News

Professor Hwa-yaw Tam Featured in 21st Century Business Herald, Inspires Donation to PolyU

Professor Hwa-yaw Tam, Chair Professor of Photonics and Associate Director of Photonics Research Institute (PRI), was recently profiled by 21st Century Business Herald, chronicling his over three decades of research in fibre optic sensing. The feature highlighted a career dedicated to bridging academia and industry, from deploying the world's first city-wide fibre optic sensing network for Hong Kong’s MTR to pioneering ultrafine plastic fibre sensors for cochlear implant surgery. His “product-oriented” research approach, developed during his time in industry, has led to award-winning technologies and has also actively nurtured the next generation of entrepreneurs. Under his mentorship, his research teams have incubated seven photonics companies. Following Professor Tam’s efforts to foster industry collaboration, Amonics Limited—a photonics company founded by his first PhD student—has donated HK$1.5 million to PolyU. “This generous contribution will support our ongoing research initiatives in advanced photonics and help nurture the next generation of technology researchers and innovators,” notes Professor Tam. The donation, celebrated at the PolyU Foundation Appreciation Dinner, illustrates a clear cycle of academic impact: from inspiring students to achieving global research recognition, and now, channelling that success back into pioneering future technologies at PolyU. Read the full interview on the 21st Century Business Herald website

PolyU Unveils Quantum Security Breakthrough

PolyU has successfully completed Hong Kong’s first chip-based quantum network and test. This achievement marks a major step in the commercialisation of quantum communication for Hong Kong. Led by Prof. Ai-Qun Liu, Director of the Research Institute for Quantum Technology (RIQT), Chair Professor of Quantum Engineering and Science of the EEE department, the research team developed a tiny, self-designed quantum chip. This chip powered a secure quantum encryption test over 55 kilometres of existing fibre—a new global distance record for a metropolitan network. The technology addresses a critical threat. Future quantum computers could break today's encryption, risking financial data, personal privacy, and IoT security. Quantum encryption is fundamentally unbreakable because any eavesdropping attempt automatically alters the communication, alerting the users. The PolyU chip offers high-speed, stable performance and is designed for low-cost mass production. Crucially, it is fully compatible with current network systems, allowing for easier future integration. The practical test successfully connected four nodes across Hong Kong, including PolyU, CityU, and two data centres, proving stable encrypted transmission on a live network. The institute will now expand to larger tests, paving the way for a secure Smart Quantum Network.

EEE PhD Student Mr. CAI Haowen Won Best Presentation Award at Prestigious Greater Bay Area IEEE Conference

Mr. CAI Haowen, a PhD student from the EEE department, has been honoured with the "Best Presentation Award" at the 26th IEEE Shenzhen/Hong Kong AP/MTT Postgraduate Conference. The award recognizes his exceptional research achievements and compelling presentation delivery. Widely regarded as the most influential academic platform for young researchers and postgraduate students in the field of antennas and microwave technologies within the Greater Bay Area, the conference brings together top postgraduate talents from across the region. Mr. CAI's award-winning paper, titled “Maximizing Source-to-DC Wireless Charging Efficiency for Multiple IoT Devices,” was co-authored with his Chief Supervisor, Prof. LIN Wei. The research introduces groundbreaking source-side power control and antenna matching methods, successfully overcoming critical efficiency bottlenecks in far-field wireless power transmission for scenarios involving multiple devices. The innovative work stood out among numerous high-quality submissions at the conference. This accolade not only underscores Mr. CAI's individual research prowess but also reinforces PolyU's leading reputation and impact in the advancing field of far-field wireless power transfer system design.

EEE PhD Student Mr. FANG Jiongjian Honoured with Prestigious International Award for Antenna Innovation

Mr. FANG Jiongjian, a PhD student in EEE department, has been awarded the Student Presentation Award at the 30th International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation (ISAP 2025), held in Fukuoka, Japan. The ISAP conference, a premier global event in its field, brings together leading researchers and academics. Mr. FANG distinguished himself withina highly competitive field of international submissions through the excellence of his research and presentation. His award-winning paper, titled “A Full-Metal, Electrically Small, Linearly Polarized Huygens Dipole Antenna with High Polarization Purity and High Efficiency,” presents a significant advancement in antenna design. This innovative work promises potential applications in next-generation wireless technology. The award-winning research was conducted under the guidance of his Chief Supervisor, Prof. LIN Wei. This accolade not only celebrates Mr. FANG's individual research prowess and presentation skills but also underscores PolyU's increasing reputation as a global leader in technological innovation and antenna research.

Professors Zhong Kangping and Huang Dongmei Honored with Prestigious Awards at Global Optoelectronics Conference

The 10th Optoelectronics Global Conference (OGC) recognized the outstanding achievements of two leading researchers in its recent awards ceremony. Prof. Zhong Kangping was presented with the Young Scientist Award, while Prof. Huang Dongmei received the Optoelectronic Technology Innovation Award. Prof. Zhong Kangping was awarded the Young Scientist Award for his significant contributions to the development of high-speed optical interconnects for AI data centers. The award recognizes the creativity, research impact, and industrial applicability of his work, which effectively bridges academic innovation with practical implementation to advance optoelectronic technology. Prof. Huang Dongmei was honored with the Optoelectronic Technology Innovation Award for her pioneering breakthroughs in high-performance swept laser technology. Her research, which achieves remarkable benchmarks in sweep rate, range, and coherence length, is recognized as a transformative innovation with profound implications for industries such as medical diagnostics and industrial inspection. The Optoelectronics Global Conference (OGC) is a premier industry event hosted by the IEEE Photonics Society Guangdong Chapter. The conference was co-organized by the Department of EEE at Southern University of Science and Technology and Jinan University, with support from Nanjing University of Science and Technology. The event serves as a key platform for global experts and researchers to explore cutting-edge advancements and foster cross-disciplinary collaboration. For more information about the conference and the awards, please visit the official website at https://www.ogc2026.org.

Professors Zhong Kangping and Huang Dongmei Honored with Prestigious Awards at Global Optoelectronics Conference

Prof. Zhang Yi and his international research team have earned 2024 Best Paper Awards from two flagship IEEE journals, recognizing groundbreaking work in power electronics. The first award-winning paper, "A Sparsity-Promoting Time-Domain Evaluation Method for Thermal Transient Measurement of Power Semiconductors," published in IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, introduces a novel algorithm that improves measurement resolution tenfold. Developed with RWTH Aachen University and Aalborg University, this innovation advances thermal analysis for high-efficiency energy systems and electric vehicles. The second recognized paper, "Guideline for Reproducible SiC MOSFET Thermal Characterization based on Source-Drain Voltage," published in IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, establishes the first reproducible thermal testing standards for silicon carbide power transistors. This collaborative work with Aalborg University, Southwest Jiaotong University (China), Siemens, and Tesla sets new reliability benchmarks for electric vehicle and renewable energy systems. These dual awards highlight the team's significant contributions to power electronics research and development and Prof. Zhang's pioneering leadership.

Welcome Brno University of Technology’s visit to the Department

The Department was delighted to reconnect with a delegation from the Brno University of Technology (BUT) in the Czech Republic, reaffirming a thriving partnership built on a successful student study tour last August. The visit was led by Prof. Vítězslav Beran, Vice-Dean for Marketing and External Relations, and Prof. Pavel Zemčík, Vice-Dean for Research, Development, and Foreign Affairs, from BUT’s Faculty of Information Technology (FIT). It served to deepen the collaborative momentum from the study tour organized by Prof. K.A. Lee and Mr. Ivan Lau, which enabled 29 PolyU EEE students to gain invaluable international exposure at BUT. This visit enables both institutions to build on this foundation and explore concrete future collaborations. Key discussion focuses on the introduction of FIT BUT's English-taught Master's programme, a potential undergraduate student exchange programme, the study tour's long-term continuity, and other technical collaboration opportunities. The BUT visit team met our senior faculty such as Ir Prof. H.C. Man, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering; Prof. C.Y. Chung, Head of the Department ; as well as Prof. K.A. Lee, Prof. L.P. Chau, Prof. Bonnie Law, Prof. Ivan Ho, Prof. Ye Qingqing, and Mr. Ivan Lau. The meeting concluded with a shared commitment to formalizing these exciting initiatives, signalling a promising new chapter in the collaboration between EEE and BUT.

PolyU EEE Alumni Dr DONG Zhenhua Honoured with Prestigious Outstanding Research Postgraduate Alumni Award

Dr DONG Zhenhua, a distinguished alumni of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE), has been honoured with the Outstanding Research Postgraduate Alumni Award 2025 from the PolyU Graduate School. After obtaining his PhD from PolyU in 2016, Dr Dong joined Huawei, where he now serves as Chief Architect of Optical Distribution Networks. He is the inventor of the groundbreaking "Fibre Iris" (DQ ODN) solution, which digitises passive optical networks. This innovation drastically reduces broadband deployment time from one week to one day and cuts the average repair time from 24 hours to just 60 minutes. The solution earned the "Intelligent Fibre Deployment Solution of the Year" award in 2021 and was recognized as one of the "Huawei Top Ten Inventions." Also, as a prolific innovator, Dr Dong has over 100 authorized patents and has authored more than 20 research papers. This award celebrates Dr Dong's exceptional professional accomplishments, leadership, and impact, making the EEE Department proud. We extend our warmest congratulations to Dr Dong on this well-deserved recognition. For more information on the award, please visit the Graduate School website: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/gs/news-and-events/outstanding-rpg-alumni-award-2025/

Prof. ZHENG Yifeng and Team Receive Distinguished Paper Award at Top-Tier Cybersecurity Conference

Prof. ZHENG Yifeng and his research team have been honored with the prestigious Distinguished Paper Award at the 32nd ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS) 2025. The award-winning paper, titled "Harnessing Sparsification in Federated Learning: A Secure, Efficient, and Differentially Private Realization," was co-authored by Prof. ZHENG, PhD student Mr. Shuangqing Xu, and a collaborator from the Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen). The team designed a novel system framework that achieves communication-efficient, secure, and differentially private federated learning. This was accomplished through a delicate integration of insights from machine learning, lightweight cryptography, differential privacy, and data encoding. The research is expected to significantly advance secure and privacy-preserving collaborative analytics for the big data era. About ACM CCS: The ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security (CCS) is a premier international forum for information security researchers, practitioners, developers, and users. A flagship event in the field, it is globally recognized as one of the most competitive and authoritative cybersecurity conferences, with this year's acceptance rate at just 13.87%. It holds a Tier A ranking—the highest classification by the China Computer Federation (CCF).

EEE Outstanding Alumni Award 2025

The Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE) is proud to announce Mr. Kuok Hoi Sang, Chairman of Chevalier Group, as a recipient of the “Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering 2025”. This award recognises alumni for distinguished professional achievements and community contributions to the Department. The EEE Department extends its warmest congratulations. Mr. Kuok Hoi Sang Chairman of Chevalier Group Higher Certificate in Electrical Engineering, Hong Kong Technical College (1972) Since joining The Chevalier Group in 1972, Mr. Kuok Hoi-sang has risen to become Chairman, guiding the multinational conglomerate’s expansion across eight core sectors: Construction & Engineering, Property Investment/Development/Operations, Healthcare Investment, Automotive Dealerships, Insurance, and Cold Storage. With a workforce of over 6,000 employees, the Group maintains a strategic global presence in Hong Kong, Macau, Mainland China, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom—a testament to Mr. Kuok’s visionary stewardship.   Under his leadership, Chevalier has pioneered a revolutionary DFMA solution for the construction industry. These innovations include the development of a complete MiLift system for footbridge applications, advanced techniques for MiC/MiMEP lift installation, and an innovative, patented "Steel-Concrete Hybrid-MiC" solution for high-rise buildings. Beyond the company, his influence is profound: serving as Life Honorary President of The Lift and Escalator Contractors Association and as a valued member of government safety committees for the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD), he has championed critical advancements in industry standards and workplace safety, cementing his legacy as a leader who will shape Hong Kong’s industrial future.   Beyond his professional endeavours, Mr. Kuok demonstrates a profound commitment to the community through his generous support of charitable causes, educational foundations, and grassroots initiatives. Furthermore, he actively participates in events hosted by PolyU’s EEE department, where he generously shares his vast reservoir of experience to inspire future generations. His illustrious career—distinguished by innovation, leadership, and social responsibility—exemplifies the core values of PolyU, particularly within its EEE department. Truly a role model for both alumni and students, he personifies a shared mission to advance knowledge, foster innovation, and create a lasting community impact, ensuring his legacy will endure.