News

FCE Proudly Debuts PolyU’s First Faculty-based Education and Research Fund

 The Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) is delighted to announce the official launch of the FCE Education and Research Fund (FCE Fund), the first faculty-based platform in PolyU that solicits concerted and sustainable support of the community for the advancement of education and research development of the Faculty. An online launch ceremony was hosted on 26 March 2022. Prof. Jin-Guang Teng, President of PolyU, expressed his joy to witness a milestone in the University’s 85th Anniversary in his welcome speech. Prof. Teng reiterated the University’s commitment to academic and research excellence. The establishment of the FCE Fund, with the backing of the University, provides sustainable resources to the Faculty to accelerate its research and education efforts, with the ultimate goal of benefiting our society and the wider world. Prof. Xiang-dong Li, Dean of Faculty of Construction and Environment, emphasized that FCE, as a world-leading faculty in civil and structural engineering, as well as architecture and built environment disciplines , is determined to create innovative solutions for sustainable urban development, building smart cities and improving people’s lives. The FCE Fund will serve as a key fundraising platform in supporting the strategic initiatives and the holistic development of the Faculty and its academic departments across disciplines. The Faculty has been engaging its alumni, industry stakeholders, partners and friends in its establishment of the FCE Fund, and has so far raised over HK$10 million donations. Prof. Li particularly expressed his gratitude to the Fund’s donors and supporters, whose contributions, together with fundings from the PolyU Donation Matching Scheme and the UGC Research Matching Grant Scheme, laid a solid foundation of over HK$20 million for the FCE Fund to inaugurate. The donation will enable FCE to materialise its ambitious plans and initiatives set out under the Fund, in supporting the emergence of new knowledge and innovative ideas, grooming talents, and accelerating high-impact research projects with societal impact. Prof. Li concluded his speech by calling upon the audience to support the Fund and introducing the new online donation platform. It was highlighted that PolyU will match $1 for every $2 donation to the FCE Fund, thereby multiplying the donation for greater impact. Ms Belinda Chow, Director of Alumni Affairs and Development, shed light on the role of the Alumni Affairs and Development Office (AADO) in significant initiatives like the FCE Fund. Ms Chow shared ways of engaging alumni and maintaining the bond between the University and the alumni community. The online ceremony ended on a high note with an inspiring speech from Ir Yau Kwok-fai, an alumnus of PolyU and the President of the Federation of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University Alumni Associations. Ir Yau shared his vision with the audience and illustrated how the FCE Fund sets a good example of alumni contributing and involving in the alma mater’s development. Ir Yau emphasized the Alumni Associations’ support for PolyU in its pursuit of education and research excellence. For more details of the FCE Fund, please refer to the Fund homepage.

FCE Dean Receives Clair C. Patterson Award for Outstanding Achievements in Environmental Geochemistry

Prof. Xiang-dong Li, Dean of Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) and Chair Professor of Environmental Science and Technology, was honoured with the Clair C. Patterson Award 2022 in recognition of his cutting-edge research in environmental geochemistry within the last decade. His research projects mainly aim at addressing real-world environmental problems, by engaging in the fields of regional contamination, urban air PM2.5 pollution, and the origin and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance. Prof. Li was proud to be presented with this prestigous award, as it is an international recognition to not only himself but also the PolyU research team, for their dedication in making an impact in the communities and the wider world. Prof. Li is also the Director of Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD) and Ko Jan Ming Professor in Sustainable Urban Development at PolyU. He has published more than 250 papers over the years, and has over 10 publications listed among the top 1% most cited papers in Environment/Ecology by the ISI database. He has also been the principal investigator of numerous research projects funded by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). Presenting the Clair C. Patterson Award to only one recipient annually, the Geochemical Society is a non-profit scientific organisation established in 1955 to encourage the application of chemistry to the solution of geological and cosmochemical problems, as well as to promote understanding of geochemistry through a wide range of programmes.

Research Projects led by FCE Scholars Awarded Over $22 Million Funding from RGC

Four outstanding collaborative projects led by FCE scholars have been supported by the Research Grants Council (RGC), with the total funding amounting to over HK$22 million. Two of the projects aim to address the impact of COVID-19 and novel infectious diseases, while the other two focus on innovative and cross-disciplinary research areas. Collaborative Research Fund (CRF) 2021/22 Project Project Coordinator Amount Awarded (HK$) Is the Usual Social Distance Sufficient to Avoid Airborne Infection of Expiratory Droplets in Indoor Environments? Prof. Guo Hai Dept of Civil and Environmental Engineering 4,703,090 Spatiotemporal Prediction and Real-time Early Warning of COVID-19 Onset Risk Prof. John Shi Dept of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics 6,964,000 Study of Carbon Sequestration in Hong Kong’s Vegetation: from Present to Future Prediction under Climate Change Prof. Charles Wong Dept of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics 4,949,639 Research Impact Fund (RIF) 2021/22 Project Project Coordinator Amount Awarded (HK$) Deeper Understanding of Color Matching Mechanism for Developing High-quality Lighting and Imaging Systems Dr Tommy Wei Dept of Building Environment and Energy Engineering 5,700,000 Administered by RGC, the CRF supports investigators across disciplines and/or across universities to engage in creative and multi-disciplinary research projects, while the RIF aims to foster impactful and translational collaborative research beyond academia for the benefit of wider community.

CEE Research Team to Support First National Observation and Research Station at Mega Bridge

A new national field research station for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) will be established with the help of a team of researchers from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE). Led by Associate Head Ir Prof. Xia Yong, the CEE Team engaging in this vital national project includes CEE colleagues Prof. Zhu Songye and Dr Dong You and specifically focuses on exploring structural safety monitoring, condition assessment, and maintenance strategies of sea-crossing bridges. Sea-crossing bridges are always vital to the economic development of highly urbanized coastal areas, yet at the same time they are prone to corrosive marine environment and natural hazards. The CEE team, in collaboration their counterparts of the station, will collect real-time data, assess and predict the in-service condition of the bridge, and develop advanced technologies for intelligent operation and cost-effective maintenance of mega bridges. The structural health monitoring group of CEE has a long historical legacy and reputation in the area, with its research applying to numerous landmark structures like the Tsing Ma Bridge, Canton Tower and Shanghai Tower. The HZMB is the latest example. National Field Scientific Observation and Research Stations have been set up by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) since the late 1990s. Focusing on ecology, special environments, geophysics and materials corrosion, and now the maritime environment, as well as structural safety, such research stations have been an integral part of the national technology innovation infrastructure. The new HZMB station is one of the three national stations in transportation areas approved by the MOST in October 2021.

Call for Nomination: Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU Faculty of Construction and Environment 2022

The Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU Faculty of Construction and Environment aims to give public recognition to outstanding graduates of FCE for their professional achievements and significant contributions to the community and their alma mater. The year 2022 marks the 85th Anniversary of PolyU. New features are introduced to recognise our distinguished alumni’s diverse accomplishments and contributions.   Nomination and Selection The Award will be organised at three levels, i.e. Department level, Faculty/ School level and University level. Department Award The Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU Department will be organised by departments. The calls for nomination have started in the third quarter of 2021. Details please refer to the department webpages. Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering Department of Building and Real Estate Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics   Faculty Award Recipients of Department Awards and graduates who have completed programmes offered at Faculty level are eligible for nomination to the Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU Faculty of Construction and Environment. FCE is now calling for nomination for Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU Faculty of Construction and Environment 2022. Nomination Period is from 6 December 2021 to 17 January 2022 (Deadline: 17 January 2022 11:59PM HKT). Please submit the nomination with all the required supplementary documents to michelle.ym.chan@polyu.edu.hk. Nominate a PolyU FCE   University Award While Faculties and Schools will be invited to nominate recipients of their Faculty/School awards for the Outstanding PolyU Alumni Award, the nomination is also open to all eligible graduates. Details will be announced in early 2022. Notes: The bestowal of an award is subject to the individual merits of candidates. No award shall be given out in a certain category if no suitable candidate is identified.   Eligibility The nominated candidate must be a bona fide graduate who has successfully completed full-time or part-time programme offered by PolyU (or its forerunners: Hong Kong Government Trade School, Hong Kong Technical College, Hong Kong Polytechnic, and its constituent units: School of Professional Education & Executive Development and Hong Kong Community College) which led to academic award accredited by the respective Institution. The proposer can be PolyU graduate, Honorary Graduate, University Fellow, PolyU staff, current PolyU Council and Court member and current Advisory Committee member. There is no limit to the number of nominations to be submitted by each proposer. However, the proposer cannot be the candidate himself/herself or a direct relative of the candidate.   Award Categories and Selection Criteria There are four award categories, namely “Professional Achievement”, “Entrepreneurial Achievement”, “Scholarly Achievement” and “Community Service Achievement”. Selection criteria for each category are listed below. Selection is based on the candidate’s personal achievements in the field, contributions to community, and support and contributions to PolyU. Award Category Description  Professional Achievement This category recognises alumni who have attained distinguished achievements, demonstrated exemplary leadership and made a strong impact on their profession/industry. Entrepreneurial Achievement This category recognises alumni who have demonstrated outstanding innovation and entrepreneurship, founded and advanced business or technology ventures with social impact. Scholarly Achievement This category recognises alumni scholars who have made notable scholarly or research contributions in their disciplines, with proven track record and excellent reputation in the field. Community Service Achievement This category recognises alumni who have made impactful contributions to the communities, or demonstrated an extraordinary level of commitment, volunteerism and/or philanthropy for promoting the wellbeing of the communities. Special recognition to outstanding young alumni awardees : Outstanding PolyU Young Alumni award is newly added. Nominees aged under 40 are eligible for this category.   Panel of Judges Panels of Judges, comprising both internal and external members, will be formed at respective levels to examine the nominations and assess candidates’ qualifications and performance for the awards. Enquiry Ms Michelle Chan Faculty of Construction and Environment Email: michelle.ym.chan@polyu.edu.hk Tel: 3400 3877  

27th Congregation of FCE

Congratulations to all our graduates of academic year 2020/21! On 16 and 17 November 2021, the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) held its 27th Congregation in five sessions at the Jockey Club Auditorium on the PolyU campus as well as online. More than 1,400 graduates from its four departments were honoured for completing their studies at higher diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Presiding at the congregation was Prof. Xiang-dong Li, Dean of FCE, who congratulated the graduates and encouraged them to stay connected to PolyU by joining one of its alumni associations. Besides valedictory speeches from a graduate representative of each department, there were also inspiring speeches from the guests of honour, Mr Pang Yiu Hung, JP, in the session for the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering and Ir Ricky Lau Chun Kit, JP, in the session for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. It was a memorable occasion for all concerned.

