News

Prof. Yi-Qing Ni Secures HK$48.293 Million Funding from RGC Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS)

Led by Prof. Yi-Qing Ni, Chair Professor of Smart Structures and Rail Transit of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and Director of National Rail Transit Electrification and Automation Engineering Technology Research Centre (Hong Kong Branch), the project entitled “INTACT: Intelligent Tropical-storm-resilient System for Coastal Cities” has been awarded HK$48.293 million funding by the Research Grants Council (RGC) Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS) 2023/24 (Thirteenth Round) under the theme “Developing a Sustainable Environment”. Coastal cities are increasingly vulnerable to tropical-storm-related hazards due to population growth and climate change. Hong Kong, being one of the most densely-populated and developed cities in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), suffered from economic loss and destruction of skyscrapers much significantly under tropical storms. To address the challenges aroused by complex urban environments and to mitigate tropical storm risks systematically, Prof. Ni’s project aims to establish an intelligent tropical-storm-resilient system. The system will be able to provide real-time tropical storm risk early-warning and assess urban-resilience to ensure the sustainability of Hong Kong and other coastal cities in the long run. The ultimate goal of the project is to reduce the potential for irreversible damage, improve safety, quality of life, and maintain economic vitality through the development of a comprehensive system. In 2023/24 TRS exercise, the RGC received 66 eligible preliminary proposals and shortlisted 29 submission of full proposals, of which 20 proposals were selected for interview. The RGC eventually supported 9 projects (including 6 projects with five-year budget and 3 exploratory projects one-year budget to yield preliminary results). Prof. Ni’s project is one of the two supported PolyU projects with five-year budget. Congratulations to Prof. Ni and his team for their outstanding achievement and contributions to the field.

CEE Departmental Visit - Tseung Kwan O Government Secondary School (7 Jul)

A group of 38 students from Tseung Kwan O Government Secondary School visited CEE on 7 July 2023 (Friday). The recent developments of the civil engineering industry, together with the admission information of BEng(Hons) Scheme in Civil Engineering and Sustainable Development were introduced to student. The students also had the opportunity to visit our Structural Engineering Research Laboratory and Geology Laboratory, the latest technology and laboratory equipment were demonstrated to them. The students found the visit fruitful and interesting.

New joiner - Dr Sivaganesh SELVARAJ

Dr Sivaganesh Selvaraj obtained his Master’s and Ph.D. degree from the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH), India in 2019.  He completed his bachelor's degree from the Alagappa Chettiar Government College of Engineering and Technology, Karaikudi, Tamilnadu, India.  Dr Selvaraj joined PolyU as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow from July 2020 to 2023.  Dr Selvaraj’s current research interests include steel and composite structures, he primarily focuses on the development of design guidelines for cold-formed steel structural members.  He has received several awards for his contribution to research in Structural Stability, notably the YDK Young Researcher Award from the Structural Stability Research Council, American Institute of Steel Construction.  Dr Selvaraj has joined us on 13 July 2023.

CEE Member Received Best Poster Award in the 11th Geomicrobiology Symposium of Chinese Microbiology Society

Congratulations to Mr CHEN Tian, CEE Research Assistant supervised by Dr Ling Jin, whose presentation poster titled “Community Structure and Major Sources of Bacteria and Fungi in Coastal Air” being received the Best Poster Award in the 11th Geomicrobiology Symposium of Chinese Microbiology Society. The symposium was held from 9 – 11 June 2023 in Tianjin, China.

CEE Departmental Visit - Lui Cheung Kwong Lutheran College (5 Jul)

A group of 24 students from Lui Cheung Kwong Lutheran College visited CEE on 5 July 2023 (Wednesday). Apart from introducing the recent developments of the civil engineering industry, the admission information of BEng(Hons) Scheme in Civil Engineering and Sustainable Development was also delivered to students. Students were then divided into groups to compete in the “Tower Challenge: Engineering with Straws, Tape and Imagination”. Students were required to use their innovation to build a tower with only straws and tape. The best performed group built a tower with the height of 42cm. Students also visited our Structural Engineering Research Laboratory and Noise and Safety Laboratory. They all found the visit fruitful and enjoyable.

