News

EEE Dragon Boat Team Eye-dotting Ceremony 2025

Officiated by Professor C.Y. Chung, Head of the Department, the EEE Dragon Boat Team launched their training season with a traditional dragon boat eye-dotting ceremony at the Tseung Kwan O Waterfront on 23 March 2025. Comprising EEE alumni, staff, and students, the team has participated in numerous local and international dragon boat races for over a decade. These fulfilling activities not only boost the members' physical fitness and cooperation skills, but also strengthen the bond between the Department and its alumni. We extend our best wishes to the EEE Dragon Boat Team for a successful year!  

2024 IEEE Communications Society Asia-Pacific Outstanding Young Researcher Award

Congratulations to Prof. Shuowen Zhang on winning the 2024 IEEE Communications Society Asia-Pacific Outstanding Young Researcher Award! Prof. Zhang is recognized for her contributions to intelligent reflecting surface aided communications and integrated sensing and communications. This award honors young researchers aged under 35 who have been active in IEEE Communications Society publications and conference activities over the last three years (January 2021 to December 2023). The selection criteria include creativity, research impact and contributions to the IEEE Communications Society’s activities. Please find more information about the award at https://apb.regions.comsoc.org/ap-regional-awards/ieee-comsoc-asia-pacific-young-researcher-award/.

Dr Shuowen Zhang named as N²Women Rising Star 2024

Congratulations to Dr Shuowen Zhang on being named as the N²Women Rising Star in Computer Networking and Communications in 2024! Networking Networking Women (N²Women) is a discipline-specific community of researchers in the fields of networking and communications. N²Women encourages diversity and aims at fostering connections among under-represented women in this computing sub-field. Its annual list of rising stars recognizes the top 10 female researchers with outstanding research outcomes and service contributions in the networking and communications field who have less than 10 years of experience after Ph.D. completion. Dr Zhang’s research interests include wireless communications and networking, internet-of-things (IoT), communication theory, and optimization methods. She has made outstanding contributions to solving challenging beamforming and resource allocation optimization problems in various wireless communication systems. Her research works have made high impact with over 6800 Google Scholar citations. She has received several prestigious awards, including the 2021 Marconi Society Paul Baran Young Scholar Award, the 2022 IEEE Communications Society Young Author Best Paper Award, and the 2023 IEEE Communications Society Best Tutorial Paper Award. More details about the N²Women Rising Stars 2024 are available at https://n2women.comsoc.org/awards/rising-stars/2024-rising-stars-in-computer-networking-and-communications/.

Winning at QS Reimagine Education Awards 2024

Dr Pauli Lai won the Gold Award in the Smart Omnichannel Campus category and the Global Education Award at the QS Reimagine Education Awards 2024 as one of the interdisciplinary team members for the project led by Dr Rodney Chu of the Department of Applied Social Sciences! The Reimagine Education Awards are a global contest co-organised by Quacquarelli Symonds, compiler of the QS World University Rankings, and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Known as the Oscars in the education sector, the Awards aim to reward institutions of higher education that have created and implemented outstanding new approaches to teaching and learning.  The winning project “Engage, Empower, Excel: PolyU’s Smart Campus Innovation” leverages the synergy between various educational technology solutions to adapt to the learning habits of the new-generation tech-savvy students. The project features the development of a generative AI chatbot, Virtual Assistant TIMS (VAT), which learns from course materials and teachers’ teaching styles. Operating through instant messaging platforms, VAT responds to student inquiries anytime and anywhere through text, voice and video messages. Its Dialogue Podcast System utilises advanced natural language processing technology to transform challenging academic content into engaging conversational podcasts to improve students’ learning efficiency. There is also the Artificial Intelligence Review Assessment System (AIReAS) that offers immediate feedback and feedforward on assignments, enabling students to engage in cycles of continuous improvement that align with their progress. The platform is moving towards mobile learning management system integration and personalised learning path planning. Please find more information about the project and the awards at the following links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ne1jvUhf-8 https://www.polyu.edu.hk/media/media-releases/2024/1227_polyu-teams-shine-in-qs-reimagine-education-awards-2024/

Awards at the 4th Asia Exhibition of Innovations and Inventions Hong Kong

We are pleased to share that the project “Highly integrated wireless ultrasonic motor system for fully enclosed environments”, led by Prof. Chau Kwok-tong, was awarded the Grand Prize and a Gold Medal at the 4th Asia Exhibition of Innovations and Inventions Hong Kong organized by The Hong Kong Exporters’ Association on 5-6 December 2024! Dr Liu Wei also won a Silver Medal for his project “High-efficiency GaN converter module for wireless power transfer facilities” in this exhibition. The wireless ultrasonic motor system designed by Prof. Chau’s research team features a single integrated magnetic coupler connected to the motor, which can control motor systems in fully enclosed environments without power cables, batteries and controllers. The system is adaptable to various applications, facilitating seamless integration. Its streamlines are designed by operating without additional controllers or sensors, which is ideal for environments where traditional cabling is impractical, such as in robotic arms, enhancing mobility and flexibility. In enclosed environments like underground pipelines or underwater propellers, it avoids complications from perforated installation cables, preventing gas or liquid leaks. This innovation brings new solutions for advanced applications in robotics and industrial automation. Dr Liu’s team has integrated gallium nitride (GaN) chips into the design of high-performance power converters with low gate driver stray inductance and low switching loss. An insulated metal substrate printed circuit board design is utilised to lower the thermal resistance while ensuring electrical isolation. The gate drive has small ringing and voltage overshoot, which ensures the realisation of smooth switching characteristics of the GaN switches. Compared with other converters, the new GaN high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) converter has higher efficiency, power density and switching frequency. Compared with GaN converters at the same power level, this new converter has better drive performance and incurs lower costs to promote commercialisation. It can be applied in various wireless power transfer facilities, including wireless charging for electric vehicles among others. Please click the following link for more details about the awards: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/media/media-releases/2024/1207_polyu-shines-at-4th-asia-exhibition-of-innovations-and-inventions-hong-kong/

Prof. Gang Li recognised as Highly Cited Researcher 2024 by Clarivate Analytics

Prof. Gang Li, Sir Sze-yuen Chung Endowed Professor in Renewable Energy and Chair Professor of Energy Conversion Technology, has been recognised in the list of “Highly Cited Researchers 2024” in the cross-field category by Clarivate Analytics. Congratulations to Prof. Li on receiving this honour for 11 years in a row! This year, a total of 6,636 researchers from 59 countries and regions from a diverse range of fields have been named as Highly Cited Researchers. Each researcher selected has authored multiple highly-cited papers which rank in the top 1% by citations for their fields and publication year in the Web of Science over the past decade.  

Champion of the 8th PwC Hack A Day - Capture The Flag Competition

Congratulations to the EEE Capture The Flag Team for winning the Champion of the 8th PwC Hack A Day - Capture The Flag Competition organized by PwC Hong Kong for 3 consecutive years on 11 November 2024! The theme of the competition is “Securing Identity” this year, highlighting the importance of protecting personal and digital identities in the interconnected world. Students from Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand are invited to participate in this competition alongside the Hack A Day Cybersecurity Conference. It offers a unique chance for students to engage with AI tools, showcase their cybersecurity skills, and compete with talented peers. More information about the competition is available at: https://www.pwchk.com/en/issues/cybersecurity-and-privacy/hack-a-day/competitions-2024.html#capture-flag  

Best Student Paper Award at the 2024 Cross Strait Radio Science and Wireless Technology Conference

The 2024 Cross Strait Radio Science and Wireless Technology Conference was held in Macau on 4-7 November 2024. It was held by the City University of Macau and the South China University of Technology to promote cross-strait development and cooperation in the field of radio and communication. Supervised by Dr Lin Wei and Prof. Francis Lau, Mr Cai Haowen, EEE PhD student, won the Best Student Paper Award for the paper titled "Wireless Power Transfer Enabled Supercapacitor- Energized loT Sensor System Facilitated by Voltage-Dependent Scattering Parameter Analysis Method” in this conference!

Best Paper Award at the 25th IEEE GZ/HK AP/MTT Postgraduate Conference

The 25th IEEE GZ/HK AP/MTT Postgraduate Conference was held on 2 November 2024 in Zhuhai, China. Congratulations to Mr He Yuqi, our PhD student under the supervision of Dr Lin Wei and Prof. Francis Lau, in attaining the Best Paper Award for his paper titled "Multi-Performance Improvement Methods for Millimeter Wave Antenna Arrays with High Dielectric Constant Layer - Mimic Metasurfaces" in this conference. The conference was jointly organized by the Sun Yat-sen University and the IEEE Hong Kong Section AP/MTT Joint Chapter. It aims to enhance the communications between the postgraduate students in the region and to provide a platform for ideas exchange in the fields of Microwave and Antennas.

Best Oral-Presentation Paper Award (First Class) at the 12th Optical Fiber Sensors Conference China

The 12th Optical Fiber Sensors Conference China was held for about 1200 attendees in Chongqing from 20 to 22 September 2024. Congratulations to Prof. Jin Wei and Prof. Zhang Aping’s research team in winning the Best Oral-Presentation Paper Award (First Class) as the single winner for their work about miniature optical fiber photoacoustic spectroscopy gas sensor in this conference!