News

RISUD member receives funding for project on long-span bridge health monitoring

The project “Digital Twin-based Long-span Bridge Health Monitoring” led by Prof. Yong XIA, member of RISUD, Professor of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the project has secured funding of approximately HK$13.4 million for a duration of 24 months. The project aims to develop a digital twin-based long-span bridge health monitoring platform. The Tsing Ma Bridge will serve as the testbed for this project, focusing on the development of an automatic traffic monitoring system, a bridge fatigue damage assessment and prediction system, a vehicle-barrier collision monitoring system and a vehicle safety assessment system in high winds. Sensors on the bridges, cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, finite element analysis and Bridge Information Modelling will be integrated into the monitoring platform to enhance the efficiency of the road network and road space, as well as to improve driving safety. Press release: English - https://polyu.me/3RI3E2Q; Chinese - https://polyu.me/3Nk5UdF Online coverage: Oriental Daily News - https://polyu.me/3GGaQpJ Yahoo HK - https://polyu.me/3RFbaLB

The International Expert Workshop on Volatile Organic Compounds 2023 was successfully held

The International Expert Workshop on Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) 2023 was successfully held at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) from 28 November to 3 December 2023. The Workshop brought around 110 researchers access the globe to deliver plenary presentations and share their valuable insights on frontier topics. This workshop was co-organised by The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers - Geotechnical Division (HKIE-GD) and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (PolyU-CEE). The workshop was supported by ASCE Greater China Section, Hong Kong Geotechnical Society, Research Institute for Land and Space (RILS) and Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD) of PolyU.

Prof. Jerry YAN delivers keynote on energy transition at international conference

Prof. Jerry YAN Jinyue, Executive Committee Member of the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD) and Chair Professor of Energy and Buildings, at the International Conference on New Energy Science and Electrification of Transportation held on 31 October 2023 in Xiong’an, China, delivered a keynote presentation titled “Energy Nexus: Research and Innovations without Borders — Inter-disciplinary research on energy transition”. Prof. YAN said that there are two sides of energy transition, one is by increasing the proportion of renewable energy sources, and the other is by targeting at the distributed energy generation and storage of end-users. In addition, Prof. YAN pointed out that energy systems involve multiple fields and so, future energy innovation is an interdisciplinary field, involving not only engineering, but also other disciplines. Online coverage: Xinhua Net - https://polyu.me/3MrQGmG 光明網 - https://polyu.me/45Y5jF0 Toutiao - https://polyu.me/3FFQool

53 RISUD Scholars ranked in the World’s Top 2% most-cited Scientists by Stanford University

Fifty three RISUD Scholars Ranked World’s Top 2% Scientists in 2023 according to a recent index compiled by Stanford University. The latest ranking compiled by Stanford University covers over 100,000 top scientists across the globe. The database grouped scientists under 22 subject fields and 174 sub-fields, and the ranking was compiled based on indicators of research publications, including information on citations, individual’s scientific research output, co-authorship and a composite indicator for career-long citation impact up to the end of 2022. Congratulations to our top scientists who commit to benefiting the world by their research excellence! This achievement recognizes their contribution and influence in their own areas of specialty. As per the data published by Elsevier on 4 October 2023 (version 6): https://elsevier.digitalcommonsdata.com/datasets/btchxktzyw/6  

PolyU harnesses satellite tech for research and application

In a media interview, Prof. Charles Wong, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Construction and Environment, member of the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD) and Professor of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics, and Dr Xu Bing, Assistant Professor of the Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering, introduced the use of satellite technology donated by the Hong Kong Aerospace Technology Group in the University’s research and application, including promoting the development of smart cities and enhancing navigation services. (Ming Pao Daily News A08, Hong Kong Economic Times A18, Sing Tao Daily F01, Wen Wei Po A02, Lion Rock Daily P02)   Online coverage: Ming Pao Daily News - https://polyu.me/48476L1 Hong Kong Economic Times - https://polyu.me/3R8KtPM (subscription required) Sing Tao Daily - https://polyu.me/45TS4pt Headline Daily - https://polyu.me/3RatM6m Wen Wei Po - https://polyu.me/3Pzj6xb; https://polyu.me/47XZ4U2 Ta Kung Pao - https://polyu.me/44LF8Ba Hong Kong Commercial Daily - https://polyu.me/483PNdk

