News

Thirteen CEE Project Secured General Research Fund (GRF) and Early Career Scheme (ECS) 2025/26

We are pleased to share that 13 CEE projects have been awarded a total grant of HK$15 million from the Research Grants Council’s General Research Fund (GRF) and Early Career Scheme (ECS) 2025/2026. Remarkably, CEE accounts for 11 projects among 38 funded PolyU projects from GRF under the field of “Civil Engineering, Surveying, Building & Construction”, amounting to HK$13.1 million.  The General Research Fund (GRF) and the Early Career Scheme (ECS) are both competitive funding programs administered by the Research Grants Council (RGC) in Hong Kong. They share the common goal of supporting high-quality academic research across a wide range of disciplines in local universities. Both schemes use a rigorous, peer-reviewed selection process to ensure the excellence of funded projects. By providing financial support for research, the GRF and ECS aim to promote academic excellence and advance knowledge within Hong Kong’s higher education sector. Congratulations to all CEE scholars whose dedication to research excellence has made this milestone possible. Looking ahead, CEE remains committed to conducting high-quality research and making meaningful contributions to the society.

CEE Departmental Visit (3 July)

Two groups of students from Christian Alliance S.C. Chan Memorial College and Fanling Kau Yan College visited CEE on 3 July (Thursday). They jointly attended the programme talk hosted by Prof. Andy Y. F. Leung, Associate Head of CEE. They were being introduced the admission process for BEng (Hons) in Civil Engineering and BEng (Hons) in Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Development programmes and recent developments of the civil engineering industry. Christian Alliance S.C. Chan Memorial College  The group of 31 students visited the Noise and Safety Laboratory and Water and Waste Research Laboratory, where they gained a deeper understanding of the latest technology and research activities in noise elimination and water purification process through demonstrations of laboratory equipment. They all enjoyed the visit and found it was informative and cultivating. Fanling Kau Yab College The group of 18 students visited the Water and Waste Research Laboratory. In order to gain more hands-on experience regarding civil engineering, the students competed in the Tower Challenge: Engineering with Straws, Tape and Imagination where they were required to use their innovation to build a tower with only straws and tape. The winning team had set a new record by creating an 92 cm-higher tower. The visit concluded with a sense of accomplishment and inspiration among the students from both schools. We look forward to hosting more such visits in the future, fostering a greater understanding of the vital role engineers play in shaping a sustainable world.   

PolyU CEE Webinar Series: Risk Assessment Strategies for the Environmental Impact of Dredging and Mining in Coastal Areas

Prof. Alessandro Stocchino delivered a seminar with the topic of “Risk Assessment Strategies for the Environmental Impact of Dredging and Mining in Coastal Areas” on 25 June 2025. It was co-organized with HKIE Civil Division. Find the full version of the webinar in the below link: https://youtu.be/UaaKN3_1Rfs

Dialogue with CEE – JUPAS Admission Strategies

The Dialogue with CEE – JUPAS Admission Strategies held on 23 June 2025 (Monday) was a resounding success. The online seminar brings together over 30 students from various secondary schools, providing them an invaluable opportunity to gain first-hand insights into the programme information and to explore the exciting academic journey that awaits in CEE. The seminar commenced with an informative session hosted by Prof. Andy Leung, Associate Head of CEE and Dr Barbara Siu, Senior Lecturer of CEE, who shared the latest updates on JUPAS admission criteria and offered a comprehensive overview of the CEE programme structure. To have a closer interaction with secondary school students, two current CEE students took the stage to share their university experiences and future aspirations. Their candid stories gave attendees a glimpse into the vibrant campus life and the wealth of opportunities available at CEE, inspiring many to envision their own futures in the field. We hope the activity has sparked students’ curiosity and passion for engineering, and we look forward to supporting their academic journey in the years to come.  

New joiner – Dr Liangfu Ge

Dr Liangfu Ge earned his Ph.D. from Tongji University in 2022, following his Bachelor's degree from Southwest Jiaotong University in 2017. Before joining PolyU as a Research Assistant Professor, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Western Ontario from 2023 to 2025. His research focuses on developing cutting-edge methodologies for infrastructure assessment and management in smart cities, utilizing computer vision, robotics, and artificial intelligence. Dr Ge has joined us on 2 July 2025.  

