Since 2020, he has been ranked by Clarivate among the top 1% worldwide by citations in the field of Engineering for multiple consecutive years, and has also been listed among Stanford University’s Top 2% Scientists globally for multiple years. In 2025, he was honoured with the prestigious Louise and Bill Holladay Distinguished Fellow Award from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), becoming the third recipient of this Award from Asia. To date, Professor Chao has published more than two hundred papers in leading international journals. He has served as a regional editor and editorial board member for several major journals. He has been elected a Fellowship of several professional organisations. In addition, Professor Chao is actively engaged in knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship, holds more than ten patents, and is extensively involved in the development of a number of start-ups.
As a Fellow and Senior Vice President of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering, he actively contributes to the development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong through public and industry service, serving on the Research Strategy Expert Group of the Chief Executive’s Policy Unit of the HKSAR, the Assessment Panel of the Public Policy Research Funding Scheme and the Strategic Public Policy Research Funding Scheme, the Gas Safety Advisory Committee of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, and the HKTDC Mainland Business Advisory Committee. He also holds various leadership positions, serving as Chairman of the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund Council and as a Board Member of both the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute and the Hong Kong Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre. Previously, he served as a Board Member of the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited (2020–2026).
Committed to nurturing the next generation of researchers, Professor Chao has been managing numerous research projects and has supervised more than 50 PhD and research master’s students to graduation. Many of these students now contribute to energy and environmental engineering, with some holding teaching positions at prominent research universities in Hong Kong, Australia, the UK, Singapore and Pakistan. Others have become successful entrepreneurs.
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