News

BSE Seminar: Heat and Moisture Exchangers for Energy-Efficient Buildings on 14 November 2016

The Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) was pleased to have invited Prof. Carey Simonson to deliver a CPD seminar on Heat and Moisture Exchangers for Energy-Efficient Buildings on 14 November 2016. This seminar attracted over 90 current students and professionals in the industry. Dr. Linda Xiao, Associate Professor of BSE, gave a welcome speech introducing and expressing thanks to Prof. Simonson.   Prof. Simonson discussed Heat and Moisture Exchangers for Energy-Efficient Buildings. Energy-efficient buildings are important because the heating and cooling of buildings accounts for 30% to 50% of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in developed countries. Furthermore, the demand for cooling is expected to increase by 30 times over this century due to climate change and increased demand in developing countries. Although this a major topic with major R&D efforts around the world, Prof. Simonson’s niche is moisture transfer in energy exchangers, which is important for frosting in cold climates and for cooling of buildings in warm and humid climates. The presentation covered some of the recent research supervised by Prof. Simonson at the U of S, including research on membranes and liquid desiccants for HVAC applications, frosting in heat and moisture exchangers, fouling of energy exchangers and solid desiccants for energy wheels.   Towards the end, the participants took the opportunity to raise meaningful questions during the Q&A session and provoke further discussions. Prof. Simonson is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) in Saskatoon, Canada. He received Bachelor’s (1991), Master’s (1993) and Doctoral (1998) degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the U of S and has been a professor at the U of S since 2001. In 2007/08 and 2014/15, he was a visiting professor at the University of Oulu in Finland. Prior to becoming a faculty member at the U of S, he spent 4 years at the Technical Research Centre of Finland. Prof. Simonson is a Fellow of ASHRAE, an Associate Editor of the ASME Journal Thermal Science and Engineering Applications and an editorial board member of Energy and Buildings and the Journal of Building Physics. In February 2015, he received the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Synergy Award for Innovation, which “recognize examples of collaboration that stand as a model of effective partnership between industry and colleges or universities”. The nomination was titled “Venmar and University of Saskatchewan – Research and Development of a New, Revolutionary HVAC system”.

PolyU Education Info Day 2016 - BSE Activities on 8 October 2016

The 2016 PolyU Education Info Day held on 8 October 2016 was a huge success. The Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE) actively participated in the Info Day to provide prospective undergraduates with first-hand and comprehensive information of BSE programmes and curriculum.   The Faculty Opening Ceremony commenced at Podium FG Wing in the morning. Professor Asif Usmani, Head of Department, joined the ceremony on behalf of the Department.   Prof. Usmani, Prof. S.K. Tang and Dr. Linda Xiao discussed our BSE programmes with the Faculty Dean Prof. You-Lin Xu. The Info Day was featured by a wide variety of events including programme information seminars, exhibition booth, consultation session, game and guided laboratory visits, which deepened visitors’ understanding of BSE programmes.   The exhibition booth aimed to showcase the BSE Department programmes’ content and unique features in teaching and learning, invention of BSE, student activities such as WIE and student exchange programme, and facilities in BSE to the public.   Two information seminars with the theme “Building Services Engineering: A Bridge to a Lifelong Exciting Career” were held in the morning and afternoon sessions for interested parents and students to acquire a better understanding of the admission arrangements and requirements through JUPAS, at the same time to counsel students in deciding their JUPAS programme choices.   Following the BSE introduction by Prof. Usmani and Undergraduate Programme Leader Prof. S.K. Tang, our guest speakers Mr. Ben Ngai and Mr. Alex Fung shared their perspectives on BSE as a branch of study and their personal experience during their study in the Department. They were keen to point out the challenging career prospects of BSE and illustrate the excitement in university life. Information related to admission arrangements was provided to visitors who were mostly secondary school students and their parents. Enquiries about admission were also addressed on the spot at the seminars.   We would like to express our greatest gratitude and appreciation to all colleagues, alumni, guests and student ambassadors for their enthusiastic participation in Info Day. We believe that the PolyU Education Info Day has successfully facilitated prospective students’ understanding of our Department and academic programmes. We look forward to seeing them in the near future.

