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PolyU Two Projects Funded By Germany/Hong Kong Joint Research Scheme

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has received funding from Germany/Hong Kong Joint Research Scheme 2022/23 for two research projects. Dr Xiao LI, Research Assistant Professor at Department of Building and Real Estate, was funded two years for project: “Mass customization methodology for high-rise modular buildings: adaptive platform, interactive configurator and decentralized process.” Dr Junpei ZHONG, Research Assistant Professor at Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, was funded one year for project: “Socio-demographic variables to embodied and emotional experiences in virtual nature: a cross country study.” The Research Grants Council (RGC) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) joined together in 1996 to promote research collaboration between Hong Kong and Germany. The RGC funds granted to Hong Kong Principal Investigator can be used to support research visits of research postgraduate students to partner institutions, thus enabling them to obtain valuable training and experience from overseas practices. The grant per project per year is set at HK$45,000 for those involving travel of research postgraduate students, and HK$30,000 per year for those not involving students' travels.

PolyU Showcases Award-Winning Innovations at InnoTech Expo 2022

PolyU is delighted to participate and demonstrate its scientific research achievements at InnoTech Expo 2022, introducing its newest research excellence and showcasing award-winning technologies to the public. Prof. Jin-Guang Teng, President of PolyU, Prof. Wing-tak Wong, Deputy President and Provost of PolyU and Prof. Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU, are invited to join the grand opening ceremony this morning. PolyU displays impactful innovations at three themed booths, each with a specific topic: Advanced Space Instruments and Remote Sensing Technologies Contributed to the Nation’s Lunar and Mars Exploration Missions Emerging Technologies and Innovations for Smart City Scolioscan - 3D Ultrasound Imaging System for Scoliosis Mass Screening and Frequent Monitoring During the Expo, PolyU’s scientists and experts deliver lectures and forums to share their professional insights:

PolyU’s Associate Vice President (Research and Innovation) and Chair Professor of Department of Mechanical Engineering Prof. Wang Zuankai receives the Croucher Senior Research Fellowship 2023

Prof. WANG Zuankai, Associate Vice President (Research and Innovation) and Chair Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), has received the Croucher Senior Research Fellowship 2023 in recognition of his outstanding achievements in nature-inspired engineering and his breakthrough research on inhibiting the Leidenfrost effect. Each award carries a value of HK$2 million over one year towards the award winner's research expenses. Nature-inspired innovation is an interdisciplinary science that integrates biology, physics, chemistry, materials, engineering and other disciplines. It draws inspiration from living creatures and learning from nature to find innovative solutions. Prof. Wang’s research centres on nature-inspired engineering with a particular focus on exploring and observing the surface properties of natural creatures to develop novel nature-inspired materials for a wide range of applications such as water and energy harvesting, thermal cooling, fluid transport, and flexible electronics. For example, by observing the lotus leaves that enable water to drain away, Prof. Wang and his team have developed a new material that can quickly repel water, which helps prevent the accumulation of ice on metal surfaces such as aircraft wings and engines, thus reducing the occurrence of accidents. One of the most impactful scientific breakthroughs of Prof. Wang’s research is to identify an innovative solution to addressing the liquid cooling of high-temperature surfaces by suppressing the classical physical phenomenon- the Leidenfrost effect, a challenge that scientists have been unable to overcome for centuries. Honored to receive the Fellowship from the Croucher Foundation, Prof. Wang said, “I am grateful for the Croucher Foundation for recognising my research efforts on nature-inspired engineering and studies into the Leidenfrost effect. I hope the recognition will motivate more scholars to seek inspiration from nature and draw innovation in related research”. Professor Wang received his B.S. degree from Jilin University in 2000, M.S. degree from the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 2003, and Ph.D. degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2008. After one-year postdoctoral training at Columbia University, he joined the City University of Hong Kong (CityU) as Assistant Professor in 2009 and was promoted to Chair Professor in 2021. He was also the Associate Dean of the College of Engineering from 2019 to 2022 and the founding Deputy Director of the Research Centre for Nature-Inspired Engineering from 2021 to 2022 at CityU. He is currently the Executive Editor-in-Chief of Droplet journal (Wiley), and Associate Editor and Advisory Board Member for ten journals. Professor Wang is a founding member of the Hong Kong Young Academy of Sciences, Fellow of the International Society of Bionic Engineering (ISBE), Croucher Senior Research Fellow (2023), RGC Senior Research Fellow (2022), Highly Cited Researcher (Cross-field) as recognized by Clarivate (2022), and Changjiang Chair Professor as conferred by the Ministry of Education of China (2016). His work has been recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records and two of his inventions have won the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva Gold Medal and Gold Medal with Congratulations of Jury, respectively. He has received many other awards including the Green Tech Award (2021), Xplorer Prize (2020), Hall of Fame (Advanced Engineering Materials, 2019), 35th World Cultural Council Special Recognition Award (2018), President's Lectureship (2020, 2018), Outstanding Research Award (Senior, 2017), and President's Award at CityU (2017, 2016). Ph.D. students he supervised have won many prestigious awards including the Grand Prize and First Prize of the Hong Kong University Student Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition (2022), Hong Kong Young Scientist Award (2015, 2019, 2022), Materials Research Society Graduate Student Gold Award (2016) and Silver Award (2015, 2021), and Hiwin Doctoral Dissertation Award (2016, 2019, 2021).

