The Endowed Professorship Scheme of PolyU is a town and gown partnership between generous donor and academia. Ir Prof. Poon Chi-sun, Head of Department of Civil and Environmental 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 generous donation from Able Engineering Company Limited (Able Engineering), the Endowed Professorship was named after Prof. Michael Anson, the founding dean of the predecessor of the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE), as a tribute to his enormous contributions to the Faculty.
Guiding the Faculty’s research development in its early days, Prof. Anson had fostered the research culture and encouraged faculty members to pursue research excellence since the 1980s, while developing research proposals and journal papers by academic was not yet a norm at the then Hong Kong Polytechnic. Prof. Anson continues his devotion to research education even after his retirement in 2003 and is currently the Emeritus Professor of FCE. Through this Endowed Professorship, Able Engineering not only hopes Prof. Anson’s inspirational and pioneering spirit can continue to influence every generation of academia, but also that they can continue to build and excel on the strong foundations laid down by Prof. Anson.
Ir Prof. Poon Chi-sun, the appointed Endowed Professor, is an expertise and pioneer in the research on valorizing different types of wastes as construction materials. His teaching and research focus on eco-friendly construction materials, concrete technology and waste management. He is a Fellow of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers and has been serving actively in various professional and government committees.
This is the second Endowed Professorship supported by Able Engineering. Specialising in construction, repair and maintenance works of local public and private building projects, Able Engineering is a firm believer of close collaboration between academia and industry to push forward academic researches with societal impact. PolyU is deeply grateful for the donor’s support and will continue to pursue “partnership for impact”.