PolyU’s Civil Engineering Ranked Second Globally by US News

In the 2022 Best Global Universities Rankings by US News, PolyU is the fourth best university in Hong Kong and 15th in Asia. Globally, it has jumped from 170th last year to 124th among the top institutions around the world. Its Civil Engineering subject, which is a major offering of the Faculty of Construction of Environment (FCE), is now ranked number two in the world, one spot ahead of last year’s ranking. The US News ranks universities based on 13 indicators that measured their academic research performance and their global and regional reputations.

Smart Tree Management System Transferred to HK Government

The Jockey Club Smart City Tree Management Project finally came to an end after three successful years of implementation, which resulted in a smart monitoring system of about 8,000 trees all over Hong Kong. In a recent closing ceremony, the system’s technology was officially transferred to the Tree Management Office of the HKSAR Government’s Development Bureau. Developed by Prof. Charles Wong and his research team at the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI), the system involves a Smart Sensing Technology and Geographic Information Systems based platform to monitor changes in the environment and other relevant tree data. The leaning trends of trees installed with smart sensors were predicted by big data analysis, triggering safety inspections of trees whose tilting angles exceeded certain thresholds. Risks to passersby and surrounding properties can thus be averted. Speaking at the ceremony, PolyU’s Executive Vice President, Dr Miranda Lou, thanked The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust for their generous support in enabling PolyU to contribute to sustainable development and tree conservation through innovative research. The Under Secretary for Development, Mr Chun-san Liu, JP thanked the project team and expressed that the continued use of the system by the government can benefit the community in facilitating urban forestry management.

Theme-based Research Scheme 2021/22 to Support Creation of Local Outdoor Comfort Hubs

Prof. Jianlei Niu of the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE) has been awarded $34.6 million by the RGC Theme-based Research Scheme for a project entitled “Healthy and Resilient City with Pervasive LoCHs.” The project aims to create localized outdoor comfort places/hubs (LoCHs) in the urban environment by employing a scientific microclimate design methodology based on advanced modelling and simulation of wind, heat, and moisture in the early stages of building design and planning, with the help of artificial intelligence in optimisation. As the project coordinator, Prof. Niu will lead a team of 13 researchers from various disciplines of PolyU and other local universities, including his BSE colleagues Prof. Cheuk-ming Mak and Dr Ruoyu You, Dr Zheng Tan of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), Prof. John Shi of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI), and Dr Ting-kei Pong of the Department of Applied Mathematics. The research team also includes 10 researchers from 8 overseas universities, and 2 collaborators respectively from the estate developer and software developer. Prof. Niu looks forward to working with other stakeholders from the relevant government departments and estate development industry to speed up the application of the research results. This is the fourth project in FCE to be supported by the prestigious scheme. The previously awarded projects were respectively led by Prof. Tao Wang and Prof. Jin-Guang Teng of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) as well as Prof. Asif Usmani, Head of BSE.

Donations to Support Pursuit of Excellence in FCE

The Endowed Professorship Scheme of PolyU was established in 2012 to honour distinguished scholars for their outstanding academic and research achievements. Ir Prof. Chi Sun Poon, Head of the Department of Civil and Environment Engineering (CEE) and Chair Professor of Sustainable Construction Materials, was recently appointed as Michael Anson Professor in Civil Engineering under this scheme. Supported by a donation from Able Engineering Co. Ltd., the endowed professorship was named after a founding dean of the predecessor of the Faculty of Construction and Environment, Prof. Michael Anson, to honour him for his enormous contributions to the Faculty since he became the Head of the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering in 1988. Guiding the Faculty’s research development in its early days, Prof. Anson continued to be an inspiration even after his retirement in 2003 as an Emeritus Professor. A fitting tribute to his pioneering spirit, the creation of an endowed professorship in his name adds one more to FCE, bringing the total of such professorships in FCE to six. To support early-career academics and nurture the nascent development of innovative ideas with huge untapped potential, the University has launched the Endowed Young Scholars Scheme. Dr Chao Zhou of CEE was appointed as Tsui Tack Kong Young Scholar in Civil Engineering. An outstanding alumnus of PolyU, Ir Tsui has been a staunch supporter of his alma mater for many years. He has contributed to numerous past initiatives of the university, and wishes to further the advancement of FCE as a leading entity for world-class research and education with his donation to the Endowed Young Scholars Scheme. The Schemes provide philanthropists with the unique opportunity to partner with the University to advance research and academic activities in a discipline of their choice for the benefits of the wider community.