Delegation Visit of Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany Hong Kong to PolyU

On 9 December 2022, the German Consulate General Hong Kong Mrs Stefanie SEEDIG visited PolyU in the exploration of future collaborations opportunities. Warmly welcomed by Prof. TENG Jin-guang, President, Prof. Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation), Prof. Geoffrey SHEN, Associate Vice President (Global Partnerships), Prof. Christina WONG, Director of Research and Innovation and Mr. Victor ZHAO, Assistant Director of Research and Innovation Office, a fruitful discussion was conducted at the council chamber. Prof. Geoffrey Shen, presented an overlook of the PolyU vision, strategic goals and dedications on researches that address societal challenges, followed by an in-depth exploration amongst senior management and the Consul General Mrs. Seedig on academic and industrial collaboration opportunities between Hong Kong and Germany. The Consul General was then invited to a guided tour in the Pao Yue-kong Library to experience the academic atmosphere and to visit various facilities inside the library.

Start-up Delegation from Germany Visited PolyU

On 8 December 2022, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has led a group of start-up delegation from Germany for a visit at our campus. This visit is actually a group with a start-up initiative SMILE of the International SEPT Competence Center at Leipzig University (LU). This is a program to support entrepreneurship, start-ups and spin-off companies at regional, national and international level. The purpose of the visit is to bring German start-ups to Hong Kong and so to attract those start-ups to bring their businesses to Hong Kong. PolyU is selected as one of the tour point for this visit because the group believes that PolyU is a university representing applicational researches which matches with this interest group. Other than PolyU, the group has also visited InvestHK and Hong Kong Science and Technology Park (HKSTP) for exchange.  On the day, the group was gathered for a small exchange meeting to introduce PolyU research strength and networks. They were taken to the Aviation Services Research Centre (ASRC) and University Research Facility in 3D Printing (U3DP) for some guided tours. The start-ups include technology companies that specialized in drone, green vertical farming development. They became very fascinated over PolyU’s showcase and the representative from LU would like to discuss for further collaboration with PolyU in the future for different programs their institution offered. 

PolyU and Hanson Robotics inaugurate the Centre for Humanistic Artificial Intelligence and Robotics to foster translational research in the GBA

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and Hanson Robotics Limited (Hanson) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish the Centre for Humanistic Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CHAiR) for translational research with the goal of advancing the well-being of humanity. The partnership integrates PolyU’s strength in interdisciplinary research and Hanson’s well-known humanoid robotics platform to explore technology applications. Sophia, Hanson’s most advanced human-like robot, will work with PolyU researchers to enhance the contribution of AI and robotic technology for social and commercial benefits. Research into and applications of AI and robotics are essential to the advancement of industry. As an interdisciplinary research and development centre, CHAiR brings cross-faculty collaborations in research fields such as AI, the internet of things (IoT), neuroscience, design, computer science, mechanical engineering, material science, healthcare and the humanities. In collaboration with Hanson, CHAiR supports innovation and entrepreneurship in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. PolyU Prof. Jiannong CAO, Dean of Graduate School, Chair Professor of Distributed and Mobile Computing, and Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Professor in Data Science, is the principal investigator and administrative director of CHAiR. Prof. Cao and Dr David HANSON, CEO and Founder of Hanson Robotics, are the co-chair of the Centre’s steering committee. Witnessed by Prof. Jin Guang TENG, President of PolyU, and Mr Doug GLEN, Executive Director of Hanson Robotics, the MoU was signed by Prof. Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU, and Dr Hanson. During the signing ceremony on 5 December 2022, Sophia made conversation with the guests. She said, “I look forward to learning many new skills and abilities. With your help, maybe I can learn how to be a nurse, a teacher, a concierge, a librarian. You can teach me how to be a better companion, a more skilful artist, a funnier entertainer.” Dr Hanson said, “CHAiR is perfectly positioned to refine and improve the performance of Sophia-class robots in ways that promote the growth of a new service robot industry. Once the industry starts to expand, so too will investment in improved hardware, software and manufacturing technologies.” Prof. Teng said, “Academia-industry collaboration is one of the most productive mechanisms for creating and implementing innovations. There is tremendous untapped potential for humanistic social robots. Let us aspire that CHAiR will be a major catalyst for the onset of the age of humanistic robots.” Prof. Cao, who is also Director of the Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence of Things (RIAIoT), said the Institute has been working on practical solutions to key challenges in advanced AIoT technologies and applications. He said, “It is a natural evolution for RIAIoT to partner with Hanson Robotics to tackle even more ambitious opportunities in humanistic AI and social robotics. CHAiR will play a unique and important role to combine Hanson’s know-how with world-class academics here at PolyU.” Hanson Robotics is an AI and robotics company dedicated to creating socially intelligent machines that enrich the quality of our lives. Sophia is the world’s first robot citizen and the first robot Innovation Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme.

