Subsequent to the visit by the accreditation panel on 29 and 30 November 2018 and the accreditation board meeting on 16 April 2019, the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) has granted full accreditation to all engineering-related degree programmes of the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE), namely, the BEng (Hons) in Civil Engineering, the BEng (Hons) in Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Development, the BEng (Hons) in Building Services Engineering as well as the BSc (Hons) in Building Engineering and Management. The accreditation granted to all FCE UGC-funded engineering-related degree programmes is valid for 5 years for all intake classes up to and including the year 2022. A status report on the accredited programmes to address the progress being made on HKIE’s recommendations is expected by 30 June 2021. Graduates of the accredited programmes will be qualified to apply for HKIE membership after gaining appropriate training.

An innovation of building sustainable low-noise pavements with waste tyre rubber and warm mix additives has won a Silver Award in the 2018 Hong Kong Green Innovations Awards (HKGIA). Developed by researchers in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), the innovation provides multiple environmental benefits, including recycling waste tyres, reducing energy consumption and emissions during construction as well as reducing the noise level from a tyre-road by as much as 3 decibels. Led by Dr Zhen Leng, the research team included Dr Wing-Tat Hung, Dr Lam-Wah Cheung, Prof. Shun-Cheng Lee, and Dr Huayang Yu.

As one of the two annual competitions constituting the Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence, the HKGIA encourages organizations to address problems with innovative green ideas that have been turned into tangible gadgets, equipment or systems, resulting in benefits to the environment, organization and the community.

The Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) is pleased that the following academics have been selected for the annual Dean’s Awards for Highly-Cited Papers:

In addition, 12 academics were selected for the Dean’s Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Research Funding because of their success in securing external competitive research funding that meets the criteria for the Award (by securing at least ONE RGC GRF/ECS grant and achieving a total score of not less than 3 from the funding schemes recognized for the Award in the past 3 calendar years, or a total score of not less than 4 in the past 5 calendar years).

At the 10th China Satellite Navigation Conference in Beijing held from 22 to 25 May 2019, Dr George Liu of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) was invited to serve as an editorial board member of a newly launched journal entitled Satellite Navigation, China’s first international journal in the field of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). Published by Springer Nature, it is the official journal of the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

In a collaboration with the Development Bureau of the Hong Kong Government and other institutions, PolyU has provided the technology for a Jockey Club Smart City Tree Management Project to monitor the stability of trees in the city. Smart sensing technology and geographic information systems have been applied to analyze the root-plate stability of local trees since the project began in February of 2018. Led by Dr Charles Wong of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI), the 3-year project has installed tailor-made sensors on the lower trunks of selected urban trees that monitor their tilting angles. Data collected are expected to facilitate timely mitigation measures for sustaining longer tree lives. Widely reported in various online media, including the blog of the Secretary for Development of the Hong Kong Government (https://www.devb.gov.hk/en/home/my_blog/index_id_342.html), the technology was also showcased in a Tree Movement Monitoring Console at the Smart Government Innovation Lab that was launched at the end of May 2019.

On 13 June 2019, a delegation from the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Administration Bureau visited PolyU to discuss a framework for collaborating on scientific research between them. Led by its Bureau chief, Mr Shun Chao Zheng, the 9-member delegation met with Dr Miranda Lou, PolyU’s Executive Vice President, Prof. Xiaoli Ding, Associate Dean (Partnership) of the Faculty of Construction and Environment, Mr Kelvin Wong, Deputy Director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship, Prof. Yong Xia and Dr You Dong, colleagues from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), as well as Ms Iris Tang, Development Manager of the Chinese Mainland Affairs Office. In addition, the delegation visited CEE and the House of Innovation. They also had a chance to meet Prof. Jin-Guang Teng, the incoming President of PolyU, before the end of their visit.

