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PolyU Two Scholars Selected as the Global Top 50 Chinese Young Scholars (AI+X) by Baidu

Two PolyU scholars have been selected as the Global Top 50 Chinese Young Scholars (in the field of AI+X) by Baidu, China's leading Internet search engine company, for their outstanding contributions in terms of academic performance, impact, and potential in the areas of AI research, such as in smart manufacturing, autonomous driving, information engineering. They stood out from scholars worldwide and were selected along with outstanding young scholars from world-renowned universities and institutions. Dr. ZHENG Pai, Assistant Professor of Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering Dr. Zheng is currently an Assistant Professor, Wong Tit Shing Endowed Young Scholar in Smart Robotics and Lab-in-Charge of Digitalized Service Laboratory (DSL). His research interests mainly include Smart Manufacturing Systems, Human-Robot Collaboration, and Engineering Informatics. He is the leader of the RAIDS research group consisting of 3 Postdoctoral Fellows, 6 PhD students, and 4 research assistants, with the mission to boost the futuristic industrial networking, digitalization, servitization, and intelligentization in a human-cyber-physical system (HCPS) manner. He also serves as the Associate Editor/Editorial Board Member of the top-tier industrial and manufacturing engineering journals, including Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, Journal of Cleaner Production, Advanced Engineering Informatics, and Journal of Manufacturing Systems.  Dr. SUN Yuxiang, Research Assistant Professor of Department of Mechanical Engineering Dr. Sun joined PolyU in 2020. His research interests include Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Driving, Mobile Robots, Deep Learning, Autonomous Systems, etc. He directs the PolyU Autonomous Systems Lab which has 1 Postdoctoral research fellow, 7 PhD students, and 2 Master students, with the mission to create state-of-the-art robotic perception, planning and control systems to promote the advancement of autonomous driving and mobile robotics. Also, he currently serves as an associate editor of the top-tier robotics journal and conferences: IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RA-L), IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), and IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS). The list of the AI Chinese Young Scholars is jointly released by Baidu Academic(百度學術), Baidu Talent Intelligence Center (TIC), Complex Management System Laboratory of Tianjin University (天津大學複雜管理系統實驗室), and the Business Intelligence Center of the International Institute of Finance in the University of Science and Technology of China (中國科大國金院商業智能中心). The selection aims to encourage young scholars in the fields of artificial intelligence to make more influential achievements, and to identify high-potential and highly influential Chinese young leaders in technology. According to Baidu, the selection is based on 186,963 papers and 89,324 scholars from all over the world. By using big data mining technology, 150 high-potential young scholars have been selected through three metrics (academic performance, academic impact, and academic potential index), of which 50 belong to the interdisciplinary field of AI (AI-X) and 100 belong to the classical field of AI. The AI-X list targets a number of AI-driven frontier cross-disciplinary areas, including autonomous driving, quantum computing, dialogue systems, urban computing, and biological computing, etc. The scholars on the list are from top universities or institutions, such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, MIT, Google, and Facebook.

PolyHack 2022

Over 100 participants around the world attended the opening ceremony of the PolyHack 2022 organized by a group of ambitious PolyU students held on 21st May 2022 (Sat). The theme of this global hackathon is Life in 4.0 featuring 3 major domains namely Blockchain, FinTech and Smart City. In the 2-week event, participants will solve 11 problems and shape innovative solutions and strategies that elevates human’s experience. Prof. Christopher Chao, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU was delighted and impressed by this student-led I&T activity which provides young talents a platform to implement their creative ideas and also encourages the participants to equip themselves for the challenges in new era. The University is committed to nurturing tomorrow’s leaders through a holistic education by providing a wide range of opportunities and supports to them. PolyHack is a global virtual hackathon organised by the Google Developer Student Club of Hong Kong Polytechnic University. It brings young talents' imaginations into reality and help they grow.  For more about PolyHack 2022, please visit polyhack.net

PolyU and Huawei to strengthen collaboration on artificial intelligence research and cultivate innovation and technology talents

