News

CEE Departmental Visit - Yu Chun Keung Memorial College (5 Dec)

15 students from Yu Chun Keung Memorial College visited CEE department on 5 December 2023 (Tue). The admission information of BEng (Hons) Scheme in Civil Engineering and Sustainable Development together with the latest development and opportunity of civil engineering industry were delivered to students. The students also had the chance to visit our Noise and Safety Laboratory and Water and Waste Laboratory. The laboratory equipment and the cutting-edge research were demonstrated to them. All the students enjoy the experience and found the visit fruitful and interesting.

Prof. Yong Xia Secures HK$14.9 Million from Smart Traffic Fund 2023

Congratulations to Prof. Yong Xia, whose project titled “Digital Twin-based Long-span Bridge Health Monitoring” has been awarded $14.9 million funding by Smart Traffic Fund 2023.  The project aims to develop a digital twin-based long-span bridge health monitoring platform by using the Tsing Ma Bridge as the testbed. Automatic traffic monitoring system, realistic bridge fatigue damage assessment and prediction system, vehicle-barrier collision monitoring system and vehicle safety assessment system in high winds will be developed in the project. Sensors on the bridges, cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, finite element analysis, and Bridge Information Modelling (BIM) will be also integrated into the monitoring platform. The Transport Department announced the funding results of the Smart Traffic Fund 2023 on 22 November 2023 with five projects being approved with a total grant of around $49.7 million. The Fund aims to provide funding support to local organizations and enterprises for conducting research and application of innovation and technology with the objectives of enhancing commuting convenience, enhancing efficiency of the road network or road space, and improving driving safety.  

Visit to Sichuan University for the Ten Thousand People’s Scheme

Collaborating with the State Key Laboratory of Hydraulics and Mountain River Engineering of Sichuan University, CEE arranged a 7-day academic research exchange program for students under Ten Thousand People’s Scheme on 17 – 20 November 2023. Dr Huan-Feng Duan, Dr Alessandro Stocchino and Dr Jing-Hua Wang led a group of twenty-three students to participate in the cross-cultural academic activities and to connect with the experts in Hydraulic Engineering for knowledge exchange. The scheme allows staff and students from both universities to explore the latest research on prevention of flash flood disasters, river sediment transport and riverbed evolution in Hong Kong and Sichuan. The current status, existing problems and future development of rainstorm meteorological disaster were also discussed. Apart from academic exchange programmes, the team also had a chance to visit Dujiangyan Irrigation System in Dujiangyan City, Chengdu, which consists of the headwork and the dense irrigation canals. The Ten Thousand People's Scheme provides experiential learning opportunities for students. Through joining seminars, research projects and visits, students had a variety of exposures in the latest technologies and developments. CEE will explore more collaboration opportunities with different institutions to promote academic exchanges and to offer students with more experiential learning chances.

Prof. Kwok-Fai Chung Received Medal of Honour (2023) from Hong Kong SAR Government

Prof. Kwok-Fai Chung, Director of CNERC, received a Medal of Honour as presented by Mr John Lee, Chief Executive of the Government of Hong Kong SAR on 25 November 2023 at the Government House for his exemplary contribution to engineering in Hong Kong.   Since its establishment in 2015, CNERC achieved the following through a successful completion of an extensive programme on research and technology transfer under the leadership of Prof. Chung : An innovative construction technology using high-strength S690 steel with proven structural adequacy and improved structural economy for construction; Development of effective welding on sections of high-strength S690 steel through the use of a robotic welding system which ensures little or virtually no reduction in mechanical properties of 10 to 70 mm thick steel plates after welding; Rationalized methods for structural design of welded sections, connections and joints of high-strength S690 steel which are in line with current engineering practice in Hong Kong; and Innovative applications of the high-strength S690 steel in building and civil engineering projects.   The innovation enables a modern construction technology using the high-strength S690 steel to achieve significant savings in construction materials and time, manpower demand, and carbon footprints. Typical applications include long-span foot bridges and roof structures, highways noise closure, steel piles supporting heavily loaded structures, and supporting members in road bridges.   We extend our warmest congratulations to Prof. Chung on receiving the Medal of Honour and we look forward to seeing more groundbreaking achievements from him in the future.    