BSE visited by Zhejiang University on 12 September 2016

A delegation team of academic staff and students from Zhejiang University (浙江大學) (ZJU), led by Dr. XU Xiangguo, visited the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) on 12 September 2016. This visit aims to provide a good opportunity for cross-cultural communication between Hong Kong and China.   In the morning, the ZJU team toured the PolyU campus to expose the programme-specific and general facilities. Guided by Mr. Michael FUNG, the ZJU team then had a technical visit to BSE laboratories. The ZJU students showed great eagerness to know the functions of the facilities and equipment used in BSE research, teaching and consultancy. Through this lab tour, ZJU students were highly interested in understanding the further study opportunities at PolyU.   Afterwards, BSE Associate Professor Dr. Vivien LU warmly welcomed the ZJU team and introduced HK university structure and BSE Department to them. Associate Head Professor J.L. NIU was invited to share the BSE's history, academic programme structure and research interest. Detailed information on undergraduate and postgraduate programmes offered by BSE was provided to the students.   Before the visit came to an end, BSE and ZJU students took turns sharing their study life and learning experience in a relaxed atmosphere. This served as a good chance for the students to pave the way for forming a deeper friendship to appreciate the cultural difference between Mainland and Hong Kong.   BSE would like to thank ZJU for their interests in BSE. We look forward to meeting friends from ZJU again in the near future.

A Warm Welcome from New Department Head

I am delighted to welcome all students to the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) for the new academic term 2016/17. I extend my special welcome to new students and hope you all will excel all the subjects in new academic term. Having just joined the University in this August, I am very excited to have become a member of the PolyU family. I look forward to the opportunities to get acquainted with all of you, to provide high quality student services and to understand how the BSE achieve success in student learning and research. The BSE mission is to provide high quality student services, support the academic mission of the university and improve the students' personality by promoting the students’ learning outcomes. I trust that all of you, like me, are ready for the new challenges and opportunities this new academic year will bring. I give an assurance that our colleagues will support you in achieving your goals and develop your potentials as much as we can. As a new student at BSE, you are bound to have questions about the Department or the university study, please don’t hesitate to contact the General Office of BSE (Room ZS867, 8/F, Block Z) during opening hours from 8:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. from Mondays to Fridays in person or by phone (2766- 5847) or by email (beenquiry@polyu.edu.hk). We are here to help you. Last but not least, on behalf of BSE, I wish you all a very positive and productive academic year ahead. Let us aim to finish the year as we are starting it with energy, vision, and a real sense of purpose and achievement. Again, I welcome you to BSE and look forward to meeting you. You will definitely find your school life wonderful and fruitful in PolyU! Best regards, Professor Asif Sohail Usmani Head of Department Department of Building Services Engineering

New Department Head Announced – Professor Asif Sohail Usmani

Professor Asif Sohail Usmani Professor and Head Department of Building Services Engineering The Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE) celebrates the announcement that Professor Asif Sohail Usmani has been appointed the new Head of BSE, starting in mid-August 2016. Prior to joining The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), Professor Usmani was Head of the Division of Civil Engineering at Brunel University London, UK. Before that, he was Head of the Research Institute for Infrastructure and Environment and Professor of Structural Engineering and Computational Mechanics at the University of Edinburgh, UK. Following a first degree in Civil Engineering, a master’s degree in Structural Engineering at Stanford University, USA, and four years of structural engineering design and construction in Saudi Arabia, Professor Usmani decided to pursue a research career. He developed finite element codes for the simulation of foundry casting processes at Swansea University, UK, for modelling of molten metal flow, heat transfer and solidification. His multidisciplinary background led him to develop structural fire safety engineering research at the University of Edinburgh following his appointment as Lecturer in 1995 and establish Edinburgh as an internationally leading research centre in this field. His research focused on understanding the thermo-mechanical behaviour of structures in real fires using computational methods validated with experiments. Key achievements include: providing fresh insights to understand non-intuitive structural behaviour observed in fire; explaining the collapse of World Trade Centre Twin Towers; developing open-source software OpenSees for modelling structures in fire including multi-hazard response simulation. His research output consists of over 200 peer reviewed publications resulting from research funding in excess of seven million pounds sterling. This work will continue at PolyU with a renewed focus on real fires in tall buildings and resilience of communities in dense urban environments such as Hong Kong.

