PolyU was awarded 29 HK PhD Fellowships for 2020/21, a testimony of its strong research programmes. The Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) is pleased to have the following 10 winners (34.5% of PolyU total) for 2020/21:

*Nominated by the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD)

The Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme provides a monthly stipend of HK$25,800 plus a travel allowance of HK$12,900 per year for attending conferences and research-related events for the entire normal study period. Tuition fees for the same period are also waived by the University. Applications are accepted beginning in September till early December each year. More information can be found at https://www.polyu.edu.hk/ro/hkphd-fellowship/.

Known for its excellence in research, the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) has one discipline in the top 20 in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject 2020. The ranking for Civil and Structural Engineering was in 19th place, while Architecture/ Built Environment was in 22nd place. According to the Web of Science, 3 FCE academics are among the world’s most influential researchers of the past decade. FCE alumni are also sought after by employers in many fields, from academia to industry and the public sector.

Prof. Yozo Fujino, a Distinguished Chair Professor of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), was awarded the 2020 ASCE George W. Housner Structural Control and Monitoring Medal for “pioneering research in the development and implementation of structural monitoring and control systems in large-scale structures, as well as for commitment to developing innovative education programs for students.” He was also one of the recipients of the ASCE Moisseiff Award this year for notable contribution to the science and art of structural design. He was recently appointed President of Josai University in Japan.

The International Association of Fire Safety Science (IAFSS) has chosen Dr Xinyan Huang of the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE) for its 2020 Proulx Early Career Award in recognition of his research contributions to fire safety science. In addition to developing the first ever numerical model to pioneer understanding of smoldering wildfires, Dr Huang has improved our understanding of the flammability of materials and fire dynamics in the microgravity space environment, developing theories and techniques to understand the cable fire and dripping fire phenomena. His work has been published in over 50 peer-reviewed journals on combustion and fire sciences. He has also been recognized with the Bernard Lewis Fellowship and the Sugden Best Paper Awards by the Combustion Institute, an educational non-profit, international, scientific and engineering society founded in 1954 to promote research in combustion science. Dr Huang has been very active in the fire science community, serving on multiple editorial boards and conference organizing committees.

The Proulx Award is given every three years by IAFSS to a young scientist within five years from completion of a PhD degree.

The Learning and Teaching Committee of PolyU has approved funding for the following teaching development projects for the 2019-22 triennium. Details are as follows:

The Advisory Committee on eLearning of PolyU has approved $440,000 for Prof. Asif Usmani, Head of the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE), to develop a massive open online course (MOOC) introducing fire safety engineering to practitioners in the field. The MOOC will cover the fundamentals of fire science and key concepts of fire safety engineering, such as, active and passive fire protection systems; human behavior and legal aspects. The project is expected to last for 18 months, from September 2020 to February 2022. Members of his team include BSE colleagues Prof. Jose Torero, Dr Xinyan Huang, Dr Liming Jiang, Dr Che Heng Lui, Dr Mustesin Khan, and Dr Mingchun Luo.

A UV-based system to monitor the concentration of sulphur dioxide (SO₂) from ship emission has been developed by Prof. Zhi-lin Li and Dr Charles Wong of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI). Integrating one UV (ultraviolet) camera and two RGB (red, green, blue) cameras, the system can capture the images of a sailing or stationary ship with running engines from a long distance. It can also identify SO₂ pollutants remotely, sending alerts when a vessel with SO₂ emission over a threshold is identified.

Supported by the Environment and Conservation Fund, the research team has conducted systematic experiments indoors and outdoors to study the impact of different environmental conditions, such as temperature, air pressure and distance, on SO₂ concentrations. The system will eventually be deployed at Hong Kong’s port terminals to help improve their air quality.

The Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) has approved funding for the following projects of strategic importance:

The following postdoctoral fellows have been supported by the FCE Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme:

Prof. Eddie Hui of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE) has been appointed by the HKSAR Government to serve on a task force for studying the tenancy control of subdivided units for a period of 18 months till October 2021.

As one of the government’s initiatives to provide more support for grassroots and underprivileged people, the task force will explore the feasibility and options for tenancy control of subdivided units in Hong Kong. It is led by Dr William Leung, Chairman of the Estate Agents Authority.

In addition, the Hong Kong Housing Authority has also appointed Prof. Hui a member of the Subsidised Housing Committee for two years from 1 April 2020.