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PAIR Newsletter · Issue 9 · March 2024 is now available online

We are thrilled to announce the release of the 9th Issue of the PAIR Newsletter. Join us and embark on an extraordinary science adventure with our “Feature Stories” covering the newly established Research Centre for Digital Transformation of Tourism, insights on proactive health research from esteemed scholar, and the neuroscience behind memory decline and mental health. Stay informed about PAIR’s latest scientific breakthroughs and diverse activities through reading our “Knowledge Transfer”, “Research Achievements”, “People”, and “News & Events” sections! We encourage you to share valuable articles and links from our Newsletter with your friends and colleagues. Share PAIR’s impact stories to spread knowledge, inspire innovation and foster interdisciplinary excellence! Happy reading! https://www.polyu.edu.hk/pair/publications/

MHRC studies lateral frontopolar cortex of human brains to understand human decision-making

Dr Bolton CHAU, Associate Director of the Mental Health Research Centre (MHRC) and Associate Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, and his team discovered the function of a lateral frontopolar cortex (FPl), a brain region unique to humans, hence providing important insights as to why humans are capable of generating complex behaviours. The findings have been published in Cell Reports. With the use of brain imaging and artificial intelligence, the team identified that the FPl is involved in digesting complex information during decision-making. The FPI uses a parallel processing mechanism that decomposes high-dimensional choice information into simpler forms and transfers this simplified information to another region, the posterior cingulate cortex, to guide decision-making. The team also received a funding from the Collaborative Research Fund of the Research Grants Council (RGC) to conduct follow-up studies for three years. These studies aim to investigate the specific information represented in the FPl, develop artificial neural networks to reverse-engineer the FPl, and develop effective brain stimulation approaches to modulate the FPl. The studies will be conducted by a team comprising researchers from PolyU, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University and the University of Oxford, and will leverage MHRC collaboration platform and the cutting-edge facilities of the University Research Facility in Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience (UBSN).   Read the full paper: https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(23)00566-1

RiFood-developed fungus-based fat replacer enables healthy low-fat indulgences

AkkMore™, a novel formula of fat replacer developed by the Research Institute for Future Food (RiFood), has been used in the production of low-fat food products including low-fat ice cream of 3% fat content. The innovation was developed by the team led by Dr Gail CHANG Jinhui, RiFood Core Member, and was awarded silver medal at the 2022 Special Edition of the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions. AkkMore™ is produced from natural fungal sources, and has been tested for its effectiveness in bringing a number of health benefits, including preventing obesity and other metabolic diseases, enhancing gut health, modulating the immune response, and reducing anxiety. The research team is now working on “Cream Mate”, an AkkMore™-based cream substitute. Cream Mate enables cream products to contain less fat, to be able to be frozen for long time, and to extend shelf-life while holding sensory appeal comparable to traditional cream. The use of Cream Mate helps reduce calorie and the consumption of dairy products in the desserts, as well as the amount of food waste due to expiration. This helps food producers to make their production more sustainable and economical. In addition, RiFood is collaborating with Hotel ICON on the use of Cream Mate in preparing reduced-fat desserts to be served on the hotel regular menus, which will be available starting in early-June.

PolyU-developed wearable system for improving mobility in patients with Parkinson’s Disease featured on ViuTV programme “Medicine Online”

Prof. TAO Xiaoming, Director of the Research Institute for Intelligent Wearable Systems, Vincent and Lily Woo Professor in Textiles Technology, and Chair Professor of Textile Technology, and Prof. Margaret MAK, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, were featured on ViuTV programme “Medicine Online”, introducing an intelligent wearable system they developed for improving mobility in patients with Parkinson’s Disease. The system comprises four devices worn by patients, including a pair of smart insoles, a smartphone application, earphones and laser light generator. The system can accurately detect abnormal gait in real-time and provide timely cues for patients.   Online coverage: ViuTV - https://polyu.me/3uD8NQU (5:36 – 8:35) (Chinese only)

RCSV develops AI-powered portable camera to screen diabetic retinopathy

Prof. HE Mingguang, Director of the Research Centre for SHARP Vision (RCSV) and Chair Professor of Experimental Ophthalmology, and his team have developed an AI-powered portable camera designed specifically for retinal screening of diabetic retinopathy.  Starting from 1 March, PolyU has joined forces with OPTICAL 88 to recruit 300 people with high risk of diabetes to participate in the AI Diabetic Retinopathy Eye Screening Research Project.   Online coverage: Oriental Daily News - https://polyu.me/49t85F7 Ming Pao Daily News - https://polyu.me/3wpzGIr Hong Kong Economic Times - https://polyu.me/3UV0quw am730 - https://polyu.me/3UUVVjE

MHRC Member delivers mindful eating health talks at The University of Western Australia

Dr Dalinda Isabel SANCHEZ VIDANA, Member of the Mental Health Research Centre (MHRC), Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, was invited to deliver interactive health talks “Mindful Bites: Exploring Mindful Eating and Taming Food Cravings” at The University of Western Australia, 27–28 February 2024. The interactive sessions included mindfulness exercises for developing healthy and mindful eating habits, providing participants with the opportunity to experience the benefits of mindfulness in eating and weight management.

