Innovative high strength S690 steel technology wins HKIE Grand Prize

Led by Prof. K. F. CHUNG of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, also Director of Chinese National Engineering Research Centre for Steel Construction (Hong Kong Branch), a research and development project entitled “Innovative construction technology and application of high strength S690 steel in construction” received the Grand Prize for Innovative Application of The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) Grand Award 2023.

The winning project promotes a broad application of high strength S690 steel and its welding technology, enhancing its effective use in construction. It brings significant savings in construction materials, manpower demand, and carbon footprint, promoting sustainable infrastructure development in Hong Kong. The prize was presented to the project team on 9 March 2023 by Ms Winnie W.Y. HO, Secretary for Housing of the HKSAR, and Ir Aaron K.M. BOK, President of the HKIE.

The HKIE Grand Award is newly established in 2023, and it aims to recognise achievements and contributions of the engineering profession in Hong Kong. It comprises three major categories - Innovation, Industrial, and Infrastructure.

FCE teams take home trophies from Hong Kong Techathon 2023

Two FCE teams, “Fleming MedLab” and “Building Brain”, achieved outstanding results at the Hong Kong Techathon 2023.

“Fleming MedLab”, the Champion in the Healthcare & GeronTech category, focuses on developing lightweight wearable exoskeletons to aid recovery from stroke. Dr Kelvin HEUNG, Research Assistant Professor of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), teamed up with Mr Edwin TY, his fellow co-founder of their medical technology start-up Fleming MedLab Limited, and won the championship with their innovative solution using patented technologies based on neuroscientific principles and soft robotics.

“Building Brain”, the 1st Runner-up in the Smart Cities & Sustainability category aims to develop the next-generation data-driven building energy management platform - by developing 1) AI-empowered data-driven optimisation and predictive maintenance strategies, 2) AR-enabled informative and interactive human-equipment-information interface, 3) digital twin-based 3D real-time building monitoring and control system, and by realising a cost-effective method for mass deployment of AI applications. The project can bring about energy saving, carbon reduction, and smart maintenance in the building sector, and facilitate the transformation of the facility management industry in the era of AI. The team was supervised by Prof. Linda XIAO, Associate Dean (Partnership) of Faculty and Professor of BEEE.

The Hong Kong Techathon 2023 is a one-week challenge for students and alumni of the nine universities in Hong Kong to bring in business solutions related to ArtTech & EdTech, Fintech & Web 3.0, Healthcare & GeronTech, and Smart Cities & Sustainability.

Presidential Student Leadership Award 2022

PolyU recognises both academic and non-academic achievements of students through various awards. The newly established Presidential Student Leadership Award aims at honouring and rewarding students with outstanding leadership achievements at three different levels. Each year, awardees selected for the departmental level could go on to compete for the award at Faculty/School level, and the President’s Distinguished Student Leadership Award will be given to one of the Faculty/School awardees.

Congratulations to the following FCE awardees of the Presidential Student Leadership Award 2022 at faculty/department levels:

The Award certificates were presented to the awardees by Prof. Jin-Guang TENG, PolyU President, in a presentation ceremony on 20 March 2023.

Prof. Meng NI receives Academic Innovation Award 2022 (First Prize) from China Energy Research Society

Prof. Meng NI, Associate Dean (Research) of Faculty and Professor of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), was awarded First Prize in Academic Innovation Award 2022 by the China Energy Research Society (CERS) to recognise his contributions to the mathematical modeling of fuel cells and electrolyzers.

Prof. Ni has been focusing his research on theoretical analysis and mathematical modeling of fuel cells for clean power generation and electrolyzers for hydrogen production for 18 years. In particular, he developed a series of multi-scale models for high temperature electrolyzers, from electrode microscale model to single cell model, and to stack model and system model. His research results offered insights into the design optimisation of electrode microstructure and stack macroscale configurations.

The China Energy Research Society is a national academic organisation established in January 1981. The Innovation Awards were established to promote innovation and cultivate talents in the field of energy science, and to recognise researchers for their significant contributions to energy science and technology.

FCE Chair Professor Lecture Series

Prof. Jerry YAN, Chair Professor of Energy and Buildings of the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering (BEEE), presented a lecture titled “Energy Nexus: Research and Innovations without Borders” on 21 March 2023. It is the second lecture of the FCE Chair Professor Lecture Series 2023, which attracted more than 300 face-to-face and online participants.

The lecture started with a welcome speech delivered by Prof. Xiang-dong LI, Dean of Faculty. Prof. Yan then addressed the theme that energy is undergoing fundamental transitions, with the shift to various renewable energy sources and the global target of decarbonisation for achieving sustainability. In order to respond to the transition of energy systems and provide a reliable supply of clean and affordable energy, Prof. Yan emphasised the importance to go beyond the traditional boundary of energy research, by understanding energy nexus and synergy with inter-disciplinary approaches for R&I in the future. The lecture was concluded by an interactive Q&A session sharing the view on the future development of energy transition.

External appointments and awards

FCE academic staff members have always been actively engaged in various public service and external appointments to share their expertise with the wider community, many of them are also bestowed awards in recognition of their academic efforts by different professional institutions.

We are glad to share some latest external appointments and awards of FCE academics:

	Prof. Qingyan CHEN Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering (BEEE) Award Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Science (HKAES)
	Prof. Vivien LU Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering (BEEE) Appointments Chairlady of the Energy Institute (Hong Kong Branch) Session 2022/2023 President of CE100 Hong Kong (2023-2024)
	Prof. Xiang-dong LI Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Award Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Science (HKAES)
	Prof. Daniel TSANG Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Award Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Appointments Member of the Advisory Council on the Environment (ACE) of the Environment and Ecology Bureau

Long-serving staff of FCE

A Technician of the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering (BEEE), Mr Ka Yiu LEUNG, has retired after more than 30 years of service at PolyU since October 1992. Before his last day of service in mid-March, he was presented with a souvenir by Prof. Xiang-dong LI, Dean of Faculty, as a token of appreciation.