  PolyU and Huawei to strengthen collaboration on artificial intelligence research and cultivate innovation and technology talents Given the global trend of innovation and technology research, cooperation between industry and academic institutions has become an essential component in the development of industry. Today,  The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and Huawei Hong Kong signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Huawei APAC Digital Innovation Congress 2022. The partnership aims to foster innovation and technology development in Hong Kong by strengthening industry-academic exchange and talent cultivation in artificial intelligence.   Mr Jason He, Vice President of Huawei Asia Pacific Enterprise Business Group and Professor Christopher Chao, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU, signed the MoU during the Congress. Leveraging PolyU’s academic strengths and Huawei’s expertise in information and technology, both sides will create an AI research platform to translate research outputs into real-world applications, contributing to the development of an AI ecosystem. Under the common goal of nurturing young scientific research talents, the Huawei ICT Academy will be established at PolyU to meet the surging demand for innovation and technology talents in Hong Kong. Huawei and PolyU will jointly develop educational programmes and provide courses in AI, cloud computing, big data, and the Internet of Things (IoT).   Mr Jason He, Vice President of Huawei Asia Pacific Enterprise Business Group noted, “Huawei and PolyU have been working closely in academic research. For example, Huawei's high performance computing (HPC) solutions have been applied to energy materials research by the Department of Applied Physics. The HUAWEI Ascend AI computing platform is used by the Department of Health Technology and Informatics to assist in the AI-based computer-aided diagnosis. Our effort has brought remarkable results in multiple research fields. We are delighted and look forward to deepen the collaboration with the academia through our strong partnership with PolyU. Through the establishment of Huawei ICT Academy at PolyU, students can have a deeper understanding of innovation and technology with the opportunities to apply through competitions and various activities. We hope to contribute to the growth of ICT talents, and foster the sustainable development of the industry.”   Professor Christopher Chao, Vice President (Research and Innovation) remarked, “We are pleased to witness the joint efforts of PolyU and Huawei to strengthen our AI education, taking our collaboration to a new level. Both sides will jointly set up a Huawei ICT Academy at PolyU to provide education, certification and career support. Furthermore, PolyU’s Department of Applied Physics and Huawei will establish a joint AI laboratory to empower students with the most advanced AI technology in their pursuit of scientific research and industrial innovation. The MoU also represents a partnership of PolyU’s strength in innovative applied research and Huawei’s leadership in the industry, which will help advance impactful scientific research, foster industrial applications and technology breakthroughs, and bring societal benefits.”   Huawei Hong Kong and PolyU will continue to join hands to boost innovation and technology research and talent cultivation in Hong Kong, as well as to accelerate the development of the local technology ecosystem.

PolyU’s Pioneering Technologies in AI, Materials Science and Biotechnology Awarded at TechConnect 2022 Innovation Awards

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has won three prestigious global Innovation Awards in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI), materials science and biotechnology at the TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo 2022 (TechConnect) – the world's largest multi-sector event for fostering the development and commercialisation of innovations. This is the sixth consecutive year that PolyU research teams have snatched the esteemed awards among top-ranked innovators, and PolyU is the only higher education institution in Hong Kong to be honoured with the awards this year. The award-winning PolyU innovations include an AI-empowered chest X-ray imaging technique for clinical applications and an automatic temperature-controllable mask. They are dedicated to improving medical diagnosis or bringing greater comfort to people’s daily protection during the COVID-19 pandemic.  The other prized PolyU innovation is a new type of more environment-friendly moisture-absorbing and sweat-releasing fabric. All three inventions are among the 70 awarded technologies from leading institutions around the world like the US National Laboratories and other top universities. Professor Christopher Chao, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU, said, “The University is delighted that our research teams continue to bring superior award-winning technologies to the world and have been recognised at this global event for the sixth consecutive year. PolyU has been undertaking various strategic initiatives to build a strong I&T ecosystem, cultivating solid fundamental knowledge and fostering innovative mindsets to stimulate and lead novel research.”  At the TechConnect World Innovation Conference & Expo to be held in Washington, D.C. from 13 to 15 June, a PolyU delegation will showcase a number of innovative projects. Professor Larry Chow, Director of Research and Innovation of PolyU, said, “TechConnect has connected the world's top applied research and early-stage innovations from academia to industry for over 20 years. It has become a forward-looking technology platform which supports global science and technology initiatives as well as opens up numerous partnership opportunities. The PolyU delegation will meet with technology companies for potential collaborations.” Detail of the three PolyU winning innovations are as follows: AI-Empowered Chest X-Ray and CT Quantitative Analysis for COVID-19 Patient Management (Prof. Jing CAI, Department of Health Technology and Informatics) The AI-enhanced techniques for COVID-19 clinical applications provide accurate and low-cost imaging solutions for the diagnosis, severity stratification and prognosis of COVID-19. These applications include AI-empowered chest X-ray imaging, AI-assisted COVID-19 disease segmentation, and multi-view analysis. Their high accessibility will benefit developing countries that do not have the needed resources to accurately diagnose and monitor COVID-19.  Moisture-Absorbing and Sweat-Releasing Multilayer Polylactic Acid Fabric and Manufacturing Technology (Prof. Hong HU, Institute of Textiles and Clothing) The new fabric stands out from existing moisture-absorbing fabric technology in that its fabrication technique is simpler, cheaper, and more environment-friendly. By employing double weft knitting technology, it only takes one single manufacturing process to produce the new fabric structure with improved moisture-absorbing and sweat-releasing properties. It is also has inherent biological resistance and is ideal for use in school uniforms and sportswear.  Omni-Cool-Breath: A Smart Air-Conditioned Mask (Dr Dahua SHOU, Professor FAN Jintu and Dr HUANG Guanghan, Institute of Textiles and Clothing)   Omni-Cool-Breath is the first automatic temperature-controllable mask that brings revolutionary access to all-day cool breath and thermal comfort under various activities and thermal conditions. It reduces temperature by 12°C and humidity by 65% under low voltage via an innovative miniature thermoelectric cooling system. The ergonomically designed lightweight mask uses skin-friendly and biodegradable 3D printing materials that enable the user to enjoy nine hours of clean air.    For details of the TechConnect 2022 Innovation Awardees, please visit the official website: https://www.techconnectworld.com/World2022/participate/innovation/awards.html