At the collaboration meeting

A 3-member panel of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) visited the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) on 14 June 2019 in connection with the accreditation of the MSc programme in Facility Management. It was introduced to FCE by its Acting Dean, Prof. Geoffrey Shen, and the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE) by its Head, Prof. Asif Usmani. In attendance were its Associate Heads, Dr Wai Ling Lee and Prof. Shiu Keung Tang, as well as the leader of the MSc programme in Facility Management (FM), Dr Joseph Lai. After a tour of various departmental facilities, the panel met with some FM students and industry representatives. It also went on a tour of the university library, where its facilities for Digital Makerspace, the Digital Visualization Room, and 2 studios particularly impressed the panel members. Student work and course work were subsequently reviewed by the panel before a meeting with a few academic staff of the MSc programme. The panel presented its summary and findings to Prof. Shen, Prof. Usmani, Dr Lee, and Dr Lai before the end of its visit, and recommended that the programme be accredited for another five years.

The panel from RICS with some FCE staff

From 17 to 21 June 2019, the CIB World Building Congress was held at PolyU, with a theme of constructing smart cities. Co-organized by the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB) and the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), the event attracted more than 400 scholars, researchers and industry practitioners from about 30 countries to share the latest on a range of related topics. Ir Prof. Alex Wai, Vice President (Research Development), gave a welcome speech at the opening ceremony, which was followed by 8 well-attended keynote sessions. In addition, 4 different tours to places of interest were arranged for participants on the last day. Funded by the Construction Innovation and Technology Fund, the event was also supported by the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE), the Construction Industry Council, the Urban Renewal Authority, the Hong Kong Institute of Construction Managers, the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, the Hong Kong Institute of Project Management, the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors, and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Selected papers from the event will be published in special issues of academic journals like Advanced Engineering Informatics, Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Facilities, Intelligent Buildings International, Journal of Built Environment Project and Asset Management and the Journal of Information Technology in Construction.

At the opening ceremony

The first Eurasian Conference on the Open System for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (OpenSEES) was held at PolyU on 20 and 21 June 2019. As a platform for scholars and engineers from all over the world to share the latest computational tools for complex engineering analysis and design, the conference consisted of over 40 presentations, including 3 keynote speeches from leading academics, Prof. Filip Filippou of the University of California at Berkeley, Prof. Xinzheng Lu of Tsinghua University, and Prof. Giorgio Monti of La Sapienza University of Rome. Prof. You-Lin Xu, Dean of the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE), gave a welcome address at the opening ceremony. The organizing committee was led by Prof. Asif Usmani of the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE). Attracting over 130 participants, the conference provided an overview of the latest developments made on the OpenSEES framework as well as presented some research and practical outcomes in which OpenSEES plays an important role.

Some of the participants at the conference

From 24 to 26 June 2019, the 2nd International Conference on Urban Informatics (ICUI) was held at PolyU. Sponsored by the Croucher Foundation Ltd., the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE), and the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI), the conference had future smart cities as its theme. At the opening ceremony, welcome remarks were delivered by Prof. You-Lin Xu, Dean of FCE, which were followed by an opening address from Mr Ray Leung, JP, Deputy Director of the Lands Department of the Hong Kong Government. Prof. John Shi, Head of LSGI and Chair of the Organizing Committee, introduced the conference, which included 9 keynote speeches and almost 20 sessions on topics ranging from urban remote sensing to spatial data infrastructure to smart mobility. About 280 researchers and scholars from 18 countries, including some from MIT, Cambridge, Harvard, UCL etc. were in attendance. Debuting at the conference were an International Society of Urban Informatics and an International Journal on Urban Informatics. Together with the biennial conference series, they are expected to provide a cohesive framework to promote urban informatics.

At the conference		Some keynote speakers and the officiating guests

From 12 to 15 June 2019, the 3rd International Conference on Bioresources, Energy, Environment, and Materials Technology was held at PolyU. Stimulating new research activities in technological and managerial advancement, the conference attracted about 250 academic researchers, industrial practitioners, green groups, and government officials from all over the world to share scientific and technical inputs as well as political feedback on a range of related issues. Altogether, there were 12 plenary speeches, about 30 keynote speeches, and over 200 poster/ oral presentations. 3 special issues of top journals will publish the conference proceedings afterwards.

The Conference Chair, Dr Daniel Tsang of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), is grateful for the support provided by the Environment and Conservation Fund, K.C. Wong Education Foundation, as well as The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited, the gold sponsor of the conference.

