e-Bulletin issue 76/February 2017
Polyu
Cover Story
Outstanding Professional Services Awards 2016
On 14 February 2017, a ceremony for the Outstanding Professional Services Awards 2016 was held. Organized by PolyU¡¦s Technology and Consultancy (PTeC) Co. Ltd., the awards honoured departments and staff in consultancy activities. The Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) won the Maximum Staff Participation Award with the highest percentage of academic staff participation in consultancy projects during the financial year, while the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) received a Merit Award in the Most Active Department category with the second highest aggregate invoiced value during the financial year for consultancy projects undertaken via PTeC.

The Most Active Consultant Award was won by Prof. Siu Lai Chan of CEE, while a Merit Award in the same category went to Prof. Ya-ping Du of the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE). Individual awards were also given to Dr Daniel Tsang of CEE and Dr Johnny Wong of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), who respectively won the Most Active New Consultant Award and a Merit Award in the same category.

The Multi-departmental Participation Award was won by a 4-strong team that monitored and evaluated the performance of innovative green technology under trial of a pilot green transport fund. Dr Wing-tat Hung of CEE was one of its members. A Merit Award went to another team for the provision of consultancy services to the Construction Industry Council on the strategy for management and reduction of construction and demolition waste in Hong Kong. Its members included Prof. Chi-sun Poon of CEE, Dr Patrick Lam of BRE, Dr Ann Yu of BRE, and Dr Lam-wah Cheung of CEE.

 
At the award ceremony

Research Achievements/ Activities
CRF Seminar
On 7 February 2017, about 30 scholars gathered for a research seminar on the development of design methodologies for the improvement of wind and thermal comfort in the urban environment. Supported by the Collaborative Research Fund (CRF) of the Hong Kong Research Grants Council, the research team working on the project was led by Prof. Cheuk-ming Mak of the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE). After an opening speech by Prof. You-Lin Xu, Dean of the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE), Prof. Mak introduced the CRF project and its objectives. This was followed by 7 presentations on various topics related to the project, such as predictions of pedestrian level turbulent flow characteristics in building surroundings and a new criterion for assessing pedestrian level wind comfort in hot and humid Hong Kong. A closing speech from Prof. Asif Usmani, Head of BSE, concluded the seminar, which helped to increase the impact of the CRF project on local industry.


Prof. Xu¡¦s speech was accompanied by a presentation Prof. Mak introducing the CRF project
Highly Commended Award for CEE Researchers
A research team led by Dr Songye Zhu from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) has won a Highly Commended Award in the Digital Innovation category from the International Innovation & Research Awards 2016 organized by the Chartered Institute of Building (UK). In collaboration with Hong Kong¡¦s Hospital Authority and Chevalier (Construction) Co., the team has developed the first real-time construction vibration monitoring, assessment and alarm system in Hong Kong by leveraging the recent advances in sensing and software techniques. This system has been successfully implemented in Hong Kong¡¦s Blood Transfusion Service (BTS) Headquarters Extension Project since 2015.

 
Dr Zhu
Training Course for HyD Staff

A training course for staff of the Bridges and Structures Division of the Hong Kong Highways Department (HyD) was recently held. Provided by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), the series of training was the culmination of a collaborative research project that began in May 2009 between PolyU and HyD to develop structural health prognosis tools for evaluating the Stonecutters Bridge under in-service conditions. 13 reports have been completed since then, addressing the following topics:

  1. the 3D space frame (implicit) finite element modelling and analysis of global bridge;
  2. the full 3D hybrid (implicit) finite element modelling and analysis of global bridge;
  3. the partial 3D multi-scale (implicit) finite element modelling and analysis of local bridge components; and
  4. the 3D solid (explicit) finite element modelling and analysis of local bridge components.

Divided into 3 separate parts, the training was led by Dr Songye Zhu¡¦s team from 8 to 10 February, and Prof. You-Lin Xu¡¦s team from 22 to 24 February. The final training from 8 to 10 March 2017 will be led by Dr Yong Xia and Prof. Yiqing Ni¡¦s teams.

 
Prof. Xu (seated 4th from left) and Dr Songye Zhu (seated 3rd from right) with participants of the training course

Joint Research Advocates Potential of Solar Energy

Two joint studies for public policy research by Dr Charles Wong of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) and Dr Lin Lu of the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE) have found that about 75% of buildings¡¦ rooftops in Hong Kong were suitable for implementing solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. If they were all installed for that purpose, they could supply about 10% of electrical power for the city¡¦s consumption, reducing 3 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions from local power plants accordingly every year.

