June 2020
1. Large Equipment Fund for Research
The Areas of Excellence Committee of PolyU has approved 3 proposals of FCE colleagues that will be supported by the Large Equipment Fund for Research. Two of the proposals are from LSGI as per below:
| PI | Project Title | Funding Amount (HK$) |
| Ir Dr Wallace LAI | Multi-channel and Multi-static Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) | $1,954,680 |
| Sr Dr Charles WONG | HySpex’s VNIR-1800 and SWIR-384 Hyperspectral Scanner | $2,558,854 |
2. LSGI Scholar Receives Leader of the Year Award
In recognition of his achievement in lunar topographic mapping and geomorphological analysis for finding the best landing location on the far side of the Moon for the Chinese space mission of Chang’e 4, Prof. Bo Wu of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) was recently honoured by the Sing Tao News Corporation Ltd. with a Leader of the Year Award 2019 in its Education/Professions/ Technology & Innovation category. He shares the award with another recipient, Prof. Kai-leung Yung of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, whose research on a camera pointing system enabled Chang’e-4 to capture stunning panoramic images of the lunar surface.
Established since 1994, the award aims to provide role models for a younger generation and inspire the public to strive for the best in the development of Hong Kong.
July 2020
1. Faculty Award for Outstanding Achievement 2019/20
Sr Dr Charles Wong of LSGI has won a Faculty Award for Outstanding Achievement 2019/20 in Teaching. The individual award comes with a cash prize of HK$10,000 and a teaching grant of HK$100,000, which can be used for staff development, conference attendances, purchase of equipment, recruitment of personnel, etc. that support teaching, research or other academic activities, as the awardee chooses, subject to management guidelines. He will also be honoured with an award certificate at the Faculty Congregation and Prize Presentation Ceremony in October 2020.
2. Highest Funded GRF Project at PolyU led by LSGI Scholar
Moreover, Sr Dr Charles Wong has also received the highest funding at PolyU from the Hong Kong Research Grants Council’s General Research Fund (GRF) for both 2018/19 and 2019/20. His project entitled “Development of an integrated model for estimating 3D solar energy potential using GIS, Remote Sensing and Deep Learning techniques” was supported with HK$1,210,980 in 2018/19. He 2/2 followed that with another project entitled “An integrated knowledge-based Remote Sensing and GIS dynamic model for the urban thermal environment” in 2019/20, which was funded with HK$1,581,600, the highest funding from GRF for a project at PolyU in the last round.
3. FCE Dean’s Awards 2020
This year, 11 academics in FCE were chosen for the Dean’s Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Research Funding for their cumulative success in securing external competitive research funding in the last few years. We are pleased that Prof. Xiaoli Ding and Dr Wallace Lai of LSGI were awarded.
| Awardee | Allocation Date/ Grant Approval Date | Project Title (Funding Scheme) |
| Prof. Xiaoli Ding |
1-Jul-17
1-Jul-18
1-Jul-19 |
Territory Wide Ground Deformation Monitoring in Hong Kong for Geohazards Studies (RGC General Research Fund) Landslide Monitoring with Intersecting Tomographic Synthetic Aperture Radar (RGC General Research Fund) Development of Ground-Based Radar Remote Sensing Techniques for LongTerm Monitoring of Fast Deformation over Extended Areas (RGC General Research Fund) |
| Ir Dr Wai Lok LAI |
1-Jul-15
1-Jul-16
19-Jul-18
1-Jul-19
22-Nov-19 |
Developing Ground Penetrating Radar as a Spectral Analyzer for In-Situ Evaluation of Construction Material Properties (RGC General Research Fund) A Study of Water Seepage in Construction Materials with Phase Velocity Dispersion of Wide-Band Ground Penetrating Radar Wave and Spectral Analysis of Surface Wave (SASW) (RGC General Research Fund) Development of Specifications and Certification Standards for Underground Utility (UU) Survey Based on Nondestructive Testing, Surveying, Imaging and Diagnostic (NDTSID) Approaches (Innovation Technology Fund – GSP) Waveguide Characterization of Shallow Subsurface Damages in Infrastructure Materials by Dispersive Behavior of Ground Penetrating Radar Wave (RGC General Research Fund) Development of Gas Pipe Diagnostic Technology by Nondestructive Thermographic and Ultrasonic Methods (Innovation Technology Fund – PRP) |
Moreover, a 5-member team led by Prof. George Liu of the Department of Land Surveying and GeoInformatics (LSGI) won the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Services for their outreach efforts to increase the number of exchange and/or international students. His team included Prof. John Shi, Head of LSGI, Ir Dr Wallace Lai, Dr Matthew Pang, and Ms Anna Choi. Each of the awardees/ winning team will receive a cash prize of HK$20,000. Award certificates will also be presented to them at the Faculty Congregation and Prize Presentation Ceremony in late October 2020
