FCE academics among world’s most influential in Building & Construction and Civil Engineering

According to the latest “Updated science-wide author databases of standardised citation indicators” compiled by Stanford University, PolyU leads the world in the number of Top 2% Most-cited Scientists in the sub-fields of Building and Construction, making FCE the institution with the largest representation of top scholars in the field. FCE also boasts the highest number of Top 2% Civil Engineering scholars in Hong Kong.

Notably, three FCE academics rank among the global top ten in their respective fields: Prof. C.S. POON, Distinguished Research Professor of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE); Prof. Jin-Guang TENG, PolyU President and Chair Professor of Structural Engineering of CEE; and Prof. Qihao WENG, Chair Professor of Geomatics and Artificial Intelligence of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI), while eight academics are ranked within the global top 50. The remarkable concentration of world-class scholars reflects FCE’s significant research impact and influence in teaching.

Prof. Jin-Guang Teng elected International Fellow of Royal Academy of Engineering 2025

Prof. Jin-Guang Teng, PolyU President and Chair Professor of Structural Engineering of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), was elected as an International Fellow of the UK-based Royal Academy of Engineering on 23 September 2025. Prof. Teng is one of the nine leading figures worldwide to receive the International Fellowship this year, recognising his exceptional and continuing contributions to the engineering field.

Prof. Teng has built an illustrious career marked by innovation and global impact in structural engineering. In the early stages of his career, he focused on research into thin metal shell structures. Starting around the mid-1990s, he gradually shifted his research focus to the structural application of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites in civil engineering. To date, he has been engaged in research in this field for about three decades. He initially researched the design theory for the strengthening of concrete structures and later began to also work on the use of FRP in new construction. Many of his research findings have been adopted into relevant design standards or guidelines in China, the US, Europe, the UK, and Australia––thereby helping engineers around the world produce safe and cost-effective structural designs.

His career is marked by numerous accolades, including being elected as a Member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences—the highest academic title in the field of science and technology in China.

As President, he has championed the development of PolyU as an innovative world-class university with a strong commitment to social responsibility. Under his leadership, PolyU has achieved remarkable success in the global academic landscape, soaring from 91st in the QS World University Rankings 2020 to a record high of 54th in the QS World University Rankings 2026.

BEEE scholars publish breakthrough research on sustainable technologies for energy efficiency in leading journal

Two impactful research breakthroughs were published in the prestigious journal Advanced Energy Materials by Prof. Jerry YAN, Chair Professor of Energy and Buildings, and Dr Junwei LIU, Research Assistant Professor of the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering (BEEE), in collaboration with scholars from Chinese Mainland universities. These studies explore innovative approaches to enhancing building energy efficiency and sustainability through advanced materials.

Paper by CEE research team published in Nature Communications and selected for Editors' Highlights

A paper titled “Surface chemistry-mediated porewater fluctuations boost CO₂ docking in calcium silicate hydrates”, authored by a research team from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), was published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications and featured in the Editors' Highlights in the Materials Science and Chemistry category—a selection of recently published articles chosen by the editors for their particular interest or significance.

Guided by Prof. C.S. POON, Distinguished Research Professor of CEE, Dr Yong TAO, Research Assistant Professor, and Dr Gen LI, Postdoctoral Fellow, demonstrated exceptional originality and innovation as the corresponding and first author of the paper, respectively. The research employed Grand Canonical Monte Carlo simulations to unravel the optimal CO₂ sequestration conditions, including humidity level and surface hydrophilicity. The findings provide a foundation for developing effective CO₂ mineralisation strategies, enhance the understanding of geochemical carbonation processes, and support the advancement of carbonation technology for large-scale applications.

FCE young scholars awarded NSFC grants

The Faculty has fostered an environment that enables young academics to advance scientific development in both Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland, as evidenced by their success in securing research funding support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). They lead independent projects across diverse topics, such as improving supply chain resilience in modular construction and using AI-driven simulations for optimising composite materials.

In the 2025 exercise, two young academics were each awarded about RMB 500,000 from the General Program, while another 15 projects, accounting for around one-third of the awarded projects at PolyU this year, received RMB 300,000 each from the Young Scientists Fund (Type C).

MTR Research Funding Scheme 2025

Hong Kong’s railway network provides a convenient, fast and efficient mass transit service for the public in this densely populated city. To further enhance the sustainability and connectivity of railways, the MTR Academy established the MTR Research Funding (MRF) Scheme to support high-quality, upstream research that addresses both current challenges and future development needs in transportation. The following two projects, led by FCE scholars, have been supported by the MRF Scheme 2025. By reducing operational carbon footprint and facilitating linkage in the Greater Bay Area, these projects provide critical insights and innovative frameworks essential for transitioning the MTR system into a more intelligent, sustainable, connected and passenger-centric network.

FCE bags multiple PolyU Patents Achievement Award 2024

The Faculty is pleased to share that FCE academics have been recognised for their outstanding individual and collective contributions to innovation and the translation of research findings into real-world solutions.

At the PolyU Patents Achievement Award 2024, announced on 25 September 2025, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) received the Top Patents Filing Award, the Most Active Patents Filing Award, and the Most Active IP Commercialisation Award in the Department category.

The following academics were also honoured in the Inventor category for their continued commitment to transforming intellectual property into societal and commercial value.

These awards affirm the originality of FCE members’ knowledge transfer endeavours, serving as a motivation for the FCE community to shape a future defined by innovation and impact, where their research continues to benefit society and drive progress.

New academic staff

Prof. Xiao LI joined the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI) as an Assistant Professor in late September 2025. He earned his PhD and Master’s degrees from Texas A&M University and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, respectively. Before joining PolyU, Prof. Li served as a Senior Researcher at the Transport Studies Unit (TSU) and a Bryan Warren Junior Research Fellow at Linacre College, University of Oxford. His research interests encompass spatial data science in transport, active transport and micro-mobility, road asset digitalisation and management, and addressing inequality, safety and accessibility for marginalised road users. Prof. Li also holds an appointment as an Honorary Research Associate in the TSU at the University of Oxford.