Network-wide Traffic Speed-Flow Estimator
Network-wide Traffic Speed-Flow Estimator – a 1-year research project sponsored by Smart Traffic Fund, Transport Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government, (HK$1.976 million), Date of award – October 2021.



Emeritus Professor
Civil and Transportation Engineering
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

About the Professor
Ir Professor William H.K. Lam is currently an Emeritus Professor of Civil and Transportation Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), China. He returned to Hong Kong in 1980 and worked as a traffic engineer in industry for new town development projects. Ir Prof. Lam joined the PolyU as lecturer in 1983 and has been promoted to Chair Professor in 2003. He has been appointed as the Associate Head of CEE in 2007 and then the Head of CEE from July 2013 to June 2019. Ir Prof. Lam was retired in January 2023 after his 40-year service in PolyU.
Part A
During Ir Prof. Lam’s headship for CEE of the PolyU from July 2013 to June 2019, the Department has made remarkable achievements in both teaching and research aspects, particularly with the additional student quota of 46 and 30 per year for the 2-year senior year Civil Engineering and the new 4-year Sustainable Structural and Fire Engineering degree programmes, respectively. It is very helpful to the resources of the Department so that the self-finance BEng degree programme and higher diploma in Civil Engineering could be phased out without any financial implication to CEE. In the 6-year period (2013 – 2019) while Prof. Lam was the Department Head, CEE have started its success in securing major research grants for three Collaborative Research Fund (CRF), four Research Impact Fund (RIF), and two Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS) projects.
During the 6-year period under Ir Prof. Lam’s headship, the average departmental income from consultancy projects is falling in the range of over HK$15M per year. The research grants, the number of PhD students and research staff have also significantly grown as shown in the following table. Under his leadership, PolyU was ranked the 10th and 15th best institution worldwide and the 1st in Hong Kong in the Civil and Structural Engineering discipline in QS Ranking 2018 and 2019. The Department has made significant improvements when comparing with the QS Ranking of 50th in 2012.
| Indicator | 2012/13 | 2018/19 | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research grants (HK$M) | 24.9 | 118.2 | +375% |
| PhD students | 119 | 156 | +31% |
| Research staff | 90 | 145 | +61% |
Figures as reported in Prof. Lam's CV for the period of his department headship.
Part B
Research projects, conference grants, editorship, journal articles and conference presentations, organised according to the five subsections in Prof. Lam’s complete curriculum vitae.
Research Projects and Conference Grants
Transportation network analysis, information systems and the development of reliable, efficient and sustainable mobility.
Network-wide Traffic Speed-Flow Estimator – a 1-year research project sponsored by Smart Traffic Fund, Transport Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government, (HK$1.976 million), Date of award – October 2021.
Reliability-based Intelligent Transportation Systems in Urban Road Network with Uncertainty – a 3-year research project sponsored by the Hong Kong Research Grant Council (RGC) for competitive bidding for allocation from their Research Impact Fund (HK$6.34 million), Date of award – January 2019.
Transport Network Reliability Analysis – a 3-year research project sponsored by the Hong Kong Research Grant Council (RGC) for competitive bidding for NSFC/RGC Joint Research Grant (HK$0.795 million), Date of award – December 2001. This is a joint project with the School of Management, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (BUAA).
Ir Prof. Lam has been actively involved in research and scholarly activities. Particularly in the last two decades (2000-2019), he has successfully received 20 earmarked research grants from the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC). In January 2019, Ir Prof. Lam has been awarded from RGC with HK$6.34 million from the RGC’s Research Impact Fund (RIF) for development of “Reliability-based Intelligent Transportation Systems in Urban Road Network with Uncertainty” (3.5 years from 30 June 2019 to 29 December 2022). In October 2021, he has been awarded with about HK$2 million from Smart Traffic Fund of the Hong Kong Transport Department for development of Network-wide Traffic Speed-Flow Estimator. He has also made contributions to the collaborative research with various universities such as University of Calgary and University of Toronto in Canada, University of Texas at Austin in USA, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Denmark, EPFL in Switzerland and several universities in Asia in the past decades.
