News

Training on Remote Sensing and Machine Learning

A training course on Remote Sensing and Machine Learning was successfully held by Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) on 18, 19, and 23 August with 20 staff from the Lands Department, HKSAR Government participated. The participants explored engaging topics on remote sensing and machine learning under the guidance of Prof. Qihao Weng, Chair Professor of LSGI and Director of the JC STEM Lab of Earth Observations and his research team. On 18 Aug, Prof. Wu Chen, Head of LSGI, gave a welcoming speech to tick start the training. While Prof. Xiaoli Ding, Director of Research Institute for Land and Space (RILS), presented the training certificates to participants at the end of training. During the three-day training, participants learned about the fundamental of artificial intelligence, how to apply their knowledge and skills in the lab exercises, as well as developed their sense of solving remote sensing related issues in a deep learning fashion. The training equipped the participants with knowledge about deep learning and critical thinking skills for remote sensing engineering problems, so as to prepare themselves for new opportunities and challenges to excel in their careers.

PolyU Summer Programme 2022 – LSGI Session

On 16 August 2022, thirty secondary school students joined PolyU Summer Programme held by Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) at Geomatics Computing Laboratory of PolyU LSGI. The Programme is designed to give secondary school students a taste of various PolyU disciplines, and to better prepare them for their future academic pursuits. This programme was held online for the last 2 years. This year, we are delighted that we can arrange a face-to-face one to meet and communicate with all participants, so as to give them a better understanding on our discipline and areas of application. On behalf of LSGI, Dr Sissi Chen, Teaching Fellow and Deputy Programme Leader of LSGI’s BSc programme, welcomed the participants and shared the Digital Roadmap of Hong Kong. Her talk also covered the introduction of Geographic Information System (GIS) and different spatial applications which are followed by a hands-on CSDi & GIS workshop. Students can experience how to analyze different geo-spatial data to meet the social needs. Last but not the least, students visited our laboratories to understand the equipment and technologies of LSGI as well as our profession. Certificates were presented to participants for completion of programme by Dr Xiaolin Zhu, Associate Professor and Programme Leader of our BSc programme, at the end of programme.

FCE Alumni Reunion Day 2022

The FCE Alumni Reunion Day was successfully held at Block Z on 13 August 2022. More than 200 alumni participated the event to celebrate the 85th Anniversary of PolyU and the accomplishments of the Faculty. LSGI alumni also joined the award presentation for Outstanding Alumni Award in 2022. Prof. Wu Chen, Head of LSGI, presented the certificate to the awardees Mr Ben Chan and Mr Jack Zhang. We also shared our gratitude to generous donation from alumni during the ceremony. It was followed by a lab tour to showcase the latest technologies and research development of LSGI. The Reunion Day provided a precious opportunity for our alumni to reconnect with teachers, classmates and friends and share their gratitude towards their alma mater.   (Photos from FCE e-bulletin issue 142)

LSGI staff and graduate published a book in atmospheric water vapor

Atmospheric water vapor is critically important in meteorology and many other areas. Water vapor arguably lies at the heart of all key terrestrial atmospheric processes. It plays a significant role in studies such as weather forecasting, hydrology, climate change, atmosphere science, to name a few. It can significantly degrade the accuracy of GNSS-based (Global Navigation Satellite System) positioning and navigation. However accurate observation and modeling of atmospheric water vapor have long been a challenge in the meteorological and other communities. Recently one book titled “Tomographic Reconstruction of Atmospheric Water Vapor Field and Its Potential Applications” has been published by the Press of Central South University. The publication of this book represents a climax of the decade-long research work that has been conducted at Dr. George Liu’s Micro-Laboratory of Atmospheric Research and Geomatics Engineering (Micro-LARGE) at the Department of Land Surveying & Geo-Informatics (LSGI), the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). In addition to the introduction of fundamentals of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) meteorology as well as various atmospheric water vapor models and observation techniques, this book has presented many advanced algorithms to reconstruct three-dimensional (3D) distribution of atmospheric water vapor accurately. The applications of the 3D tomographic modeling results in studies of severe weather events, atmospheric river, and GNSS Precise Point Positioning have also been demonstrated. This 203-page book was coauthored by Dr. Biyan Chen, a former PhD graduate at the Micro-LARGE Lab, Dr. George Liu, Prof. Wujiao Dai, and Prof. Lixin Wu. Dr. Chen currently is working as an associate professor at the Central South University, the same institution as Profs. Dai and Wu. Dr. Chen was the first one at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) to receive the “Zhu Kezhen” Prize awarded by the Hong Kong Meteorological Society in 2017.

