Meet Our Academicians

Professor Qihao Weng is Chair Professor of Geomatics and Artificial Intelligence at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. A renowned scholar, Professor Weng has made notable contributions in the fields of remote sensing, GIScience, artificial intelligence, urban and environmental research. He is currently the Lead of the Group on Earth Observation’s (GEO) Global Urban Observation and Information Initiative.

Professor Weng's research on remote sensing applications has promoted understanding of urban environmental and ecological systems, land-use and land-cover changes, and human-environment interactions. By bridging methodological gaps between geography, landscape ecology, and environmental science, his work has enabled holistic solutions to pressing environmental, ecological, and climatic challenges. Throughout his research career, Professor Weng has authored an impressive 279 articles (journal articles, chapters, etc.) and 14 books. Per Google Scholar, as of August 7, 2023, he has been cited more than 30,900 times (H-index of 77), and 68 of his publications have more than 100 citations each. His research has been supported by major funding agencies including the NSF, NASA, USAID, National Geographic, Microsoft, Hong Kong Research Grant Council, and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust.

Among his numerous accolades, Professor Weng received the prestigious NASA Senior Fellowship in 2008, Taylor & Francis Lifetime Achievements Award in 2019 and a fellowship from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science under the “JSPS Invitational Fellowships for Research in Japan” (Short-term S [E], formerly known as “JSPS Award for Eminent Scientists”). He also received the Outstanding Contributions Award in Remote Sensing in 2011, the AAG E. Willard and Ruby S. Miller Award in 2015, and the AAG Distinguished Scholarship Honors Award in 2020, all from the American Association of Geographers. Lastly, he was honoured with a Global STEM Professorship by the Hong Kong government in 2021 and a Lilly Foundation Faculty Fellowship at Indiana State University in 2005.

In addition to his research achievements, Professor Weng has advanced knowledge as the Editor-in-Chief of the ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing and the Series Editor of the Taylor & Francis Series in ‘Remote Sensing Applications’ and ‘Imaging Science’.

Professor Weng has been invited to give more than 130 talks by worldwide organisations and conferences and has been honored with a visiting professorship in universities in Japan, France, and China. In recognition of his outstanding scholarly contributions, he was elected as a Foreign Member of Academia Europaea in 2021.