PolyU's research on developing large-area solid-state lighting technologies is supported by National Key R&D Program

The development of the low-carbon, environment-friendly, and energy-saving lighting technology is essential to address the current energy and environmental crisis. A PolyU’s research titled “Development of new stable, highly-efficient blue emissive materials that can be processed by the wet methods, and the associated large-area solid-state lighting technologies” led by Professor Raymond Wong, Dean of Faculty of Applied Science and Textiles, Clarea Au Professor in Energy, Chair Professor of Chemical Technology, Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, is supported by the “National Key R&D Program – International Science and Technology Cooperation Project”, in which PolyU is the only one granted among  the Hong Kong institutions in this round of the exercise.

PolyU’s Innovation In Magnetic Field-Assisted Batch Superfinishing Awarded in 2021-22 HKAI- Equipment And Machinery Design

A novel magnetic field-assisted batch superfinishing (MABS) equipment developed by PolyU’s State Key Laboratory of Ultra-precision Machining Technology wins Certificate of Merit in “2021-22 Hong Kong Awards for Industries: Equipment and Machinery Design”. Freeform surfaces have been widely used in various high-value-added applications such as the superfinishing of surgical tools, optical molds, optical lenses, structured and freeform components, etc. However, current mass finishing technology is inadequate to achieve nanometric surface roughness of freeform surfaces to a sufficiently high level so as to satisfy the requirements of their functional applications. This invention describes a novel magnetic field-assisted batch polishing (MABP) technology which has been purposely developed to provide a novel solution for achieving nanometric fast finishing of a number of freeform components simultaneously. Magnetic field-assisted mass polishing (MAMP) method makes use of a rotational magnetic field applied outside an annular chamber which drives the magnetic abrasives to impinge on and remove material from the workpiece mounted inside the chamber.  MAMP has been proven to have high accuracy, high efficiency, and cost-effectiveness with successful applications in mass superfinishing of freeform components for surgical tools, glass optical lenses, optical molds, dental crown, etc. Table 1 shows the competitive advantages of MABP in the market. (Table 1. Competitive advantages in the market) Supported by the Government, the Hong Kong Award for Industries (HKAI) was launched in 2005, aiming to recognise the outstanding performance and achievements of local enterprises in enhancing their competitiveness in various aspects. The 2021-22 HKAI comprises six categories and Equipment and Machinery Design category is one of them. The award is assessed by the following criteria: innovation, functionality, ergonomics, cost-performance, application of technology, safety, environmental impact and marketability.

