News

Dean (FCE) received Guanghua Engineering Science and Technology Award

Professor You-Lin Xu, Chair Professor of Structural Engineering at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), has been bestowed the 12th Guanghua Engineering Science and Technology Prize by the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE). The award presentation ceremony took place on 30 May 2018 in Beijing. The biennial national prizes aim to reward Chinese engineers and scientists who have made outstanding achievements and important contributions to engineering technology and engineering management. Established in 1996, the award has been extended to include candidates from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan for the first time in the last session. This year, 30 awardees were selected from 296 candidates for the top honour. Professor Xu is one of the three award recipients from Hong Kong. All the three Hong Kong awardees are nominated by the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences. With over 30 years of experience in research and consultancy work in structural engineering, Professor Xu is internationally renowned for his contributions in wind engineering, earthquake engineering, structural vibration control and structural health monitoring. Over the years, he has participated in over 80 national and international research projects, including providing consultation on wind and structural health monitoring of the Tsing Ma Bridge and Stonecutters Bridge in Hong Kong, as well as the Shanghai Tower in the Chinese mainland — the second tallest building in the world. Professor Xu joined PolyU in 1995 as Assistant Professor, and is presently the Dean of Faculty of Construction and Environment. He has obtained two patents on his inventions and has published more than 280 international journal papers. He has garnered many prestigious awards in his career, including the Croucher Senior Research Fellowship in 2006, the Qian Ling Xi Computational Mechanics Award from the Chinese Association of Computational Mechanics in 2010, the Robert H. Scanlan Medal from American Society of Civil Engineering in 2012, and The Davenport Medal (Senior Award) from International Association for Wind Engineering in 2018. For further information of Guanghua Engineering Science and Technology Award, please visit:- https://goo.gl/QFntPj (Chinese only).   Video Interview

FCE professors speak on opening up Chinese mainland funding for Hong Kong

In a TVB news programme on opening up Chinese mainland funding for Hong Kong, a number of researchers from local universities were interviewed. Professor Chung Kwok-fai, Associate Head of PolyU’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), also Director of the Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Centre for Steel Construction at PolyU, said the Chinese mainland has been producing high performance steel materials over the years, and the Centre has helped promote wider use of such materials in overseas projects. Leveraging the opportunities of the Greater Bay Area development, the Centre will be able to nurture more professionals, helping to enhance the overall level of skills and technology of the steel construction industry. Professor Ni Yiqing from CEE, also Director of the Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Centre on Rail Transit Electrification and Automation at PolyU, said the Centre focuses on developing advanced rail technologies to enhance the safety and reliability of China’s high speed rail. With increased funding support from the Central Government, the research team expects to participate in more railway projects at the national level in future. Online coverage: TVB Closer Look (時事多面睇) - http://trsurl.com/s/9Sz TVB Chinese news - http://trsurl.com/s/9SA

HKIE Gold Medal for BSE Academic

For his significant contributions in teaching, research and consultancy services related to the science of fire engineering and building services engineering for more than three decades, Prof. Wan-ki Chow, Chair Professor of Architectural Science and Fire Engineering and former Head of the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE), was recently awarded the 2018 Gold Medal from the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers. The prestigious award recognizes the achievements and contributions made by an outstanding member to his/ her fields of engineering. A Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences since December 2012, he was appointed Justice of the Peace by the Chief Executive of the HKSAR Government in July 2013. He received a Lifetime Contribution Award from the Asia-Oceania Association for Fire Science and Technology in October 2015. Prof. Chow has written more than 1,000 scholarly articles, with over 300 published in SCI international journals. The number of research students who have received their PhD under his guidance exceeds 60.

Ceremony Marks Opening of GIGCAS and PolyU Joint Laboratory

On 28th January 2019, the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (GIGCAS) and PolyU Joint Laboratory of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area for the Environment was officially unveiled by representatives from both sides. A welcome speech was delivered by Prof. Philip Chan, PolyU's Interim President. Speeches were also delivered by Mr Jinghua Cao, Director General of CAS Bureau of International Cooperation, who spoke about the 22 CAS joint laboratories with Hong Kong, and Prof. Yigang Xu, Director General of the GIGCAS. Officiating guests also included Ir Prof. Alex Wai, PolyU’s Vice President (Research Development), Mr Xiaonian Zheng, Director General of CAS Bureau of Facility Support and Budget, Ms Fang Fang Li, Director of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Affairs Office of CAS, Dr Gan Zhang, Deputy Director of GIGCAS, Ir Prof. You-lin Xu, Dean of the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) at PolyU, Prof. Xiangdong Li, Director of GIGCAS and Associate Dean (Research) of FCE, and Ir Prof. William Lam, Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at PolyU. The focus areas of research of the GIGCAS-PolyU Joint Laboratory of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area for the Environment will include air quality improvement, environment and health for city clusters, urban land integrated remediation measures for different types of pollution, municipal solid waste and sewage treatment in new rural areas, ecological management in estuary and coastal areas, etc. Harnessing the strengths of PolyU and GIGCAS, the joint laboratory will extend research frontiers, advance knowledge transfer and applications as well as cultivate talents in the field of environmental protection for the development of the Greater Bay Area.