Beginning in 2013 and lasting for more than 2 years, the study used geographic information system and remote sensing technology to calculate the buildings¡¦ overall potential for generating electricity based on an estimate of the unused building rooftop areas that could be installed with solar PV systems. Not only did the study find that 40% to 50% of days in 2013 were sunny in Hong Kong, it also noted the feasibility for more than 230,000 buildings here to take advantage of solar PV systems. The total surface area of the buildings¡¦ roofs was between 2,800 and 3,900 hectares, which is the equivalent of 147 to 200 Victoria Parks.

According to Dr Wong, the utility rate of the rooftops of commercial buildings along the harbour from Central to Wanchai, as well as those of several landmark structures such as the Cultural Centre, for installing solar PV boards could be as high as 90%. Dr Lu added that the electricity cost from roof-mounted solar PV systems is still expensive due to high local installation costs, the energy return on investing in rooftop solar PV systems is 3 years at most. Based on the 25-year life-span of a solar PV module, it is estimated the electrical power generated after the first 3 years will be free and will not have any pollution associated with it. Moreover, Dr Lu said the Hong Kong government could consider opening the market for solar PV systems from the mainland to reduce their installation costs. The study has been widely reported in the local press such as Ming Pao Daily News, Sing Tao Daily, and Ta Kung Pao.

 
Dr Wong (left) and Dr Lu (right)

New Book Co-authored by BRE Academic
Dr Daniel Chan, Associate Head (Teaching and Learning) of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), has co-authored a new book entitled Target Cost Contracting Strategy in Construction: Principles, Practices, and Case Studies. Based on the authors¡¦ 10 years of research and teaching experience in target cost contracts, this book presents the underlying principles and practicalities of applying the target cost contracting strategy, along with a series of short case studies. Principles begin with the fundamentals, then cover the development of target cost contracting in major countries/cities, definitions of target cost contracting, perceived benefits, potential difficulties and critical success factors for implementation.

Practices include the target cost contracting approach and process in general, the key risk factors, risk assessment model, risk allocation and risk mitigation measures for target cost contracts in particular, together with a conceptual framework for the performance measurement of target cost contracts. Several short real-life case studies from the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand are provided for further illustration.

The book will appeal to a wide spectrum of readers, from industrial practitioners to undergraduate students, researchers and academics interested in construction contracts and procurement methods.

 
Dr Chan
Events Reports
1st Lecture in Series to Celebrate PolyU¡¦s 80th Anniversary
The first lecture of the FCE lecture series to celebrate the 80th anniversary of PolyU was held on 21 February 2017, with about 120 people in attendance. FCE was honoured to have Prof. David Nethercot, Emeritus Professor of Imperial College London and Distinguished Chair Professor of Structural Engineering and Steel Construction at PolyU, delivered a lecture entitled ¡§Designing Buildings to Better Resist Progressive Collapse.¡¨  
Prof. Nethercot
 
FCE Hosts Visitors from Kazakhstan
2 visitors from the National School of Physics and Math (Astana city branch) in Kazakhstan came to the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) on 27 February 2017. Mr Gabit Bekakhmetov, Principal, and Mr Abay Zharlygap, Head of the Department of Computer Science and Robotechnics, were introduced to FCE by Prof. Xiaoli Ding, Associate Dean (Partnership) and its 4 departments respectively by Dr Daniel Chan, Associate Head of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), Prof. Asif Usmani, Head of the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE), Prof. William Lam, Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), and Prof. John Shi, Head of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI), together with his colleague Dr George Liu. In attendance was Mr Eric Lo, Deputy Director of the International Affairs Office. The visitors were also taken on tours of the Fire Engineering Laboratory by Prof. Asif Usmani, the Lab for Geographic Information System by Prof. John Shi, the Construction Virtual Prototyping Laboratory by Mr Xintao Yang of BRE, and the Water Analysis Laboratory by Dr Ben Leu of CEE.  
The visitors with some academic staff of FCE
 

Prof. Ding (left) with Mr Bekakhmetov
Briefing Session on Selection of Major
Students studying the Broad Discipline of Construction and Environment (BDCE) attended a briefing for choosing a major on 10 February 2017. Following an introduction to the arrangements by Prof. YH Chiang, the BDCE Programme Leader, the 4 departments of the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) were introduced, namely, the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE) by Dr Daniel Chan, the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE) by Dr WL Lee, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) by Prof. KF Chung, and the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) by Prof. John Shi, Head of LSGI, and Dr Wallace Lai. The briefing concluded with a Q&A session hosted by Prof. Chiang. BDCE academic advisors were also available to answer questions.  
At the Q&A session
 
New release
New Edition of FCE Research Brochure
To commemorate the 80th anniversary of PolyU in 2016/17, a new edition of the FCE brochure Research Excellence in Construction and Environment was recently published. In addition to providing an overview of the research activities of the Faculty in 2015 and 2016, as well as the FCE experts who lead these activities, it highlights some of their ground-breaking research projects that have made an impact on the world around us.

Prospective students and researchers alike would find this booklet useful. An online copy can be downloaded from https://www.polyu.edu.hk/fce/research_brochure.html.

 
 
Staff News
BRE Visiting Scholar Wins National Funding for Major Projects
A visiting scholar in the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE) has won funding for major projects from the National Social Science Foundation. Prof. Ying Li is a Professor in the School of Ethnic Minorities Culture at Yunnan Minzu University who is currently researching the literature of ethnic minorities from the perspective of knowledge management with Dr Patrick Fong, Associate Head of BRE (Partnership), which is one of the units collaborating on the major projects. Dr Fong is leading a sub-project to preserve the culture, literature, language and architecture of the Dai, the Wa, and the Jingpo cross-border ethnic groups in a comprehensive repository, sharing and connecting with other like-minded researchers both within and outside China.  
Prof. Li
 
Student News
Outstanding Student Awards 2016
A ceremony for the annual Outstanding Student Awards was held on 21 February 2017. Winning the award for Outstanding Student of the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) was Qianchen Sun, a final-year student for the BEng (Hons) in Civil Engineering who was also honoured with a similar award from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE). An exemplary student with a full scholarship from the Hong Kong Jockey Club for 4 years of study, Mr Sun has distinguished himself not only in his academic achievements, but also in his extra-curricular activities and community service. In addition to serving 2 student organizations at PolyU in a leading capacity, he volunteered in literacy projects for local and south Asian youths, providing educational services at Jiaji Middle School on Hainan island. He also spent a semester in 2015 as an exchange student at Purdue University in the US, where he was active in the soccer team, ran for charity, and facilitated an outing for students there to watch a national basketball game. As far as he was concerned, an outstanding student should be persistent, strategic about their goals, willing to explore and give back to society. He is on his way to fulfilling his dream of becoming a qualified civil engineer in Hong Kong, having completed summer internships with VSA-HK Ltd. and Fugro HK Ltd respectively.

Other FCE students honoured at the ceremony were Pei Wu of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), Xinchang Li of the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE), and Xuandi Fu of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI). They received the Outstanding Student Award of their respective departments.

 
Mr Sun (right) receiving his award from the President of PolyU
 
FCE Students Receive HKHS Awards

On 21 January 2017, the Hong Kong Housing Society Award (HKHS Award) Presentation Ceremony was held at the World Trade Centre Club to recognize students with outstanding academic performance and also support needy students of related disciplines. 6 students from the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) benefited from the awards, which were $8000 each this year. Following are their details:

Name of Student Dept. Course / Year
Cheng Yiu Sing BRE BSc (Hons) Property Management, Year 3
Cheung Yuk Nam BRE BSc (Hons) Surveying, Year 2
Sze Cheuk Lam BRE BSc (Hons) Building Engineering & Management, Year 4
Wong Kit Ming BRE HD Building Technology & Management (Surveying), Year 2
Wong Ka Lok BSE BEng (Hons) Building Services Engineering, Year 4
Wong Lai Kan CEE BEng (Hons) Civil Engineering, Year 4
 
FCE students at the award ceremony
 
BIM Competition 2016
5 students from the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE) won an award for Best Presentation in the Building Information Modelling (BIM) Competition organized by Paul Y. Engineering Co. A presentation ceremony on 20 December 2016 honoured Chen Jueqi, a student of surveying and 4 other students in building engineering management: Lau Ka Yi, Wong La Yan, Wong Pui Sze, and Wu Pei. Adopting BIM technology to design buildings on a site shaped like the number 70 to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the company, the students developed a practical and sustainable model that involved an overall estimation and a budget. They would like to thank Dr Patrick Fong, Associate Head of BRE (Partnership), for encouraging them to enter the competition, as well as Prof. Heng Li and Dr Huang Ting for their technical assistance.

 
The students with their awards
 
Voyage of Discovery for BRE Student
A surveying student from the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), Terrence Ku, went on a Visiting Student Programme to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) in the US for the spring semester of 2015/16. It was an unforgettable experience for him. Not only was he exposed to a different learning environment, he also became more mature and independent as a result of his time studying overseas. He learnt much from his classmates at UPenn, whose passion and enthusiasm in the classroom were conducive for interactive discussions with the professors. Moreover, the focus on case studies gave him a taste of what it was like for professional consultants to solve problems in the real world. The intense personal development he experienced was not limited to the classroom. In addition to making friends from around the world, Terrence had a chance to explore Mexican culture during spring break with a visit to Cancun. He greatly enjoyed meeting all the amazing people there. Now more confident than ever, he is optimistic about the future because he knows he can overcome any difficulties that may come his way.

 
Mr Ku in Cancun
 
Programme Admission
Invitation for Programme Admission 2017/18
Applications are now invited for the following undergraduate and taught postgraduate programmes.

Undergraduate Programmes
Broad Discipline of Construction and Environment «Ø³]¤ÎÀô¹Ò¼sªx¾Ç¬ì #
BSc(Hons) in Building Engineering and Management «Ø¿v¤uµ{¤ÎºÞ²z¾Ç(ºaÅA)²z¾Ç¤h¾Ç¦ì
BSc(Hons) in Property Management ª«·~ºÞ²z¾Ç(ºaÅA)²z¾Ç¤h¾Ç¦ì
BSc(Hons) in Surveying ¦a²£¤Î«Ø³]´ú¶q¾Ç(ºaÅA)²z¾Ç¤h¾Ç¦ì
BEng(Hons) in Building Services Engineering «Î¦t³]³Æ¤uµ{¾Ç(ºaÅA)¤u¾Ç¤h¾Ç¦ì
BEng(Hons) in Civil Engineering ¤g¤ì¤uµ{¾Ç(ºaÅA)¤u¾Ç¤h¾Ç¦ì
BEng (Hons) in Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Development Àô¹Ò¤uµ{»P¥i«ùÄòµo®i¾Ç(ºaÅA)¤u¾Ç¤h¾Ç¦ì
BSc(Hons) in Environmental and Occupational Safety and Health Àô¹Ò¤Î¾·~¦w¥þ»P°·±d(ºaÅA)²z¾Ç¤h¾Ç¦ì# *
BSc(Hons) in Geomatics (Land Surveying / Geo-Information Technology / Utility Management and Surveying) ´úø¤Î¦a²z¸ê°T¾Ç(ºaÅA)²z¾Ç¤h¾Ç¦ì(¤g¦a´ú¶q / ¦a²z¸ê°T / ºÞ½u³]¬I´úø»PºÞ²z)


#not applicable for international applicants
*a top-up degree programme for Associate Degree and Higher Diploma Graduates


Master of Science (MSc)/Postgraduate Diploma (PgD)

Building Services Engineering «Î¦t³]³Æ¤uµ{¾Ç
Civil Engineering ¤g¤ì¤uµ{¾Ç
Construction and Real Estate «Ø¿v¤Î©Ð¦a²£¾Ç
Construction Law and Dispute Resolution «Ø¿vªk¤Îª§Ä³¸Ñ¨M¾Ç
Environmental Management and Engineering Àô¹ÒºÞ²z¤Î¤uµ{¾Ç
Facility Management ³]¬IºÞ²z
Fire and Safety Engineering ®ø¨¾¤Î¦w¥þ¤uµ{¾Ç
Geomatics (Geographic Information Systems) ´úø¤Î¦a²z¸ê°T¾Ç(¦a²z¸ê°T)
Geomatics (Surveying) ´úø¤Î¦a²z¸ê°T¾Ç(´ú¶q)
High Performance Buildings °ª®Ä¯à«Ø¿v
Project Management ¶µ¥ØºÞ²z
Sustainable Urban Development ¥i«ùÄò«°¥«µo®i¾Ç


For details, please visit:
Undergraduate programmes- https://www.polyu.edu.hk/fce/programmes_degree_sub-degree.html

Taught postgraduate programmes- https://www.polyu.edu.hk/fce/postgrad-scheme/acad.html

For PolyU¡¦s e-Prospectus, please visit https://www.polyu.edu.hk/study


FCE DISTINGUISHED LECTURE AND DISTINGUISHED CHAIR PROFESSOR INAUGURAL LECTURE SERIES

In celebration of the 80th Anniversary of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) has launched the FCE Distinguished Lecture and Distinguished Chair Professor Inaugural Lecture Series. A total of ten lectures will be delivered in 2017 by distinguished scholars from different parts of the world and newly appointed Distinguished Chair Professors of PolyU. The lectures are generously sponsored by the FCE Alumni Associations. Details of the speakers are available at: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/fce/events/80_lectures/

The date and topic of each lecture will be announced in due course.
To download the poster, please click here

Forthcoming Events
FCE Distinguished Chair Professor Inaugural Lecture on “Technologies of Space and Place”
Speaker: Professor Michael Goodchild
Date: 8 March 2017
Time: 6:00 – 7:00pm
Venue: Y301, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
FCE Distinguished Lecture on “Integrating Fire Safety into Modern Building Design”
Speaker: Professor José L. Torero
Date: 17 March 2017
Time: 6:00 – 7:00pm
Venue: TU201, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Research Open Day 2017
Topic: Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Development
Date: 25 March 2017
Venue: 2/F, Block Z, PolyU
International Youth Competition ¡V World Sustainable Built Environment Conference 2017 HK
Date: 5-7 June 2017
Details: http://www.wsbe17hongkong.hk/iyc
International Summer School 2017
Dates: 10 June - 6 July and 15 July - 10 August
Venue: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Details: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/summerschool/application.php
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