Awards and Achievements

Dr Chris Lo featured in Journal of Operations Management and international news media

A research paper co-authored byDr Chris Lo, Associate Professor of ITC, andDr Di Fan, ITC alumni and senior lecturer at the Research School of Management of the Australian National University College of Business and Economics has been recently selected as a feature article inJournal of Operations Management (JOM). The findings of this study have been covered by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) morning news, as well as British and Australian newspapers includingThe Guardian,The Sydney Morning Heraldand theBrisbane Times.  This highly acclaimed paper is titled "Deviations from aspirational target levels and environmental and safety performance: Implications for operations managers acting irresponsibly", and explores whether the relative aspirational financial performance of a firm impacts its likelihood of acting irresponsibly. That is, the study explores whether operational slack in the form of capacity, productivity, and inventory attenuates the likelihood of a firm to act irresponsibly when its actual financial performance deviates from its aspirational level (i.e., the industry norm). The findings contradict the popular view that only poor performing firms tend to violate environmental regulations and neglect health and safety factors. Thus, the relationship between performance and breaching is not linear. High-performing firms act just as irresponsibly as poor performing firms because their past successes have rendered them arrogant or they cut corners to maintain performance. The likelihood of irresponsible action in fact depends on the deviation from aspirational performance. The JOM is one of the leading journals in business and operations management. It is ranked number 1 in theOperations Research and Management Sciencecategory and number 6 in theManagementcategory in the Web of Science according to Thomson ISI Journal Citation Reports 2018. Full citation of the paper: Wiengarten, F., Fan, D., Pagell, M., & Lo, Chris K.Y. (2019).Deviations from aspirational target levels and environmental and safety performance: Implications for operations managers acting irresponsibly. Journal of Operations Management. 65(6): 490-516.

Prof. Jason Choi publishes in Journal of Operations Management

Green supply chain management (GSCM), in fashion apparel and beyond, is a popular research topic. The last decade has witnessed a trend of heightened environmental awareness and protection in China. GSCM is considered to be an effective tool for mitigating the negative effects of firms on the environment. However, the extent to which GSCM pressure influences GSCM practices, and whether and how GSCM practices affect GSCM performance are topics that remain underexplored. As a well-established researcher in both sustainable fashion supply chain management and quick response (QR) operations, Professor Jason Choi, Professor of ITC, together with his co-authors in China and the US have addressed the above GSCM issue with special emphasis on the role played by QR technology. Combining the institutional theory, Resource Based View (RBV) theory, and the literature on GSCM, the study by Prof. Choi sheds light on the relationship among GSCM pressure, practices, and performance under the moderating effect of QR technology. After carrying out a statistical analysis of the collected data and case studies of companies in China, several findings have emerged. First, among the different types of GSCM pressure, pressure from the market and pressure to export have significant impacts on GSCM practices, whereas pressure of cost does not significantly influence GSCM practices. Second, internal improvement practices exert a significant impact on GSCM practices, while external improvement practices negatively affect positive economic performances. In addition, industrial ecology practices have significantly influenced environmental, positive economic, and operational performances. Third, QR technology suppresses the positive effect between internal improvement practices and negative economic performances. A multi-methodological approach is used in the study, and two real world case studies are further conducted to verify the findings and generate additional insights. These empirical based findings not only contribute to the literature but also provide important guidance to help governments and companies establish effective and innovative GSCM policies. This research work has been recently published in the Journal of Operations Management, a high impact premier journal that ranks high on all major business school journal lists (The University of Texas at Dallas, Financial Times Top 50 Journals, the Association of Business Schools, etc.). Li, G., L. Li, T.M. Choi*, S.P. Sethi. 2019. Green supply chain management in Chinese firms: Innovative measures and the moderating role of quick response technology. Journal of Operations Management, https://doi.org/10.1002/joom.1061.

Prof. John Xin receives First Class Award of Science & Technology Advancement Award of Shandong Province

Prof. John Xin, Chair Professor of ITC, has been recognized with the First-Class Award of the Science & Technology Advancement Award of Shandong Province for the successful digitalization of yarn and fabric colors as well as the commercialization of its core technology in the textile and apparel industry.The work is a collaborative effort of ITC,Luthai Textile Co., Ltd.,Donghua UniversityandZhejiang University. Prof. John Xin is the first contributor among the collaborators of the awarded work. The fundamental technology that has led to this recognition is an imaging color measurement (ICM) system developed by Prof. Xin and his team at ITC and supported by theHong Kong Research Institute of Textile and Apparel. The award demonstrates the significance of the ICM system which has advanced colour measurement technologies for fashion and textile, as well as many other different industries. The ICM system is a cutting edge total color management system that has ultra-high precision with the capability of accurately measuring the color of each pixel on a textile fabric, which can be a yarn dyed fabric, printed fabric, or even a piece of lace with multiple colors and textures. The ICM system is a disruptive technology in the textile industry due to its ability to objectively measure complex colored products with one click without the need for contact. This is a major step forward from current state-of-the-art color measurement instruments which can only measure a single solid color. The ICM system effectively eliminates color quality disputes among textile producers and textile buyers, shortens the product development lead time, and reduces the cost due to fewer sample repeats and elimination of sample delivery. The ICM system has significantly increased the effectiveness of color quality control work and efficiency in product development, which together provide a wide variety of benefits to the textile industry.

