News

Prof. Gang Li and Dr Ruijie Ma Recognised as Highly Cited Researchers 2023 by Clarivate Analytics

Congratulations to Prof. Gang Li, Chair Professor of Energy Conversion Technology, and Dr Ruijie Ma, Postdoctoral Fellow of EEE, for being selected as the Highly Cited Researchers in the cross-field category by Clarivate Analytics again this year! A total of 6849 researchers from more than 1300 institutions in 67 nations and regions are named as Highly Cited Researchers in 2023. This prestigious list acknowledges scholars globally whose papers rank in the top 1% by citations for their respective fields and publication year in the Web of Science citation index over the past decade. Prof. Li’s research interests are organic semiconductor, and organo-metal halide hybrid perovskite based thin-film optoelectronic devices, while Dr Ma is currently working on organic and perovskite material based photovoltaic and photodetector devices, including the material innovation, device engineering exploration and working mechanism.

Champion of the 7th PwC Hack A Day CTF Competition

Our Capture The Flag (CTF) team, which was led by Prof. Haibo Hu and coached by Mr Hopkins Kong (EEE MPhil student), won the Champion of the 7th PwC Hack A Day CTF Competition on 7 November 2023! PwC Hack A Day is an annual event which offers university students a unique opportunity to engage with AI models and tools, showcase their cybersecurity skills, and compete against talented peers. This year’s theme is "Securing AI" which highlights the importance of understanding the potential security risks and vulnerabilities associated with artificial intelligence. Around 250 students in 66 teams from Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam participated in this CTF competition. The students were tested on their analytical and problem-solving skills whilst also triggered their innovative mindset. The CTF team has won the championship two years in a row. Congratulations to the following team members on their achievement! Team Members: KWAN Chun Kit (EEE student) LEE Ki Ki (EEE student) LO Yung Sum (COMP student) ZHAO Letao (COMP student)   Please find the following links for more information about the competition: 1. https://www.pwchk.com/en/issues/cybersecurity-and-privacy/hack-a-day/conference-2023.html 2. https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7127659068906749952  

Prof. Alan Lau has been elected as a 2024 Fellow of Optica

We are delighted to share that Prof. Alan Lau has been elected as a 2024 Fellow of Optica for his substantial contributions on developing digital signal processing techniques for optical communication systems! The Board of Directors of Optica (formerly OSA), advancing optics and photonics worldwide, recently elected 129 members from 26 countries to the Society’s 2024 Fellow Class. Fellows are Optica members who have served with distinction in the advancement of optics and photonics in the international community. The number of Fellows is limited by the society's bylaws to be no more than 10% of the total membership and the number elected each year is limited to approximately 0.5% of the current membership total, and thus the election process is highly competitive. Please find the Optica’s announcement of the 2024 Fellows Class at: https://www.optica.org/about/newsroom/news_releases/2023/october/optica_announces_2024_fellows_class/

Prof. C.Y. Chung elected as President of IEEE PES Governing Board!

Congratulations to Prof. C.Y. Chung being elected as the President of the IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) Governing Board!  The new IEEE PES Governing Board members will serve a two-year term starting 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2025.  With a global network of leading power and electrical engineers, academia and industry professionals from all areas of power and energy, the IEEE PES sets the standard for engagement, education, and development as the premier provider of scientific and engineering information on electric power and energy. Through PES programs, publications, and by bringing together power and electrical engineers at every phase of their career for collaboration, IEEE PES empowers and develops the future of their members and the industry for the betterment of society.   More information about the IEEE PES Governing Board election results is available at: https://ieee-pes.org/news/2024-2025-ieee-power-energy-society-governing-board-election-results/

Company Visit to Aviation Security Company Limited

A group of students from the subject “EIE1004 - Introduction to Information and Artificial Intelligence Engineering” paid a visit to the Aviation Security Company Limited (AVSECO) on 16 Oct 2023. AVSECO has been a leading provider of aviation security and related services. The company’s primary role is the provision of aviation security services to safeguard the travelling public and civil aviation operations at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA). Besides learning more about security technologies and the daily operations of AVSECO, our students also had a chance to visit the Integrated Airport Centre during this activity.

Congratulations to Jiayue WANG for the award of HKIE Scholarship 2021/22

The HKIE Scholarship Scheme aims to recognise the academic achievements of the outstanding full-time engineering undergraduate students; to identify potential engineering students and develop them into future engineers; to promote the HKIE to engineering students in local universities and to encourage future engineers to take active participation in the HKIE activities.”   We are delighted to announce that Jiayue WANG (BEng(Hons) Electronic and Information Engineering) has been awarded the prestigious "HKIE Scholarship" in recognition of her remarkable academic achievements and active involvement in a wide range of extra-curricular activities and community services.  Throughout her academic journey, Jiayue has actively participated in the Engineering Summer Programme, which has further deepened her understanding and passion for the field. Furthermore, she has enthusiastically engaged in various community service activities, showcasing her commitment to making a positive impact beyond the classroom. Her exceptional drive and determination have also led her to actively participate in the PolyU Undergraduate Research and Innovation Scheme, further enhancing her knowledge and skills in the field of engineering.   We congratulate Jiayue on this well-deserved achievement and have full confidence in her continued success as she embarks on her journey to become an accomplished engineer.   20 September 2023   (Awardee's Sharing)

Ir Dr Chan Fuk-cheung, our esteemed alumnus, published a book named “Power Systems Practicum”

We are delighted to announce that our esteemed alumnus, Ir Dr. Chan Fuk-cheung, has recently published a book titled "Power Systems Practicum" by PolyU Press.  Dr. Chan's accomplishment reflects his expertise and dedication in the field, and we take immense pride in Dr. Chan's accomplishments and applaud his commitment to advancing the industry.  

PolyU researchers achieve record 19.31% efficiency with organic solar cells

Researchers from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) have achieved a breakthrough power-conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.31% with organic solar cells (OSCs), also known as polymer solar cells. This remarkable binary OSC efficiency will help enhance applications of these advanced solar energy devices. The PCE, a measure of the power generated from a given solar irradiation, is considered a significant benchmark for the performance of photovoltaics (PVs), or solar panels, in power generation. The improved efficiency of over 19% that was achieved by the PolyU researchers constitutes a record for binary OSCs, which have one donor and one acceptor in the photo-active layer. Led by Prof. LI Gang, Chair Professor of Energy Conversion Technology and Sir Sze-Yuen Chung Endowed Professor in Renewable Energy at PolyU, the research team invented a novel OSC morphology-regulating technique by using 1,3,5-trichlorobenzene as a crystallisation regulator. This new technique boosts OSC efficiency and stability. The team developed a non-monotonic intermediated state manipulation (ISM) strategy to manipulate the bulk-heterojunction (BHJ) OS morphology and simultaneously optimise the crystallisation dynamics and energy loss of non-fullerene OSCs. Unlike the strategy of using traditional solvent additives, which is based on excessive molecular aggregation in films, the ISM strategy promotes the formation of more ordered molecular stacking and favourable molecular aggregation. As a result, the PCE was considerably increased and the undesirable non-radiative recombination loss was reduced. Notably, non-radiative recombination lowers the light generation efficiency and increases the heat loss. The research team’s findings are described in the study “19.3% Binary Organic Solar Cell and Low Non-Radiative Recombination Enabled by Non-Monotonic Intermediate State Transition” published in Nature Communications . The conversion of solar energy to electricity is an essential technology for achieving a sustainable environment. Although OSCs are promising devices that harness solar energy cost-effectively, their efficiency must be improved if they are to be used widely in practical applications.   Please find more information about the research breakthrough at https://www.polyu.edu.hk/rio/news/2023/20230529---polyu-researchers-achieve-record-1931-efficiency/.

PolyU highly cited researchers featured in Nature Portfolio

Two Highly Cited Researchers from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University are featured in Nature Portfolio for their impactful research on materials science. Prof. Gang LI, Chair Professor of Energy Conversion Technology and Professor in the Department of Electronic and Information Engineering, and Prof. Feng YAN, Chair Professor of Organic Electronics and Professor in the Department of Applied Physics are among the Highly Cited Researchers 2022 by Clarivate Analytics. In the Nature Portfolio feature, Prof. LI and Prof. YAN shared their research on advanced materials with breakthrough results and major global impacts. They are both leading global advancements in organic solar cells, perovskites and organic transistor-based sensors. Their global leadership in advanced materials epitomises the focus of researchers at PolyU on science that contributed to society. The Nature Portfolio article is available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/d42473-023-00143-3.

Prof. Changyuan Yu won the 2023 Faculty Award for Outstanding Achievement on Research and Scholarly Activities

Congratulations for Prof. Changyuan Yu on winning the 2023 Faculty Award for Outstanding Achievement on Research and Scholarly Activities! The winners of the Faculty Awards for Outstanding Achievement are chosen by the Faculty Assessment Panel, comprising Heads and chaired by the Dean of Faculty Engineering, to recognize the awardees for their outstanding performances in the related areas.