FCE receives donation from Ir Tack-kong TSUI for academic and student development

As we step into the new year, FCE is thrilled to receive a generous donation from alumnus Ir Tack-kong TSUI to support the FCE Fund and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE). To express gratitude for Ir Tsui’s support, an appreciation gathering was held on 20 January 2023 to officially receive the donation cheque and to present a token of appreciation to Ir Tsui.

Prof. Charles WONG, Acting Dean of Faculty, received the cheque on behalf of FCE. The ceremony was attended by Prof. Jin-Guang TENG, PolyU President; Dr Miranda LOU, PolyU Executive Vice President; Prof. Chi-sun POON, Head of CEE; and Dr Andy LEUNG, Associate Head (Partnership) of CEE. A laboratory tour was arranged for Ir Tsui and other guests to demonstrate the facilities and latest research undertakings of FCE’s departments.

Ir Tsui pledged his donation to FCE upon Prof. Xiang-dong LI, Dean of Faculty’s call for alumni support at the FCE Alumni Reunion Day held in August 2022. His act of generosity has hugely encouraged FCE to continue strengthening the bonds between the Faculty and the alumni community.

Follow this link to give your support too!

International Symposium on Colour Imaging and Metaverse encourages discussion between academia and industry

The Colour Imaging and Metaverse Research Centre (CIMRC), led by Dr Tommy WEI of the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering (BEEE), co-organised the International Symposium on Colour Imaging and Metaverse with the Research and Innovation Office (RIO) on 27-28 January 2023 to facilitate knowledge exchanges between researchers and industry leaders and officially launch the CIMRC.

The two-day event started with the launch ceremony of the CIMRC, which was officiated by the concerned PolyU management and representatives as well as Hon Duncan CHIU, Legislative Council Member (Technology and Innovation) of the HKSAR, and Mr Andy WONG, Head of Innovation and Technology of InvestHK.

The symposium attracted distinguished researchers from top-notch universities and world-leading industrial partners such as Columbia University, Delft University of Technology, Zhejiang University, ByteDance, Meta Reality Lab, SenseTime, etc. to share their insights about the latest research and development on colour and imaging technologies as well as various metaverse-enabled systems, e.g. virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR).

Dr Wei, Director of CIMRC, has recently been elected a Vice President of the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) and the Chairman of CIE Hong Kong. The CIE is the world’s primary standardisation body in colour science and illuminating engineering.

FCE Chair Professor Lecture Series 2023

FCE kicked off the first lecture of the FCE Chair Professor Lecture Series 2023 on 7 February 2023. Prof. Xiao Lin ZHAO, Chair Professor of Civil Infrastructure of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), shared his talk entitled “Strengthening of Steel Structures using Fibre Reinforced Polymers”. The lecture was conducted in hybrid mode and attracted around 330 staff, students, alumni and members of the public to attend physically and virtually.

After a brief welcome speech by Prof. Xiang-dong LI, Dean of Faculty, Prof. Zhao led participants through a journey starting from the introduction of the applications of Fibre Reinforced Polymers (FRP) and the bond between steel and FRP, followed by an explanation of how FRP strengthen steel members under static loading and bridges under fatigue loading. He also shared his future plans to promote public understanding of FRP while including more related contents in university training, as well as maximising the adoption of FRP through collaboration among universities, industry, and government agencies. The lecture was concluded by an interactive Q&A session with an in-depth discussion on the real-world application and limitations of FRP.

BEEE event connects students with professional engineering societies

FCE departments constantly provide chances and support for our students to explore their future career paths as well as develop connections with professional engineering bodies related to their field of study. On 3 February 2023, the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering (BEEE) organised the event “Engineers of the future: BEEE Engineer Pop-up” to gather students and the below five professional engineering societies in the field of Building Services Engineering:

• American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) - HK chapter;

• Building Services Operation and Maintenance Executives Society (BSOMES);

• Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) – HK Region;

• Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE); and

• The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) – Building Services Division.

After a sharing of representatives from the above five societies on their respective professional status and corporate member qualification requirements, the students got the chance to mingle with representatives and discussed various issues like industry insights, engineering communities and future career opportunities. The participants’ student membership fee of the societies in the first year was also sponsored by the department, so as to encourage them in maintaining a close link with professional societies in their field.

FCE-academic-led project on innovative applications of high strength steel receives Grand Award by China Steel Construction Society

The Faculty is glad to learn that Prof. K. F. CHUNG of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, also Director of the Chinese National Engineering Research Centre for Steel Construction (Hong Kong Branch), received a Grand Award of the China Steel Construction Society Science and Technology Awards 2022 for the project entitled “Basic Theory, Key Technology and International Application of Chinese High Strength 690MPa Steel Structures” on 10 February 2023.

The project provided a comprehensive solution to innovative applications of high quality Chinese 690MPa steel in construction. Through a comprehensive research and development collaboration, advanced predictions on mechanical properties and structural behaviour of S690 welded sections were achieved through integrated experimental and numerical investigations. This allowed minimal or even no penalty in both strength and ductility in these welded sections after welding.

The research results have been applied in the completed Double Arch Steel Bridge of the Cross Bay Link in Tseung Kwan O, the long-span roof structure of the Kowloon Tsai Swimming Pool under construction, and the steel roofs of the East and the West Stands of the Yuen Long Stadium under construction.

PhD student project wins SMART@GWIN E&M IoT Application Challenge 2022

Mr Ho Yin WONG, a PhD student of the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering (BEEE), won the Champion and Favourite Team Award (Tertiary Category) in “Smart@Gwin” E&M IoT Application Challenge, with his two undergraduate teammates from the City University of Hong Kong (CityU). Hosted by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD), the Challenge aims at promoting the adaptation of a network of wireless sensors called Government-Wide IoT Network (GWIN), which is installed throughout the city for facilitating real-time monitoring of Electrical and Mechanical (E&M) equipment in improving daily public services.

Old buildings in Hong Kong are inherently vulnerable to fire and lack effective fire detection and alarm systems to prevent property loss and save lives. Supervised by Dr Xinyan HUANG from BEEE, the winning project of Mr Wong’s team is entitled "Alertech", which provides new insights into the application of GWIN for sending immediate fire signals to the Fire Services Department in the event of a fire, so as to enhance the efficiency of rescue and evacuation. The application will also bring long-term benefits in data storage and analysis of fire-related events, contributing to smart city development.

Long Service Award 2022

We are glad to announce that 18 FCE staff have met the relevant service requirements and are entitled to the Long Service Award 2022. The awardees have been serving their respective departments and the Faculty for 15 years or more, some even for 30 years. Their efforts and dedication are indispensable to FCE’s leading position today. We are grateful for their loyalty and hard work and look forward to their continued support to the departments and the Faculty.