Awards and Achievements (Research)

Prof. Meng Ni awarded the Innovation Award 2022 (First Prize) by China Energy Research Society

Prof. Meng Ni awarded the Innovation Award 2022 (First Prize) by China Energy Research Society Prof. Meng Ni was awarded the Innovation Award 2022 (First Prize) by China Energy Research Society in recognition of his contributions to the mathematical modeling of fuel cells and electrolyzers. Congratulations to Prof. Ni! Prof. Ni has been focusing his research on theoretical analysis and mathematical modeling of fuel cells for clean power generation and electrolyzers forhydrogen production for 18 years. In particular, he developed a series of multi-scale models for high temperature electrolyzers, from electrode microscale model to single cell model, and to stack model and system model. His research results offered insights into design optimization of electrode microstructure and stack macroscale configurations. Established in January 1981, the China Energy Research Society launched the Innovation Awards to recognize researchers for their significant contributions to energy science and technology. More about Prof. Ni:https://www.polyu.edu.hk/bre/people/academic-staff/prof-meng-ni/

Prof Heng Li, Chair Professor of Construction Informatics, Awarded in Smart Living Partnership Awards 2022

Prof. Heng Li’s steadfast pursuit of digital and smart solutions to construction problems was highly praised with the ETNet Award in Smart Living Partnership Awards 2022.  This honour further expands Prof. Li’s accolade list.  Congratulations to Prof. Li! Funded by Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre (LSCM), Prof. Li’s winning project developed a computer vision-enabled digital twin for construction resource and progress management.   The construction industry has played a key role in Hong Kong and been an instrumental driver of economic growth and enabler of social development for many generations. Whilst the construction industry has a long and proud history, it has produced a large amount of construction wastes that are difficult to be monitored.  Digital Twin is a concept of having a real-time digital representation of a physical object, which allows up-to-date information to be fed back to the field so as to provides automatic resource allocation monitoring and waste tracking in construction management. This winning project transforms the construction management practice to be a population-based, intensive, and proactive process; it improves resource productivity, reduces resource waste and progress lagging, as well as improves project performance. Smart Living Partnership Awards 2022 aims to recognise and support outstanding companies or organisations which are committed to promoting Hong Kong as a Smart City.  Improving society’s competitiveness and increasing public awareness of digitalisation are at the heart of it. The Award Presentation Ceremony will be held on 27 February 2023.   We wish Prof Li every success in his future endeavors! More about Prof. Heng Li :https://polyu.hk/ZHFSI

Congratulations to Dr Ibrahim Yahaya Wuni, BRE PhD Graduate on his success in the 2023 WBG Africa Fellowship Program!

Dr Ibrahim Yahaya Wuni, a recent BRE PhD Graduate supervised by Prof. Geoffrey Shen, has been selected as a 2023 World Bank Group (WBG) Africa Fellow. In this regard, Dr. Wuni joined the World Bank Group as a Consultant under the WBG- Africa Fellowship Program (WBG-AFP). The WBG-AFP is an annual program by the World Bank Group targeting the brightest Ph.D. Candidates or Graduates with expertise in any of the Bank's business areas. It provides an excellent opportunity for Africans with an interest in international development to contribute to the missions of the Bank whilst acquiring relevant skills and hands-on experience for his/her career advancement. “It is extremely competitive, usually recruiting 15 - 25 Fellows from 2000 - 4000 Candidates. Usually, fellows are stationed in Washington DC, United States, but I chose to go back to Ghana CMU to support projects in my home country.” says Dr Wuni.  He would consult for the Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience, and Land Global Practice of the World Bank Group. Prior to the World Bank group, Dr Wuni worked as an Assistant Professor of Construction Engineering and Management at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia. He has published over 53 peer-reviewed scholarly articles in reputable domain international journals, with over 1,000 citations in Google Scholar. More about the World Bank Group Africa Fellowship Program: https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/brief/world-bank-group-africa-fellowship-program

Best Paper Award for Environmental Sustainability in the 22nd International Conference on Construction Applications of Virtual Reality