Dr. ZHAO Jiong has received China's 2019 Excellent Young Scientists Fund

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) has announced the awardees of the Excellent Young Scientists Fund. Dr ZHAO Jiong, Assistant Professor of Department of Applied Physics (AP) has achieved outstanding results in the 2019 Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Hong Kong and Macau), as well as will receive a funding of RMB1.3 million to directly support their scientific research projects in Hong Kong to a maximum period of three years. The fund was extended to Hong Kong and Macau for the first time this year exclusively for applications by eight designated universities. It was highly competitive that said 25 projects are funded for Hong Kong and Macau, Dr. ZHAO was one of the young scientist awarded with his project titled "Experimental nanomechanics on two-dimensional materials". In this project, they plan to continue the experimental investigations on the bending, defects, phase transitions, and van der Waals forces/energies of the two-dimensional materials and conduct quantitative mechanical analysis based on a series of atomic-resolution fast imaging approaches developed through the project. Three-dimensional imaging and computer-aided analysis methods will be applied to the two-dimensional materials of atomic thickness, laying a solid foundation for the future applications of two-dimensional materials.

2019 Emerald Literati Awards recipient - Dr Eunsoo Baek

Dr Eunsoo Baek, Assistant Professor of ITC, recently was nominated to receive the 2019 Emerald Literati Awards (Highly Commended) for a paper titled "Managing the visual environment of a fashion store: effects of visual complexity and order on sensation-seeking consumers" that was published in the International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of the visual complexities of a fashion store on consumer behaviour. In considering the environmental order and sensation-seeking tendencies of individuals, the authors examine the effect of visually complex fashion stores on consumers in a more conclusive way to address the inconsistent effects found in previous studies. About the Emerald Literati Awards For over 25 years, the Emerald Literati Awards has celebrated and rewarded the outstanding and impactful contributions of authors and reviewers to scholarly research. The Emerald Literati Awards is one of the largest independent award schemes led by a publisher, which helps to strengthen the impact of the winning research and support the scholarly journey of authors by providing them with recognition and international kudos. Outstanding and Highly Commended papers are the backbone of the Awards which acknowledge the most outstanding published submissions throughout the previous year.  

Three research papers published in Nature series journals

Department of Applied Physics of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) contributed three research papers that were recently published in the Nature series journals, which are among the most authoritative and recognised scientific journals in the world that publish high-quality research in all fields of science and technology. Optoelectronic resistive random-access memory (ORRAM) for neuromorphic vision sensors – "Nature Nanotechnology" Dr. CHAI Yang, Associate Professor, Department of Applied Physics, and his team developed an optoelectronic device that mimics the functions of human retina in image sensing, memorization, and pre-processing, with image recognition rate and efficiency exceeding existing artificial visual systems. Experimental findings demonstrate the innovation's great potential in enhancing neuromorphic visual system by simplifying the circuitry, efficiently processing overwhelming amount of dynamic visual information, and greatly reducing power consumption. It thus offers promising contribution towards the development of applications in edge computing and Internet of Things. Continuous artificial synthesis of glucose precursor using enzyme-immobilised microfluidic reactors – "Nature Communications" Dr. ZHANG Xuming, Associate Professor, Department of Applied Physics, and his team discovered technology to replicate the opto-fluidic system of leave vein to create micro-reactors for conducting the first phase reaction of CO2 fixation in natural photosynthesis. Experimental findings indicate that the micro-reactors requires only very small amount of RuBisCO (the enzyme involved in the first major step of photosynthesis) for continuous synthesis of glucose (the basic food material). The innovation contributes to artificial photosynthesis developments and will help relieve food crisis and produce biofuel. Enhanced sieving from exfoliated MoS2 membranes via covalent funcationalisation – "Nature Materials" Dr. Nicolas ONOFRIO, Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Physics, and his team developed a nanolaminate membrane based on covalently functionalised molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanosheets. Nanolaminate membranes made of two-dimensional (2D) materials such as graphene oxide are promising candidates for molecular sieving via size-limited diffusion in the two-dimensional capillaries, but high hydrophilicity makes these membranes unstable in water. The covalent functionalisation of exfoliated nanosheets can solve this problem by efficiently control the interlayer spacing to enhance the sieving performance of nanolaminate membranes. They demonstrate remarkable performance towards water purification and desalination, with high rejection of micropollutants and sodium chloride (NaCl) (over 90% and 87% respectively), compared to the current state of the art. The novel strategy paves the way for the preparation of membranes with tuneable sieving behaviour. The control of the surface chemistry of exfoliated 2D materials allows further exploration of the nanofluidic phenomena inside nanolaminate membranes at fundamental and practical levels for water purification or osmotic energy. Prof. Daniel LAU, Head of the Department of Applied Physics, takes pride in the contributions of the three researchers and said, "the Department will continue to devote its efforts in the pursuit of excellence in teaching and research". "PolyU has been undertaking cutting-edge research that delivers real impact to academia and to the world. We are committed to nurturing our academics and researchers to collaborate locally and internationally in fundamental and translational research. We are very pleased that their research findings were published in prestigious and world-renowned journals," said Prof. Alex WAI, Vice President (Research Development), PolyU. Note: Please refer to the appendix for details of the three papers 理大於國際知名期刊《自然》發表三篇論文 (Chinese)

Dr Joanne Yip wins two awards at the Silicon Valley International Invention Festival

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) garnered four prizes with two outstanding innovations at theSilicon Valley International Invention Festival (SVIIF) 2019. ItsSmart Indoor Farming Systemwon aGrand Award and a Gold Medal with the Congratulations of the Jury, while itsFlexible Scoliotic Brace with Shape Memory Alloy Strutswon a Gold Medal and a Special Merit Award, at SVIIF held in Santa Clara, California, the United States from 24 to 26 June. SVIIF attracted inventors from research institutions, academic bodies and business enterprises from about 30 countries/regions to showcase their inventions this year. It was also the first time that Hong Kong institutions participated in this global annual event. Well attended by multi-national companies, investors, entrepreneurs and financiers, SVIIF offers a platform for inventors, industries and businesses to explore opportunities for collaboration and commercialisation of innovations. The award-winning innovations of PolyU: (1) Smart Indoor Farming System Grand Award and Gold Medal with the Congratulations of the Jury Principal Investigator: Dr LOO Ka-hong, Department of Electronic and Information Engineering Applying Artificial Intelligence-based and data-driven technologies, the system can generate photosynthetic-active-radiation lighting, watering and nutrient supply programmes which are optimised for the growth of individual plant types. The system adopts advanced sensing technologies to collect real-time data for the plant growth and environmental data from growth chambers and farms using the system. By comparing the data collected with the growth profiles of different plant types, optimal sets of growth control parameters can be constructed and fed back to the user's system. The system will then automatically supply the optimal tailor-made essentials, such as light, water, temperature, nutrients, to enhance the growth performance of individual plants.Study shows that the growth cycle of Italian lettuce has been shortened by about 50% with the support of this system. Water consumption can also be substantially reduced to only 5% of that in conventional farming. The system can be set up in urban buildings to provide sustainable and stable sources of edible plants, such as salad greens, potatoes, beets, herbs, etc. (2) Flexible Scoliotic Brace with Shape Memory Alloy Struts Gold Medal and Special Merit Award Principal Investigator: Dr Joanne YIP Yiu-wan, Institute of Textiles and Clothing The innovative brace, designed for adolescents with scoliosis, is made of shape memory alloy, artificial hinges and soft light-weight materials. The design can apply strategic corrective forces to the spine and offer adequate support to the user. Users are more willing to wear this Scoliotic Brace for a longer period because of its enhanced level of comfort and mobility, thus making it more effective in treating spinal deformity. SVIIF is hosted by International Federation of Inventors' Association (IFIA), supported by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Santa Clara City and the Santa Clara University, in collaboration with the US Patent and Trade Mark Office. For details, please visit the organiser's official website:https://www.sviif.com/. 理大科研項目於美國矽谷國際發明展奪四獎項 (Chinese) 進修生活 理大研記形合金腰背架 助矯正輕度脊柱側彎 22Aug2019 經濟通 新矯形腰背架如著內衣，望四年內推出市場！ 22Aug2019 香港01 理大研發新型腰背架 助青少年矯正脊柱側彎 物料較輕巧便宜 22Aug2019 星島日報 F01 理大研記形合金腰背架 助矯正輕度脊柱側彎 22Aug2019 星島日報 A04 理大夥皇家藝院合建AI實驗室 22Aug2019 經濟日報A12 新矯形腰背架 舒適成本低 22Aug2019 晴報P20 新支架矯正脊柱 貌似內衣穿戴舒適 22 Aug 2019

