FCE project receives HK$48 million funding in RGC Theme-based Research Scheme 2023/24 for tropical-storm-resilient system

As a densely populated and highly developed coastal city, Hong Kong faces increasingly severe tropical-storm-related hazards due to constant population growth and climate change. Tropical storms like Super Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018 caused the city enormous economic losses. To protect the safety, quality of life, and economic vitality of Hong Kong and other similar coastal cities, there is a need for real-time tropical storm risk warning and urban-resilience assessment systems.

Prof. Yi-Qing NI, Chair Professor of Smart Structures and Rail Transit of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), Director of National Rail Transit Electrification and Automation Engineering Technology Research Centre (Hong Kong Branch), and Yim, Mak, Kwok & Chung Professor in Smart Structures, received HK$48.29 million funding from the Research Grants Council (RGC) Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS) 2023/24 (Thirteenth Round) for the project “INTACT: Intelligent Tropical-storm-resilient System for Coastal Cities”.

The project team is comprised of experts in urban aerodynamics, climate modelling, wind engineering, fluid mechanics, structural engineering and monitoring from CityU, CUHK, HKU, HKUST, and PolyU. Prof. Ni will lead the team of multi-disciplinary experts to establish a real-time urban typhoon risk early warning and management analysis framework and elucidate and model the underlying causes of tropical storm-generated turbulent flows and urban risks. This will result in the development of a new kind of damage mechanism involving wind pressure-windborne debris-rainwater chain effect that is specific to Hong Kong owing to densely spaced tall building clusters. Furthermore, the project will develop educational programmes and policy recommendations for urban sustainability.

In this round of TRS exercise, the RGC received 66 eligible preliminary proposals, 29 proposals were shortlisted for full proposal submissions and 20 of the full proposals were selected for interview. Finally, the RGC supported nine proposals. Prof. Ni’s project is one of the two awarded PolyU-led projects this year. Since the first round of TRS exercise in 2011/12, FCE academics have secured six TRS projects for PolyU, including Prof. Tao WANG of CEE (2017/18), Prof. Jin-Guang TENG/Prof. Tao YU of CEE (2018/19)*, Prof. Asif USMANI of BEEE (2019/20), Prof. Jianlei NIU of BEEE (2021/22), Prof. Xiang-dong LI of CEE (2022/23), and Prof. Yi-Qing NI of CEE (2023/24).

* The project was originally led by Prof. Teng. Prof. Yu took over the role of the Project Coordinator in March 2020 after Prof. Teng assumed his duty as the President of PolyU. Prof. Teng now serves as the Advisory Project Coordinator of the project.

Results of RGC Competitive Funding Schemes 2023/24

Achievements of FCE academics

The Faculty is thrilled to share some recent prestigious awards and titles bestowed upon FCE academics for their distinguished academic standing and achievements at international, national, and Hong Kong levels.

Prof. Xiao Lin ZHAO, Chair Professor of Civil Infrastructure of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), has been conferred the Humboldt Research Award 2023 for his key contributions in the field of FRP strengthened steel structures, tubular structures and high-performance construction materials. The Humboldt Research Award is granted by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany to internationally leading researchers of all disciplines outside Germany in recognition of their academic record to date.

Prof. Zhao has also been elected a Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA) for his outstanding achievements in engineering and infrastructure. The EASA has 2,000 elected members who are leading scientists, artists, and practitioners of governance, including 37 Nobel Prize Laureates.

Prof. Tao WANG, Chair Professor of Atmospheric Environment of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), received a Second-Class Award in the Nature Science category of the Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Awards (Science and Technology) 2022. The award was presented by the Ministry of Education of China for the project “Atmospheric Chemistry of Reactive Nitrogen Oxides and its Impacts on Regional Atmospheric Environment”. The project team led by Prof. Wang discovered important chemical processes of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and their roles in photochemical and haze pollution. The findings have enhanced the knowledge of atmospheric chemistry and improved an extensively used air quality model for global air quality forecasting and research.

Prof. Meng NI, Associate Dean (Research) of Faculty and Professor of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE), has won the RGC Senior Research Fellow Scheme 2023/24 with his research project titled "Protonic ceramic fuel cells for clean power generation: from new cathode materials to new stack designs" and received funding support of HK$7.8 million over five years. The scheme aims to provide sustained support to exceptionally outstanding researchers at full Professor rank at UGC-funded universities in Hong Kong. Ten awards are provided in each round of the yearly exercise based on a list of criteria including qualifications and research capability, proven research track record to date, leadership quality and vision in the chosen area of research, and merit of the research proposal, etc.

