News

DoRiFood honoured with Chief Executive’s Commendation for Community Service

Congratulations to Prof. WONG Ka-hing, Director of the Research Institute for Future Food (RiFood) and Professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, for receiving the Chief Executive’s Commendation for Community Service from The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on 1 July 2024, in recognition of his contributions in promoting the sustainable development of the fisheries industry in Hong Kong.   The Government of the HKSAR Press Release: https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202407/01/P2024063000273.htm

MHRC Member Dr Jessie LIN shares views on postpartum depression

Dr Jessie LIN, Member of the Mental Health Research Centre (MHRC) and Assistant Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, shared her professional perspectives on postpartum depression in an interview with Bastille Post. Dr Lin explained that postpartum mothers can experience significant mood swings due to factors such as hormonal changes and challenges of maternal role adaptation. Family care and support can greatly help postpartum mothers to adapt to role changes and regulate emotions. She recommended seeking help from professionals as soon as possible should there be signs of postpartum depression or emotional distress. Read more: https://www.bastillepost.com/hongkong/article/14159866 (Chinese version only)

PolyU co-organises Micro Flow and Interfacial Phenomena Conference 2024 (µFIP 2024)

The Micro Flow and Interfacial Phenomena Conference 2024 (µFIP 2024) was successfully held at PolyU from 21 to 24 June. The conference brought together academic, research and industry communities coming from fields of thermodynamics, fluidics, bio-chemical and bio-medical engineering, and microfluidics, for interdisciplinary exchange with a focus on energy applications involving microchannel flow or microscale surface phenomena. The first day of the conference included plenary presentations by seven distinguished scientists from around the world, including Prof. Sir Andre GEIM, Winner of 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics and Regius Professor at the University of Manchester, as well as esteemed members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. The speakers were warmly received by PolyU representatives, including Dr LAM Tai Fai, Council Chairman; Prof. TENG Jin-Guang, President; Prof. Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation); Prof. WANG Zuankai, Associate Vice President (Research and Innovation) and Conference Chair; Dr Laura LO, Associate Vice President (Institutional Advancement); Prof. CHEN Qingyan, Director of PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research; and the central management team of the University. The seven plenary sessions formed as part of PAIR Distinguished Lecture Series and received very positive responses, attracting more than 300 participants to join in person, and captivating an online viewing audience of over 24,900 from different countries and regions to watch the live broadcast on multiple social media platforms, including Bilibili, WeChat, Weibo, YouTube, etc.

Prof. LENG Zhen awarded ACSE’s 2024 Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize

Congratulations to Prof. LENG Zhen, Associate Director of the Research Centre for Resources Engineering for Carbon Neutrality (RCRE) and Member of the Research Institute for Land and Space (RILS) and the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD), for receiving the 2024 Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize (Huber Award) by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for his innovative research in developing durable, low-carbon, cost-effective pavement materials and technologies. The Huber Award is the highest-level mid-career research award given annually to individuals with notable achievements and contributions in research with respect to all disciplines of civil engineering.

Meet the plenary speakers for the Micro Flow and Interfacial Phenomena (µFIP) Conference

The 2024 Micro Flow and Interfacial Phenomena (µFIP) Conference is taking place on 21–24 June 2024 on PolyU campus. The Conference brings together academic, research and industry communities coming from fields of thermodynamics, fluidics, bio-chemical and bio-medical engineering, and microfluidics, for interdisciplinary exchange with a focus on energy applications involving microchannel flow or microscale surface phenomena. We are thrilled to introduce the seven Plenary Speakers, who are distinguished scientists from around the world, including winner of the Nobel Prize, as well as members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering. They will share on some major scientific puzzles and breakthroughs in their fields. The plenary presentations will be broadcast live on various social media platforms of PAIR on the day of the event. Please subscribe to PAIR social media channels to receive the latest updates about the Conference! For conference details, please visit: https://microfip.org/   Exploring 2D empty space Sir Andre GEIM Regius Professor The University of Manchester, UK Winner of 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics   Photomolecular evaporation from hydrogels and pure water Prof. CHEN Gang Carol Richard Soderberg Professor of Power Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA   AI for turbulence modelling and computational fluid dynamics Prof. CHEN Shiyi Chair Professor, Department of Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering Southern University of Science and Technology   Interfacial flow over hierarchically structured surface: Slip boundary, flow separation control, and drag reduction Prof. DUAN Huiling Chang Jiang Chair Professor; Dean of College of Engineering Peking University   Some puzzles and flow research opportunities in soft matter science Prof. Steve GRANICK Robert K. Barrett Endowed Chair of Polymer Science and Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Chemistry and Physics University of Massachusetts, USA   Hydrovoltaics: From green energy to intelligence Prof. GUO Wanlin Chair Professor in Mechanics and Nanoscience Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics   Super-wettability and beyond—Quantum-confined superfluid: Biological energy conversion, chemical reaction and information transfer Prof. JIANG Lei Director of Key Laboratory of Bio-inspired Materials and Interfacial Science Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences

RILS develops deep learning-based remote sensing image classification for land use land cover mapping in cloud-prone areas

Prof. WENG Qihao, Associate Director of the Research Institute for Land and Space (RILS) and his team have developed an integrated time series mapping method to enhance the land use and land cover (LULC) mapping accuracy and frequency in cloud-prone areas. Other key PolyU members on the research team include Prof. DING Xiaoli, Director of RILS, and Dr LI Zhiwei, Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics. The method incorporates spectral-indices-fused deep learning models and time series reconstruction techniques. The team applied the method to the cloud- and rain-prone Pearl River Delta (i.e., Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, GBA), and yielded an overall mapping accuracy of up to 87.01%, outperforming existing LULC products. This method has the potential to generate seamless and near real-time maps for different regions in the world by using deep learning models trained on datasets collected globally. It can provide high-quality LULC data sets at different time intervals for various land and water dynamics in cloud- and rain-prone regions.   Read the full paper: https://shorturl.at/jyj1B

RISports and Diocesan Girls’ School establish AI Swimtech Laboratory to enhance swimmers’ performance

The Research Institute for Sports Science and Technology (RISports) and Diocesan Girls’ School (DGS) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly establish the “PolyU–DGS AI Swimtech Laboratory” to catalyse joint research in the fields of sports science and technology. The agreement was signed by Prof. ZHANG Ming, Director of RISports, Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Chair Professor of Biomechanics, and Mrs Stella LAU, Headmistress of DGS. Under the agreement, DGS will provide swimming facilities, where PolyU researchers will install equipment for data collection and will arrange student swimmers to participate in a research trial. This collaboration aims to strengthen research on enhancing elite athletes’ performance and enhance talent identification through unleashing their potential more fully, with the long-term goal of maximising athletic performance at school level and nurturing more outstanding swimmers.   Online Coverage: TVB - https://polyu.me/4ehaV2E RTHK - https://polyu.me/4cfoopT (08:58 - 11:49) The Standard - https://polyu.me/45geuC9 HK01 - https://polyu.me/45gRy5R Oriental Daily News - https://polyu.me/4c54Wfw Ming Pao Daily News - https://polyu.me/3Vylffg Hong Kong Economic Journal - https://polyu.me/3z3SPRs (subscription required) Hong Kong Economic Times - https://polyu.me/3VizqnB; https://polyu.me/3Rm7bTU (subscription required) am730 - https://polyu.me/3RK5ccf Hong Kong Commercial Daily - https://polyu.me/3wZiCKg Dot Dot News - https://polyu.me/3xm21QJ Master Insight - https://polyu.me/3VjchkX

PAIR young scholar receives SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award

Congratulations to Dr ZHENG Pai, Member of the Research Institute for Advanced Manufacturing (RIAM), Wong Tit Shing Young Scholar in Smart Robotics and Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, for being honoured with the 2024 Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME). The SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award recognises manufacturing engineers aged 35 or younger who have made exceptional contributions and accomplishments in the manufacturing industry. Dr Zheng’s research is at the frontier of the fields of smart manufacturing and robotic systems, and focuses on human-robot collaboration, smart product-service systems, and engineering design informatics. The inventions he developed have been patented and licensed for translation into practical applications, bringing significant contributions to the industry. Dr Zheng is committed to nurturing the next generation of talent. He has led his student teams to excel in many major competitions, garnering prizes including the Winner Award of the 21st Asia-Pacific Information and Communications Technology Alliance (Student—Tertiary Technology), Gold Award of the 8th China International College Students’ “Internet+” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, and Grand Award of Hong Kong ICT Awards 2022—Student Innovation Award. Dr Zheng is also the winner of the PolyU Young Innovative Researcher Award (YIRA) 2023. 

PolyU develops and manufactures space instruments for the Nation’s Chang’e-6 mission, successfully completing the first lunar far side sampling in human history

