News

Opening Ceremony of PolyU-NAMI 3D Concrete Robotic Printing Research Centre cum Seminar of Pioneering Next-gen Construction Technology

The “Opening Ceremony of PolyU-NAMI 3D Concrete Robotic Printing Research Centre (RCC3D) cum Seminar of Pioneering Next-gen Construction Technology” was successfully held on 24 June 2023 (Saturday) at PolyU. The seminar was kicked off by the welcome address of Ir Prof. Christopher Chao, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU, and Prof. Ching Pak Chung, Chairman of Nano and Advanced Materials Institute (NAMI). Prof. Chi Sun Poon, Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), highlighted that the vision of RCC3D is to become the forefront academic institution in Hong Kong for research and application of 3D concrete printing.   Other officiating guests and distinguished speakers included Mr Victor Tai, Under Secretary for Housing of HKSARG, Dr Behrokh Khoshnevis, Louise L. Dunn Distinguished Professor of Engineering of University of Southern California, Prof. Richard Liew, Professor and Head of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of National University of Singapore, Dr Gordon Leung, Associate Director of Research and Development (Construction) of NAMI, and Dr Jacky Chung, Senior Engineering Manager of Industrial Centre (IC) of PolyU.   Co-organized by NAMI, IC and CEE, RCC3D aims to promote the cutting-edge knowledge of 3D concrete printing, to foster the applications of 3D concrete printing for the Hong Kong construction industry and to nourish new talents in the field. Being the pioneer of 3D concrete printing research centre in Hong Kong, RCC3D’s continuous research excellence will definitely bring a new era of sustainable construction in the near future.

CEE Departmental Visit - Christian Alliance Cheng Wing Gee College (20 Jun)

A group of 33 students from Christian Alliance Cheng Wing Gee College visited CEE on 20 June 2023 (Tuesday). Dr Andy Y.F. Leung, Associate Head (Partnership) of CEE, introduced the recent development of the civil engineering industry and the admission information of BEng(Hons) Scheme in Civil Engineering and Sustainable Development. A sharing session by current undergraduate students was also arranged to them, allowing secondary students to learn more about university school life. The students then visited our Structural Engineering Research Laboratory, in which they found interesting and enjoyable.

Prof. Kwok-Fai Chung Received National Award for Excellence in Innovation

Congratulations to Prof. Kwok-Fai Chung, Director of CNERC, on winning the Individual Award of the National Award for Excellence in Innovation on the "Celebration of National Science and Technology Workers' Day and National Innovation Award Commendation Conference“ on 30 May 2023. Prof. Chung is the only Hong Kong party to be awarded this honour this year. The National Award for Excellence in Innovation is a state-level honour in China for science and technology, recognizing citizens who have made remarkable contributions to scientific research, key equipment development, and science popularizations. Having devoted nearly 12 years in carrying out scientific research on high-strength steel structures, Prof. Chung is an expert and scholar in the field of steel construction. His research outcome has brought societal impacts to the construction industry in Hong Kong and has been applied to major projects internationally, including the main span double-arch steel bridge in Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong and the Fourth Macau-Taipa Bridge etc., saving hundreds of millions of dollars in construction costs and producing significant economic and social benefits. Once again, we extend our warmest congratulations to Prof. Chung and we look forward to seeing more groundbreaking achievements from him in the future.

“Best Presentation Award” from the 1st PolyU Research Student Conference (PRSC 2023)

Congratulations to Ms Zhuowei Wang, CEE PhD student, Dr Jiangbo Yu, Prof. Anthony Chen, Associate Head of CEE and Prof. Xiaowen Fu for winning the “Best Presentation Award” given by the 1st PolyU Research Student Conference (PRSC 2023) on 8-9 May 2023.

CEE Members being Awarded Kikuchi-Karlaftis 2022 Best Paper Award

Congratulations to Mr Zijian Hu, CEE RPg student, Prof. William Hing-Keung Lam, Emeritus Professor of CEE and Dr Wei Ma, Assistant Professor of CEE, whose research group’s paper titled “TRBAM22 02472: Turning Traffic Monitoring Cameras into Intelligent Sensors for Traffic Density Estimation“ being awarded the Kikuchi-Karlaftis 2022 Best Paper Award by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Standing Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Computing Applications (AED50).

Achievements of Prof. Xiao Lin Zhao

Congratulations to Prof. Xiao Lin Zhao, Chair Professor of Civil Infrastructure, for his recent achievements of being conferred with the prestigious Humboldt Research Award 2023 and elected as Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. Granted by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Humboldt Research Award is given to internationally renowned academics whose fundamental discoveries, new theories, or insights have had a significant impact on their own discipline and beyond and who are expected to continue producing cutting-edge academic achievements in future. A not insignificant number of award winners has subsequently been granted the Nobel Prize. The award is highly prestigious and recognizes the outstanding academic achievements of Prof. Zhao in scientific research and subject leadership in the field of civil infrastructure. The mission of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts is to stimulate cross-disciplinary collaboration between reputable scientists of all disciplines, leading artists and practitioners of governance. The Academy brings together over 2000 eminent scholars and practitioners, among them are 32 Nobel Prize winners. Prof. Zhao was elected as Member under the class Technical & Environmental Sciences in recognition of his contribution to the field of engineering and infrastructure.

