We welcome comments and suggestions from staff, students, alumni, and friends of the Faculty, please contact the Faculty Office at faculty.ce@polyu.edu.hk.
 
 

 
 

FCE secures top spots in Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering in Hong Kong

We are proud to report that FCE has achieved remarkable rankings in the U.S. News & World Report’s 2024-2025 Best Global Universities subject rankings. FCE has secured 2nd place globally in Civil Engineering and 18th in Environmental Engineering, both ranked the best in Hong Kong.

These outstanding accolades validate the dedication and effort of FCE members to realise our vision of becoming a leading academic institution on the international stage in the fields of construction, environmental science, and sustainable urban development.

The 2024-2025 Best Global Universities Rankings by the U.S. News & World Report covers 51 subject rankings and evaluates 2,250 universities across 104 countries. The rankings were calculated based on 13 indicators, including global and regional research reputation, total citations, international collaboration and more.

 
   

Results of RGC Competitive Funding Schemes 2024/25

Researchers’ track record of securing competitive research funding is a widely recognised indicator of research excellence. FCE again demonstrates its outstanding research quality in the 2024/25 application results for the Research Grants Council (RGC) General Research Fund (GRF) and Early Career Scheme (ECS), which were announced on 27 June 2024. It remains in the leading position in the Civil Engineering, Surveying, Building and Construction (CESBC) disciplines of the RGC Engineering Panel with an increase in both the total number of grants and funding amount in the present round.

Owing to their similar nature, the application results for GRF and ECS have been combined in some of the following analyses.
Department Total
(including GRF & ECS)		 Total amount of competitive funding (including GRF & ECS)
(HK$)
BEEE 6 $6,629,855
BRE 8 $8,000,052
CEE 22 $23,157,397
LSGI 7 $6,435,765
FCE (Total) 43 $44,223,069


As seen from Figure 1 below, the total number of grants has shown an increase in the present round, and the total funding has also increased to HK$44 million (Figure 2).

Figure 1: Comparison of the number of grants per year between departments over the past 10 years

Figure 2: Comparison of total grants awarded per year between departments over the past 10 years

In the Civil Engineering, Surveying, Building and Construction (CESBC) disciplines of the Engineering Panel, 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 or almost reaching 50% of all GRF/ECS grants allocated in these disciplines. The distribution of the amount of GRF/ECS funding in 2024/25 among local universities is shown in Figure 3. We received 49% of the total available funding in the CESBC disciplines this year, with an average funding of HK$996K per project.

Figure 3: Distribution of GRF/ECS funding in the CESBC disciplines among institutions in the 2024/25 round

Of the 43 GRF/ECS grants awarded to the Faculty this year, three were awarded outside the CESBC disciplines. The Faculty won 40 grants (or 40.4%) totalling HK$41 million out of the 99 GRF/ECS grants awarded by RGC in the CESBC disciplines in the 2024/25 round.

FCE colleagues are encouraged to aim for continuous improvement by writing high-quality proposals that achieve full scores (5). This effort will help secure a larger share of GRF/ECS funding in the future, positively impacting the R-portion of the University and its departments.
 
 

 
 

FCE Chair Professor elected academician of European Academy of Sciences and Arts

Prof. Ben YOUNG, Chair Professor of Steel Structures of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), has been elected a Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA) for his sustained academic excellence in the field of civil engineering.

As a top-notch scientist in the field, Prof. Young is a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, The Institution of Structural Engineers, The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, and the Hong Kong Institute of Steel Construction. His research expertise spans various areas, including cold-formed steel structures, high strength steel structures, stainless steel structures, aluminium structures, and fire resistance of metal structures. Beyond his academic pursuits, Prof. Young actively serves on important academic panels for government agencies and non-governmental organisations. He also serves as the Vice President (Student and Global Affairs) of the University, overseeing the institutional policies and plans related to student development, culture promotion, and global engagement endeavours in educational initiatives.

The EASA was founded in 1990 and has 2,000 elected members, comprising leading scientists, artists, and practitioners of governance, including 38 Nobel Prize Laureates.

 
 
   

FCE shines in inaugural PolyU Patents Achievement Award

FCE has been recognised in the recently announced PolyU Patents Achievement Award 2023, underscoring the Faculty's strong commitment to advancing knowledge transfer initiatives.

Patent filing is an essential step in the knowledge transfer process, safeguarding the valuable intellectual assets of researchers and testifying to the originality of their groundbreaking work. The active patent filing activities within FCE demonstrate that the research conducted by its academics is making promising progress towards commercialisation.

Award Category Unit/Awardee
Top Patents Filing Award 2023 Department Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Inventor Prof. John SHI
Dept of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics
Most Active Patents Filing Award in the year 2023 Department Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Inventor Prof. C.S. POON
Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering
 

   
 

FCE enhances research proposal writing and stimulates cross-institutional discussion through research forum and salon

FCE takes proactive steps to further equip its researchers with the techniques needed to develop high-quality research proposals and to foster a supportive culture for research excellence.

The FCE Annual Forum 2024 on 22 July 2024 attracted about 70 participants. Academics from FCE departments, the School of Fashion and Textiles (SFT), the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE), and the Department of Applied Mathematics (AMA) shared valuable insights and practical tips on writing first-rate proposals for the schemes funded by the Research Grants Council (RGC). The topics covered at the forum are as follows. FCE academic staff who are interested in viewing the forum recording can follow this link.

