News

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.  

FCE Dean’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research Funding 2025

Eight exceptional CEE members have been awarded the 2025 FCE Dean's Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research Funding. This prestigious award acknowledges their endeavor in securing external competitive research funding—a testament to their ground-breaking work and commitment to innovation. The achievement reflects their dedication to pushing the boundaries of technological advancements and their unwavering contribution to research excellence. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the award recipients. Their ground-breaking research will continue to bring positive impact and shape the future of civil and environmental engineering.  

CEE Departmental Visit - Tung Chung Catholic School (21 May)

A group of 35 students from Tung Chung Catholic School visited CEE on 21 May 2025 (Wednesday). Ir Chung-Lim Kwan, Senior Teaching Fellow of CEE, introduced the admission information of BEng (Hons) in Civil Engineering and BEng (Hons) in Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Development. The civil engineering industry updates and career prospects were shared with the students. To arouse the students’ awareness on air pollution control, the students joined the Air Purifier Model DIY Workshop and learned to make their own air purifier. They all found the visit comprehensive and fruitful. After the informative session and the hands-on workshop, the students had the opportunity to visit our Air Pollution Laboratory and Waste and Water Laboratory, where they were able to monitor the concentration of air pollutants with the devices and watch the waste water management process at a close distance. We hope the visit not only reinforced the students’ understanding on environmental protection but also empowered them to take actionable steps in their daily lives.  

Dr Yong Tao Awarded Young Innovative Researcher Award 2025

We are proud to announce that Dr Yong Tao, Research Assistant Professor of CEE, was awarded the PolyU Young Innovative Researcher Award (YIRA) 2025. This accolade recognizes Dr Tao’s outstanding contribution and positive impact his research, titled "Advancing CO2 Mineralization and Waste Concrete Valorization for a Sustainable Future", might bring to the society. The YIRA is a university-level award that honours young faculty members who have have demonstrated originality, contributed to technological advancement, and propelled transformational innovation into solutions addressing global challenges through their research. This year, a record 70 submissions were received from across all schools and faculties, and after a rigorous selection process, six remarkable individuals have been chosen as awardees. Congratulations to Dr Yong Tao on this well-deserved achievement! We believe this award will further encourage his impactful work in tackling global challenges through sustainable solutions.  

CEE Departmental Visit – St. Francis Xavier’s College (15 May)

A group of 22 students from St. Francis Xavier’s College visited CEE on 15 May 2025 (Thursday). Prof. Tony Sze, Associate Professor of CEE, unveiled the visit by a programme talk, providing the students with useful information about the admission process for the BEng (Hons) in Civil Engineering and the BEng (Hons) in Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Development programmes. He also shared updates on the civil engineering industry and discussed career prospects, offering the students insights into their future opportunities. After the informative session, the students visited Hydraulics Laboratory and HiVE (Hybrid Immersive Virtual Environment) of Research Centre for Design for Safety (RCDfS), where the students gained insights on the hydraulics system in Hong Kong and interacted with the virtual environment simulating construction accidents via latest virtual reality technology. This visit allowed the students to have a clear picture on CEE academic programmes and the civil engineering industry trends, while also exposing them to the real-world applications of engineering studies.  

CEE Students Received OSH Best Project Scholarship 2024

We are proud to announce and Mr Ng Chi Hin, graduates of CEE, for being awarded the Occupational Safety & Health Best Project Scholarship 2024 by the Occupational Safety and Health Council (OSHC).  Both students graduated from the BSc (Hons) in Environmental and Occupational Safety and Health (EOSH) programme. Supervised by Prof. Tony Sze, Associate Professor of CEE, Mr So’s final year project titled “The Effectiveness of Metaverse Technology in Construction Safety Education: A Study on Enhancing Learning Outcomes and Cognitive Performance, and Practical Applications in Working at Heights” received Winner Award; while Mr Ng, under the guidance of Dr Nicole Yiu, Lecturer of CEE, received Merit Award for his final year project titled “Application of VR Technology for Occupational Safety Training – A Case Study at PolyU-CEE Laboratories”. This scholarship recognizes outstanding project work in critical areas such as occupational safety and hygiene, ergonomics, accident prevention, construction safety, risk management, and rehabilitation. It not only acknowledges the hard work of our students but also encourages them to engage in quality applied research, enhancing their understanding of occupational safety and health. Congratulations again to Mr So and Mr Ng for their remarkable achievements. We wish them continued success in their academic and professional journeys in the field of environmental and occupational safety and health.  

Prof. Tony Sze Featured on TVB News Programme

Prof. Tony Sze, Associate Professor of CEE, was featured on TVB News Programme, “A Closer Look (時事多面睇 - 路見不平)” (TVB News Ch.83), aired on 16 May 2025. The segment addressed critical issues surrounding road surface construction in Hong Kong. Innovative methods of improving the durability of asphalt and concrete were discussed, with the aim of enhancing walkability and minimizing inconvenience to pedestrians. Prof. Sze shared his insights on pedestrian planning, emphasizing the importance of considering the needs of the elderly and people with disabilities. Prof. Sze discussed developing cost-effective solutions to enhance walkability in Hong Kong for the long term.  For a recap of Prof. Sze's sharing, please visit: (Starting from 8:27): https://news.tvb.com/tc/programme/closerlook/68275651473aff344f70bc85?utm_source=newsappshare&utm_medium=referral     

CEE Departmental Visit – China Holiness Church Living Spirit College (15 April)

A group of 32 students from China Holiness Church Living Spirit College visited CEE on 15 April 2025 (Wednesday). Prof. Jacqueline Lo, Assistant Professor of CEE, started the visit by a programme talk introducing the admission information of BEng (Hons) in Civil Engineering and BEng (Hons) in Environmental Engineering and Sustainable Development. The civil engineering industry updates and career prospects were shared with the students. Following the informative session, the students joined the Tower Challenge: Engineering with Straws, Tape and Imagination where they were required to use their innovation to build a tower with only paper straws and tape. The winning team created an 82cm-high tower which nearly reached the highest record 85cm of this Challenge. The activity was concluded with visits to Water and Waste Research Laboratory and Transport and Highway Engineering Laboratory, where the students were able to gain a deeper understanding on water treatment and usage of road material through interactive demonstrations. The visit enhanced the students’ insights on the development of local infrastructures and civil engineering projects in Hong Kong.