News

Inauguration of the Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality

The PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR) was proud to celebrate the inauguration of the Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality (RCRE) on 14 January 2022 on the PolyU campus. Over 100 guests from the Hong Kong Government, PolyU, the industry and the Centre’s research partners attended physically or online and witnessed this new page. Under PAIR’s leadership, RCRE will become the effective platform aligning people of similar interests to work together in the very important interdisciplinary research field of how to make good use of resource engineering to achieve carbon neutrality. “Our campus is working hard on achieving the goal of carbon neutrality before 2050. RCRE fits very well into this arena and its research work will add great value to helping not only PolyU but the whole community to achieve this target that can benefit our society in a meaningful way,” said PolyU’s Vice President (Research and Innovation) Professor Christopher Chao at the inauguration ceremony. Speaking at the same occasion, Professor Jin-Guang Teng, President of PolyU, stated that PolyU now has the largest research team and facilities among all the universities in Hong Kong focusing on resources engineering towards carbon neutrality, and has established a strong track record and recognised reputation in the waste management research community. PolyU will advance further with the establishment of RCRE for the good of the society. Attending the ceremony online, Mr Wong Kam-sing, Secretary for the Environment, commended PolyU for its contribution and efforts to pool its interdisciplinary talents and facilities to advance the development of decarbonisation technologies and related policy study. The ceremony also featured a fruitful scientific exchange by different PolyU and overseas researchers who presented on a kaleidoscope of topics. Poster presentations on current projects conducted by PolyU researchers were also staged and attracted the attention of all the attending guests at the spot.

SCRI predicts five more districts to face high Omicron risks

The research team led by Prof. Shi Wenzhong, Director of the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute predicted the spatiotemporal spread of Omicron in the Hong Kong community by big data, using the locations of patients, time of their diagnosis and developing symptoms, population mobility, vaccination rate, and social distance index to figure out high-risk areas. The average risk of being infected with Omicron in Hong Kong will increase in the next week, with high-risk districts rising to 11 from the current six, to include areas such as Sha Tin and Kowloon Bay. Online coverage (English) SCMP - https://polyu.me/3fcBgSb The Standard - https://polyu.me/3K2z8dZ Online coverage (Chinese) Now TV - https://polyu.me/3qfL58e  RTHK - https://polyu.me/3HK8YL8 Oriental Daily News - https://polyu.me/3GjOf0p  Hong Kong Economic Times - https://polyu.me/3tfJIZa  Sing Tao Daily - https://polyu.me/3FiXTix  am730 - https://polyu.me/3ndXjwc Sky Post - https://polyu.me/3f9qxYH  Wen Wei Po - https://polyu.me/3IcBAgr Hong Kong Commercial Daily - https://polyu.me/3zLt7h6  HK01 - https://polyu.me/33mrKJw  

RCSV researchers develop a treatment to slow myopia progression among children and youth

Myopia, or shortsightedness, has reached epidemic levels worldwide. Non-invasive optical interventions are more preferred to help slow down myopia progression. Amongst such treatments is the Defocus Incorporated Soft Contact (DISC) lens developed by researchers at the Research Centre for SHARP Vision (RCSV) , proven to slow myopia progression among children by 60%. Welcome to read more about this here: https://polyu.hk/HXjeD.  

PolyU welcomes opportunities in expediting a wide range of research areas

Professor Christopher Chao, PolyU’s Vice President (Research and Innovation) told the media he was delighted to welcome the new funding sources from Mainland China and increased resources from the Hong Kong government to support research. Talents from Hong Kong could participate in various new innovation and technology projects.    Taking note of the growing importance of interdisciplinary research, he also commended the establishment of PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR) and the various new research institutes and centres.   Online coverage:   Sing Tao Daily - https://polyu.me/3EgIezx  Headline Daily - https://polyu.me/3yOMMfA  

PolyU invests HK$400m in new interdisciplinary research institutes for improving people’s lives

Prof. Wing-tak Wong, PolyU’s Deputy President and Provost, said in an interview that the University will invest HK$400 million in the next three years in 15 new research institutes and centres for areas like smart city, wearable smart devices and Chinese medicine. Prof. Wong said the research will focus on people’s key daily life issues like clothing and food, with an emphasis on addressing societal challenges. One of the institutes established lately is the Research Institute for Future Food (RiFood). Dr Wong Ka-hing, Director of RiFood and Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, told media that RiFood is currently conducting a research on the efficacies of traditional Chinese dietary supplements like bird's nest and sea cucumbers. Another research undergoing at RiFood is how to convert food waste into 3D printing materials with nanotechnology. The institute is also conducting projects about AI food authentication and food sustainability. (Hong Kong Economic Times A10, Sky Post P08) Online coverage : Hong Kong Economic Times  Sky Post   