Research Achievement Selected as "Research Highlights" in Nature Journal

LSGI researchers, Dr Wang Shuo (Assistant Professor) and Dr Li Xiangfei (Postdoctoral Fellow) revealed the potential connection between winter snow reduction and spring/summer heatwave under a warming climate. They further investigated an emerging compound hazard, namely snow droughts followed by extreme heatwaves, and found that such compound hazard occurred most often in drier regions such as North China, East Europe, and Western North America. The research findings provide new insights into the development of sustainable water management policies and ecosystem protection strategies in the context of climate change.  The research achievement has been published in Geophysical Research Letters (Nature Index Journal) and selected as the “Research Highlights” in Nature journal. Please click the following links for details. Geophysical Research Letters: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2022GL099925 Nature’s Research Highlights: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-01846-1

Staff Promotions 2022

We are delighted to share the news that Dr. Xintao Liu and Dr. Xiaolin Zhu have been promoted to Associate Professor effective from 1 July 2022. Dr. Liu and Dr. Zhu joined LSGI as Assistant Professor in 2016. Congratulations to Dr Liu and Dr Zhu!

FCE Awards recognise academic and non-academic staff from LSGI

The Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) recognises, rewards and celebrates the many accomplishments and contributions of both its academic and non-academic staff through the FCE/Dean’s Awards. Congratulations to the following recipients from the Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics Department (LSGI): Dean’s Award 2022 To give due recognition to the efforts and achievements of its academics, the Faculty established the Dean’s Awards in 2008 for outstanding performance in different areas to encourage colleagues to strive for greater success. This year, Prof. Charles Wong has received the Dean's Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research Funding because of his success in securing external competitive research funding. The funded projects led by Prof. Wong are as follows. Allocation Date/ Grant Approval Date Project Title Funding Scheme 1 Jul 2019 Development of an Integrated Model for Estimating 3D Solar Energy Potential Using GIS, Remote Sensing and Deep Learning Techniques RGC General Research Fund 24 Jul 2019 Next-Generation Air Pollution Physics and Chemistry Model for Urban Areas RGC Collaborative Research Fund – sub-project 1 Jul 2020 An Integrated Knowledge-based Remote Sensing and GIS Dynamic Model for the Urban Thermal Environment RGC General Research Fund 4 Oct 2021 Study of Artificial Intelligence for Road Surface Depression Detection Using 3D LiDAR Data CIC Research and Technology Development Fund Congratulations to Prof. Wong!   FCE Award for Outstanding Administrative/Technical Services 2021 The FCE Award for Outstanding Administrative/Technical Services is newly established to give due recognition to administrative or technical staff of the Faculty and its academic departments, at the same time to motivate teamwork among colleagues. Ms Vaness Yu, Clerical Officer II of LSGI, is one of the awardees in the individual award category of 2021. Congratulations to Miss Yu!