Congratulations to Dr Minhyun Lee! Paper by Dr. Minhyun Lee (Assistant Professor of BRE) and Mr. Vincent Gbouna Zakka (Former Research Assistant in BRE) titled “An Integrated Design of Energy and Indoor Environmental Quality Monitoring System for Effective Building Performance Management” has won the Best Paper Award for Environmental Sustainability Category in the 22nd International Conference on Construction Applications of Virtual Reality (CONVR 2022). The event was organized by the Construction Technology Innovation Laboratory and Research Center for Digital Twin and AI Construction at Chung-Ang University and was hosted in conjunction with the Korean Institute of Construction Engineering and Management (KICEM) annual conference with the overarching theme “The Future of Construction in the Context of Digital Transformation and Decarbonization”.  In the conference, a total of five papers won the Best Paper Award. One Best Paper was selected for each of the conference tracks ((1) Extended Reality Technologies in Construction; (2) Advanced Project Management and Control; (3) AI, Data Science and Analytics; (4) Environmental Sustainability; and (5) Industry Issues and Case Studies).  

BRE Scholars Listed as World's Top 2% Scientists by Stanford

Congratulations to BRE scholars! Stanford University has recently published the list of the world’s top 2% most widely cited scientists in different disciplines. Being featured in the list of the world's 'Top 2% Scientists' represents global recognition to individual researchers. BRE 'Top 2% Scientists' are: Prof. Chan, Albert P.C. Prof. Li, Heng Prof. Hui, Eddie C.M. Prof. Ni, Meng Prof. Chan, Edwin H.W. Prof. Shen, Geoffrey Qiping Dr Chan, Daniel W.M. Dr Lam, Patrick T.I. Prof. Zayed, Tarek Dr Darko, Amos

Green Talents Competition 2022 - 2 BRE Awardees

BRE PhD graduates Dr Timothy Oluwatosin OLAWUMI and Dr Ibrahim Yahaya WUNI have been awarded as two of the 25 Green Talents awardees from 18 different countries in the Green Talents Competition 2022 and named as two of the "25 Young Outstanding Scientists" of high potential globally in the field of sustainability (across disciplines) for the year 2022. The competition was organized by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research to promote the international exchange of innovative green ideas within the field of sustainability. The award honours young researchers from numerous countries and scientific disciplines for their achievements and efforts on making their communities, countries and societies more sustainable. Dr Timothy Oluwatosin OLAWUMI, PhD Graduate in 2020, focuses research on the application of various information technologies and data-driven techniques to address sustainability issues in construction management and projects. More about Timothy’s research focushttps://bit.ly/3GZbFeM Dr Ibrahim Yahaya WUNI, PhD Graduate in 2022, focuses on developing integrated frameworks for the implementation of green buildings, modular construction, and circular construction projects. More about Ibrahim’s research focushttp://bit.ly/3VkJivA

BRE PhD graduate awarded in Green Talents Competition 2022 (Dr Timothy Olawumi)

A PhD graduate of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE) in 2020 is honoured as one of the 25 awardees from 18 different countries in the Green Talents Competition 2022 – International Forum for High Potentials in Sustainable Development 2022, which is an annual event hosted by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in recognition of outstanding young scientists who are active in the field of sustainable development. Under the guidance of his Chief Supervisor, Dr Daniel W.M. CHAN, Associate Professor and Associate Head (Teaching) from BRE, Dr Timothy Oluwatosin OLAWUMI has been devoting his energies to develop a BIM-enabled and cloud-based sustainability assessment system for buildings in Sub-Saharan Africa based in Nigeria during his PhD study. The award serves as a chance for Dr Olawumi to connect with global young talents and Germany‘s leading scientific experts for further exchange of creative green ideas to build a more sustainable world (URL: https://www.greentalents.de/awardees-2022.php). Source: https://www.greentalents.de/awardees2022_timothy-olawumi.php

