News

Research team in SCRI received special recognition in the 2021 RICS Awards Hong Kong

The Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI) - 3D Mobile Mapping System Research Team has been highly commended by the judging panel in the Research Team of the Year category in the 2021 Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Awards Hong Kong ! The RICS Award showcase the most inspirational initiatives and developments in land, real estate, construction and infrastructure. They recognise outstanding achievement, teamwork and companies. This year’s entrants have been responsible for some of the biggest projects Hong Kong has seen to date – including delivering for clients during COVID, fostering better workplaces for occupants, creating diverse workplaces, boosting the sustainability of projects through the use of technology and working to fight against the impacts of climate change. Apart from the 13 winners, the research team in SCRI was one of the highly commended teams who judges felt deserved special recognition. They developed a lightweight and reliable 3D mobile mapping system (mobile mapping backpack), which can easily measure cities and obtain 3D maps with centimeter-level accuracy. It can be used to build spatial data infrastructure and can thus support smart city applications in many fields. The system adopts advanced technologies such as Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM), which is not restricted by the signal receiving area of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). It can carry out continuous data collection in different complex indoor and outdoor environments and is particularly suitable for high-density and complex urban environments, such as those in Hong Kong. Congratulations to SCRI and the team!

Enhancing Research on Smart City Technology

Professor Shi Wenzhong, Director of the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI), told Master Insight that the institute will concentrate its research on transportation, environment and ageing issues, as these areas are vital for the development of smart cities in Hong Kong and the Nation. He added that PolyU’s multidisciplinary research capabilities in the fields of urban informatics, artificial intelligence, robotics and data science will help further enhance the research of smart city technology. Professor Shi shared his view about the challenges for Hong Kong on recruiting international talents in the development of smart cities, and suggested strengthening the training of local talents. He also called on the government to open up more data to help the construction of spatial data infrastructure. Please have a look at the online coverage: Master Insight - https://polyu.me/3EWrtKP (Chinese only)

The Associate Director of RILS elected into The Academy of Europe (Academia Europaea)

Prof. Qihao WENG, Associate Director of RILS, Chair Professor and Global STEM Scholar of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics at PolyU, were recently elected Foreign Member of The Academy of Europe (Academia Europaea) in its 2021 class, an European institution that aims to promote European research, advise governments and international organisations in scientific matters, and further interdisciplinary and international research. Members of the Academy are nominated and elected only by their peers. Prof. WENG has made significant contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of remote sensing, GIScience, urban climatology, urban ecology, sustainability science, and geospatial AI. Congratulations to Prof. WENG!  

Two scholars at PAIR received the Global STEM Professorship

Professors Qingyan Chen and Qihao Weng, two members of the PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR), were recently awarded the prestigious “Global STEM Professorship” by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Professor Chen joined the PolyU in August 2021 as the Director of PAIR and Chair Professor of Building Thermal Science in the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering. He is a fellow of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the International Society of Indoor Air Quality (ISIAQ), and the International Association of Advanced Materials (IAAM). Prior he joined PolyU, he was Professor, Vincent P. Reilly Professor, and James G. Dwyer Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University, USA from 2002 to 2021. He is an Editor-in-Chief of journal “Building and Environment.” Prof. Weng joined the PolyU in July 2021 as Chair Professor of Geomatics and Artificial Intelligence in the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics. He is a Foreign Member of the Academy of Europe (Academia Europaea), and a Fellow of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) , American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS), and (Asia-Pacific Artificial Intelligence Association) AAIA. He worked as the Director of the Center for Urban and Environmental Change and a Professor at Indiana State University, USA before joining PolyU. He is an Editor-in-Chief of ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. The objective of the “Global STEM Professorship” scheme is to strengthen support to Hong Kong universities to attract world-renowned innovation and technology scholars to work in Hong Kong. This would aid the universities to scale new heights in teaching and research activities and to expand the innovation and technology talent pool of Hong Kong. In the long run, the scheme is expected to build up the universities’ capacities in commercialising and applying their research discoveries, to encourage technology and knowledge transfer to serve the community and spearhead innovation and technology development in Hong Kong.   Congratulations to Prof. Chen and Prof. Weng!  

PolyU RiFood establishes the world’s first collaborative research laboratory with Yakult officially

PolyU RiFood received a generous donation of HK$ 2 million from Hong Kong Yakult Co. Ltd. (Yakult) to establish the “PolyU-Yakult Joint Research Laboratory for Probiotics and Prebiotics in Human Health”. Interviewed by the media yesterday, Dr KH Wong, Director of RiFood and Dr William Tai, Director of PolyU-Yakult Joint Lab revealed that they aim to pursue impactful and cutting-edge research in Food Science and Human Health. By establishing PolyU-Yakult Joint Lab, the team will focus on the development of new probiotics and prebiotics for the prevention and therapy of different diseases, to facilitate scientific exchange between Hong Kong and the world. Please refer to the following links for the media interviews:  Topick Hong Kong Economic Times (經濟日報) Sky Post (晴報) HK01 (香港01) RTHK (香港電台) 6do.news UrbanLife Health Source: Pulse@PolyU (October 2021 Issue 11)  

PolyU receives staunch support from the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation for the establishment of the Smart Cities Research Institute and the Research Institute for Smart Energy