PolyU students triumph in global ICT competition

Huawei ICT Competition is one of the largest ICT skills contests in the world developed by Huawei to promote a sound talent ecosystem. This year marks the sixth Huawei ICT Competition, which included three competitions – Practice, Innovation, and Industry – attracted 150,000 students from over 2,000 universities and colleges across 85 countries and regions. In the Practice Competition, entrants had to compete in one of two technology tracks: Network or Cloud. After winning the First Prize in Hong Kong SAR Final and Third Prize in the APAC Region Final in the Cloud Track, the PolyU’s Team “Polynomials” continued their journey for the Global Final in June 2022 held in Shenzhen, China. Finally, The team stood out among 130 teams from 43 countries and regions and won the First Prize in Cloud Track of the Practice Competition in the Huawei ICT Competition 2021-2022 Global Final. “Polynomials” is a multi-discipline team composed of students and teacher from the Department of Computing and the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics at PolyU. The team is passionate about big data, AI, cloud, and geospatial technologies and their applications in E-Commerce, IoT, and Smart City.  Under the guidance of their instructor Dr Xu Yang, Assistant Professor of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI), the PolyU team formed by Feng Yunlin and Tang Man-kit from the Department of Computing and Zhong Xiuming from LSGI have shown their passion for big data, artificial intelligence, the cloud and geospatial technologies, as well as the application of such technologies in e-Commerce, the Internet of Things and Smart Cities. In the future, the “Polynomials”  team hopes to continue to enhance their practical capabilities and strive to become the next generation of talent in the ICT ecosystem. Congratulations!   Team's information Full Name Department Degree/Master Major FENG Yunlin Computing BSc TANG Man Kit Computing BSc ZHONG Xiuming Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics MSc XU Yang(Instructor) Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics

LSGI student received the Innovation and Technology Scholarship 2022

We are glad to share that our Year 3 degree student XU Yi Nam Deanna received the Innovation and Technology Scholarship in 2022, which is offered by Innovation and Technology Commission of the HKSAR Government, HSBC and The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups worked together to establish for the young talents in Hong Kong. The award presentation ceremony was held on 6 Jun 2022.  This Scholarship offers outstanding undergraduates of Hong Kong the opportunities to widen their international exposure, gaining industry experience, and nurture their passion and commitment toward science and technology. XU is one of the 25 awardees who studies science, engineering and health-related subjects from 7 local universities. She will receive HK$150,000 to participate in a series of initiatives, including Overseas/ Mainland Attachment Programme, Mentorship Programme, Local Internship Programme and Service Project Programme. Moreover, an Alumni Association formed by the past awardees of the Scholarship, becomes a platform to sustain these youth’s personal development and knowledge exchange. To be powered by their expertise in innovation and technology, members of the Alumni Association work together to serve the community and promote innovation and technology. Congratulations Miss Xu!

Appreciation for Fiona Cheung's support to establish Endowed Professorship in Spatial Science

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is honoured to be the only Hong Kong tertiary institution involved in China’s space exploration projects, contributing to the development of the Nation’s space programme. Ms Fiona Cheung, Chairman of Forest Zone Limited, who has been a keen supporter of PolyU, has provided a generous donation to establish the Fiona Cheung Endowed Professorship in Spatial Science, in order to support PolyU’s continuous contributions to China’s space exploration projects. Prof. Wu Bo, Associate Head of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics, has been appointed as the Endowed Professor. To express its sincere gratitude for Ms Cheung’s generous support, PolyU held an appreciation lunch on 14 June 2022, hosted by PolyU’s President Prof. Jin-Guang Teng. Prof. Teng extended his heartfelt appreciation to Ms Cheung for her staunch support to the University. With this professorship, PolyU will further strengthen its research endeavours to make greater contributions to the advancement of space technology and science. Prof. Wu developed innovative 3D topographic mapping and intelligent geomorphological analysis techniques which contributed to landing site mapping and selection for China’s Chang’e-3, Chang’e-4, and Chang’e-5 lunar missions, as well as the Tianwen-1 mission to Mars. Expressing his gratitude for Ms Cheung’s support, Prof. Wu stated that this professorship is a great encouragement to the staff and students of the Faculty, driving them to strive for excellence in education and research. Ms Cheung, a member of the Governing Committee of the PolyU Foundation and a University Fellow, has been providing invaluable advice to support the fundraising and outreach efforts of the University. Ms Cheung believes the Endowed Professorship can encourage young scholars to follow the footsteps of Prof. Wu, devoting their careers to research and innovation. With the support of donors, the Endowed Professorship Scheme recognises the achievements of world-renowned researchers in their specialised disciplines and enables the Endowed Professors to explore and advance cutting-edge research projects for the betterment of mankind. We hope that like-minded philanthropists will witness the powerful impact of the Endowed Professorship Scheme in the appointment of the aforesaid professorship. Please browse the Scheme website for more information.