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Research Projects led by FCE Scholars Awarded Over $22 Million Funding from RGC |
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Four outstanding collaborative projects led by FCE scholars have been supported by the Research Grants Council (RGC), with the total funding amounting to over HK$22 million. Two of the projects aim to address the impact of COVID-19 and novel infectious diseases, while the other two focus on innovative and cross-disciplinary research areas.
Administered by RGC, the CRF supports investigators across disciplines and/or across universities to engage in creative and multi-disciplinary research projects, while the RIF aims to foster impactful and translational collaborative research beyond academia for the benefit of wider community. |
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PolyU-developed New Asphalt to Improve Road Durability |
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A more durable asphalt paving material, namely Highly Modified Stone Mastic Asphalt, has been developed and evaluated by Dr Zhen Leng of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), in collaboration with the Highways Department (HyD). For the first three quarters in 2021, HyD received over 4,200 complaints about uneven surface of carriageways, resulting in high cost maintenance work in extensive scale and for prolonged duration. The new asphalt of proven higher durability helps to reduce frequency of road maintenance. Dr Leng, featured in news stories on TV and newspaper, explained that the new material has a special composition of asphalt binder with high-density elastic polymer network and aggregate skeleton with stone-on-stone contact, thus can provide better anti-deformation performance and fatigue damage resistance. Site trials of the new paving material at over 30 road sections with busy traffic, including the Cross-Harbour Tunnel Toll Plaza, by HyD since late 2018 has proved it performs better against aging, fatigue and deformation. More trials will be conducted to explore possibility on its wider application. The research is expected to greatly improve the overall efficiency of road network management and road safety. |
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Showcase of Smart Monitoring System for Urban Tree Management |
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Smart Tree Monitoring and Management System, developed by Prof. Charles Wong and his research team at the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI), is showcased at the Smart Countryside Exhibition from 20 December 2021 to 19 February 2022 at the Heung Yee Kuk Exhibition Hall. A simulated tree model, leveraging on smart sensing technologies, is set up to demonstrate how the system keeps track of the angles at which trees are tilting to assess the stability of their roots. This exhibition, in alignment with the Government’s objectives on Smart Village Pilot under “Smart City Blue Print for Hong Kong (Blueprint 2.0)”, promotes smart use of the technologies in the villages to bring convenience and benefits to the residents for better living. |
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Dean of FCE Encourages Young Researchers to Engage in Collaborative Research |
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The Faculty Dean Prof. Xiang-dong Li started the year by meeting with a small group of newly joined young faculty members, who shared with him their background, research interests and challenges facing them on academic journey. Different aspects of the Faculty, including teaching and research, potential funding opportunities as well as various Faculty workshops and salons, were introduced at the meeting. They also learnt about Prof. Li’s own experience of developing a career in academia. Junior academics are encouraged to engage in multidisciplinary collaborative research with their peers by applying the newly launched FCE Young Researcher Collaborative Research Fund, in which they will be asked to identify an FCE senior scholar for expertise and mentoring advice. Embracing the culture of research collaboration, the Scheme also aims to develop and strengthen research capability of young researchers. |
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Research Salon on RAE to Drive Research Excellence |
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A research salon on “Research Assessment Exercise (RAE)” held by FCE on 5 January 2022 gathered about 60 scholars. As well as reflecting on past experiences in RAE 2020, the talk and the discussion that followed also looked ahead to the next assessment exercise in 2026. Invited speakers, including prominent scholars from within and outside PolyU, shared their ideas and insights in writing to top journals, conducting high impact research, and preparing an environment overview statement. Departmental Outcome-Oriented Key Performance Indicators (DoKPI) is also a key topic of the salon. The Faculty Dean Prof. Xiang-dong Li emphasized that FCE will continue to drive research excellence through encouraging high impact research, cultivating collaborative and supportive research culture, and in particular supporting the development of junior/young staff members. Interested FCE staff could check information and ideas shared by the speakers here. |
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PolyU Info Day for Taught Postgraduate Programmes 2022 |