Ten PolyU projects funded by the NSFC/RGC for Collaborative and Joint Research Schemes

Ten research projects led by scholars at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) have been funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Research Grants Council (NSFC/RGC) under the Joint Research Scheme (JRS) and the new Collaborative Research Scheme (CRS) 2022/23 Exercise. Under the CRS, two PolyU research projects have been awarded a total amount of HK$7.164 million. While under the JRS, eight research projects led by PolyU scholars have received total funding of HK$9.396 million. Both CRS and JRS support research projects for a period of four years. The research projects cover topics in information technology, management science, marine and environmental science, new material science, applied mathematics and biomedical engineering. PolyU scholars are committed to exploring innovative discoveries for a more sustainable future. Some of the projects address imminent social and human needs with, for example, research on a hospital bed sharing mechanism and optimisation, investigation of rainstorm and storm surge occurrence pattern together with flood risk assessment in the Greater Bay Area cities, and time-sequence regenerative repair of atherosclerotic blood vessels with Janus cardiovascular stents. Prof. Christina WONG, Director of Research and Innovation at PolyU, said, “PolyU is dedicated to conducting impactful research through multi-disciplinary collaborations to foster sustainability for a better world. We are thankful for the support of the NSFC/RGC for the PolyU projects funded under the Collaborative Research Scheme and Joint Research Scheme, which reinforces research strengths across the Mainland and Hong Kong to lead innovative discoveries.” The NSFC/RGC supports research projects jointly proposed by Mainland and Hong Kong researchers for their scientific merit. The CRS, which was newly introduced in 2022/23, aims to support larger-scale collaborative research across disciplines and/or across universities in the Mainland and Hong Kong with a view to enhancing research output and impact. The grant for each Hong Kong applicant is limited to HK$3.6 million. The JRS promotes collaboration between researchers in the Mainland and Hong Kong for their complementary strengths. The amount of funding for Hong Kong applicants is limited to HK$1.25 million.   List of PolyU Projects funded under NSFC/RGC Collaborative Research Scheme 2022/23 Research Field Project Title Hong Kong Project Coordinator Mainland Principal Investigator/ Institution Information Technology   Monolithically Integrated Electronics with Two-Dimensional Semiconductors – from Controllable Growth to Device Integration Prof. CHAI Yang Department of Applied Physics Prof. ZHANG Wenjing Shenzhen University New Materials Science Long-cycle and High-energy-density Flexible Li Batteries Using Hollow Multishelled Structure and Hierarchical Composite Electrode Prof. ZHENG Zijian Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology Prof. YANG Mei Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences   List of PolyU Projects funded under NSFC/RGC Joint Research Scheme 2022/23 Research Field Project Title Hong Kong Principal Investigator Mainland Principal Investigator/ Institution Information Technology Enhancing Digital Asset Security Basedon the Blockchain Technology Prof. XIAO Bin Department of Computing Prof. DENG Xiaotie Peking University Management Science Mechanism and Optimization for Hospital Bed Sharing Prof. YE Hengqing Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies Prof. WAN Guohua Shanghai Jiao Tong University Marine and Environmental Science Investigation of Rainstorm - Storm Surge Joint Occurrence Pattern and Induced Flooding Risk Assessment in Coastal Cities within the Greater Bay Area (GBA) Dr DUAN Huanfeng Department of Civil and Environment Engineering Prof. ZHENG Feifei Zhejiang University An Integrated System of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Unmanned Surface Vehicles for Smart Maritime Support in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Dr LIU Wei Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering Prof. MA Yong Wuhan University of Technology New Materials Science Tin-Based Metal Halide Perovskites for X-Ray Detectors Prof. YAN Feng Department of Applied Physics Prof. YANG Shihe Peking University Others Mathematical Modeling and Analysis on the Predator-mediated Competitions and their Biological Consequences Prof. WANG Zhian Department of Applied Mathematics Prof. LOU Yuan Shanghai Jiao Tong University Stochastic Multiobjective Optimization and Applications Prof. CHEN Xiaojun Department of Applied Mathematics Prof. YANG Xinmin Chongqing Normal University Time-sequence Regenerative Repair of Atherosclerotic Blood Vessels with Janus Cardiovascular Stents Dr ZHAO Xin Department of Biomedical Engineering Prof. YANG Zhilu Southern Medical University