Funding Opportunity: New Cornerstone Investigator Program

The “New Cornerstone Investigator Program” was launched on 30th April 2022 with the goal of invigorating research into basic sciences. The non-profit program aims to provide long-term support to a group of outstanding scientists who focus on fundamental research projects that are of profound importance to humankind. The "New Cornerstone Investigator Program" is an independent program, led by scientists with funding from Tencent. The Shenzhen-based company has pledged to provide RMB 10 billion to the program over 10 years while explore the feasibility of a long-term sustainable fund. The Program focuses on two fields: Mathematics and Physical Sciences, and Biological and Biomedical Sciences, and encourages interdisciplinary research. With substantial financial support, this Program hopes to facilitate scientists to discover new phenomena, achieve scientific breakthroughs, and create new fields via dedicated efforts in doing fundamental and interdisciplinary research. Further details on application requirements and procedures will be available in due course.

理大副校長(研究及創新) 趙汝恒：從人、地、時看本港創科生態圈如何茁壯成長

(In Chinese only) 創新科技不但是國家和特區政府施政策略重點，也是改善市民生活質素、推動社會和經濟發展的重要範疇。而要令香港的創科生態圈蓬勃發展，為本港帶來豐碩科研成果和鞏固其獨特優勢，則須重視人才培養、設施配套，以及把握機遇這三大因素；而三者又環環緊扣。如果能夠認清挑戰和把握自身優勢，香港就可以更好地融合國家和全球的發展。 匯聚人才 鞏固科研發展根基 具備高學術水平的科研人才是香港的最大優勢，他們都有豐富的基礎研究和品質控制的經驗；然而面對人才流失的挑戰，由近至遠應如何吸納及培育更多科研精英呢？在栽培本地人才方面，如要培養年輕一代對科研的興趣，必須提供更多體驗式學習機會，並要加強面向公眾的宣傳，提高科研界的社會地位，以吸引更多優秀的年輕人才投身科研行業，拓闊科研界的基礎。 帶動科研由學術走向實踐，也是留住人才及長遠發展的關鍵。本港大學一方面可在上中游研發創新技術、尋找突破；另一方面可與香港應用科技研究院、香港紡織及成衣研發中心、物流及供應鏈多元技術研發中心、納米及先進材料研發院和生產力促進局轄下的汽車科技研發中心等本地公營研發機構，進行中下游的開發和實踐，促進這種緊密合作及共贏模式，推動科研成果落地轉化至業界生產，令創新技術與社會接軌並得以應用。 拓展科研用地 構建完整產業鏈 能讓科研成果產業化，也是促進本港科研發展的重要一環；而要把科研成果變成能賣出去的產品，則需要一個技術研發轉化平台。土地不足的問題制約了香港的科研發展，雖然本地對創科產品有很大的需求，但企業往往不願花長時間深度參與實地測試的階段，令科技項目欠缺了測試場地及機會；而涉及應用重型機械的再工業化策略便最受影響，窒礙了以新技術及智能生產為基礎的先進製造業發展。現有創新科技署的公營機構試用計劃，協助研發成果實踐化和商品化，推動科技應用；希望業界也能抱着敢於嘗試的精神，營造一個開放的環境，協助本港的創科發展。 內地有着龐大的市場，並積極為人才和企業提供空間和扶持政策；香港則擁有高學術水平及經驗豐富的科研人才，雙方可起互補作用，共同提升整條創科產業鏈。正如國家「十四五」規劃已進一步明確了香港未來發展的定位，支持香港建設國際創新科技中心。發展包含港深創科園在內的新田科技城，正好作為推動經濟發展的人才寶地，當局宜制訂配套扶持政策，促進人才、資金、貨物、信息等要素流動。入駐園區的科技企業可藉此進軍內地市場，與深圳產業合作，能為香港科研人員提供應用科學研究和科研轉化的機會，從而共享內地強大的研發資源。此外，通過內地和香港共同資助的計劃，香港的高等教育機構和研究機構也可以直接獲得中央財政支持，並加強與內地不同省市的技術研究合作。 香港作為國際金融和貿易中心，是推動國家對外經濟和科研合作的重要優勢。現行的InnoHK創新香港研發平台，便是特區政府引領香港成為環球科研合作中心的重點項目。該平台邀請國際知名大學和科研機構共同設立研發實驗室，吸引不少海外專家進行科研合作，值得政府繼續推廣及投放更多資源。 此外，香港科學家在國家科技建設上也有多方面的成就，與內地及國際市場緊密連通。以香港理工大學的國家鋼結構工程技術研究中心香港分中心為例，中心專注於各種鋼材的品質結構及焊接工藝研究，協助建築業界在應用鋼材上達到安全和高品質的水準，並建立與國際接軌的鋼鐵建造規格指標，協助國家鋼鐵產業走向世界。 及時把握全球機遇 綻放優勢 創科是否能成為香港第五大經濟支柱，又或如何在地區之間突圍，亦取決於我們能否順應時勢發展，把握香港具備利好優勢的時機，發展成國際創新科技中心，聚焦在一些全球熱切關注的科研領域，如碳中和，這亦是本港科研經驗豐富的領域之一。香港的碳排放主要來自發電、運輸和廢棄物，其中90%的電是用於建築物。零碳能源、建築物節能、新能源運輸及生產過程管理，就成為了碳中和的關鍵。 過去，香港不少屋宇管理公司進駐內地市場，他們有着豐富的管理和建設智能化系統的經驗。而本港科研機構近年亦開展了多項關於建築物節能的研究項目，與政府多個部門進行了不少可行性及初步試驗的研究。下一步，將結合經驗，將綠色建築物管理的整個工具包推廣至全國和全球。而生產過程管理方面，香港正推動再工業化，通過推動研發和試驗創新的減碳科技，簡化流程，可望在本地和國家發展高增值產業及產業鏈的同時，能夠切實降低生產過程中的碳排放。 去年10月公布的《香港氣候行動藍圖2050》提出「零碳排放、綠色宜居、持續發展」的願景，新的中期目標是在2035年之前，將碳排放總量在2005年的基礎上減少一半。單憑現今的科技難以達此目標，需要政府更注重綠色科技的發展，推出更多更廣泛的資助，以及調整政策讓綠色科技能在研發初期進行實地測試。就如電動車和太陽能板的普及，就是在政府、電力公司、業界和市民的共同推動下，逐漸在本港廣泛應用。香港在綠色科技上有極強實力，可以作為其中一個重點開發的創科產業。 要在日新月異和愈益重要的全球科技競爭及合作中，保持和發展香港的優勢，政府、商界和學界應加強創科策略的前瞻研究，更準確和及時把握機遇。香港理工大學也為此而出一分力，新近成立科技及創新政策研究中心，在推動碳中和、香港科研政策如何融入大灣區，以及「一帶一路」國家創新科技發展政策三方面，提供創新科技政策及策略分析，冀促進大學前沿研究更好地與工商界和政府需求協調配對，作出貢獻。 （原文刊登於《明報》文摘）