Some of the participants		At the conference

The 11th Asia-Pacific International Conference on Lightning was held at PolyU on 12 June 2019. As a platform for scientists, engineers and academics to share their research and explore the latest technology for lightning monitoring, detection and protection, the conference drew 210 participants from 27 countries. The conference chair, Prof. Ya-ping Du of the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE), began the opening ceremony with a speech, which was followed by a welcome address from Ir Prof. Alex Wai, PolyU’s Vice President (Research Development). In attendance was Prof. Xiaoli Ding, Associate Dean (Partnership) of the Faculty of Construction and Environment. More than 170 papers were presented at the conference, which was well received by all concerned.

Some participants of the conference

A forum for Hong Kong and Guangdong to collaborate on photovoltaic (PV) development was held on 31 May 2019 at PolyU. As a driving force of renewable energy, the application of solar PV systems has surged since the HK Government’s launch of its Feed-in Tariff scheme last year. Providing a platform for stakeholders to share experiences in recent local solar PV applications, the forum attracted about 130 delegates from the government, academia, and industry. Local organizers included Prof. Hong-xing Yang, Prof. Lin Lu, and Dr Xi Chen of the Department of Building Services Engineering, who arranged a visit to a solar farm in Hong Kong for the delegates from Guangdong after the forum.

A visit to a solar farm

The 2019 China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fair was held in Guangzhou on 21 June. One of the products exhibited there was an anti-heat stress uniform developed by Prof. Albert Chan of the Department of Building and Real Estate. Selected as a project for inspection by the mayor of Guangzhou city, the Secretary of the China Science and Technology Association and Deputy Chair, as well as the Secretary of the Guangzhou Association for Science and Technology, the exhibition on the anti-heat stress uniform attracted much attention and won a prize for featuring the technological result most worthy of investment. An interview with representatives of PolyU’s Institute for Entrepreneurship on the product was conducted by China National Radio. Details are at http://api.newsapp.cnr.cn/html/shareScene/index.html?inquireId=1657&reportId=18820 &from=singlemessage.

To find out more about the opportunities for higher education at local and overseas universities, hundreds of secondary students and their parents gathered at the 25th Hong Kong International Education Expo at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on 18 and 19 May 2019. Representatives of many educational organizations including PolyU were there to promote their programmes of study. With coordination from the Secondary School Relations Section of the Office of Undergraduate Studies, the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) was represented by Mr Wai Kei Kong of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), Prof. Shiu-keung Tang of the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE), and Dr Yu-hong Wang of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE). They provided information to prospective students on the courses available at FCE and answered enquiries from the public.

Representatives of PolyU at the Expo

On 24 June 2019, 14 undergraduates and 4 academic staff from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, visited the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE). Led by Prof. Xiangming Chen, Dean and Director of the Center for Urban and Global Studies at Trinity College, the students were introduced to FCE and the Greater Bay Area by Prof. You-Lin Xu, Dean of FCE. Subsequently, Prof. William Lam, Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, gave a presentation on intelligent transportation, and Dr Yang Xu of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics gave a presentation on smart cities. These talks stimulated discussions and exchanges of ideas and collaboration between FCE and Trinity College.

The Trinity students at FCE

The Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) welcomed Prof. Dr.-Ing. Liqiu Meng as its new Distinguished Chair Professor in Geographic Information Science and Cartography in July 2019. Prof. Meng has been a Chair Professor of Cartography at the Technical University of Munich since October 1998. Her research interests are in mobile cartography, geospatial data integration, as well as the acquisition and visualization of geo-events. She was awarded the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal in 2007 and the Carus Medal of the German National Academy of Sciences in 2011 for her research efforts. At LSGI, she will engage in research collaboration related to the data-driven understanding of geospatial events and visual analytics of uncertain reasoning processes in smart cities, contribute towards course development of a double degree study programme in geo-informatics and cartography, and promote student and staff exchanges with Germany and other European countries.

An MEng student in the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE), Miss Qingyan Chen, has won the 1st prize in the 13th Chinese National Competition (South China Region) held in Guangzhou on 21 June 2019 for college students majoring in Refrigeration and Air-conditioning. Miss Chen is a student of Prof. Shiming Deng, whose master’s students also won 2nd prizes in the same competition in 2017 and 2018.