CEE Departmental Visit - St Francis Xavier’s School Tsuen Wan (22 Nov)

A group of 22 students from St Francis Xavier’s School Tsuen Wan visited CEE on 22 November 2023 (Wednesday). Dr Andy Y.F. Leung, Associate Head of CEE, introduced the admission information of BEng (Hons) Scheme in Civil Engineering and Sustainable Development and the recent developments of the civil engineering industry to the group. Dr Ling Jin, Assistant Professor of CEE, delivered a lecture on Clean Air Education which allowed students to know more about air pollution and environmental protection topics in Hong Kong. The students also had the opportunity to visit our Air Pollution Laboratory and University Research Facility in 3D Printing in the Industrial Centre. The latest technology and equipment were demonstrated to the students and they found the visit fruitful and interesting.  

Visit to Two Reclamation Sites Using Dredged Sediments and Technical Seminar in Guangdong Province

CEE, HKIE Geotechnical Division, and Guangdong Geotechnical Mechanics and Engineering Society co-organized a technical seminar and site visits to reclamation projects on 11 - 12 November 2023. The activity included a seminar session on design and construction techniques of the reclamations by using dredged sediments and site visits to Guangzhou’s Nansha Port and Shenhua Coal Terminal of Zhuhai Port. Prof. Jian-Hua Yin, Chair Professor of CEE, delivered a lecture entitled “A Sustainable Approach to Marine Reclamations, a Field Trial in Hong Kong, and Post-construction Settlement-Strength Prediction-control”.  The participants are experts from CEDD, main consultants and contractors in Hong Kong, PolyU, CCCC Fourth Harbour Engineering Institute Co., Ltd., etc. Prof. Zhen-Yu Yin, Professor of CEE, and Dr Andy Y.F. Leung, Associate Head of CEE, presided at the seminar session while Dr Pei-Chen Wu and Dr Kai Liu, Research Assistant Professors of CEE, participated in the organization of this activity.  

CEE Alumni Received The 2023 APEC BCG Award

Congratulations to Ms Grace Kwok, Chairman & Executive Director of Allied Sustainability and Environmental Consultants Group, for receiving “The 2023 APEC Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Award” – Women Category. The award was announced by the 34th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministerial Meeting on 14 November 2023 to recognize distinguished individuals that have concretely implemented replicable Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) economy approaches to advance sustainable and inclusive growth across the APEC region.  Ms Grace Kwok, graduated with BEng (Hons) Environmental Engineering in 1998, has more than 23 years’ experiences in sustainable design and green building projects in Hong Kong and across Asia-Pacific. She focuses the efforts on accelerating the net zero transition and enhancing climate resilience of businesses by providing climate risk assessments alongside technical partners for climate modelling. With her active participation and contributions to the community and her alma mater, she was awarded the Outstanding Alumni Award in Professional Achievement of PolyU Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE).  

29th Congregation in 2023

The 29th Congregation was successfully held on 15 November 2023 (Wednesday). It was a great honor to have Ir Tsui Tack-kong, Fellow and Outstanding Alumni of PolyU; Ir Edmond Wong, President of Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association (CEEAA); Ir Dr Goman Ho and Mr Kenny Lok, Vice Presidents of CEEAA, to celebrate this special occasion with the graduates together. Congratulations to all our graduates of 2023/24 academic year in achieving this remarkable milestone! We wish them every success in their future endeavors as they embark on the new chapter of their lives. May their journey be filled with endless opportunities for growth and positive changes. Watch the playback of the ceremony here.

New joiner - Dr Hongyuan GUO

Dr Hongyuan Guo obtained his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Tongji University in 2015 and dual Ph.D. degrees from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2021 and Tongji University in 2022. Prior to joining PolyU as a Research Assistant Professor, Dr Guo worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at PolyU from 2022 to 2023. Dr Guo’s current research interests include the durability and time-dependent behavior of engineering structures, experimental and numerical assessments of structural performance, AI-driven uncertainty estimation, and the development and application of Bayesian theories and algorithms in the field of engineering structures. Dr Guo has joined us on 1 November 2023.  

CEE Excels in Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2023

CEE continues to excel in global rankings, with a remarkable progress achieved in three of our research areas, stated in the latest Shanghai Ranking league table. In the 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 (𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐒) 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 released by 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, CEE achieves 𝟑𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝟐𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 and 𝟒𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 globally which all have again secured the 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐊𝐨𝐧𝐠. This impressive achievement reaffirms our global excellence in education and research in the disciplines. Kudos to all CEE members who have consistently dedicated in the advancement of knowledge and research in our field. The GRAS uses a range of objective academic indicators and third-party data to measure the performance of 5,000 world universities in respective subjects, including research output, research influence, international collaboration, research quality, and international academic awards.  More than 1,900 universities across 104 countries and regions are eventually listed in the rankings. The full version of GRAS 2023 and its methodology can be found here:  https://www.shanghairanking.com/methodology/gras/2023