In recognition of his achievement in lunar topographic mapping and geomorphological analysis for finding the best landing location on the far side of the Moon for the Chinese space mission of Chang’e 4, Prof. Bo Wu of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) was recently honoured by the Sing Tao News Corporation Ltd. with a Leader of the Year Award 2019 in its Education/Professions/ Technology & Innovation category. He shares the award with another recipient, Prof. Kai-leung Yung of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, whose research on a camera pointing system enabled Chang’e-4 to capture stunning panoramic images of the lunar surface.

Established since 1994, the award aims to provide role models for a younger generation and inspire the public to strive for the best in the development of Hong Kong.

Prof. Yung (left) and Prof. Wu (right)

Prof. Siu-lai Chan and his team from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) have received the Grand Award of the Structural Excellence Award 2020 organized by the Structural Division of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE). Their award-winning research was published in the Journal of Constructional Steel Research by Elsevier. Entitled “Nonlinear finite-element-analysis and design of steel-concrete composite ring (SCCR) joints,” the paper was co-authored by Dr Siwei Liu and Prof. Siu-lai Chan. An associate professor at Sun-Yat-Sen University in China, Dr Liu was under the supervision of Prof. Chan when he was a PhD student in CEE before graduating in 2014. They believed they won the award because their research was closely aligned with technological advances and addressed the needs of the industry to replace welding at basement with the use of studs.

In recognition of his excellent research and scholarly contribution in the field of environmental engineering and science, Dr Peng Wang of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) has been chosen to receive the Nanova Frontier Research Award from the Chinese-American Professors in Environmental Engineering and Science (CAPEES). An associate professor who joined PolyU in late August 2019, Dr Wang was a founding faculty member of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia. He received his PhD from the University of California in Santa Barbara in 2008. His research focuses on conversion and utilization of renewable energy, especially solar energy, towards significant applications at the water-energy-climate nexus, including seawater desalination, brine treatment with zero liquid discharge, atmospheric water harvesting, smart cooling, etc. He has published over 90 peer-reviewed papers and currently serves as an associate editor of Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T).

Prof. Jian-Hua Yin of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and his research team have developed a novel FBG-based effective stress cell for direct measurement of effective stress in saturated soils. A number of FBG-based effective stress cells can be connected in a single fiber line, thus reducing the number of cables and cable sizes of conventional sensors. The new technology is highly accurate, reliable, and durable, due to the high resolution of FBG sensors and one sensing diaphragm used, as well as the long-term stability and long-distance monitoring. The potential sites where FBG-based effective stress cells can be applied include slopes, reclamations, embankments, and retaining walls. More details can be found here.

In a joint Innovation and Technology Fund project with the Logistics and Supply Chain Management Research Centre (LSCM) of the Innovation and Technology Commission, Prof. Wu Chen of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) and his research team made use of a smart lamp post* for mobile phone navigation in dense urban environments where GPS is not working. They have developed a multiple Bluetooth based device with various ranges for determining location and direction.

As part of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, LSCM has transferred the technology to the home quarantine monitoring electronic devices of the Centre for Health Protection of the HKSAR Government. Ideal for home quarantine monitoring purpose, the first batch of the devices was modified from a model developed by LSGI’s Navigation Laboratory. The operational range of these devices has ensured that home quarantine is observed by those deemed a risk to the society.

*The Hong Kong government has plans to install some 400 smart lamp posts in 4 districts with higher pedestrian and traffic flow to promote smart city development and support 5G mobile network implementation.

The Areas of Excellence Committee of PolyU has approved 3 proposals of FCE colleagues that will be supported by the Large Equipment Fund for Research. Following are the details:

To encourage and reward colleagues in securing external competitive research grants, the Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) established the FCE Matching Fund for External Competitive Research Grants. 4 colleagues have recently been awarded such funding, in addition to 4 others who were approved back in March. Following are the details:

On 13 June 2020, Prof. Simon Deng of the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE) was featured in a TVB segment on environmental issues of commercial buildings in Hong Kong. Taking the power consumption of air conditioning systems in his laboratory as an example, he showed that electricity consumption increased by about 8% when the temperature of the air conditioning was lowered from 26 to 25 degree Celsius. If the temperature was lowered from 26 to 22 degree Celsius, the power consumed at the laboratory was raised by 37%, or 25% for a commercial building.

The TV programme further revealed that shopping malls with an average temperature of around 23 degree Celsius were rated BEAM plus platinum, the highest rating awarded by the Hong Kong Green Building Council. The recommended temperature by the government was 24 to 26 degree Celsius.