CEE Departmental Visit - Stewards Ma Kam Ming Charitable Foundation Ma Ko Pan Memorial College (27 Jun)

A group of 30 students from Stewards Ma Kam Ming Charitable Foundation Ma Ko Pan Memorial College visited CEE on 27 June 2023 (Tuesday). The latest developments of the civil engineering industry and the admission information of BEng(Hons) Scheme in Civil Engineering and Sustainable Development were delivered to students. Students were then divided into groups to compete in the “Tower Challenge: Engineering with Straws, Tape and Imagination”. Students were required to use their innovation to build a tower with only straws and tape. The best performed group built a tower with the height of 48cm. Apart from the programme talk and workshop, students also visited our Structural Engineering Research Laboratory and Noise and Safety Laboratory. They all found the visit fruitful and enjoyable.

CEE Students Received HKIE Geotechnical Division Awards

The HKIE Geotechnical Division 35th Anniversary Grand Award Presentation Ceremony was held on 26 June 2023 (Mon). CEE students have been awarded in several categories of geotechnical awards or scholarship, including AECOM Prize for best engineering students in good performance and best final-year geotechnical projects, Ringo Yu Prize for best PhD theses in outstanding academic achievements in geotechnical studies and LPM Scholarship Scheme for geotechnical engineering undergraduate student. Congratulations to the following CEE students being awarded in several categories: Awardee Award/ Scholarship Dr Zhang Pin (Supervised by Prof. Zhen-Yu Yin) Ringo Yu Prize Mr Luk Hon Yin AECOM Prize for Best Students AECOM Prize for Best Final-Year Geotechnical Projects (1st Runner-up) Mr Wong Yin Kam LPM Scholarship Scheme

PolyU CEE Webinar Series: Practice of Artificial Intelligence in Geotechnical Engineering

Dr Ning ZHANG delivered a seminar with the topic of “Practice of Artificial Intelligence in Geotechnical Engineering” on 28 June 2023. It was co-organized with HKIE Civil Division.

New joiner - Dr Zhipeng CHEN

Dr Chen obtained his Ph.D. degree (2021), and B.S. degree (2015) from Southeast University. Before joining PolyU as a Research Assistant Professor, Dr Chen worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at PolyU from 2021 to 2023. Dr Chen’s current research interests include smart self-centring seismic-resisting structures based on shape memory alloy (SMA), performance- and resilience-based seismic design, structural seismic assessment, and novel large-span high-rise structures. Dr Chen has joined us on 3 July 2023.

New joiner - Prof. Ahmed Youssef ELGHAZOULI

Prof. ELGHAZOULI obtained his Bachelor’s degree from the Ain Shams University in Egypt in 1984, and Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Structural Earthquake Engineering from Imperial College London, UK in 1988 and 1992 respectively. Prior to joining PolyU as Chair Professor of Earthquake Engineering and Structural Integrity, Prof. ELGHAZOULI worked in the industry for a period and as a Lecturer at The University of Edinburgh, he joined Imperial College London as a Lecturer in 1996 and has been Professor of Structural Engineering and Head of the Structural Engineering Division since 2009. Prof. ELGHAZOULI is internationally recognised for his research work on the behaviour and design of structures under seismic and other extreme loading conditions, with focus on the areas of structural earthquake engineering, structural fire engineering and structural robustness.  Prof. ELGHAZOULI’s research has been disseminated in more than 300 publications.  He has also been principal investigator or a major contributor in various research projects funded by the European Commission, research councils, government departments, and industry. Prof. ELGHAZOULI is a Chartered Engineer, and a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Institution of Structural Engineers.  He chairs the British Standards Institution Committee B/525/8 on seismic design, and is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Earthquake Engineering and the Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering.  In 2016, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in recognition of his outstanding and continuing contributions to engineering.  He is former Chairman of the Society for Earthquake and Civil Engineering Dynamics and UK National Delegate to the International and European Associations for Earthquake Engineering. Prof. ELGHAZOULI has joined us on 3 July 2023.