BEEE academic garners Young Innovative Researcher Award 2022

Dr Tommy Wei of the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering (BEEE) has been awarded the PolyU Young Innovative Researcher Award (YIRA) 2022 for his research “Human Vision-based Solutions for Lighting and Imaging Systems”. The research focuses on colour science, trying to understand how humans see colour and light using different methods (e.g., psychophysics, eye-tracking, etc). The findings help to develop algorithms and solutions for various industries, including lighting, cameras, displays, smartphones, VR/AR/MR-enabled metaverse systems, through the collaborations with world-leading high-tech industrial partners. Dr Wei is one of the six inaugural awardees of YIRA selected from 59 submissions across 22 departments. He will receive research funding support of HK$500,000 and personal cash prize of HK$20,000 as an encouragement for his research novelty and impact.

The YIRA aims to honour young PolyU researchers under the age of 35 who have demonstrated novelty, contributed to technology advancement, and propelled transformational innovation into solutions for addressing problems in society with a vision for a positive change to the future.

FCE scholars listed among National Top 20 by Research.com

According to the 2022 Top Scientists Rankings by the international academic website Research.com, nine FCE scholars rank among China’s top 20 in their respective academic fields. It is another recognition of the Faculty’s teaching and research excellence.

The scholars are:

FCE scholars secure over HK$12M funding from Smart Traffic Fund

Four projects led by FCE scholars were awarded the Smart Traffic Fund (STF) by the Transport Department (TD) of HKSAR in 2022 to facilitate the development of intelligent transport that meets Hong Kong’s needs. The STF was set up by the TD to provide funding support for research and application projects on vehicle-related innovation and technology with the objectives of enhancing commuting convenience, enhancing efficiency of the road network or road space, and improving driving safety. FCE scholars have received 5 approved projects out of the total 17 projects from the STF since its commencement in 2020/21.

Public Policy Research Funding

Four FCE academics have been awarded Public Policy Research (PPR) Funding in the latest two rounds of funding. The PPR Funding Scheme, managed by the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office (PICO) of the HKSAR, aims to promote public policy research and evidence-based research to facilitate public policy discussion.

University Court members visit FCE research facilities

Chairman of the PolyU University Court, Dr Katherine Ngan, and some Court members visited the Intelligent Building (IB) Laboratory and the Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality (RCRE) on 1 June 2022. Prof. Shengwei Wang, Director of Research Institute for Smart Energy (RISE) and Chair Professor of Building Energy and Automation of BEEE, and Prof. C.S. Poon, Director of RCRE and Chair Professor of Sustainable Construction Materials of CEE, introduced the research facilities to the Court members respectively.

The IB Laboratory aims to conduct interdisciplinary research to provide innovative building management and control solutions to smart cities. It provides facilities for R&D on intelligent building technologies, including the development of advanced building system control, energy management and diagnosis strategies, big building operational data analytics, demand response strategies for smart grids and network communication software.

The RCRE aspires to establish PolyU as a forefront global research centre in solid waste recycling issues to help reduce carbon dioxide emissions for achieving carbon neutrality. The multi-disciplinary team of researchers at the RCRE are dedicated to finding solutions to reducing and recycling solid wastes.

LSGI student receives Innovation and Technology Scholarship 2022

Miss Deanna Xu, a year 3 student of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI), received the Innovation and Technology Scholarship (the Scholarship) 2022 for her outstanding academic performance, passion for innovation and technology, and service to the community.

The award was presented to her on 6 June by the Chief Executive of HKSAR, Mrs Carrie Lam. Deanna is one of the 25 awardees selected from different local universities and disciplines. She would be awarded a scholarship of up to HK$150,000 to participate in exchange programmes in overseas/ Mainland universities and to undertake internships in local innovation and technology companies.

The Scholarship is jointly organised by the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) of HKSAR, HSBC and The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG) to enhance the city’s potential in the innovation and technology sector by nurturing and encouraging outstanding undergraduates in Hong Kong.

LSGI-led cross-disciplinary research wins Best Paper Award

At the 5th Global Tourism and Hospitality Conference held on 12-14 June 2022, a cross-disciplinary team led by the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) won the Best Paper Award for their paper entitled “Understanding and Modelling Tourist Intra-City Destination Choice Using Mobile Phone Data”.

The team developed a discrete choice modeling framework to study the factors that affect travellers' propensity to visit different places in the city by analysing mobile phone traces of international travelers collected in Seoul, South Korea and massive social media check-ins that reveal characteristics of places and tourism attractions. The paper was selected from 67 conference articles.

The winning team consisted of PhD student Mr Ke Mai (LSGI), Dr Yang Xu (LSGI), Prof. Anthony Chen (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering) and Prof. Sangwon Park (School of Hotel and Tourism Management).

PhD student of BRE receives Third Prize in University Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition

Mr Siyuan Zhao, a PhD student of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), won a Third Prize in the Innovation: Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering Category of the 8th Hong Kong University Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. The prize was awarded for his project entitled “A Flexible High-Voltage Zn-Air Battery with All-in-One Acid-Alkaline Hydrogel Electrolyte”. Winning innovation projects will continue to represent Hong Kong in the Challenge Cup National College Students’ Extracurricular Academic Science and Technology Contest.

FCE Awards recognise academic and non-academic staff

The Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) recognises, rewards and celebrates the many accomplishments and contributions of both its academic and non-academic staff through the FCE/Dean’s Awards. Congratulations to the following recipients:

Staff promotions

Congratulations to the promotions of the following academics of FCE with effect from 1 July 2022:

Promotions to Professor
	Prof. Horace Mui Dept of Building Environment and Energy Engineering		Prof. Zhenyu Yin Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Promotions to Associate Professor
	Dr Hsi Hsien Wei Dept of Building and Real Estate		Dr You Dong Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering
	Dr Tony Sze Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering		Dr Xintao Liu Dept of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics
	Dr Xiaolin Zhu Dept of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics

Dean of FCE welcomes newly recruited young faculty members

Prof. Xiang-dong Li, Dean of the Faculty, met two groups of newly recruited young faculty members on 20 June. Prof. Li extended a warm welcome to the new joiners and introduced to them the Faculty’s structure, strengths, research focuses, as well as the resources provided by the Faculty and the University to facilitate their career development. He encouraged the new members to apply for the RGC General Research Fund (GRF) as a kick-start to their research and shared some crucial tips for proposal preparation.

Long-serving staff of FCE

FCE has two long-serving staff retiring in June 2022. Dr Patrick Fong (in top photo), Associate Professor of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), retired upon almost 28 years of service at PolyU. Ms Fanny Li (in bottom photo), Personal Secretary of the Head Office of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), served PolyU for 34 years. They both received a souvenir as a token of appreciation from the Faculty Dean, Prof. Xiang-dong Li, on their last day of service.