Miss Chen’s award certificate		Miss Chen and her award

One of the memorable experiences for Ms Wai Ping Chuang, who graduated with an MSc degree in Fire and Safety Engineering, was learning a new software to conduct fire research in one month. She also missed the time spent in the library with her classmates preparing for an examination. For part-time students like her, time management and support from employers are essential. She is currently working as a building services engineer and hopes to achieve chartership in the coming few years.

On 5 June 2019, 2 recent graduates of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE) were presented with Second Awards in the Outstanding Final Year Dissertation Awards 2018 for undergraduates organized by the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors (HKIS). Mr Paul Ng was rewarded for his dissertation entitled “A Critical Study on Implementation of Fire Safety (Commercial Premises) Ordinance (Cap. 502) and Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance (Cap. 572) in Hong Kong,” while Miss Sandy Chan’s dissertation was entitled “A Study on How Urban Renewal Causing Gentrification in Hong Kong: A Case Study on Wanchai.” They were supervised by Dr Daniel Chan and Dr Stanley Yeung respectively.

The awards were established to promote research among the next generation of surveyors. Each of the awardees received a certificate and a prize cheque of HK$1000.

Mr Ng (right) receiving his award		Miss Chan (right) receiving her award

On 17 June 2019, 14 representatives of the 26th Faculty of Construction and Environment Students’ Association (FCESA) met with Prof. Geoffrey Shen, Associate Dean (Teaching), to present their budget plans and activities for the coming months. A dozen events have been planned, with FCESA requesting sponsorship for its orientation camp, production of its own brand of stationery, and its annual dinner. The various activities of FCESA aim to promote a sense of belonging among its members, who can broaden their networks by participating in its organized events. A microcosm of social life at PolyU, the organization is exclusively run by FCE students for the well-being of their fellow students.

Representatives of FCESA with Prof. Shen (front center)

38 students from the Department of Building Services Engineering went on a week-long study tour of Nagoya, Japan, in mid-May 2019. The students first participated in an academic exchange and sharing session with some Japanese students at Gifu University. Subsequently, they visited the Nagoya Urban Institute, Toyota Ecoful Town, Kobunaki Eco Village, and the Nanyo Waste Disposal Plant on different days. Not only did they learn about the urban planning and development of Nagoya, they also experienced first-hand what an eco-living environment was like. Other sightseeing spots on their itinerary included the Atsuta Jingu Shrine, Nagoya Castle, and the Toyota Automobile Museum. Students returned from their tour with a heightened awareness of sustainable built development.

In addition to financial support from the Teaching and Student Development Fund of the Faculty of Construction and Environment donated by Ir Mr K.F. Yau, the tour was sponsored by the International Affairs Office, the Alumni Association of Building Services Engineering, the ATAL Engineering Group, Crest Consultants (Far East) Ltd., CxAsia Ltd., Krueger Engineering (Asia) Ltd., Telemax Environmental and Energy Management Ltd., as well as alumni Ir Dr Anthony C.W. Lo and Ir K.F. Yee.

BSE students with some Japanese students at Gifu University		Visit to Atsuta Jingu Shrine		BSE students chatting with some Japanese students

From 28 May to 6 June 2019, 20 students from the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) visited Italy on a study tour supported by the Study Abroad Fund of the International Affairs Office and LSGI. Led by Ir Dr Wallace Lai, students visited the Departments of Physics and Maths as well as Civil Engineering of the Roma Tre University in Rome, where they learnt a wide range of applications of geophysical techniques for understanding the subsurface, such as archaeology and planetary exploration. Two final-year students also presented their BSc theses on the engineering geophysical applications in Hong Kong. Another city that was on the itinerary was Pisa, where students learnt about operating equipment for ground penetrating radar, processing software, and conducting a field survey at a test site which contains different geological conditions and different buried objects. Final discussion and presentation of the survey result and underground 3D models were made in groups by both third and fourth-year students. Not only did students learn how technologies are perceived and applied in another part of the world, but also how to present what they have learnt and achieved in LSGI.

LSGI students in Pisa, Italy