PolyU Project On Mitigation of Traffic-related Air Pollution Granted Green Tech Fund

The Green Tech Fund approved a HK$5.56 million grant to Prof LEE Shuncheng of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) to conduct research on the “Development of nanotechnology-based hybrid air cleaning system towards green transport.” The research aims at reducing multiple traffic related air pollutants in semi-confined Hong Kong's Public Transport Interchanges (PTI), without influencing traffic flow or modification of original infrastructures. This project develops a nanotechnology-based hybrid regenerable air cleaning system (RACS) by adapting advanced technologies such as active sampling system, green energy, novel air cleaning modules designed by the PolyU team. The as-designed RACS will be applied to remove traffic-related emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), fine suspended particulates (PM2.5), volatile organic compounds (VOC), and ozone (O3) in selected PTI in Hong Kong. The well-designed RACS is portable and could be tailored to various micro urban environments. It will first conduct field test at selected PTI in Hong Kong, and then expand for potential application in areas with dense traffic emissions such as closed street canyons, train stations, runways, customs ports, car parks, taxi stands, tunnel, airport, etc. The expected deliverables of this 24-months project will enable efficient mitigation of traffic-related air pollution, supporting the Hong Kong Government to realise green transportation and create a more liveable environment under the Hong Kong Clean Air Plan 2035. Green Tech Fund (GTF) The Government set up the Green Tech Fund (GTF) in 2020 to fund research and development (R&D) projects which help Hong Kong decarbonise and enhance environmental protection. The assessment committee is chaired by the Director of Environmental Protection and comprises members from academia, industry and green groups.

PolyU researchers compile world’s first “atlas” of airborne microbes that provides an important new perspective for public health research