HKIE Outstanding Paper Award for Young Engineers/Researchers 2022

BRE PhD candidate Miss CHENG Chun and her supervisor Prof. Meng Ni awarded the HKIE Outstanding Paper Award for Young Engineers/Researchers 2022 About the research: In 2021, the United States already consumed approximately 1.026 569 × 1011 GJ of energy, where about two-thirds is discharged into the environment without effective reuse. As a primary form of waste energy, low-grade waste heat (oC) not only causes energy loss but also thermal pollution.Converting heat to electricity via a thermodynamic cycle is effective for utilizing high-temperature heat but the efficiency is extremely low for low-grade heat, for example, 9%-16% within a working temperature range of 80-150K for the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) systems. For comparison, electrochemical thermocells offer an alternative way of converting low-grade waste heat into electricity at a potentially higher efficiency than conventional thermodynamic cycles. In our previous research, we successfully achieved a relative efficiency of 50.817% (relative to Carnot efficiency) with a recuperation efficiency of 70% at a temperature difference of 30K. Although some pioneering experimental investigations have been reported on thermocells, the current literature is lacking comprehensive modeling and optimization of the cells, which is critical not only for the in-depth understanding of the working mechanisms of the thermocells, but also for engineering design and optimization. In this work, we developed a numerical model to simulate the physical and chemical processes in the thermocell. We evaluated the effects of the operating and structural parameters on the performance of thermocells and identified several potential means to improve cell performance. Based on our optimization, the cell power density can be improved by up to 30%. About the award: This work has been awarded the HKIE Outstanding Paper Award for Young Engineers/Researchers 2022. This awardis organized by The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) to encourage young engineers and researchers worldwide aged 35 or below to publish their works and advance in their professional fields and to promote engineering advancement. About the PHD candidate: Miss CHENG Chun is a PHD student at BRE, under supervision of Prof. Meng Ni, Professor of BRE and Associate Dean (Research) of FCE.  Her research focuses on electrochemical systems for low grade heat utilization.  Apart from this award-winning publication, Miss CHENG has published 3 papers in excellent journals, including two papers inACS Energy Letters and 1 paper inChemical Engineering Journal. More information about Prof. Meng Ni can be found at: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/bre/people/academic-staff/prof-meng-ni/

BRE Scholars’ Research Article Published in Nature Energy

Congratulations to Mr Shuo ZHAI and Prof. Meng NI for their achievement! Their research article “A combined ionic Lewis acid descriptor and machine-learning approach to the prediction of efficient oxygen reduction electrodes for ceramic fuel cells” was published in Nature Energy. Ceramic fuel cells are promising power sources for clean power generation. The development of high performance and durable cathode materials is the key for efficient and durable ceramic fuel cells. The previous cathode material development is based on trial-and-error approach, which is time-consuming, expensive, and difficult to identify the optimal material composition. In collaboration with Shenzhen University and Nanjing Tech University, Prof. Meng Ni’s team published their paper in Nature Energy. By an integrated approach combining machine-learning, density functional theory (DFT) computation, and experimental testing, the team successfully identified potential cathode materials for ceramic fuel cell from over 6000 possible material compositions. With the new materials, the ceramic fuel cells achieved both high performance and excellent durability. The research demonstrates a new strategy to facilitate ceramic fuel cell development for clean power generation and carbon neutrality. Details of the paper can be found at:https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-022-01098-3 A relevant news and views article was also published in Nature Energy:https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-022-01112-8 The first author of this paper, Mr. Shuo Zhai, is a PhD candidate of the PolyU joint PHD program leading to dual awards, under supervision of Prof. Meng Ni and Prof. Heping Xie. Prof. Zongping Shao from Nanjing Tech University was also involved in the supervision. Prof. Meng Ni is a Professor of BRE and an Associate Dean (Research) of FCE. His research covers fuel cells, hydrogen production, batteries, and low-grade heat utilization. His research profile can be found at: https://research.polyu.edu.hk/en/persons/meng-ni

PolyU is ranked No.1 globally in Research.com

PolyU BRE is pleased to announce that PolyU’s with 16 scholars is ranked World No. 1 in Business and Management on Research.com. Four BRE scholars, Prof. Albert Chan, Prof. Heng Li, Prof. Geoffrey Shen, Chair Professors, and Prof. Edwin Chan, Adjunct Professor, with their long-standing dedication, are included in the list: https://bit.ly/3HRfJeD.  Please join us to congratulate our scholars for their remarkable research endeavours and achievements.   The ranking of universities in Research.com is based on a detailed examination of more than 5,972 Business Management researchers’ profiles in Google Scholar and Microsoft Academic Graph from more than 507 institutions and affiliations. With the highest productivity and citation impact of publications of scientists, PolyU, with its 3,085 publications, is ranked the Top of Business Management Universities on 6 December 2021. More details can be found: https://bit.ly/34D5X1q   National World Scholar H-index Citations Publications 2 46 Prof. Albert Chan 79 22,363 332 4 60 Prof. Heng Li 76 18,077 235 39 960 Prof. Geoffrey Shen 34 6,731 60 49 1,291 Prof. Edwin Chan 30 5,327 104