PolyU wins two global innovation awards at TechConnect 2019

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) won two "Global Innovation Awards" at TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo 2019 (TechConnect) staged in the United States. It is the third year in a row that PolyU research teams snatched the awards in the world's largest multi-sector event for fostering development and commercialisation of innovations.  The two PolyU winning innovations are: "New Antibiotic Drug Candidates"invented by Dr Cong MA, Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, PolyU, and Dr Xiao YANG, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong Using computer-aided approaches in drug discovery, the interdisciplinary research team discovered small molecules with high potential to be developed into novel antimicrobial agents fighting against the superbugs. Based on a new target, new chemical structure and new mechanism different from the existing antibiotics, these compounds demonstrated great effect of inhibiting bacterial growth, yet with no toxicity to human cells. They are now approaching the pre-clinical development stage. New antimicrobial resistance mechanisms are emerging and spreading globally, threatening human health. These novel drug candidates could potentially be strong complements to the current antibiotics for treating infectious diseases.   "Seeded Sonochemical Coatings"by Dr Nuruzzaman NOOR, Research Assistant Professor, Institute of Textiles and Clothing, PolyU Currently known techniques for coating/incorporating inorganic metal oxide layers on fabrics require high temperature, low pressure and specialised gaseous environments. Output materials also often face leaching issues, which degrade the original function (e.g. UV protection etc.).The innovative seeded-sonochemical deposition method, however, utilises the small seeding layers to direct a more durable overcoating for inorganic metal oxide layer. Processed in room temperature environment, pure products can be developed at high quality in a cheaper, faster and more efficient manner. The research findings can be applied to different areas such as functional clothing and glazing. Ir Prof. Alex WAI, Vice President (Research Development) of PolyU, said, "These awards not only recognise the efforts of our researchers in conducting impactful research, but also affirms PolyU's endeavours in developing and translating our technologies into practical applications with intrinsic value for the benefit of the global community." There are over 600 submissions at TechConnect each year, from global top tier universities and national laboratories such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sandia National Laboratories, Argonne National Laboratory and EPFL-LPAC etc. The Innovation Awards go to the top 15% technologies submitted. This year, 30 global awards were presented for non-US-federal-funded innovations across the world, while another 59 national awards were granted to innovations with US federal funding. The PolyU delegation showcased 21 technologies this year, two of them received global innovation awards at the event held in Boston on 17-19 June. Besides attending various exchange sessions, the delegation also explored product development and co-operation opportunities with industry end-users, multi-national companies and academic institutions for applying the innovations for the benefits of the world.      Over the years, the TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo has connected top applied research and early-stage innovations from universities, laboratories, and start-ups with industry end-users and prospectors. More details are available from the official website of the event:https://www.techconnectworld.com/World2019/ 理大兩項傑出科研同獲「TechConnect全球創新獎」

Faculty Awards for Outstanding Performance/Achievement 2016/17 Presentation Ceremony

Faculty's high quality education and scientific research are supported by dedicated academic staff. Their endeavours in teaching, research and scholarly activities were recognized at the Faculty Awards for Outstanding Performance/Achievement 2016/17 Presentation Ceremony held on 18 Jan 2018. Taking this opportunity, we extend our congratulations to all awardees and thank for their remarkable contributions to the Faculty, the University and the community. Recipients of the Faculty Awards are as follows: Individual - Teaching Dr Chris K.Y. Lo, Associate Professor, ITC Individual - Research and Scholarly Activities Prof. Yang Xiaoqi, Professor, AMA Team - Teaching Dr Fridolin Ting, Teaching Fellow, AMA (Team leader) Prof. Chan Cheong-ki, Professor, AMA Dr Raymond Sze, Associate Professor, AMA Dr Zhang Hua, Teaching Fellow, AMA

Dr Kristina Shin Solo exhibition at Syracuse University in US

The solo exhibition of Dr Kristina Shin - 'Cross Your Heart' is being held at the Sue and Leon Genet Gallery at Syracuse University in New York, US from 4 December 2017 to 3 February 2018. The exhibition is curated by Prof. Jeffrey Mayer who also leads the fashion design programme at Syracuse University.  The title of this exhibition has a double meaning.  'Cross my heart' is an idiom that is used to emphasize truthfulness and sincerity of what one is saying or promising. On the other hand, Cross Your Heart is the name of a bra created by Playtex in 1965. To date, it is still one of the best-known brands in the US and the second bestselling Playtex bra model. The most important characteristic of this bra is the cross at the centre. Cross Your Heart supports and shapes, and is also comfortable to wear. This bra is iconic of the developmental stage of bra design in the 1960s. Kristina's interpretation of 'Cross Your Heart' is to capture the evolution of a highly complex bra design through a vintage inspired intimate apparel collection. She also applies her innovative bra patternmaking method called 'Shin's method' in the creation of this collection. 'Cross Your Heart' showcased in Hong Kong in 2015 and Chungnam National University, Korea in November 2017 before making its appearance in the United States. Kristina hopes that her exhibition will be shown worldwide to celebrate the art of bra design with different audiences.