News

Five PAIR researchers received NSFC’s Young Scientists Fund 2022

Thirty-nine research projects led by young researchers at PolyU have been recognised by the National Natural Science Foundation of China’s (NSFC) Young Scientists Fund 2022, with PolyU ranking as the top grant recipient in terms of the number of projects awarded funding among local universities. The successful PolyU research projects cover a wide spectrum of topics, including environmental protection, green living environment, climate change, construction technology and innovation in AI-assisted medical devices, fostering a better future for our changing living environment. Among the 39 projects, 5 projects are led by PAIR researchers, including Dr Yi Wen and Dr Frank Zou Fangxin, Members of the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD); Dr Lyu Xiaopu, Member of the Research Institute for Land and Space (RILS); Dr Huang Qi-yao, Member of the Research Institute for Intelligent Wearable Systems (RI-IWEAR); and Dr Fan Di, Member of the Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality (RCRE). The Fund is open for applications by Hong Kong researchers and universities for the first time. Each project will be granted funding of RMB 300,000 to support basic research work for three years. More: Thirty-nine PolyU research projects granted the NSFC’s Young Scientists Fund 2022, with PolyU ranking as the top recipient among local universities | The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

MHRC in Collaboration with University Health Service to Refer and Recruit Research Subjects

It is with great pleasure that the Mental Health Research Centre (MHRC) will collaborate with the University Health Service (UHS) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) in providing client referral services and subject recruitment support for MHRC projects and initiatives. The UHS established a Mental Wellness Clinic in September 2016 to support the mental health needs of students and staff of PolyU. Since its establishment, the Clinic has supported around 1,400 cases and more than 7,000 consultations. About 80% service users are students, who mainly report issues of anxiety and depression. Learn more: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/uhs/preventive-care/mental-wellness-clinic/

PAIR co-organises Distinguished Lecture with Faculty of Humanities

PAIR co-organised a Joint Distinguished Lecture titled “AI, Consciousness and Ethics: Towards a Principled and Empathic AI” with the Faculty of Humanities on 18 October 2022, with 200 online audiences attended. Prof. Manuel Blum and Prof. Lenore Blum, Professor Emeritus and Emeritus of Computer Science of Carnegie Mellon University, discussed the development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) based on the Conscious Turing Machine (CTM), a framework for a conscious AI, and examined consciousness from the perspective of Theoretical Computer Science (TCS).  

PolyU reaches new heights in Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023, ranking 79th globally

PolyU has attained an encouraging result in the newly released Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023, ranking 79th in the world, up 12 places from the 2022 rankings, and rising in the rankings for three consecutive years! With 85 years of proud tradition and ranking among the world’s top 100 institutions, PolyU aspires to be a leading university with world-class research and education. As a university with a strong focus on science, engineering and technology and emphasis on societal impact, PolyU responds to major societal challenges, developing cutting-edge, practical solutions to issues related to housing, health care, smart cities, the environment and energy; and seizes new opportunities brought by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, promoting the development and application of emerging technologies such as AI, data science, IoT, robotics, new materials, advanced manufacturing and biotechnology. PAIR researchers are committed to uncovering knowledge and transforming research excellence into impactful innovation through interdisciplinary research, with a view to addressing pressing global problems for a better world.   Times Higher Education (THE) - https://lnkd.in/gf2UwbCT Press release: https://polyu.me/3yCIatY

RCDSE featured on HK Commercial Daily

Prof. Wu Bo, Associate Director of the Research Centre for Deep Space Explorations, shared in a telephone interview with the Hong Kong Commercial Daily the University’s participation in the nation’s space missions, and current involvements in the Chang’e 7 lunar and asteroid explorations in 2025-26. Online coverage: Hong Kong Commercial Daily - https://polyu.me/3MadCFu

DoRiFood conferred IAAM fellow and scientist award

Congratulations to Dr Wong Ka-hing, Director of the Research Institute for Future Food (RiFood), for being conferred Fellow of the International Association of Advanced Materials (IAAM) and receiving the IAAM Scientist Award in recognition for his contribution to Applications of Nanotechnology.   The IAAM is a non-profit international organisation to promote scientific research in the field of advanced materials. As one of the world’s largest material science community, IAAM Members around the globe actively exchange their latest research and insights to address critical problems with advanced materials solutions.

PolyU named the best university for blockchain in the world

PolyU was recently named the best university for blockchain in the world by CoinDesk’s Education Week, surpassing the second-placed National University of Singapore and the third-placed University of Zurich. Five local institutions were shortlisted this year, including The University of Hong Kong (11), City University of Hong Kong (17), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (20) and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (38).   The university league ranked the 50 top universities with the biggest impact on blockchain, screened from a sample of 240 institutions worldwide. The selection covers the scholarly, industrial and pedagogical impact of institutions on blockchain, including the number and influence of their research publications, the number of courses, degrees, conferences, clubs and industry partnerships or grants, graduates employment, reputation and other measurements.  According to CoinDesk’s analysts, PolyU scholars published 209 blockchain research papers, the highest volume of most cited research outputs among all institutions.   The University will continue to move forward in education, research and knowledge transfer with reference to rankings and other assessments, contributing to Hong Kong, the country and the world with outstanding scientific research.   Online coverage: CoinDesk - https://polyu.me/3DUJpbn; https://polyu.me/3DT1kiM Business Insider UK - https://polyu.me/3dGjmdB cnYES - https://polyu.me/3BMUMzz QQ - https://polyu.me/3r6cgSL Toutiao - https://polyu.me/3xR9ww8 Yidianzixun - https://polyu.me/3flVgoR Hong Kong Economic Journal - https://polyu.me/3DZkPq7 (subscription required) Baidu - https://polyu.me/3ReWdfJ

LegCo and CIC Members Visit PAIR

PAIR is honoured to invite Ir The Hon. Chan Siu-hung, Member of the Legislative Council, HKSAR, Ir Edmund Leung Kwong-ho, Former Chief Executive Officer of Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, and Mr Thomas Tong, Assistant Director (Industry Development) of Construction Industry Council, on 27 September for a short visit to the research facilities of our Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence of Things (RIAIoT), Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Research Institute for Smart Energy (RISE) and Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality (RCRE).  We had a fruitful discussion on innovative intelligent IoT application for the real-time monitoring of construction workers’ health conditions, CO2 sequestration and high value products derived from construction and demolition waste, recycling of waste glass and incineration residues for concrete application, as well as smart energy and building automation research and application, hoping that more innovative and intelligent elements can be added to the future development of the northern metropolitan area, with a view to accelerating the smart city development in Hong Kong.

PRI member awarded Key Program Funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)

A project led by Prof. Hao Jianhua, Member of the Photonics Research Institute (PRI), was recently awarded Key Program Funding support from the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC). Prof. Hao will collaborate with the researchers from Nankai University and Sichuan Normal University to perform the study of multifunctional ultrathin ferroelectric integrated materials and devices for neuromorphic computing and artificial visual system. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a frontier field with significant societal impact. However, existing technologies cannot adequately meet future needs in terms of information transmission bandwidth, power consumption, processing speed and intelligent control. Particularly, the rapid development of neuromorphic computing and artificial vision system requires innovation solutions for multifunctional integrated materials and devices. Building on Prof. Hao's internationally recognised works on ferroelectric optoelectronics and the ferroelectric manipulation of rare-earth-doped luminescence, the proposed study is to effectively integrate ferroelectric polarisation with multifunctional characteristics of electronic properties of semiconductor, photodetection and rare-earth ion luminescence, to develop multimodal and novel synaptic devices. The developed materials and devices in this project will help overcome the bottleneck in information technology development.

PRI research achievement: multiple exciton generation in tin-lead halide perovskite nanocrystals for photocurrent quantum efficiency enhancement

An interdisciplinary team led by Dr Li MingJie of the Photonic Research Institute (PRI), recently developed high-quality halide perovskite nanocrystals with enhanced multiple exciton generation (MEG). Nanocrystals (also known as quantum dots) developed from rational design can convert a high-energy photon into multiple electron-hole pairs, breaking the power conversion efficiency limit. The team successfully demonstrated for the first time that the internal quantum efficiency exceeded 100% at a low threshold, with the use of perovskite nanocrystals. The findings have been published in the highly influential journal Nature Photonics. Dr Li’s research has deepened our understanding of the MEG mechanism and provided valuable solutions for developing highly efficient light-harvesting techniques, including photovoltaics, photon detection, and solar-fuel production. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/g2qpVPKb