CEE Three Minute Thesis Competition

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering held its inaugural Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition Final on 15 May 2023. Five finalists outshining from the Semifinal gave stunning presentations about their theses in just three minutes or less.   The 3MT® was developed by The University of Queensland, Australia in 2008 to celebrate the discoveries made by RPg students and encourage them to develop the skills to communicate the importance of their research to the broader community. 3MT® competitions are now held in over 900 universities across more than 85 countries worldwide. This year, a total of 19 CEE RPg students participated in the 1st CEE 3MT® competitions. Their excellent performances will inspire more newcomers in the future.   Congratulations to all the winners of the CEE 3MT® Competition 2023: Name Presentation Title Chief Supervisor Award LI Danning How can we reclaim and repurpose rubberized asphalt pavement? Dr Zhen Leng Champion XU Zibo Achieving carbon neutrality by biochar production and its soil application Prof. Dan Tsang First Runner-up WANG Manli TULINK: Transient Utilization for Leak Identification in pipe Networks Dr Huan-Feng Duan Second Runner-up ZHOU Beining Summertime ozone pollution over the Pearl River Delta region: A study on physical and chemical processes Prof. Hai Guo People’s Choice For the full version of the competition, please refer to:  https://youtu.be/GtIs03k-Z2A

CEE PhD Student’s Paper Awarded Best Paper Award in Carbon Research

Congratulations to Dr Zibo Xu, CEE PhD student supervised by Prof. Dan Tsang, whose paper titled “Redox-induced Transformation of Potentially Toxic Elements with Organic Carbon in Soil”, has been judged to be one of the Excellent papers published in 2022 in Carbon Research. The journal Carbon Research is an international multidisciplinary platform for communicating advances in fundamental and applied research on natural and engineered carbonaceous materials that are associated with ecological and environmental functions, energy generation, and global change.

Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU CEE 2023

The Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU CEE aims to honour outstanding CEE graduates who have made distinctive contributions to the alma mater and community and have attained exceptional professional, entrepreneurial, scholarly or community service achievements in their professions. We are proud to announce that Ms Grace Kwok, Chairman and Executive Director of AEC Group and Chief Sustainability Strategist of AEC Capital Ltd, is the recipient of Outstanding Alumni Award in Professional Achievement of PolyU CEE, while Mr Kenny Lok, Co-founder and Managing Director of EnviPro, is the recipient of Outstanding Young Alumni Award in Entrepreneurial Achievement of PolyU CEE.   Ms Grace Kwok, graduated with BEng (Hons) Environmental Engineering in 1998, is the Chairman and Executive Director of AEC Group and Chief Sustainability Strategist of AEC Capital Ltd. She has more than 23 years’ experiences in sustainable design and green building projects in Hong Kong and across Asia-Pacific. With the vision of shaping a sustainable future for all, Ms Kwok actively works with different Government appointed committees and the building and construction sector to build climate resilience and accelerate net-zero transition. She also keeps close connection with CEE by taking up advisory role of the Department to facilitate academic and industry partnership. Ms Kwok’s strong leadership and dedication to her career in sustainability and green building has made herself and her team earn different international recognitions, including  Sustainability Leader of the Year 2021 presented by Hong Kong Management Association and Women in Sustainability Leadership Award 2022, as well as obtaining the Honorable Mention under the Hong Kong Corporate Governance Excellence Awards 2020 etc.   Mr Kenny Lok, graduated with BSc (Hons) Environment & Sustainable Development in 2012 and MSc Environmental Management and Engineering in 2014, is the Co-founder and Managing Director of EnviPro Technologies Co. Ltd. He has more than 10 years’ experience in the environmental and energy sector, contributing to consultancy projects related to air, acoustic, odour and health impact assessment in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Mr Lok actively participated in various professional bodies to promote sustainability and provide professional environmental advice aiming to positively transform the community and to shape a sustainable future. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Ms Grace Kwok and Mr Kenny Lok on receiving the Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering!

New joiner - Dr Xi Jiang

Dr Xi Jiang obtained his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Civil Engineering (Pavement Engineering) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA, and a Doctor of Engineering degree in Civil Engineering (Geotechnical and Underground Engineering) at Tongji University, Shanghai, China. Prior to joining PolyU as a Research Assistant Professor, Dr Jiang worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at PolyU. Dr Jiang's research interests primarily revolve around geotechnical transportation engineering, with a special focus on the development of resilient infrastructure, such as pavements and tunnels. In addition, he is passionate about exploring cleaner construction materials to foster sustainability in the industry.   Dr Jiang has joined us on 29 May 2023.