PAIR researchers shine at PolyU President’s Awards for Outstanding Achievement 2023

Congratulations to the following PAIR researchers for receiving The President’s Awards for Outstanding Achievement 2023 of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University!   Category of Award Awardee(s) Title(s) Individual Awards Teaching (Outstanding Young Teacher) Dr HSU Li-ta Associate Head and Associate Professor of Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering, Limin Young Scholar in Aerospace Navigation, and Member of RIAIoT, RILS, RISUD and SCRI Research and Scholarly Activities (Outstanding Researcher) Prof. LI Xiangdong Director of RISUD, Dean of Faculty of Construction and Environment, Ko Jan Ming Professor in Sustainable Urban Development, and Chair Professor of Environmental Science and Technology Research and Scholarly Activities (Outstanding Young Researcher) Prof. ZHENG Zijian Associate Director of RI-IWEAR, Associate Director of University Research Facility in Materials Characterization and Device Fabrication, Chair Professor of Soft Materials and Devices, Management Committee Member of RISE, and Member of RIAIoT, PRI and RISUD Team Awards Knowledge Transfer: Industry Prof. XIA Yong (Team Leader) Director of Joint Research Centre for Marine Infrastructure, Management Committee Member of RIAIoT, and Member of RISUD and RCDSE Prof. CAO Jiannong Director of RIAIoT, Director of University Research Facility in Big Data Analytics, Dean of Graduate School, Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Professor in Data Science, Chair Professor of Distributed and Mobile Computing, Management Committee Member of RISUD, and Member of RiFood, RI-IWEAR, RISE, RISA and SCRI Prof. ZHU Songye Associate Head (Research) of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Leading Member of RIAIoT, and Member of RISE and RISUD

PolyU welcomes 2024-25 Budget initiatives promoting research commercialisation

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) welcomes the new initiatives announced by the Financial Secretary in the Government’s 2024-25 Budget that support local universities in pursuing innovative research and translating research outcomes. The Frontier Technology Research Infrastructure Support Scheme, in particular, will facilitate PolyU to make further breakthroughs and technology transfer in the fields of life and health, artificial intelligence, quantum technology, microelectronics and other frontier areas. Prof. Jin-Guang TENG, President of PolyU, said, “PolyU is pleased to learn that the Budget dedicates resources to support universities’ research and knowledge transfer activities, which will enable our University to attract outstanding research talent from around the world to conduct impactful research. Aspiring to be an innovative world-class university, PolyU is committed to promoting interdisciplinary research and has gained recognition for its excellence across various cutting-edge research domains. The University will continue to support the Government’s initiative to enrich the I&T talent pool, and work seamlessly with the Government, industry and various stakeholders to strengthen Hong Kong’s I&T ecosystem, contributing to the city’s development as an international innovation and technology hub and advancing national technological self-reliance.” PolyU is pleased that $6 billion will be used to provide subsidies for local universities to collaborate with Mainland and overseas organisations to set up life and health technology research institutes. PolyU was approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology to establish the State Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Drug Discovery which focuses on conducting world-class research in chemical biology and drug discovery. With research expertise spanning drug discovery, biomedicine, healthcare and more, PolyU has a robust research foundation to leverage Hong Kong’s strengths. AI is an important driver of technological and industrial transformation. The launch of a $3 billion AI Subsidy Scheme will boost PolyU’s strength in this domain. PolyU’s Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence of Things focuses on four important application fields to pursue transformational and translational research, namely smart infrastructure and construction, smart connected health, smart connected vehicles and smart connected logistics. The University also continually advances its I&T curriculum, having introduced new MSc programmes in blockchain technology, AI and big data computing, microelectronics technology and materials, intelligent construction, metaverse technology and more to nurture talent that meet industrial needs. To support green development, multiple research institutes and centres of the PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR) will continue to leverage their interdisciplinary research strengths in fields including smart cities, smart energy, sustainable urban development, carbon neutrality and resources engineering to drive innovation. The University has the largest number of projects approved by the Green Tech Fund, Environment and Conservation Fund and Smart Traffic Fund among the UGC-funded institutions, highlighting PolyU’s research capabilities in reducing carbon emissions and strengthening environmental protection in Hong Kong. The PolyU Policy Research Centre for Innovation and Technology provides strategic advice on promoting the development of carbon neutrality and has recently received support from the Chief Executive’s Policy Unit’s Public Policy Research Funding Scheme to assess and research promoting hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and electric vehicles in Hong Kong. To support the Government’s carbon neutrality goals, PolyU has set short-term (2028), medium-term (2033) and long-term (2045) decarbonisation goals. The University also utilises its campus as a testbed to pilot research translation and has established a Campus Carbon Neutrality Committee. PolyU will continue to pursue research excellence, accelerate technology transfer and commercialisation, promote closer industry-academia-research collaboration and leverage Hong Kong’s unique advantages as an international talent hub, contributing to the betterment of Hong Kong, the Nation and the world. Online coverage: Hong Kong Economic Journal - https://polyu.me/3uQdAhR Hong Kong Commercial Daily - https://polyu.me/48v5poV Dot Dot News - https://polyu.me/48BmXjx Hong Kong China News Agency - https://polyu.me/49SsZgx

