and regional research reputation, total citations, international collaboration and more. More details can be found at https://www.usnews.com/education/best-global-universities/civil-engineering.  Join us in celebrating this incredible achievement and we look forward to the continued success of CEE’s groundbreaking research and the constant pursuit of academic excellence!  

Most Popular Paper Award to Dr Ling Jin’s Collaborative Team

Congratulations to Dr Ling Jin, Assistant Professor of CEE, and his collaborative team for their paper titled “Ecology and Risks of the Global Plastisphere as a Newly Expanding Microbial Habitat” being recognized as the Most Popular (2020-2024) by The Innovation, a prestigious journal under Cell Press (Impact Factor = 33.2) that ranked third among multidisciplinary journal. Dr Changchao Li (second from the left in the photo), the first author of the award-winning paper and a postdoctoral fellow supervised by Dr Ling Jin, received the award on behalf of the team at The Innovation Conference 2024.   The paper provides a global overview of the plastisphere by analyzing samples from freshwater, seawater, and land. The team found that the plastisphere hosts unique microbial communities that are more diverse and structured differently than those in natural habitats. Additionally, the nitrogen cycle is disrupted, especially in freshwater environments, where there is a high presence of bacteria that can release harmful substances like nitrite and nitrous oxide. There is also an increase in harmful microorganisms, including pathogens that affect animals, plants, and humans. The study warns that if plastic emissions continue to rise, the expanding plastisphere could lead to serious global health issues. For original article, please refer to: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xinn.2023.100543  

PolyU CEE Webinar Series: Travel Behavior Modeling to Understand Demand for Emerging Mobility Service

Dr Sung-hoon Jang delivered a seminar with the topic of “Travel Behavior Modeling to Understand Demand for Emerging Mobility Services” on 10 July 2024. It was co-organized with HKIE Civil Division. Find the full version of the webinar in the blow link: https://youtu.be/PDYbhgVc_Zk.  

CEE Departmental Visits (3 July)

Evangel College  A group of 18 students from Evangel College visited CEE on 3 July 2024 (Wednesday). They jointly attended the programme talk with students from Stewards MKMCF Ma Ko Pan Memorial College.  Dr Barbara Siu, Scheme Leader of BEng (Hons) Scheme in Civil Engineering and Sustainable Development, introduced the admission information and the recent developments of the civil engineering industry to the students.  After the programme talk, students had the opportunity to visit our Structural Engineering Research Laboratory, where they gained a deeper understanding of the latest technology and research activities in the field of structural engineering through demonstrations of laboratory equipment. They all enjoyed the visit and found it was informative and cultivating. Stewards MKMCF Ma Ko Pan Memorial College A group of 31 students from Stewards MKMCF Ma Ko Pan Memorial College visited CEE on 3 July 2024 (Wednesday). They jointly attended the programme talk with students from Evangel College. Dr Barbara Siu, Scheme Leader of BEng (Hons) Scheme in Civil Engineering and Sustainable Development, introduced the admission information and the recent developments of the civil engineering industry to the students.  Students then had the opportunity to visit our Hydraulics Laboratory and Structural Engineering Research Laboratory, where they get more information on the latest technology and research activities regarding hydraulics and structural engineering through laboratory equipment’s demonstrations. They all found the visit was eye-opening and interesting. In order to gain more hands on experience regarding civil engineering, the students competed in the Tower Challenge: Engineering with Straws, Tape and Imagination where they were required to use their innovation to build a tower with only straws and tape. Out of 6 groups, 4 of them broke our existing tower height record (79cm). The winning team had set a new record by creating an 85cm-high tower.