The 88th Research Salon - Lok Ma Chau Loop

The 88th PolyU Research Salon was held by RIO on 20 Apr 2022 and has come to a successful conclusion. The seminar focused on the discussion of the overall development of the Lok Ma Chau Loop. Prof. Christopher Chao, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU, and Prof. Larry Ming-cheung CHOW, Director of Research and Innovation, PolyU, delivered welcome remarks. Mr. Patrick Siu, CEO of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park, gave insightful sharing on the topic – The Loop : Important Strategic Role in China’s National and Regional Development, the G2G Policies and Incentives to support “One Zone, Two Parks”, and the "InnoLife Healthtech Hub in HSITP".   Moderated by Prof. Chao, the panel discussion received fruitful discussion and exchanges among Prof. Kwok-yin Wong, Vice President (Education) of PolyU, Chair Prof. Yi-qing Ni, Director of National Rail Transit Electrification and Automation Engineering Technology Research Centre (Hong Kong Branch), Mr. Siu and Ms. Michelle Kam, Director, Operations of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation & Technology Park Limited on the potential collaborations.

ASTRI Day @ PolyU

ASTRI Day@PolyU – Inspire students to explore innovation and technology careers   ASTRI Day@PolyU co-organised by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) was successfully held on 13 April. The event was well-received with around 100 PolyU students attending online.   Prof. Christopher Chao, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU, Ir Sunny Lee, JP, Chairman of ASTRI and Dr. Denis Yip, CEO of ASTRI have delivered remarks for the event. R&D career opportunities including the “Top Technology Scholar Programme” have been introduced to graduates. Programme participants will have the opportunities to take part in important research projects at ASTRI, gaining valuable experiences in research and technology development. Upon completion of the two-year Top Technology Scholar Programme, master’s and Doctoral degree holders will receive a scholarship of HK$50,000 and HK$80,000 respectively.   In addition, award-winning scientists and tech experts from ASTRI have shared the latest industry development in various technology aspects like smart city development, Fintech, smart manufacturing, digital health, integrated circuits and systems and metaverse.   PolyU and ASTRI are committed to nurturing next generation I&T talents. More and more joint initiatives will be taken place to enable students flying high in their I&T careers.