Thanks to a generous donation from the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation (the Foundation), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has established two research institutes in support of the University’s research endeavours in the areas of smart cities and sustainable energy. The two research institutes are named the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI) and the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Research Institute for Smart Energy (RISE) in appreciation of the Foundation’s significant contributions. Officiated by Dr David Chung, Under Secretary for Innovation and Technology of the HKSAR Government, the naming ceremony was held earlier this month. It was attended by Ir Dr Otto Poon Lok-to, Founder of the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation, Dr Lam Tai-fai, PolyU’s Council Chairman, Professor Jin-Guang Teng, PolyU’s President and others. In his welcoming remarks, PolyU’s Council Chairman Dr Lam Tai-fai extended his heartfelt gratitude to Ir Dr Otto Poon Lok-to for his long-standing support to PolyU, “Dr Poon is a strong advocate of using innovation and technology to solve societal problems. Smart cities and energy challenges are two topics of great importance to society today. We are excited to join hands with Dr Poon to set up two research institutes focusing on these strategic areas in order to contribute to the further development of Hong Kong, the Nation and the wider international community.” The Under Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Dr David Chung, said that the Government had been collaborating with the two Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Research Institutes in conducting trials and pilots in a number of smart city projects, ranging from the application of urban informatics to smart and sustainable energy, in order to improve the quality of life of our citizens. “The Innovation and Technology Bureau will continue to develop Hong Kong into a smart city and to make space for our local talents to help contribute to the betterment of Hong Kong as well as our country. I urge all of you to take advantage of the opportunities brought about by the National 14th Five-year Plan and development in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. There is much to gain from collaboration with our neighbour cities and we have much to learn from each other, especially on the new frontier of smart city development. PolyU, with its outstanding research institutes and academics, will have a big role to play in building Hong Kong into an international I&T hub,” Dr Chung added. Founder of the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Ir Dr Otto Poon Lok-to remarked that “the notion of smart cities embraces a wide array of topics. The establishment of SCRI will serve as a catalyst to blend the various elements of smart cities together in order to contribute to the success of Hong Kong’s Smart City Blue Print 2.0.” Ir Dr Poon also raised concerns regarding climate change, and noted that renewable energy and energy storage were two essential research topics. He appreciated PolyU researchers' dedicated commitment to advancing the frontiers of technology and knowledge to cope with energy challenges. Professor Jin-Guang Teng, President of PolyU, thanked Ir Dr Poon for his unwavering support to PolyU over the years and said “Interdisciplinary collaboration can provide solutions to address societal challenges. Against this backdrop, the University has established the PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR), a hub to promote research and innovation across disciplines. To date, ten research institutes and five research centres have been established to offer impactful solutions in areas including land and space creation, smart ageing, advanced manufacturing, smart cities, smart energy and more.” Established in 2020, SCRI and RISE will bring together PolyU experts from diversified fields to develop impactful interdisciplinary research. SCRI aims at being a global centre of excellence in urban informatics and a living smart cities laboratory for Hong Kong and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in order to promote smart cities development in Hong Kong and in the country. Its research focus areas include Smart Mobility, Smart Living, Smart Environment, Smart People, Smart Government, and Smart Economy. SCRI is collaborating with some of the world’s top universities including the University of Cambridge and University College London, as well as major industrial players to develop innovative solutions. SCRI’s innovations have received worldwide recognition and won two Gold Medals at 2021 Inventions Geneva Evaluation Days and two prizes in the 2021 Smart 50 Awards. RISE strives to pursue translational research on innovative solutions for energy-related problems. Its five research focus areas include District Energy Systems and Smart Grid, Smart Buildings and Smart Energy Systems, Advanced Energy Storage Technologies, Advanced and Renewable Energy Conversion Technologies, and Advanced Energy Materials. RISE’s world-class research has been recognised in various global research rankings. According to a recent report by Stanford University, 16 RISE members have been listed among the top 2% of scientists in relevant research fields globally, with three members ranking in the top 25 places. In addition, three RISE scholars have been acknowledged in the Highly Cited Researchers 2020 list by Clarivate Analytics. For more details about the research institutes, please visit the respective websites: Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI) https://www.polyu.edu.hk/scri/ Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Research Institute for Smart Energy (RISE) https://www.polyu.edu.hk/rise/   ***** End *****

No space for “trial and error” in exploration of the universe, says Professor Yung Kai-leung

PolyU’s Professor Yung Kai-leung, Sir Sze-yuen Chung Professor in Precision Engineering, Chair Professor of Precision Engineering, Director of the Research Centre for Deep Space Explorations, and Associate Head of Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, has been closely working with the China Academy of Space Technology for a decade. He and his research team have developed numerous state-of-the-art space devices that have played critical roles in many of China’s Moon and Mars missions in recent years. But behind the scenes of these successful space feats, Professor Yung said that at the end of the day, it is his persistence in upholding some simple but critical virtues that have made his space dreams come true. Above all, Professor Yung says in this video that there is no space for trial and error when it comes to rockets and other astronautical endeavours. Source: No space for “trial and error” in exploration of the universe, says Professor Yung Kai-leung | September 2021 Issue 10 | Pulse@PolyU