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The annual PolyU Info Day for Taught Postgraduate Programmes was successfully held online on 8 January 2022. Targeting prospective students for admission in 2022/23 or thereafter, 15 parallel sessions of individual programme info seminars were conducted by the four departments of FCE, attracting over 500 participants in total. Taught by leading academics in their respective fields, the programmes cover a wide spectrum of disciplines in construction and environment. For those who wish to revisit the info seminars, please bookmark https://www.polyu.edu.hk/tpginfoday/ for the event playback. Details of the programmes offered by FCE, as well as the 2022/23 Entry Scholarships for selected MSc programmes, are available on https://www.polyu.edu.hk/fce/study/taught-postgraduate-programmes/. |
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LSGI MSc Student in Winning Team of the Huawei ICT Competition |
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Mr Xiu Ming Zhong, a MSc student of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI), triumphed over the Huawei ICT Competition Hong Kong SAR 2021-2022 with his two teammates from the Department of Computing (COMP), among 300 fellow competitors from different universities. Instructed by Dr Yang Xu from LSGI, the team titled “Polynomials” was awarded with the First Prize for their outstanding performance in examining ICT theories and knowledge in the competition. Devoted to areas including big data, AI, cloud service, storage and geospatial technologies, the team is highly knowledgeable in innovative applications in E-Commerce, Healthcare, IoT, and smart city. Apart from the cash prize of HK$30,000, the team will join the APAC regional final competition to compete with other elite students in the region. Hosted by Huawei since 2015, the Huawei ICT Competition is a competitive ICT talent exchange event that fosters international competition and communication among global college students. The competition equips students with practical skills in applying their ICT knowledge for innovative solutions and nurtures young talents for the ICT industry. |
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CEE Internationalization@Home Tour to Foster Student Engagement |
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On 19 December 2021, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) held the Internationalization@Home Tour, as a part of CEE’s internationalization at home (IaH) initiative, to foster in-depth integration between local and international students outside classrooms. It visited remote islands of Hong Kong, including Kat O, Yan Chau Tong Marine Park and Tung Ping Chau, and incorporated interactive elements to foster communication among students. During the boat trips, students from different countries introduced their home town. A video and photo competition stimulated students’ creativity in reflecting cultural diversity via the format of multimedia. The tour proved to be a big success. They all look forward to getting along with their new friends, and building a more inclusive atmosphere on campus. |
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Laboratory for Smart City and Spatial Big Data Receives Delegates from 31 Secondary Schools |
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The Laboratory for Smart City and Spatial Big Data Analytics at the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) was visited by principals and teachers from 31 local secondary schools in late 2021. The laboratory founded in 2018, as the forerunner of the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI), has been proposing smart city solutions for Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. This interdisciplinary research platform is actively providing consultancy support to the Hong Kong SAR Government on strategies and policies of smart city development. As a part of the visit programme, the features of the new scheme programme of LSGI, namely BSc (Hons) Scheme in Spatial Data Science and Smart Cities, were also shared with the guests. Throughout the visit, they were demonstrated how university education and research help students to acquire vital interdisciplinary knowledge, and equip them with creative thinking and skills needed by contemporary society. |
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Global STEM Scholar Appointed to the Board of Trustees of the ISPRS Foundation |
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Prof. Qihao Weng, Chair Professor and Global STEM Scholar of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI), was appointed to the Board of Trustees of The ISPRS Foundation (TIF). He is among the 11 members of the Board, who are all experts from the fields of photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences. While the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) is an international non-governmental organization to foster global cooperation between the organizations with interests in the above-mentioned fields, TIF is an independently registered charity established in 1998 to solicits donations and provides grants for advancing the benevolent purposes of the ISPRS. |
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FORTHCOMING |
World Engineering Day 2022 |
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FCE Alumni Reunion Day 2022 |
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INVITATION FOR |
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Applications are invited for the following programmes. |
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