Result Announcement - Outstanding BSE Alumni Award 2016

The Outstanding BSE Alumni Award, a biennial event organized by The Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), aimed at giving recognition to outstanding alumni for their accomplishments in BSE professions and their contributions to the community. The 1st round selection of Outstanding BSE Alumni Award was organized in 2010, and it is now the 4th round selection for biennial Outstanding BSE Alumni Award 2016.   It is our pleasure to announce that Ir LAM Lung Wai, Herbert has been awarded as the Outstanding BSE Alumnus of 2016. Ir LAM received a Bachelor of Engineering degree with honours in Building Services Engineering from PolyU in 1991. He has 25 years of professional engineering experience in building services. He is currently the Director and Vice President of Parsons Brinckerhoff (Asia) Limited, leading a BS division of 160 professionals, and a Project Director and Project Manager of mega-size projects in PRC and Asia. Ir LAM always supports the Department by offering training and employment opportunities to BSE students every year. The Department is honourable to recognize him with this award.   The Outstanding BSE Alumni Award Presentation will be held at Departmental Session of 22nd Congregation (FCE) in the morning of 2 November 2016 (Wednesday). Details of the Award Presentation Ceremony will be announced in due course.   The Department would like to thank all the Selection Panel members for their excellent volunteer work on the challenging selection process. We look forward to the 5th round selection for biennial Outstanding BSE Alumni Award in 2018.   Department of Building Services Engineering The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

BSE Seminar: Ventilation of Residential Buildings in Hong Kong: Issues and Possibilities for Improvement on 12 August 2016

A CPD seminar, which was supported by the Environment and Conservation Fund (ECF 23/2011) of the Hong Kong Government and the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), was held on Friday, 12 August 2016   This seminar has attracted about a hundred of students and professionals from building and construction industry who have interests in building envelope design and ventilation Professor MAK Cheuk-ming from the BSE Department and his postdoctoral fellow Dr. AI Zhengtao were responsible for the seminar presentations. The seminar was 1.5 hour long and intensive. Seminar Topic: Ventilation of residential buildings in Hong Kong: issues and possibilities for improvement   In the seminar, the speakers introduced the importance of indoor air quality and ventilation of residential buildings as well as the objectives of their study. They talked about ventilation in air conditioned an d naturally ventilated residential buildings. Based on their study, several possible ventilation strategies for air conditioned residential buildings were examined and the short term mechanical ventilation strategy was recommended. Owing to the moderation of local wind field and the accumulation of traffic related pollutants in street canyons, low ventilation rates and penetration of outdoor pollutants are two key risks involved in naturally ventilated residential buildings. Some opening configurations were evaluated, suggesting that careful envelope design to adapt to the high density urban environment is one of primary solutions to maximize the utilization of natural ventilation.   The seminar has richly inspired professionals to a deeper understanding of building envelope design for ventilation of residential buildings The results may help arouse professional’s awareness of sustainable building design.

