Prof. Li Li, Associate Director of PolyU PAIR, and Director of the CR-PolyU Joint Research Institute for Carbon Neutral New Materials, hosted four research seminars over the past few months with the goal of igniting interdisciplinary dialogue and stimulating new ideas. The research seminars exposed the PolyU community to a wide range of knowledge that ranged from materials science and AI to textiles in architecture.
Among the seminars, Prof. Gang Sun of the University of California, Davis spoke about “Applied textile chemistry: development of functional materials for improved personal protection and safety”; Prof. Xianyi Zeng of ENSAIT Textile Engineer School – University of Lille talked about “Fashion digitalization: creating a Metaverse ecosystem for supporting textile/fashion design by combining digital simulation and AI-based human-product interactions”; Prof. Minehiro Nishiyama of Kyoto University elaborated on “Low-carbon concrete-material, mechanical properties, structural design, construction, and demolition of buildings”; and Ms Kumiko Enya of the Kumiko Enya First-Class Architect Office described the “Design and construction of "Chashitsu" and "Ryouriya" in Kyoto - a portable room for tea ceremonies and an authentic Japanese restaurant”. Scholars of different backgrounds connected their expertise with textiles and fostered cross-disciplinary sharing, which inspired the participants to think more diversely, flexibly, and innovatively.
These seminars that involve different fields of knowledge provide SFT students and colleagues with a platform to exchange knowledge with experts, increase their knowledge base and stimulate their creativity.