PolyU Scholars Hub
Prof. CHAO Yu Hang, Christopher 趙汝恒
Senior Vice President (Research and Innovation), Chair Professor of Thermal and Environmental Engineering
Area of Specialization: Aerosol and gaseous contaminant transport in indoor environments; Solar and waste heat driven cooling and refrigeration system; Passive radiative cooling; Nanofluid heat transfer; Bio inspired heat transfer; Fire dynamics and combustion
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BSc(Eng), MS, PhD, FHKEng, FHKIE, FASHRAE, FASME, FIMechE, FCIBSE, FISIAQ
Short Description
Prof. Christopher Chao received his BSc(Eng) degree in Mechanical Engineering (First Class) from HKU in 1988 and worked for Swire Industrial Division from 1988-1990. He was awarded the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fellowship for Overseas Studies in 1990 and obtained his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from The University of California, Berkeley, USA, in 1992 and 1994, respectively. He was an Assistant Professor at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University from 1995-1997 and joined The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in 1997 moving through the ranks of Assistant Professor (1997-2002), Associate Professor (2002-2009), Full Professor (2009-2015) and Chair Professor (2015-2018) before he joined HKU in June of 2018. He was Associate Dean (Research and Graduate Studies) from 2011-2014 and Head of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from 2014-2018 when he was at HKUST, and Dean of Engineering from 2018-2021 when he was at HKU.
Prof. Chao’s research is in thermal and environmental engineering covering areas of bioaerosol dispersion, deposition and resuspension in indoor air and the impact on infectious disease transmission; solar and waste heat driven advanced cooling systems; passive radiative cooling; nanofluid and bioinspired heat transfer. Since 2020, he has been ranked by Clarivate among the top 1% worldwide by citations in the field of Engineering for multiple consecutive years, and has also been listed among Stanford University’s Top 2% Scientists globally for multiple years. In 2025, he received the prestigious Louise and Bill Holladay Distinguished Fellow Award from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), becoming the third scholar in Asia to receive this distinction. He has published more than 200 journal papers. Prof. Chao has been serving as regional editor and editorial board member in several major journals in Built Environment and Energy. He is a Fellow of several professional organisations.
Beyond academic research, Prof. Chao has made significant contributions to the professional community and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. His current leadership and advisory appointments include Chairman of the Council of the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund, Fellow and Senior Vice President of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering, and member of the Research Strategy Expert Group of the Chief Executive’s Policy Unit, the Gas Safety Advisory Committee of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, the Board of the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute, the Board of the Hong Kong Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre, the Council of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, and the HKTDC Mainland Business Advisory Committee.
Prof. Chao’s research is in thermal and environmental engineering covering areas of bioaerosol dispersion, deposition and resuspension in indoor air and the impact on infectious disease transmission; solar and waste heat driven advanced cooling systems; passive radiative cooling; nanofluid and bioinspired heat transfer. Since 2020, he has been ranked by Clarivate among the top 1% worldwide by citations in the field of Engineering for multiple consecutive years, and has also been listed among Stanford University’s Top 2% Scientists globally for multiple years. In 2025, he received the prestigious Louise and Bill Holladay Distinguished Fellow Award from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), becoming the third scholar in Asia to receive this distinction. He has published more than 200 journal papers. Prof. Chao has been serving as regional editor and editorial board member in several major journals in Built Environment and Energy. He is a Fellow of several professional organisations.
Beyond academic research, Prof. Chao has made significant contributions to the professional community and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. His current leadership and advisory appointments include Chairman of the Council of the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund, Fellow and Senior Vice President of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering, and member of the Research Strategy Expert Group of the Chief Executive’s Policy Unit, the Gas Safety Advisory Committee of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, the Board of the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute, the Board of the Hong Kong Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre, the Council of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, and the HKTDC Mainland Business Advisory Committee.