On 29 May 2020, a webinar on smart water technologies was held at the Underground Utility Survey Lab of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI). Jointly organized by LSGI and the Institute of Entrepreneurship, the webinar attracted over 270 online participants. Mr Roger Wong, Assistant Director of the government’s Water Supplies Department (WSD), was invited to give a speech on its water loss management strategy. It was followed by a talk from Ir Dr Wallace Lai, Associate Professor of LSGI, on non-destructive water leakage imaging and diagnosis for underground utilities. The challenges and strategy of water loss management in the WSD were discussed. Non-destructive diagnostic technologies were demonstrated by Dr Lai, who also presented his team’s design of WSD’s 17,000 sq ft training ground for leak detection and diagnosis at Tsing Yi North Low Level Fresh Water Service Reservoir.

Dr Lai		Mr Wong

The Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) is pleased that 5 of its academics have been promoted to professors with effect from 1 July 2020. Following are their profiles.

Prof. Xiao has conducted innovative multidisciplinary research on building energy and automation, specifically in optimal control and diagnosis of building energy systems as well as big data analytics and AI for smart energy-efficient and resilient buildings. She has published over 100 SCI journal papers including two ESI highly cited papers and secured 11 external competitive research grants as the PI or Co-PI. She has received numerous awards, including the Hanson I&T Outstanding Award from the 2018 Energy Saving Championship Scheme launched by the Environment Bureau and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department of the Hong Kong Government, 2017 Annual Best Paper Award from the Journal of Refrigeration, ASHRAE Technology Award 2014, etc. Prof. Xiao sits on the editorial boards of international journals of Automation in Construction and Energy and AI. She is a committee member of the Building Services Division of HKIE.

Prof. Wang’s current research topics and interests are future urban green infrastructures, aiming to make our cities cleaner, smarter, more resilient, and more environmentally friendly. He is leading two major research projects in these areas. The first is the Urban Nature Laboratory (UNaLab) funded by the European Commission Research Grant Council, and the other is the development of smart pavement systems funded by the Research Impact Fund.

In the global arena, Prof. Liu’s Google scholar citation was ranked as 1st and 6th in the fields of troposphere and water vapor; 53rd, 64th and 65th in the fields of GPS, ionosphere, GNSS, respectively, as of the end of 2019. He was one of the three recipients at PolyU to receive the RGC inaugural Early Career Award in 2012 and was a two-time recipient of the LSGI Departmental Research Excellence Award. Over the past decade, he secured 7 RGC GRF/ECS research grants as the Principal Investigator (PI), including 3 GRF/ECS projects with a full score 5.0. As a PI, Prof. Liu has secured nearly HK$ 10 million in research funding and over HK$ 37 million as PI/Co-PI/Co-I.

His main research areas are photogrammetry and remote sensing, with a focus on planetary remote sensing and science. He worked on NASA-funded projects for Mars and Moon exploration missions at the Ohio State University. Since joining PolyU, he has worked on landing site mapping and analysis for China’s Chang’E-3 and Chang’E-4 lunar missions, contributed to their successful landing on the Moon in 2013 and 2019 respectively.

Publishing over 120 peer-reviewed articles in international journals and conferences, he has secured total funding of over HK$18 million from the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC), the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC), and the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), including a RGC Research Impact Fund of HK$6.38 million. His research has been recognized with a number of awards, including the Leader of the Year Award 2019, Dean’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research Funding, the R. Alekseev Award and a Gold Medal from the 44th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, the Talbert Abrams Award from ASPRS, the Duane C. Brown Senior Award for Photogrammetry, etc. He co-chairs working groups of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. He is an associate editor/ editorial board member of three SCI journals.

Dr Yung was appointed assistant professor in the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE) in August 2014. Her research focuses on ageing and urban environment as well as built heritage conservation. She received the Departmental Research Publication Award (2014-15). She has obtained funding from the Hong Kong Research Grants Council and the Hong Kong Government Policy Innovation and Coordination Office (PICO). An associate editor of the Journal of Housing and the Built Environment and a chartered surveyor of the RICS under the Planning and Development pathway, she had been a member of the Authorized Person Registration Committee and the Advisory Committee of the Barrier Free Access of the Buildings Department.

Several Master of Science students who received Entry Scholarships recently completed their studies in 2019/20 with Distinction. Following are some of their thoughts on their experiences at the Faculty of Construction and Environment.