RCDSE study found impact remnants on the Moon that may provide source of water

A study led by the National Space Science Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences and joined by Prof. Wu Bo, Associate Director of Research Centre for Deep Space Explorations and Associate Head of Department of Land Surveying and Geo-informatics of PolyU, has found carbonaceous chondrite remnants of an impactor in a young lunar crater formed within one million years, a first-time discovery of such fragments by in-situ investigation on the far side of the Moon. Scientists suggests that carbonaceous chondrite-like meteorites may provide 10 to 20% of the sources of water to the present Moon. Prof. Wu’s involvement in the research was to use innovative 3D mapping technology to create a detailed 3D topographic model of the 2-m size crater from the lunar surface images acquired by the Yutu-2 rover of Chang’e-4. The 3D morphological characteristic of the crater is critical to judge if the crater was resulted from a meteorite impact or not. The results were published in the scientific journal Nature Astronomy (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-021-01530-w). Please refer to the following links for the media interviews:  Ta Kung Pao - https://polyu.me/2ZIFw7Q China News - https://polyu.me/3rmLyqd 北京晚報 - https://polyu.me/3xNQupd The Cover - https://polyu.me/3pezAfv Sina - https://polyu.me/3EeYJgp Sohu - https://polyu.me/32Q6Cev Toutiao - https://polyu.me/3Effl7F 一點資訊 - https://polyu.me/3G2uyd0  

PAIR Members Recognised as Top Two Percent Scientists Worldwide

Stanford University has recently released an update of the list that represents the top 2 percent of the most-cited scientists in various disciplines. The report was prepared by a team of experts led by Prof. John Ioannidis, the eminent Professor at the Stanford University. PAIR is very proud to announce that the 95 PAIR members in various research institutes and centres are on the list. Please click here to check the list of PAIR members recognised as top two percent scientists worldwide in 2021. The list issued by Standford University can be downloaded from here: https://elsevier.digitalcommonsdata.com/datasets/btchxktzyw/3 Congratulations to our top scientists!

Video of RI-IWEAR broadcast at the 2021 MRS Fall Meeting & Exhibit

The video featuring the research highlights of Research Institute for Intelligent Wearable System is available online at the YouTube Channel WebsEdge Science. This five-minute video will be broadcast in the daily program called “Thought Leadership” during 2021 Material Research Society (MRS) Fall Meeting & Exhibit. 2021 MRS Fall Meeting & Exhibit meeting is the preeminent annual event for those in the field of materials research, featuring over 50 symposia and attracting 6,000 researchers from every corner of the globe. The meeting will be held on 29 November – 2 December 2021 in Boston and 6-8 December 2021 in online platform. This video will be broadcast on screens in high visibility areas throughout the Centre in a compilation of the MRS TV films from 29 November to 2 December and also in the MRS TV program, alongside news and interviews during the conference on 30 November. Please click here to view more details about 2021 Material Research Society (MRS) Fall Meeting & Exhibit.

Four PAIR academics recognised amongst the world′s most highly cited researchers in 2021

Four academics from PAIR have been acknowledged in the "2021 Highly Cited Researchers" list by Clarivate Analytics. The list identifies the most influential scholars around the world for their exceptional research performance, determined by the publication of multiple highly cited papers that rank in the top 1% by citations in each respective field. Approximately 6,600 researchers across the globe were named Highly Cited Researchers in 2021.   The inclusion of our academics in the list is a testament to PolyU and PAIR’s pursuit of research excellence and our impact on society.   The four PAIR researchers featured in the list, and the fields in which they have been recognised, are as follows:   Name Field recognized Department Research Institute/Centre Involved Prof. Daniel TSANG Engineering & Environment and Ecology   Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research Institute for Future Food Research Institute for Land and Space Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development Prof. GUO Song Computer Science Department of Computing Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence of Things Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development Prof. LI Gang Cross-Field   Department of Electronic and Information Engineering Research Institute for Intelligent Wearable Systems Photonics Research Institute Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Research Institute for Smart Energy Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development Prof. YAN Feng   Department of Applied Physics Research Institute for Intelligent Wearable Systems Photonics Research Institute Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Research Institute for Smart Energy Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development   Congratulations to Prof. Tsang, Prof. Guo, Prof. Li and Prof. Yan!  

SCRI director conferred as Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences

Prof. Shi Wenzhong, director of the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute and Chair Professor of Geographic Information Science and Remote Sensing conferred as Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) for his contribution to social science. The Academy’s Fellowship is made up of distinguished individuals from academic, public, private and third sectors, across the full breadth of the social sciences. Through leadership, scholarship, applied research, policymaking, and practice, they have helped to deepen the understanding of, and address, some of the toughest challenges facing our society and the world. New Fellows are named due to the excellence and impact of their work, which addresses matters of vital importance and contributes to the social sciences for the public good. Through leadership, scholarship, applied research, policymaking and practice, they have helped to deepen the understanding of some of the toughest challenges facing our society and the world. Congratulations to Prof Shi!