PolyU Summer Programme 2016 on 5 July 2016

The annual PolyU Summer Programme is one of the largest departmental events for senior secondary school students to explore the variety of building engineering systems, and to explore their interests before making their university programme choices. The PolyU Summer Programme held on 5 July 2016 was jointly organized by the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE) and Secondary School Relations Section (SSRS) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). It was a One-day Programme that provided a good chance for senior secondary school students to take a tour around the departmental laboratories and meet with BSE professors and current students. Meanwhile, they also had the opportunity to explore the latest Renewable Energy Technologies in Hong Kong. A group of 34 senior secondary school students from different famous secondary schools in Hong Kong, namely Sacred Heart Canossian College, Heep Yunn School and Wah Yan College, participated in the PolyU Summer Programme.   In the morning session, BSE Programme Leader, Professor S.K. TANG, and Dr. Vivien LU warmly welcomed the students and introduced the academic programmes. Moreover, current Year 1 student Chris WONG was invited to share his study life and learning experience with the summer programme students and let them know more about the campus life in PolyU.   Afterwards, students were guided to tour the BSE laboratories so as to have a deeper understanding of our Department. How teaching activities and applied research could be better conducted with the laboratories were explained and demonstrated. Students were strongly interested in the tour and they raised some meaningful follow-up questions.   During the afternoon session, the students were arranged to visit Ma Wan Theme Park which aimed to explore the latest Renewable Energy Technologies in Hong Kong. The BSE Renewable Energy Research Group (RERG) had developed seven alternative energy systems at the Ma Wan Theme Park. Dr. MA Tao and Mr. ZHANG Weilong introduced various demonstration installations that derived electrical energy from different renewable sources to the students.   BSE believes that this programme has deepened the senior secondary school students' understanding of Building Services Engineering. We look forward to seeing them again in the coming future.

BSE Seminar: Research and Development of Perovskite Solar Cells for Industrialization on 23 May 2016

The Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) organized a CPD seminar on 23 May 2016. Dr. FAN Bin was invited to speak on “Research and Development of Perovskite Solar Cells for Industrialization”. This seminar had attracted over 70 current students and professionals in the industry who had interests in solar energy areas. First of all, Dr. FAN was welcomed and introduced by BSE Professor YANG Hongxing. Professor YANG gave a welcome speech and expressed thanks to Dr. FAN on his presentation.   Thereafter, Dr. FAN started to introduce his presentation on the Perovskite photovoltaic. Perovskite photovoltaic is one of the most promising technology for high-efficiency and low-cost solar-electricity generation. Dr. FAN has been working on perovskite solar cells since his PhD study in 2013. He has set up a pilot production line for perovskite solar modules of 45 cm by 65 cm and the solar module efficiency of around 10% has been achieved, which is the world champion efficiency for the perovskite solar modules with an area of above 10 cm2. Dr. FAN introduced his experience in research and development of this new type of solar cell and shared his achievements in the industrialization of the technology in China.

BSE Project Awarded "Special Merit Award" and "Gold Medal" at the 44th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva

The Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is honoured to announce that one of BSE projects entitled “Highly Dispersed Nanocomposite Paste for Self-cleaning Solar Panels” has been awarded a “Special Merit Award” and a “Gold Medal” at the 44th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva. Under the patronage of the Swiss Federal Government, the State and the City of Geneva as well as the World Intellectual Property Organization, the 44th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, Switzerland was held from 13 to 17 April 2016. Professor Hongxing YANG and his research team members, Dr. Lin LU and Dr. Yuanhao WANG, of the Renewable Energy Research Group in BSE Department, PolyU developed this innovative nanocomposite material for cleaning solar photovoltaic panels. Highly Dispersed Nanocomposite Paste for Self-cleaning Solar Panels is described as follows: This low-cost, environmentally friendly and highly transparent paste can be coated on different kind of surfaces including solar panels which can protect them from organic and inorganic dirt under sunlight activation and rainwater brush. It can significantly reduce 70% cleansing cost as well as increase the average output power of solar panels. This highly transparent with robust multifunctional coating also protects the surfaces from corrosion of sandstorm and acid rain so as to extend the life span of solar panels.   Congratulations to Professor YANG and his research team members on their accomplishments! The Department will continue to dedicate to the green management and contribution to community.