FCE signs MoU with School of Naval Architecture, Ocean & Civil Engineering of Shanghai Jiao Tong University for strategic collaboration

Academic exchange and collaboration with first-class universities are crucial to the advancement of research and teaching qualities. On 26 June 2023, FCE signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the School of Naval Architecture, Ocean & Civil Engineering (NAOCE) of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) to form a strategic partnership.

Witnessed by Prof. Kuiling DING, President of SJTU, and Prof. Jin-Guang TENG, President of PolyU, the MoU was signed by Ms Wei ZHOU, Secretary of the Communist Party of China of NAOCE, and Prof. Xiang-dong LI, Dean of Faculty. A seminar was held after the signing ceremony where academic representatives from NAOCE and FCE further discussed the collaboration opportunities in various areas, including talent nurturing, research and innovation, and societal impact. It is hoped that the partnership will strengthen both universities’ positions as leading institutions in the Asian region.

CEE presents seminar to celebrate 50th anniversary

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) (formerly the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering), CEE hosted a one-day seminar named “Civil Engineering in the Next 50 Years” on 23 June 2023 which attracted around 380 participants.

Keynote speaker Ir Ricky LAU, Permanent Secretary for Development (Works) and CEE alumnus, and seven other distinguished speakers shared their insights into their respective areas of expertise and highlighted the impact of the construction industry on infrastructure and urban development as well as the importance of adapting to the changing industry landscape. CEE is going to host more celebratory events in the coming months.

LSGI hosts competition for secondary school students to encourage innovative smart city solutions

The Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) launched the Innovation for Smart City Competition in late 2022, with an aim to encourage secondary school students to develop innovative solutions for building a smart city and attract prospective students.

Engaging over 80 participants from different schools throughout the competition, the final round cum award presentation ceremony was successfully held on 7 July 2023, with the five finalist groups presenting and discussing their projects with the judging panel. Along with Prof. Wu CHEN, Head of LSGI, the panel also consisted of three officials from different government units. As a token of acknowledgement, the Overall Champion team and teacher supervisor were awarded an overseas excursion to Singapore during summer holidays to explore the smart city experience and strategies. The competition helps nurture the next generation’s creativity and equip them with knowledge in sustainable development. Further details and the list of awardees can be found here.

FCE Luncheon Research Salons to cultivate supportive research culture among young academics

To further enhance the collaborative research culture among young faculty members and boost the research performance of FCE, four FCE Luncheon Research Salons were held in May and June 2023. A young academic from each department was invited to be the key speaker of each salon, sharing their aspirations as beginners from the fringe, the paths leading to their domains today, as well as their future plans for research collaborations. Each sharing was followed by a Q&A session which sparked dynamic discussion between participants. Prof. Xiang-dong LI, Dean of Faculty, emphasised that FCE will continue to support the development of young faculty members in their pursuit of research excellence.

The salons not only provided a valuable platform for each department to develop its focused research areas but also facilitated potential cross-departmental collaborations.

Welcome new staff to FCE

FCE welcomes Prof. Ahmed ELGHAZOULI who is starting as Chair Professor of Earthquake Engineering and Structural Integrity in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) under the Global STEM Professorship Scheme. Prof. Elghazouli obtained his PhD degree in Structural Earthquake Engineering from Imperial College London in 1992. Prior to joining PolyU, he served for 15 years as Professor of Structural Engineering and Head of the Structures Section in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at his alma mater. He also worked earlier for several years at The University of Edinburgh and in industry.

Prof. Elghazouli is an expert on seismic design and structural robustness. He has over 300 publications in related areas and has been involved in the design of notable structures worldwide. He is a Fellow of the UK Institutions of Civil and Structural Engineers (Institution of Civil Engineers and The Institution of Structural Engineers). In recognition of his outstanding contributions to engineering research and practice, he was also elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2016. Prof. Elghazouli chairs the British Standards Institution (BSI) committee on seismic design and is on the management committee of Eurocode 8. He is a former chair of the UK Society for Earthquake and Civil Engineering Dynamics and its delegate to the International and European Associations for Earthquake Engineering.

Dean's/FCE Awards reward outstanding academic and non-academic staff

FCE recognises and rewards our academic and non-academic staff for their outstanding achievements. Congratulations to all the awardees of the Dean's/FCE Awards 2023: