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IntroductionGuidebook 2025/26click to read ... PolyU_Research_Studies_Booklet_cover

As one of the founding departments of the University in 1937, the Department of Mechanical Engineering has been at the forefront of the vast evolvement of its field.

The Department takes pride in its focus on grand challenges in the international arena and is actively collaborating with various overseas institutions addressing these challenges. Our global connections broaden the perspectives of future generations opening their minds to discover new knowledge that benefits society. The Department’s world-class faculty and internationally renowned programmes draw students from across the globe. The Department has also published numerous important research findings in world-leading journals.

The Department has made significant achievements in International University Rankings by discipline in recent years, based on its academic reputation, employer reputation and research impact.

Year-round Admission

You can apply for admission throughout the year.   


Research Areas


Supervisor  Specialization
Prof. MW FU Advanced materials processing; Computational materials science; Damage and fracture of materials; Finite element modelling and simulation; Micro-mechanics of materials
Dr ZB JIAO

Advanced structural materials; High-strength steels & alloys; High-temperature superalloys; Nanostructured metals & alloys; Innovative material processing

Dr Q LIU Green Chemical Vapor Deposition, Conformal polymer coating for lithium-ion battery materials, Conductive polymers, LIBs material interfacial engineering
Dr Y MA Haptics metamaterials, micro/nano fabrication of textured surfaces for human-machine interactions, multi-physics modeling of material interfaces, biomechanics
Prof. YW MAI  Composites science, manufacturing processes and engineering applications; Multifunctional polymer nanocomposites; Materials for harsh environments; Fracture and fatigue mechanics
Dr HH RUAN

Non-equilibrium materials engineering; Amorphous materials and nanomaterials; Dynamic behavior of materials; Theory of non-equilibrium phase transformation; Constitutive modeling of advanced materials

Prof. LQ WANG
Engineering materials with designed micro-/nano-structures to confer new properties; Microfluidics-enabled soft and smart manufacturing; Soft materials; Soft and micro actuators/motors/robots/sensors
Prof. ZK WANG Nature-inspired surfaces and materials, additive manufacturing, energy harvesting, fluid dynamics, soft matter, interfaces and surfaces 
Dr HM YAO Bio-inspired Mechanics & Structures; Soft Robotics; Multiscale Computational Mechanics; Adhesion Mechanics; Fracture Mechanics
Dr XL YU Advanced electrode materials development; Nanostructured materials; Carbon based materials; Interface design of composite materials
Dr BP Zhang Nature-inspired materials and interfaces; Membranes; Water harvesting; Solar desalination 
Dr X ZHANG Structural engineering of novel 2D nanomaterials; Earth-abundant catalysts
Dr YY ZHANG  Structuring of Fluids, Soft and Smart Manufacturing, Additive Manufacturing, Microfluidics, 3D Manipulation of Fluids, Flexible Electronics, Nonlinear Computation and Optimization
Prof. GP ZHENG Computational materials science; Atomistic modeling and simulation; Amorphous alloys; Nanostructured materials; Two-dimensional materials


Supervisor Specialization
Prof. L CHENG Acoustics: sound propagation, noise control, passive and active control; Vibration: modelling, control and vibration reduction of structures. Structural wave manipulations; Structural health monitoring: vibration and wave-based damage detection methods; Smart structures with embedding sensor technology; Fluid-structure-sound interaction
Dr S CHENG Green Aviation, Rocket/Satellite/Space Shuttle Propulsion, Sustainable Aviation Fuels, Green Propellants
Dr YS CHOY Structural health diagnosis by non-contact method; Turbine blade-tip clearance assessment; Engine noise and vibration measurement; Airport noise assessment; Engine noise control
Dr Randolph CK LEUNG Aeroacoustics and aircraft noise; Aeronautical flow-induced noise and vibration; Computational aeroacoustics and CFD; Active flow noise control; Aeroacoustics source identification
Prof. ZQ SU Structural health monitoring (SHM); Non-destructive evaluation (NDE); Smart materials and structures; Advanced composite materials; Sensor and sensor network
Dr H TANG Aerodynamics; Active flow control
Prof. LQ WANG
Turbulence
Dr X YU  Vibro-acoustic modelling; Acoustic metamaterial; Noise and vibration control; Advanced functional material; Lattice structure and porous material; Hearing and auditory perception; Active noise cancellation; Smart actuator; Acoustic black hole


Supervisor Specialization 
Dr L AN Fuel cells; Batteries; Advanced energy materials
Dr S CHENG Battery Technologies, Battery Fire Retardants, Carbon-Free Energy Storage and Transfer
Dr YQ FU Wave energy conversion 
Dr MY LI Energy meteorology, Physics and machine learning based solar forecasting, Solar-based poly-generation system design and control, Radiative heat transfer, High temperature electrolysis, Radiative cooling, Solar desalination 
Dr Q LIU  Lithium-ion batteries, Electrochemical energy storage materials
Dr H TANG Wind / marine energy extraction 
Prof. LQ WANG
Nature-inspired and microfluidics-enabled engineering; Heat transfer with thermal waves and resonance; super thermal conductors 
Prof. ZK WANG  Nature-inspired surfaces and materials, additive manufacturing, energy harvesting, fluid dynamics, soft matter, interfaces and surfaces 
Dr MC WU Electrochemical energy storage and conversion; Advanced battery materials; Heat and mass transfer 
Dr HM YAO Mechanical behaviors of energy-storage materials 
Dr XL YU Lithium ion batteries; Lithium sulfur battery; Lithium metal battery 
Dr BP ZHANG  Energy harvesting; Lithium/Hydrogen energy storage 
Dr X ZHANG Electrochemical reactor design; CO2 capture and conversion; Electrochemical conversion of small molecules (e.g., H2O, O2, CO2, and N2, etc.) to high-value chemical/fuel feedstocks; Membrane electrode assembly technology 
Prof. GP ZHENG Nanoporous electrode materials; Solid-state refrigeration; Piezoelectric energy conversion 