New joiner – Dr Bin Pan

Dr Bin Pan obtained his B.E. Degree (2011) from Xi’an Jiaotong University, M.S. degree from Zhejiang University (2014), and Ph.D. degree (2022) from Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Before joining PolyU as a Research Assistant Professor, Dr. Pan had worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow at PolyU for two years. Dr. Pan’s research mainly focuses on pipe hydraulics, pipe health monitoring, pipe defect detection, numerical modelling, water quality control, and advanced oxidation techniques. Dr Pan has joined us on 1 July 2025.  

New joiner – Dr Huichuan Zhuang

Dr. Huichuan Zhuang received his Ph.D. degree in Environmental Engineering from PolyU in 2021, after completing his Bachelor's and Master's degrees at Harbin Institute of Technology. Following his Ph.D., he worked as a Postdoctoral fellow at PolyU before being appointed as a Research Assistant Professor. His research focuses on anaerobic biotechnologies for wastewater treatment and biomass valorization. He focuses on applying bioinformatics and thermodynamic modeling approaches to investigate microbial community evolution and metabolic interactions, aiming to advance sustainable and efficient environmental biotechnologies. Dr Zhuang has joined us on 1 July 2025.  

CEE Three Minute Thesis Competition 2025

CEE recently wrapped up its eagerly awaited Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) Competition Final on 12 May 2025 (Monday). The event highlighted the research capabilities and presentation skills of CEE's RPg students. Out of the 8 CEE RPg students who participated in the competition, six finalists emerged from the Semifinal to deliver captivating presentations on their theses in three minutes or less. The top honors were awarded to three outstanding finalists, with one champion, a first runner-up, a second runner-up, and a people's choice award recipient. All of the six talented individuals will be competing in the 3MT® competition organized by FCE on 10 June 2025 (Tuesday), where they will face off against students from other departments. The 3MT® competition, originally developed by The University of Queensland, Australia in 2008, aims to celebrate the discoveries and achievements of RPg students while cultivating their academic, presentation, and research communication skills. The competition has gained global popularity, with over 900 universities in more than 85 countries hosting their own 3MT® events. Kudos to all the participants and winners of the CEE 3MT® Competition for their remarkable performances and their effort in pushing forward research and communication within civil and environmental engineering. Keep an eye out for more updates as they gear up for the upcoming interdepartmental competition! Highlights of the Competition: https://youtu.be/z2jVLmX_QIA  

PolyU CEE Webinar Series: Some Recent Developments on Offshore Structural Vibration Control

Prof. Kaiming Bi delivered a seminar with the topic of “Some Recent Developments on Offshore Structural Vibration Control” on 21 May 2025. It was co-organized with HKIE Civil Division. Find the full version of the webinar in the below link: https://youtu.be/xL85SAdNPZI  

CEE PhD Student Awarded Outstanding Young Engineer Contribution Award by IABSE

Congratulations to Mr Lanxin Luo, CEE PhD student supervised by Prof. Yong Xia, on receiving the “Outstanding Young Engineer Contribution Award” at the IABSE Symposium Tokyo 2025 on 18-21 May 2025. The symposium, organized by the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE), themed Environmentally Friendly Technologies and Structures: Focusing on Sustainable Approaches. Mr Luo's research, titled “Hybrid Physics Data-driven Modeling for Structural Nonlinear Boundary Condition Identification”, addresses the critical issue of blind boundary condition identification in nonlinear dynamics. The project introduces a finite element-neural network hybrid modeling approach, which integrates the finite element method for linear components with multilayer perceptrons to represent unknown nonlinear elements. The unknown boundary is identified from output-only data without any prior model information. This advancement improves the interpretability of physics-informed neural networks and provides a practical solution for the blind nonlinear identification of operational structures. Kudos to Mr Luo for this remarkable achievement and we look forward to the positive impact his groundbreaking research will bring to our living environment.