In support of the Nation’s landmark sample return mission from the far side of the moon, the PolyU research team led by Prof. YUNG Kai-leung, Director of the Research Centre for Deep Space Explorations (RCDSE), Sir Sze-yuen Chung Professor in Precision Engineering, Chair Professor of Precision Engineering and Associate Head of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, collaborated with the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) to develop and manufacture the “Surface Sampling and Packing System” for this historic task. On June 3, the PolyU-developed system accomplished the tasks of automatic sample collection and packaging on the lunar surface, following the soft landing of the Chang’e-6 probe, marking a milestone in human space exploration. The probe has already taken off from the moon with the cargo of the first-ever lunar soil samples from the far side set to return to Earth on June 25. Unlike previous methods adopted by other countries involving drilling or manual excavation, PolyU’s “Surface Sampling and Packing System” is designed as fully automated multi-point lunar surface sampling and with a packaging mechanism. In Hong Kong, PolyU was involved in the design and manufacturing of Samplers A and B, together with two accompanying high temperature Near-field Cameras for multiple-point surface sample collections, and automatic vision guidance of the sampling, sample deposition and sample container pickup and precision placement into the ascender. The PolyU-designed and manufactured flight units also included a primary sealing and packaging system that consisted of a sample container and its sealing mechanism. The sampling process briefly started with the Near-field Cameras mounted on the robotic arm next to Samplers A and B. These Cameras guided the sampling and sample deposition into the PolyU sample container in the primary sealing and packaging system. Upon the completion of the sampling process, the sample container was sealed by the sealing and packaging device for picking up by the sampler which was vision-guided by the Near-field Cameras for automatic precision insertion into the ascender for transporting back to Earth. Press release: https://polyu.hk/MakDV   Online coverage: TVB - https://polyu.me/4bL5TK6 i-Cable - https://polyu.me/3KBGGpD Now.com - https://polyu.me/3Kvz1ZY RTHK - https://polyu.me/3ySG7oG CRHK - https://polyu.me/3yMr5ke China Daily Hong Kong Edition - https://polyu.me/4bPWnp1 Oriental Daily News - https://polyu.me/4c5JcRf Hong Kong Economic Journal - https://polyu.me/3VeoMxZ Hong Kong Economic Times - https://polyu.me/3Rj6eLY Sing Tao Daily - https://polyu.me/3z33b40 am730 - https://polyu.me/4bPzDp4 Headline Daily - https://polyu.me/4c1GWtI Ta Kung Pao - https://polyu.me/45cYEs3; https://polyu.me/3XcDKHm Wen Wei Po - https://polyu.me/3xfdMbC Hong Kong Commercial Daily - https://polyu.me/4aVhvJj; https://polyu.me/3VcMfQ8 HK01 - https://polyu.me/3Kz1G01 Bastille Post - https://polyu.me/3KAnM2w; https://polyu.me/45hyFzO Dot Dot News - https://polyu.me/3RkqH34 Orange News - https://polyu.me/4efV2K2 Bauhinia - https://polyu.me/45cR4gZ Unwire - https://polyu.me/4aX0ZIS Yahoo HK - https://polyu.me/4aRmISr CCTV - https://polyu.me/3RdNugD Xinhua Net - https://polyu.me/4bKur5Y Hong Kong China News Agency - https://polyu.me/45dY9xH China News Service - https://polyu.me/3yZCXPW; https://polyu.me/3XcWlTC China Review News - https://polyu.me/4ccRWo0 Global News - https://polyu.me/3KAFsuS People.cn - https://polyu.me/4aPcAcQ ifeng.com - https://polyu.me/4egjxqb 21st Century Business Herald - https://polyu.me/3X9FtgN JSTV - https://polyu.me/3yPVePV SZ News - https://polyu.me/3RhPOU2 Science Net - https://polyu.me/3RiaknF Lianhe Zaobao - https://polyu.me/4c8345C Jornal Va Kio - https://polyu.me/3VdVlw3 Cheng Pou - https://polyu.me/3RjdHue Today Evening News - https://polyu.me/3VeWV0D Chinese Press - https://polyu.me/3KwVUfF 國際金融報 - https://polyu.me/3yWge7G East Money - https://polyu.me/3ySXvK9 NetEase - https://polyu.me/3Vwh1ol

Prof. WENG Qihao develops deep learning-based super-resolution method for building height estimation

A study by Prof. WENG Qihao, Associate Director of the Research Institute for Land and Space (RILS), Director of Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Geomatics, Member of the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI) and Chair Professor of Geomatics and Artificial Intelligence, and his research team, titled “A deep learning-based super-resolution method for building height estimation at 2.5 m spatial resolution in the Northern Hemisphere” was recently published in the journal Remote Sensing of Environment. Building height is an important indicator for assessing the level of urban development along the vertical dimension. Existing large-scale building height estimation studies focusing on coarse spatial resolution cannot reveal height variations across buildings in urban areas. The team proposed a deep learning-based super-resolution method to generate building height maps. The researchers created an open building height dataset with 45,000 samples covering 301 cities in the Northern Hemisphere, including China, the conterminous United States, and Europe. The dataset generated provides great potential in high-resolution database updating, urban planning, and natural disaster assessment, as well as a new perspective of how cutting-edge satellite imaging technology can be utilised in urban observation, measurement, monitoring, and management. Read the full paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0034425724002591