Ir Prof. Lam is the author of over 360 SCI journal papers and book chapters, about 250 conference papers and over 80 consultancy reports. His current h-index is 73 with the total number of over 16,500 citations (as of October 2026). He was ranked within the top 50 in the world in terms of the research publications in the ISI Web of Science categories (Transportation Science Technology OR Transportation) (https://www.webofscience.com/wos/woscc/summary/ea2ce9df-089d-4326-b8d8-f200ae70d725-22a2b223/relevance/1). Ir Prof. Lam was selected as one of the highly cited researchers in the field of Civil Engineering by ShanghaiRanking Consultancy and Elsevier in 2016, a standalone global discipline-specific list that was later integrated into institutional rankings. His enduring academic prominence was further demonstrated when he was listed among the World's Top 2% Scientists released by Stanford University every year since its inaugural edition in 2019 through to 2026, consistently featured in both the "Career-long" and "Single-year" impact categories. The ranking identifies the top scholars in their own areas of specialty and whose publications are most frequently cited by other authors around the world. Notably, Ir Prof. Lam was ranked among the top 50 in the field of logistics and transportation in both 2020 and 2021.
Ir Prof. Lam is the Founding President of the Hong Kong Society for Transportation Studies (HKSTS) (www.hksts.org). He was also the first one from China to be the member of the International Advisory Committee of the most prestige international Symposium in the field of transportation and traffic theory (ISTTT). He has been the Convenor of the International Advisory Committee of the ISTTT from July 2015 to July 2022 and from July 2025 to July 2026. He has also been one of the members of the Board of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies (http://easts.info/organization/#BOARD) from 1996 to 2019. Currently, Ir Prof. Lam is an honorary member of the International Advisory Committee of the ISTTT and a member of the International Scientific Committee of the International Symposium for Transport Network Resilience (INSTR) .
Ir Prof. Lam is also the founding Editor-in-Chief of the SCI Journal – Transportmetrica and is now one of the Editors-in-Chief of Transportmetrica A: Transport Science (https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ttra21/current). He was the Associate Editor, Editor and then Co-Editor-in-Chief of the SCI Journal of Advanced Transportation (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/20423195) from 1996 to March 2017.
Ir Prof. Lam has been appointed as Honorary Professor at the Institute for Transport and Logistics Studies, The University of Sydney from 2015 to 2023. He was also appointed as Chang Jiang Scholars Chair Professor at the Beijing Jiaotong University for the period from 2010 to 2016. In 2011, Ir Prof. Lam and his colleagues from Beijing Jiaotong University, Beihang University, and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology were granted with the State Natural Science Award, the highest honour in China.
Ir Prof. Lam also made contribution to the local professional community and participated in international scholarly activities so as to promote the reputation of the Department in the field of Transportation Engineering. He has been a council member of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) (www.hkie.org.hk) from 2018 to 2020. He had been also the Chairman of Logistics and Transportation Division of the HKIE in 2014-2015, the Chairman of HKIE Logistics and Transportation Discipline Advisory Panel in 2012-2015, the Chairman of HKIE Civil Division in 2002-2003 and the Chairman of HKIE Civil Discipline Advisory Panel in 2008-2011. In 2015, Ir Prof. Lam was appointed as the member of the Road Safety Research Committee of Road Safety Council and the member of the Planning Sub-Committee of the Land and Development Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong SAR Government. In 2019, he was invited to be one of the ex-official members of Steering Committee on Research and Development for Transport Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government.
Research Publications and Editorship
Complete journal, conference and editorial records as documented in the October 2026 curriculum vitae.
The archive lists reproduce the order and publication information provided in the October 2026 CV. Counts here refer to listed entries, not database-indexed totals.
Part C
Ir Prof. William H.K. Lam has over 40-year professional experience and has worked extensively in Hong Kong and China for research and consultancy projects on traffic engineering, transport planning and modeling, ranging from strategic transport planning for the Territory to traffic impact assessments for local areas (including economic and environmental evaluation). Ir Prof. Lam has been involved in various transport planning and infrastructure projects. In December 2015, he was invited by Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Limited to serve as an Independent Technical Advisor for providing advisory services on the Detailed Feasibility Study for Environmentally Friendly Linkage System (EFLS) for Kowloon East (http://www.ktd.gov.hk/efls/). In April 2014, Ir Prof. Lam was invited by Hong Kong Construction Association to conduct a green transport study for new development areas in Hong Kong.
Materials from the feasibility study discussed in the paragraph above.


In December 2012, Ir Prof. Lam was invited by Highways Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government to serve as an Independent Expert for providing review services in respect of traffic justification for the need of the Central Kowloon Route (CKR). He has also been asked to comment on the minimum extent of temporary reclamation in relation to the length of the preferred alignment of CKR being the shortest and complying with the relevant highway design standards.
Route-alignment illustration accompanying the CV’s discussion of the technical review.

In May 2011, Ir Prof. Lam was invited by the Drainage Projects Division, Drainage Services Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government to serve as an Independent Assessor for review of the Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) report for Happy Valley Underground Stormwater Storage Scheme. From December 2008 to December 2012, Ir Prof. Lam has been served as one of the Expert Panel members for giving advices and comments on the proposals for the North East New Territories – New Development Areas and participated in the public consultation forums.
An archival image of Prof. Lam’s participation in consultation activities.

Ir Prof. Lam has been served as the Chairman of the Briefing Sessions with the North Point Residents on 14 and 15 April 2007 regarding the issue on the Eastern Ventilation Building for the Central-Wan Chai Bypass and Island Eastern Corridor Link.
Ir Prof. Lam has also been invited by the United Nations Centre for Regional Development to serve as an expert and moderator for facilitating the Asian Mayors’ Policy Dialogue for the Promotion of Environmentally Sustainable Transport (EST) in Cities from 23 to 24 April 2007 in Kyoto, Japan and for the 3rd EST Forum from 17 to 19 March 2008 in Singapore.
In 2005, Ir Prof. Lam has been appointed by the Hong Kong SAR Government to chair an Expert Panel for giving comments/recommendations on Sustainable Transport Planning and Central-Wan Chai Bypass. The Panel has held one open forum and five working group meetings from 24 August to 30 September, 2005 to consolidate public views and members’ recommendations on the captioned issues. A final report has been published in October 2005 and is available in the following website:
Ir Prof. Lam is also a pioneer for development of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) in Hong Kong. Since 2007, with partnership of Autotoll Limited (www.autotoll.com.hk), he has developed novel solution algorithms for multiple ITS projects for the Transport Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government. The developed ITS applications include:
Speed Map Panels (SMP), which was launched in January 2013, display the estimated traffic speeds on various road segments by using different colours to represent different congestion levels together with the journey time estimates on the selected paths in the New Territories of Hong Kong.
Journey Time Indication System (JTIS), which was launched to the public at the end of May 2010, provides the average journey times of selected paths once every two minutes via the on-gantry indicators in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula.
Hong Kong eRouting System (formerly named as “Driving Route Search Service (DRSS)”), which was launched in mid-2010, provides the latest traffic information to road users to search for the driving route by different criteria (such as the fastest, shortest or cheapest route). This system was integrated with the Hong Kong eMobility (www.hkemobility.gov.hk) since late 2020.
Internet Speed Map, which was launched in January 2007, shows the traffic speeds in three colours for representing the levels of congestion of current traffic condition. The speed map is integrated with the Hong Kong eMobility (www.hkemobility.gov.hk) since August 2018.
His solution algorithm has addressed the challenges of ITS development in Hong Kong, at a time when commercial solutions are not adequately up to the challenge. Based on limited available traffic data from multiple sensor systems, real-time traffic information can be estimated accurately . In 2018, Ir Prof. Lam has participated in the project of Installation of Traffic Detectors on Selected Strategic Roads for the Transport Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government. In this project, over 500 traffic detectors will be installed on the strategic routes for collection of traffic data on real-time basis.
Examples of advanced traveler information systems (ATIS) presented in Prof. Lam’s CV.


Part D
Memberships and academic / professional appointments as recorded in the supplied CV.
| Professional Body / Affiliation | Since / Period |
|---|---|
| The American Society of Civil Engineers | 1999 |
| The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers | 1986 |
| The Institution of Civil Engineers | 1985 |
| The Institute of Transportation Engineers | 1984 |
| The Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport | 1982 |
| The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers | 2000 |
| The Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation | 1992 |
| Council Member: | |
| Council of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) | 2018-2020 |
| Council Executive of the HKIE | 2018-2019 |
| Committee Member: | |
| Chairman, Fellowship Committee, The HKIE | 2017-2020 |
| Member, Professional Assessment Committee, The HKIE | 2016-2020 |
| Member, Logistics & Transportation Division Committee, The HKIE | 2015-2017 |
| Immediate Past Chairman, Logistics & Transportation Division Committee, The HKIE | 2015-2016 |
| Chairman, Logistics & Transportation Division Committee, The HKIE | 2014-2015 |
| Training Committee, The HKIE | 2005-2008 |
| Continuing Professional Development Committee, The HKIE | 2005-2006, 1996-2000 |
| Community Service Committee, The HKIE | 2003-2004 |
| Immediate Past Chairman, Civil Division Committee, The HKIE | 2003-2004 |
| Chairman, Civil Division Committee, The HKIE | 2002-2003 |
| Education and Examinations Committee, The HKIE | 2001-2005 |
| Deputy Chairman, Civil Division Committee, The HKIE | 2001-2002 |
| Hon. Secretary, Civil Division Committee, The HKIE | 2000-2001 |
| Civil Division Committee, The HKIE | 1995-2004 |
| Technical Council Committee, The Institute of Transportation Engineers | 1991-1996 |
| Ex-official Member, Steering Committee on Research and Development, Transport Department, The Government of the HKSAR | 2019-2023 |
| Planning Sub-Committee of the Land and Development Advisory Committee, Development Bureau, The Government of the HKSAR | 2015-2018 |
| Road Safety Research Committee, Road Safety Council, The Government of the HKSAR | 2015-2017 |
| Registration Committee, The Engineers Registration Board | 2012-2015, 2008-2011 |
| Authorized Persons Registration Committee, Hong Kong Building Dept. | 2006-2009 |
| Committee (ADB30) on Transportation Network Modeling, National Research Council of United States, Transportation Research Board | 2006-2009 |
| International Advisory Committee, The International Symposium on Transportation and Traffic Theory (ISTTT) | 2002-2026 |
| International Scientific Committee, The International Symposium on Transportation Network Reliability (INSTR) | 2001-present |
| China Academic Commission of Urban Transport Planning | 1999-2000 |
| Committee (A5013) on Non-motorized Transport and Related Issues in Developing Countries, National Research Council of United States, Transportation Research Board | 1997-2000 |
| Panel Member: | |
| Member (Representative on Professional Assessment Committee), Logistics & Transportation Discipline Advisory Panel, The HKIE | 2016-2018 |
| Member, Logistics & Transportation Discipline Advisory Panel, The HKIE | 2015-2020 |
| Immediate Past Chairman, Logistics & Transportation Discipline Advisory Panel, The HKIE | 2015-2016 |
| Chairman, Logistics & Transportation Discipline Advisory Panel, The HKIE | 2012-2015 |
| Deputy Chairman, Logistics & Transportation Discipline Advisory Panel, The HKIE | 2010-2012 |
| Chairman, Civil Discipline Advisory Panel, The HKIE | 2008-2011 |
| Deputy Chairman, Civil Discipline Advisory Panel, The HKIE | 2005-2008 |
| Member, Civil Discipline Advisory Panel, The HKIE | 2001-2005 |
| Member, Engineering Panel, Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong | 2018-2024 |
| Member, Expert Review Panel, Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre (LSCM) | 2017-2025 |
| Member, Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme Selection Panel, Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong | 2011-2012 |
| Expert Panel Chairman, “Expert Panel Forum on Sustainable Transport Planning and Central-Wanchai Bypass”, Sub-committee on Wan Chai Development Phase II Review of the Harbour-front Enhancement Committee, Hong Kong SAR | 2005-2006 |
| Review Panel under the Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Ordinance 2003, the Environment, Transport & Works Bureau, Hong Kong SAR | 2004-2010 |
| Appeal Tribunal Panel under Section 45 of the Building Ordinance (Chapter 123), the Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau, Hong Kong SAR | 2003-2013 |
| Board Member: | |
| The Hong Kong Society for Transportation Studies | 2019-present |
| Board of Advice, Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS), University of Sydney Business School | 2015-2023 |
| Qualification and Membership Board, The HKIE | 2017-2020, 2012-2015, 2008-2011 |
| Accreditation Board, The HKIE | 2015-2020 |
| Accreditation Board Executive Committee, The HKIE | 2015-2020 |
| Construction Industry Training Authority (CITA) | 2003-2005 |
| CITA Committee Member on Levy CITA Committee Member on Building and Development CITA Committee Member on Training Courses | |
| Learned Society Board, The HKIE | 2002-2003 |
| The Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies (http://easts.info/) | 1996-2019 |
| Building and Civil Engineering Training Board, Vocational Training Council | 1993-1999 |
| President: | |
| The Hong Kong Society for Transportation Studies | 1996-2019 |
| Convenor: | |
| International Advisory Committee (IAC) of the International Symposium of Transportation and Traffic Theory (ISTTT) | 2015-2022 |
| Associate Editor, Editor and then Co-Editor-in-Chief: | |
| Journal of Advanced Transportation (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/20423195) | 1996-2017 |
| Founding Editor-in-Chief | 2004-2006 |
| Editors-in-Chief SCI Journal - Transportmetrica Editors in-Chief SCI Journal - Transportmetrica A: Transport Science (https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ttra21/current) | 2007-2012 2013-present |
| Editor | 2013-present |
| SCI Journal - Transportmetrica B: Transport Dynamics (https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ttrb20/current) | |
| Editorial Board Member: | |
| Proceedings of Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) – Transport (http://www.icevirtuallibrary.com/toc/jtran/current) | 2004-2007 |
| Journal of Transportation Systems Engg. & Information Technology (Society of Chinese System Engineering, Beijing, China) – ISSN 1009-6744 | 2003-2023 |
| The Journal of Mathematical Modelling and Algorithms (JMMA) (http://www.springer.com/mathematics/applications/journal/10852) | 2002-2023 |
| Internet Journal for the Analysis, Modelling, Simulation of the Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Traffic and Transportation (Cooper@tive Tr@nsport@tion Dyn@mics) | 2001-2023 |
| Group Proceedings : Group 1 - Construction, Hong Kong Institution of Engineers | 1997 |
| Journal of Advanced Transportation (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/20423195) | 1991-2017 |
Part E
Recognised with collaborating scholars from Beijing Jiaotong University, Beihang University and HKUST.
4th International Symposium on Multimodal Transportation (ISMT 2021).
Listed in both career-long and single-year impact categories in Stanford University's annual lists.

Part F
Graduate students supervised as principal supervisor, with completion year and thesis title according to the CV.
External examiner appointments for PhD and MPhil candidates.
Get in Touch
Ir Professor William H. K. Lam
Emeritus Professor of Civil and Transportation Engineering
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
9/F, Block Z, 181 Chatham Road South, Hung Hom,
Kowloon, Hong Kong