Topic Speaker Department
Successful Experience in Writing ECS Proposal Dr Tao LIU
Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Successful Experience in Writing GRF Proposal Dr Liming JIANG
Dept of Building Environment and Energy Engineering
RAP’s Successful Experience in Writing GRF Proposal Dr Xiaoyou WANG
Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Successful Experience in Writing Proposal for RGC Major Research Scheme – Theme-based Research Scheme Prof. Xiaoming TAO
School of Fashion and Textiles
Successful Experience in Recruiting Quality HK PhD Fellowship Candidates Prof. Shengwei WANG
Dept of Building Environment and Energy Engineering
Successful Experience in Writing Proposal for RGC CRF Young Collaborative Research Grant Dr Liang LIU
Dept of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Successful Experience in Writing Proposal for RGC Research Fellow Scheme Prof. Buyang LI
Dept of Applied Mathematics

 
A research salon on Advanced Thermal Management based on Radiative Cooling Technology was held on 4 July 2024. This event brought together researchers from FCE and the City University of Hong Kong, who exchanged the latest findings of their respective research teams. The salon fostered cross-institutional knowledge exchange on intelligent building envelope materials and passive radiative cool coating technologies.

These initiatives undertaken by FCE demonstrate the Faculty's commitment to enhancing the research capabilities of its academics and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration to drive real-world impact.

 
   

FCE engages prospective students via student recruitment activities
PolyU JUPAS Consultation Day 2024 Part II

Following Part I of the PolyU Consultation Day for Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS) applicants on 18 May 2024, Part II of the event was held on 5 July 2024. Themed “Cheer On! Chit-Chat with HKDSE Students”, it offered a valuable chance for prospective students who missed the previous event or sought additional admission information. The participating parents and secondary school students attended the admission strategy and arrangement sharing session to gather information about undergraduate programmes. Those interested in construction and environment disciplines visited the FCE consultation booth to seek advice and guidance from the representatives of the four FCE departments on programme selection and career prospects.

PolyU Summer Institute 2024

The PolyU Summer Institute 2024, a dynamic five-day residential camp designed for secondary school students, was held from 22–26 July. During the Faculty attachment sessions on the second and fourth days, around 120 enthusiastic participants engaged in a half-day tour organised by FCE. The tour offered a unique opportunity for them to explore the departments’ state-of-the-art laboratories and witness live demonstrations of cutting-edge equipment. These experiences helped participants gain insights into FCE’s internationally renowned disciplines and consider their future career pathways.
 
   

Welcome new staff to FCE

Prof. Ming LU joined the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE) as a Professor in July 2024. He received his PhD degree in Civil Engineering – Construction Engineering & Management from the University of Alberta, Canada in 2001. Prof. Lu served at the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering (now the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering) of PolyU from 2000 to 2010 and later at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of the University of Alberta. He has received numerous accolades, including the Stephen G. Revay Award from the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) in 2023, in recognition of his remarkable contributions to the history and science of civil engineering in Canada.

Through conducting focused research and guiding doctoral students in Hong Kong and Canada, Prof. Lu has made significant achievements in advancing the states of knowledge and practice in three specialisation domains: (1) devising innovative methods for project scheduling and operations simulation; (2) making machine learning algorithms explainable for engineering applications; and (3) streamlining optimisation strategies and developing sufficient optimisation solutions for construction engineering & project management. His upcoming research will focus on civil infrastructure construction and maintenance systems (e.g., bridges/tunnels/highways/pipelines) to further develop (1) AI-enabled process simulation methods for designing production systems subject to constraints induced by emerging technology, Occupational Health & Safety, environment, and social equity; (2) pragmatic optimisation platform for Agile Project Management involving finite resources, multiple clients and multiple stakeholders.

BRE also has a new Assistant Professor, Dr Yue TENG, who was promoted from Research Assistant Professor to the current position in July 2024. Dr Teng obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Financial Management and Master’s degree in Technology Economics and Management from Chongqing University in 2013 and 2016, respectively, and her PhD degree from the Department of Civil Engineering of The University of Hong Kong (HKU) in 2020. After graduation, Dr Teng served as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Civil Engineering and as a Technical Manager at Net Zero Laboratory (NetZeroLab) at HKU.

Dr Teng’s research focuses on zero carbon, prefabrication and modular integrated construction (MiC). Her interdisciplinary background also enhances her research in urban and regional carbon management and the application of digital technologies for monitoring carbon emissions.

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) welcomed Dr Jinxia LIU to the post of Associate Professor in July 2024. Before joining PolyU, she worked as an Associate Professor and the Director of the Brace Water Centre at McGill University, Canada. Her research team focused on reducing the environmental and health impacts of emerging organic pollutants, particularly poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Her work integrates fundamental and applied studies of PFAS environmental fate and behaviour through laboratory experiments and field monitoring, using multidisciplinary approaches in engineering, chemistry, and microbiology. She also collaborated extensively with government agencies and private industries to tackle soil and water pollution issues.

Dr Liu has secured numerous competitive research grants from Canadian and U.S. funding agencies, including the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the U.S. National Science Foundation.

 
 
 

FORTHCOMING
EVENTS

   Orientation Information Day 2024
Date: 29 August 2024 (Thursday)
Target Audience: PolyU Freshmen 2024
Please click here for the details.
 
 
 
 

INVITATION FOR PROGRAMME ADMISSION

 
 
 

Applications are invited for the following programmes.
Undergraduate Programmes https://www.polyu.edu.hk/fce/study/undergraduate-programmes/
Taught Postgraduate Programmes https://www.polyu.edu.hk/fce/study/taught-postgraduate-programmes/
Research Postgraduate Programmes https://www.polyu.edu.hk/fce/study/research-postgraduate-programme/

For e-Prospectus, please visit https://www.polyu.edu.hk/study

  
 
 

SCHOLARSHIPS & AWARDS

  
 
 

Please click here for the scholarships and awards of the Faculty.