Supervisor  Specialization 
Dr S CHENG AI-Enhanced Uncertainty Quantification, Machine Learning in Reverse and Forward Solution Mapping, Convex Optimization, Optimal Decision Making
Dr Henry KH CHU Soft Continuum Robots; Vision-based Control and Automation; Artificial Intelligence (AI); Collaborative Robots and Mechatronic Systems 
Dr YQ FU  Soft robotics 
Dr Y MA Haptics, wearable electronics, sensing and actuation for human-machine interactions, application of artificial intelligence to human-machine interface 
Dr David NAVARRO-ALARCON

Robotic manipulation; Multi-agent systems; Machine intelligence; Sensor-based control; Robot perception

Prof. LQ WANG  Soft and micro actuators/motors/robots/sensors 
Prof. D ZHANG Synthesis and Optimization of Manipulator Mechanisms; Generalized Parallel Mechanisms Research; Reconfigurable Robots; Micro/Nano Manipulation and MEMS Devices (e.g., Sensors); Smart Biomedical Instruments (e.g., Exoskeleton Robots and Rehabilitation Robotics); AI/robotics/autonomous systems; Aerial and Underwater Robotics; New Developments for Humanoid Robots; Machine learning/Deep learning/Machine Vision for Robotics 

 

Supervisor  Specialization 
Prof. L CHENG Acoustics: sound propagation, noise control, passive and active control; Vibration: modelling, control and vibration reduction of structures. Structural wave manipulations; Structural health monitoring: vibration and wave-based damage detection methods; Smart structures with embedding sensor technology; Fluid-structure-sound interaction
Dr YS CHOY Vibroacoustics ; Environmental noise control; Fan and duct noise control; Sound source identification; Soundscape and sound quality of product
Dr YQ FU  Vibration energy harvesting; Nonlinear vibration 
Dr Randolph CK LEUNG  Low noise design for fans and turbomachinery; Metamaterial duct flow silencer; Urban and environmental noise simulation and control; CPX technology for tyre/road noise control; Product sound quality and design 
Prof. ZQ SU Structural health monitoring (SHM); Wave propagation; Non-destructive evaluation (NDE); Sensor and sensor network; Smart materials and structures 
Dr HM YAO Bio-inspired Mechanics & Structures; Soft Robotics; Multiscale Computational Mechanics; Adhesion Mechanics; Fracture Mechanics
Dr X YU
Vibro-acoustic modelling; Acoustic metamaterial; Noise and vibration control; Advanced functional material; Lattice structure and porous material; Hearing and auditory perception; Active noise cancellation; Smart actuator; Acoustic black hole


Supervisor  Specialization 
Dr S CHENG Gas Phase Chemical Kinetics; Real-fluid Oxidation Chemistry; Low-carbon Oxidation Chemistry; Uncertainty Quantification and Optimization; Optimal Decision Making; Machine Learning
Dr H TANG Fluid-structure interaction; Multiphase flow 
Prof. LQ WANG
Microfluidics; Droplets, bubbles and particles; Interfacial phenomena, Multiscale transport phenomena; Thermodynamics; Fluid mechanics; Heat and mass transfer
Prof. ZK WANG  Nature-inspired surfaces and materials, additive manufacturing, energy harvesting, fluid dynamics, soft matter, interfaces and surfaces 
Dr BP ZHANG Interfacial fluid mechanics; Heat and mass transfer; Droplets and bubbles 


Admission Information

A student shall hold a Bachelor’s degree with first or second class honours of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University or a recognized university; or other academic qualifications which are deemed to be equivalent.
A student shall normally hold a postgraduate degree containing a significant research component, such as a dissertation, conferred by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University or a recognized university.

  MPhil  PhD  Remarks 
Full-time  24 months  36 months*  * 48 months for students admitted on the basis of a Bachelor’s degree 
Part-time  48 months  72 months**  ** 96 months for students admitted on the basis of a Bachelor’s degree 

 

For full-time UGC quota PhD admission, preference will be given to applicants who apply for the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme, for which the application period starts in early September each year. All research postgraduate applicants are recommended to approach potential supervisors and preferably, put their names on the applications.
Ms Lily Tam

Email: lily.tam@polyu.edu.hk

Tel: (852) 2766 6643


Distinguished Scholars

The Department’s reputation for all-round excellence is fortified by the remarkable achievements of its internationally reputed faculty members.

The Department has organised/co-organised a series of symposiums and international conferences to pursue knowledge through interactions among the world’s foremost scientists and scholars.  To further elevate its research quality and academic standing, the Department has also invited top-notch scholars to serve as visiting chair professors under the Distinguished Visiting Chair Professor Scheme.


Research Facilities

The Department aims to provide advanced teaching and research accommodation for both undergraduates and postgraduates in state-of-the-art laboratories and facilities.

polyu-me-icon_research-center
polyu-me-icon-2_new-labs 
 Centre & Consortiums  Laboratories

 


Exchange Opportunities

The Department offers student exchange opportunities to enhance students’ global outlook, languages skills and personal development.  Every year, the Department arranges research attachments (from three months to one year) for students to visit overseas universities with financial support.

With the aim of advancing research by exchanging knowledge and ideas within the field of Mechanical Engineering, the Department also provides additional financial support to research students to attend international conferences.

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