Congratulations to three esteemed PolyU scholars who have been elected as Fellows of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Science (HKAES), in recognition of their engineering expertise, distinguished achievements and commitment to serving society. 

The three PolyU scholars are Prof. Cao Jiannong, Dean of Graduate School; Prof. Chen Qingyan, Director of PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research; and Prof. Li Xiangdong, Dean of Faculty of Construction and Environment.

As an internationally renowned scholar in distributed systems, mobile computing and wireless networking and big data analytics, Prof. Cao has made distinctive contributions in areas including distributed algorithms for mobile computing, wireless sensor networks for engineering applications, and big data analytics for real-world systems. Currently, Prof. Cao is also Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Professor in Data Science, Chair Professor of Distributed and Mobile Computing, Director of Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence of Things in PolyU, and Associate Director of PolyU’s University’s Research Facility in Big Data Analytics. His research has greatly impacted areas such as new paradigms and applications for Internet computing, IoT, mobile cloud, edge computing, engineering innovation, and big data empowered urban resource management. 

Prof. Chen, also Chair Professor of Building Thermal Science, is an expert in computer simulations and experimental measurements of built environments, in addition to energy-efficient, healthy, and sustainable buildings. His current research topics also include indoor environments, aircraft cabin environments, and energy-efficient, healthy, and sustainable building design and analysis. Prof. Chen has published three books, six papers in book chapters, and over 470 journal and conference papers, and has been invited to deliver more than 180 lectures internationally.

Prof. Li’s major research interests include regional environmental pollution, urban environment, and remediation of contaminated sites. He was awarded the Clair C. Patterson Medal in 2022 for innovative breakthrough in environmental biogeochemistry in the last decade from the Geochemical Society (GS). Prof. Li is also Director of Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development, Chair Professor of Environmental Science and Technology, and Ko Jan Ming Professor in Sustainable Urban Development. His current research topics consist of the environmental loadings and implications of PM_2.5 and antimicrobial resistance substances in atmospheric environments. 

HKAES is an organisation of Hong Kong’s most eminent engineers of various disciplines who are recognised leaders of the profession with distinguished achievements in engineering sciences or applications, aiming to promote the advancement of the science, art and practice of engineering for the benefit of the public in Hong Kong, Mainland China and the region. The HKAES Fellowship is characterised by its dedication to serving the society with top-quality engineering expertise. Only up to eight Fellows are honoured with a HKAES Fellowship each year.