Bacteria are truly abundant across the Earth’s surface, from the soil to the oceans. The microbial population of the air that surrounds us is comparatively unknown, but a research expedition led by PolyU scientists is about to change that. After nearly a decade of effort, they have compiled a comprehensive map of the world’s airborne microbes, providing fresh insights into how these species interact with the surface environment – as well as their likely future changes. A cubic metre of “empty” air contains 10,000 bacteria or more, and interest in the role of air as a habitat – not merely a conduit – for microbes has grown enormously since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In collaboration with researchers on the mainland and the US, the PolyU-led team spent around a year sampling airborne microbes across the world, from ground level to mountaintops. Combining their own results with the most accurate global data collected in past studies, they and their research partners compiled the first ever atlas of the global airborne microbiome. The atlas provides a wealth of insights into the microbial communities floating above the ground. There is no doubt that the air is a unique harbour of bacterial life. Genetic analysis by the team showed that the core communities – the handful of species that form an outsized proportion of the microbe population – were not the same in the air as those in marine or soil ecosystems. In fact, even though the air is a free-flowing medium with seemingly no internal boundaries, these core bacterial communities are distinctly localised and stable. The research team analysed the bacterial communities of 370 individual air particulate samples collected from 63 sites around the world, ranging from those at ground level (1.5 – 2 m high) to rooftops (5 – 25 m high) and high mountains (5,238 m asl), as well as from densely populated urban centres to the Arctic Circle, for a more diverse coverage in terms of altitudes and geographic regions. Prof. Xiang-dong LI, Chair Professor of Environmental Science and Technology and Dean of Faculty of Construction and Environment of PolyU who led the research team, said, “We have verified that human activities have certainly changed the structure of microbiomes in the natural ambient air, particularly with a higher abundance of pathogenic bacteria in urban air. Having experienced the pandemic for three years, people now pay more attention to this invisible but influential microbial community. The research outcomes could be served as a critical reference for predicting planetary microbiome responses and the health impacts of inhalable microbiomes with future environmental changes.” The researchers estimate that the total number of microbes occupying the sea or soil is thousands of times larger than those in the air. Nonetheless, the aerial diversity of microbes – known as “richness” – is just as high. This suggests that surface habitats directly contribute microbes to the air. Overturning previous assumptions, vegetation is not the main terrestrial source of airborne bacteria, and the Earth’s vast tracts of soil provide very small fraction. The crashing of waves, the shaking of leaves, and even frequent activities and constant respiration of animals and humans are bigger drivers of bacterial exchange between the surface and the air. Macroscopic life, notably animals and plants, is most diverse in equatorial regions (consider, for example, warm and wet rainforests), and its diversity decreases closer to the poles. For microbes, the picture is more interesting – moving from the equator, diversity maximises at mid-latitudes before falling away again. This pattern was well established for terrestrial and aquatic microorganisms, but the new atlas confirms that it applies to the airborne microbiome, too. The authors surmise that the “bump” in diversity at mid-latitudes is caused by stronger sources of microbial input to those regions. Overall, the researchers estimate that half of airborne bacteria originate from ground sources. Urban air has especially high rates of human-associated bacteria – some harmless, others pathogenic. Direct transfer of germs from people to air is not our only effect on the airborne microbial world. Broad-scale activities such as industrialisation disrupt natural environments and impact air quality. This weakens the environment’s “filter” effect on microbial structure, making the composition of airborne bacteria more affected by random processes – although weather still plays an important role too. The close relationship between modern human activities and the microbes around us underscores the need to predict future changes accurately. The inhalable infectious bacteria that proliferate in cities are particularly of concern considering rapid urbanisation and our growing understanding of airborne contagion, spurred by COVID-19 research. Climate change is another impetus, given the marked effect of temperature on microbial richness, as revealed by the atlas. Hence, the study provides an invaluable resource and an important new perspective for future public health research. The PolyU team collaborated with Prof. James M. TIEDJE, University Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University and scientists from mainland China in the study. The findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2204465119), a peer-reviewed journal of the USA National Academy of Sciences.

西麗湖論壇 · 深港協同創新高峰論壇於理大成功舉辦

Chinese Version Only 「2022年西麗湖論壇平行論壇--深港協同創新高峰論壇」於11 月19 日（週六）在香港理工大學（理大）成功舉辦，活動與深圳分會場全程視頻連線，多位重量級專家學者圍繞論壇主題《創新·可持續發展——深港協同創新》分享真知灼見，香港和深圳兩地高校、科研院所和科技企業代表以線上線下相結合的方式研討交流，共商科技合作，探索構建深港互聯互通科技服務體系，促進跨區域技術轉移合作，拓展粵港澳大灣區發展機遇。現場氣氛熱烈，論壇成果豐碩。 理大副校長（研究及創新）趙汝恒教授致辭時提到，深港協同創新高峰論壇為探索構建粵港澳大灣區國際科技創新中心提供良好交流平臺，讓深港兩地高校、科研院所和科技企業的專家和代表分享及探討深港互聯互通科技服務體系、跨區域技術轉移與人才交流等合作機制。理大希望通過是次活動，加強與深圳市及粵港澳大灣區各地的合作，共同推動科研發展和科技創新，一起擁抱開放、深度融合、建設未來。 理大潘樂陶慈善基金會智慧城市研究院院長、理大─深圳技術創新研究院（福田）院長、地理資訊科學與遙感講座教授史文中教授，獲邀擔任香港會場的演講嘉賓之一，他分享了大灣區資料融合、地理空間人工智慧（時空智慧）服務未來智慧城市方面的分析見解。 西麗湖論壇由國家科學技術部和深圳市人民政府共同主辦，旨在聚焦新時代新征程的使命任務，圍繞西麗湖國際科教城建設的目標及功能定位，以構築“科技、教育、產業、金融”緊密融合的創新體系為主線，著力打造具有國際影響力、彰顯大灣區特色、體現融合創新特點的高級別創新品牌論壇，為加速集聚全球創新資源，推進粵港澳大灣區國際科技創新中心和深圳先行示範區建設提供有力支撐。