Prof. Ioannis BRILAKIS of University of Cambridge to deliver PAIR Distinguished Lecture on built environment digital twinning

PAIR cordially invites you to join our Distinguished Lecture on 8 March 2024 (Friday) at 3:00 p.m.–4:30 p.m. (Hong Kong Time) on the PolyU campus and via Zoom. The lecture titled “Digital Twinning the Built Environment” will be delivered by Prof. Ioannis BRILAKIS, Laing O’Rourke Professor of Civil & Information Engineering and Director of the Construction Information Technology Laboratory, University of Cambridge.    Digital Twinning methods can produce a reliable digital record of the built environment and enable owners to reliably protect, monitor and maintain the condition of their assets. The built environment is comprised of large assets that need significant resource investments to design, construct, maintain and operate them. Improving productivity, i.e., efficiency and effectiveness, and creating new, disruptive ways to address existing problems throughout their lifecycle can generate significant performance improvements in cost, time, quality, safety, sustainability, and resilience metrics for all involved parties. Creating and maintaining an up-to-date electronic record of built environment assets in the form of rich Digital Twins can help generate such improvements.   This talk introduces research conducted at the University of Cambridge on inexpensive methods for generating object-oriented infrastructure geometry, detecting, and mapping visible defects on the resulting Digital Twin, automatically extracting defect spatial measurements, and sensor and sensor data modelling. The results of these methods are further exploited through their application in design for manufacturing and assembly (DfMA), mixed-reality-enabled mobile inspection, and proactive asset protection from accidental damage.   Prof. Brilakis completed his PhD in Civil Engineering at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign in 2005. He then worked as an Assistant Professor at the Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (2005-2008) and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta (2008-2012) before moving to Cambridge in 2012 as a Laing O’Rourke Lecturer. He was promoted to Reader in October 2017 and to Professor in 2021. He has also held visiting posts at the Department of Computer Science, Stanford University as a Visiting Associate Professor of Computer Vision (2014) and at the Technical University of Munich as a Visiting Professor, Leverhulme International Fellow (2018-2019), and Hans Fischer Senior Fellow (2019-2023). He is a recipient of the 2022 EC3 Scherer Award, 2022 EC3 Thorpe Medal, 2019 ASCE J. James R. Croes Medal, the 2018 ASCE John O. Bickel Award, the 2013 ASCE Collingwood Prize, the 2012 Georgia Tech Outreach Award, a 2010 NSF CAREER award, and a 2009 ASCE Associate Editor Award. Prof. Brilakis is an author of over 200 papers in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, an Associate Editor of the ASCE Computing in Civil Engineering, ASCE Construction Engineering and Management, Elsevier Automation in Construction, and Elsevier Advanced Engineering Informatics Journals, and the lead founder of the European Council on Computing in Construction.   Don’t miss the chance to learn from distinguished scholar!   Find out more and register at: https://polyu.hk/AXLmD

Distinguished lecture on battery fast charging for sustainable electrification presented by Penn State's Prof. WANG Chao-yang

Prof. WANG Chao-Yang of The Pennsylvania State University delivered the 13th PAIR Distinguished Lecture titled “Battery Fast Charging for Sustainable Electrification” on 27 February 2024. The hybrid lecture attracted over 230 participants joining in person and online from more than 20 countries and regions across Australia, Asia, Europe and North America. It was also broadcast live on multiple social media platforms, captivating online viewing audience of over 13,100. The lecture commenced with a welcome speech video by Prof. CHEN Qingyan, Director of PAIR, followed by a brief speaker introduction by Prof. LI Ping, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Sin Wai Kin Foundation Professor in Humanities and Technology and Chair Professor of Neurolinguistics and Bilingual Studies. In his presentation, Prof. Wang first gave some background information about the economics of battery fast charging for electric vehicle (EV), pointing out the importance of fast charging in enabling EV affordability and sustainable electrification. He then highlighted the current challenges in fast battery charging at all temperatures and presented the asymmetric temperature modulation (ATM) approach. The ATM method enables 10-minute fast charging of energy-dense Li-ion batteries at any temperature (even at -60°C) while still delivering remarkable cycle life. Next, he presented the novel thermal management concepts for extremely fast charging in both extreme cold and hot conditions and emphasised the need for battery technology that enables both fast-charging and high-temperature stability. To conclude, Prof. Wang believed that the future of battery technology lies in Lean Energy Storage Systems (LESS) coupled with ubiquitous fast charging, which can provide affordable and safe mobile energy. This would require research development to bring forth a new paradigm of battery design and thermal management without having to trade-off between fast charge, safety, lifetime, and cost. A question-and-answer session moderated by Prof. Li followed. The audience had a fruitful discussion with Prof. Wang. Please click here for an online review: