In the latest education rankings of global universities by the U.S. News & World Report, PolyU was in 20th place in Asia and 170th among nearly 1,500 universities around the world. In the subject of civil engineering, PolyU was ranked 3rd globally, just behind China’s Tongji University and Tsinghua University. The Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) is home to four inter-related departments, including the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, whose research achievements have regularly contributed to respectable rankings of PolyU.

The rankings produced by U.S. News & World Report empower students and their families to make better, more informed decisions about their options for higher education. Significant emphasis was placed on academic research in the methodology adopted by U.S. News in its Best Global Universities rankings.

Dr Peng Wang of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) has been chosen for the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW) in the category of alternative water resources. A scientific prize with a focus on innovation, the award was established in 2002 by HRH Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz to recognize the efforts made by scientists, inventors, and research organizations around the world that contribute to the sustainable availability of potable water and the alleviation of the escalating global problem of water scarcity. He will receive his prize in an award ceremony at the United Nations’ headquarters in New York early next year.

Dr Wang’s work is at the forefront of the solar-water nexus, involving the use of solar energy to produce freshwater from unconventional sources and accessible water to enhance solar electricity production. The specific works, all of which have considerable scientific and implementation value, are: (1) next generation solar distillation designs, including photovoltaics-membrane distillation device that generates both electricity and water, which can potentially shift electricity production from the ‘water consumer’ side to the ‘water producer’ side; (2) salt crystallization for seawater desalination brine treatment with zero-liquid discharge, which is fully driven by solar energy and/or other types of low-grade energy; (3) atmospheric water harvesting to produce water for point-of-use consumption and the application (atmospheric) water vapor sorption and evaporation cycle for desalination and effective cooling for photovoltaic panels and buildings.

Dr Wang

An innovative coating for buildings has been jointly developed by Prof. Jianguo Dai of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and a former colleague of the Department of Applied Physics, Dr Dangyuan Lei, in collaboration with Dr Weidong Zhang of China State Construction. The “smart” coating can enhance daytime and suppress nighttime sub-ambient radiative cooling for large-scale building applications. Under strong sunlight, the temperature of building surfaces can be reduced by 6 degrees Celsius compared with the surrounding air temperature, and room temperatures of around 26 degrees Celsius can be maintained without the use of air-conditioners in the summer. The coating is also endowed with water proofing and self-cleaning properties, greatly improving the building durability and maintainability. The research has been recently published in a top journal known as Advanced Materials.

Dr Daniel Chan and Prof. Albert Chan of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE) have been recognized by the Asia Pacific Federation of Project Management (APFPM) with a Project Management Achievement Award 2019 in the Research category for their exploratory study of the implementation of the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme (MBIS) in Hong Kong. They reviewed the current status of building deterioration in Hong Kong, determined and analyzed the perceived benefits, potential difficulties, and effective recommendations or good practices for executing the scheme in existing dilapidated private buildings.

2 research graduates of the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) have been honoured with the FCE Awards for Outstanding PhD Theses. Following are the details:

Nominated by their respective departments for the awards, the two winners were chosen for the significance and innovation of their research, their presentation skills and responses to questions from the Faculty Research Committee Working Group, as well as their academic performance and publication track records. Since getting their PhDs, Dr Li has been working as a research assistant professor in BSE, while Dr Lan is working as a research fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

Prof. Xiangdong Li, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE), has been appointed to the Engineering Panel of the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC) for 2 years till the end of October 2022. As a panel member, he will contribute his academic expertise in assessing individual research proposals for the annual General Research Fund (GRF)/ Early Career Scheme (ECS) of RGC. PolyU has led local universities in the GRF/ECS exercises since 1994/95 in both the number of GRF/ECS projects supported and the total grant value awarded, consistently winning around 40% of all GRF/ECS grants allocated in the Civil Engineering, Surveying, Building and Construction (CESBC) disciplines of the RGC Engineering Panel.

2 alumni from the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE) have been chosen for its Outstanding Alumni Award 2020. They are Sr Choi Kai Au, former Director of Buildings of the Hong Kong government, and Sr Tony Wai Chuen Tse, Legislative Council member for Architecture, Surveying, Planning and Landscape.

Sr Au graduated from the then Hong Kong Polytechnic with a Higher Diploma in Surveying before joining the then Buildings Ordinance Office in 1974. He was a founding member of the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors in 1984, became a Fellow in 1990, and was awarded Distinguished Building Surveyor in 2014. His expertise in building control and formulation of statutory building standards came from four decades of work experience. He was the Director of Buildings and Building Authority from 2008 until his retirement in 2014.

Sr Au

Sr Tse graduated with a Higher Diploma in Surveying before joining the civil service, working in various offices of the then Public Works Department and later the Lands Department for 12 years. He also worked in several private land development companies. He has served on the Vocational Training Council’s (VTC) Real Estate Services Training Board for more than 12 years, receiving a VTC Honorary Fellowship in 2009. Active in many professional organizations, Tony was recognized with a Lifetime Achiever Award from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in 2017 and a Bronze Bauhinia Star from the HKSAR government in 2014.

Sr Tse

The Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE) has chosen Ir Dr Fiona Tsui for its Outstanding Alumni Award 2020. Chairlady of the HKIE Fire Division, Honorary Secretary of its Discipline Advisory Panel and a Founding Member of the MTR Community of Practice, Women in Engineering, Ir Dr Tsui has many years of practical experience in both fire engineering and building services engineering. She is currently involved in projects in the Tung Chung area for new railway and depot redevelopment.

Ir Dr Tsui

The recipient of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) Outstanding Alumni Award 2020 is Sr Paul Tsui, who graduated with a Higher Diploma in Land Surveying and a Master of Philosophy in Geographic Information Systems. He has been President of the LSGI Alumni Association since 2008 and Vice Chairman of the Land Surveying Division of the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors since 2018. Currently Managing Director of Esri China (Hong Kong), he is a member of the Advisory Committee of LSGI.

Sr Tsui