Insightful study published in renowned journal: Addressing ozone pollution challenges with synergistic control

An international research team led by PolyU scholars has published a ground-breaking perspective article in the prestigious journal One Earth. The study focuses on combating ground-level ozone pollution, a pressing environmental issue affecting human health, crop yields, and global climate change. The team, comprising 30 scholars from 10 countries, proposes a synergistic control approach between ozone and climate to address the challenges of rising tropospheric ozone levels. Prof. GUO Hai and Prof. WANG Tao from the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD) are one of the corresponding authors and co-authors, respectively. The research highlights the alarming increase in warm-season ozone pollution over the past decade. Key regions, including Mainland China, the United States, and Europe, have experienced significant ozone rises, posing challenges in pollution control due to changing emissions and the influence of climate warming. The study emphasises the need for a comprehensive strategy that integrates ozone and climate control, prioritising both human and ecosystem health. By connecting emissions, mechanisms and policies, this approach offers a remarkable solution to mitigate ozone pollution while fostering international collaboration for a low-carbon future. For more details, read the full article in One Earth journal. URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2023.07.004 #PolyU #PolyImpact #PolyUResearch#OzonePollution#ClimateChange #PAIR #interdisciplinaryresearch

Associate Director of RISUD is invited to moderate a project investment session on urban development of the Belt and Road Summit 2023

Ir Prof. Albert Chan, Associate Director of RISUD, is invited by HKTDC to moderate a project investment session on urban development of the Belt and Road Summit 2023 on 14 September 2023.  The Belt and Road Summit is a premier international platform for promoting business collaboration along the Belt and Road. The Summit gathers senior government officials and business leaders from countries and regions along and beyond the Belt and Road to exchange insights on multilateral co-operation and explore concrete business opportunities. Five prominent speakers from Australia, Poland, Indonesia, South Korea, and Vietnam shared exciting investment opportunities in their countries.  The session was well received with full house attendance.

2 RISUD railway technology projects supported by MTR Research Funding Scheme

PolyU received a total funding of HK$7.25 million in the 2023 MTR Research Funding Scheme for six research projects that aim at developing cutting-edge technologies for the future advancement of railways. Among them, two projects are led by RISUD researchers: In alphabetical order of last name: Principal Investigator PAIR Research Unit Project Title Dr HUANG Xinyan Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD) Intelligent Emergency Digital Twin System in Metro Station for Fire Evacuation Dr LAI Siu-kai   Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD)   Development of a New Inerter-based Rail Damper to Mitigate Railway-induced Ground-borne Noise by a Physics-informed Deep Learning Framework Read more: https://polyu.me/45mTfNr   Online coverage (Chinese only): Oriental Daily News - https://polyu.me/46jFost HK01 - https://polyu.me/46pRZdU

RISUD MC member receives Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Award from the Ministry of Education

Congratulations to Prof. Raymond Wai-yeung WONG, Executive Committee Member of the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD), Dean of Faculty of Science, Chair Professor of Chemical Technology and Clarea Au Professor in Energy at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has received the Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Award (Science and Technology) 2022 for his research in organic photovoltaic materials.  The Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Awards (Science and Technology) were set up by the MOE to recognise outstanding research projects at tertiary institutions nationwide. The award is presented to individuals or units who have made remarkable contributions in science and technology advancement, translational research and talent cultivation.

RISUD member honoured by National Natural Science Foundation of China

Congratulations to Dr HUANG Xinyan, Member of the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD) and Associate Professor in the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering, has been awarded the 2023 Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Hong Kong and Macao) by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), to support his research. Dr Huang’s awarded research project is titled “Smouldering Wildfire.” The smouldering combustion of decomposed plant litter and organic soils is the largest combustion and fire phenomenon on Earth, resulting in tremendous economic losses, regional haze events and ecological damage. This multi-disciplinary research project, investigating combustion, safety, ecology and geology, aims to control and reduce mega-scale smouldering wildfires. The research project not only provides scientific guidelines to help reduce carbon emissions from smouldering wildfires but also helps reduce the hazards of wildfires in the Belt-and-Road countries, thereby promoting China as a leader in fighting against global climate change. Online coverage: Ta Kung Pao - https://polyu.me/45WNVBt Wen Wei Po - https://polyu.me/3PDxDHQ