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| International Symposium on Advances in Steel and Composite Structures 2016 |
| The International Symposium on Advances in Steel and Composite Structures was held on 6 December 2016. Jointly organized by the Hong Kong branch of the Chinese National Engineering Research Centre for Steel Construction (CNERC) and the Hong Kong Constructional Metal Structures Association (HKCMSA), the symposium was attended by about 150 delegates, including engineering scholars, industry practitioners, and government employees. An opening speech was delivered by the guest of honour, Ir C.K. Hon, Permanent Secretary for Development (Works) of the Development Bureau of the Hong Kong government. This was followed by a report on the research and development activities of the CNERC by its Director, Ir Prof. K.F. Chung, and the signing of a collaboration agreement on constructional steel research between CNERC and Chongqing University’s Research Center for Steel Structure Engineering. After a keynote report on the research and prospect of steel tubed concrete structures from Prof. X.H. Zhou, Academician of the China Academy of Engineering and President of Chongqing University, 7 well-received presentations followed, including one on the effective use of high strength structural steel in building construction by Prof. K.F. Chung. Closing remarks were delivered by Dr Tak Ming Chan, Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, who also served as the Master of Ceremony for the symposium.
As a technical platform for leading researchers to share their research findings on advanced construction technology of steel and composite structures, the symposium was a great success. Its emphasis on practical applications was particularly enlightening for local engineers, who often have to work with steel and composite structures in super high-rise buildings, long-span bridges, and other public structures. |
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| Signing a collaboration agreement |
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Research Achievements/ Activities |
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| Research Advances in High Speed Rail Facilitate its Export |
| High speed rail technology is a contemporary focus for land transportation worldwide, bringing enormous conveniences for billions of people. The relatively new Hong Kong branch of the National Rail Transit Electrification and Automation Engineering Technology Research Center (NRTEAET) has been contributing to applications for the mainland’s high speed rail technology. According to its Director, Prof. Yiqing Ni, the advanced technology of Hong Kong complements the abundant resources for high speed rail development in the mainland, facilitating its export to the rest of the world. Not only does this align with the One Belt One Road initiative, it is also good preparation for Hong Kong’s own high speed rail in the future.
The inter-disciplinary rail engineering research team at PolyU has been working closely with the NRTEAET research center at Southwest Jiaotong University (SWJTU) to boost the research output in that field, contributing much to China’s rail industry in terms of innovative technologies and technology transfer. The research results from PolyU have been tested at SWJTU’s spacious laboratory that can model a real-life high speed rail on a scale of 1:1, including simulating its speed at more than 400 km and the vibrations that result when a train is moving at high speed. Prof. Ni pointed out the close ties of SWJTU with the rail industry could facilitate wider recognition for Hong Kong’s high speed rail technology and promote it even further.
New technologies for high speed rail include the installation of fiber optic sensors at various places on the train and along the tracks to monitor the real-time operational condition of trains. Data on uneven surfaces and wheel conditions can be obtained for assessing vibration levels and risks of derailment, thus enhancing the safety and comfort of high speed rail travel. A new monitoring system has also been designed to better understand the mutual effects of different parts of the train on one another. In addition to monitoring the operational condition of the high speed rail, such holistic data can be used to evaluate its design and contribute to its improvement. The research team at PolyU hopes the monitoring system can be expanded to include the control of signals and electricity in the future. Moreover, it is Prof. Ni’s dream to turn China’s high speed rail into a mobile monitoring system for the environment that can collect data related to air conditions and pollution levels as the trains pass through different areas. |
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| China Hi-Tech Fair 2016 |
| A team of researchers from the Department of Building Services Engineering (BSE) has received an Excellent Product Award at the China Hi-Tech Fair 2016 held from 16 to 21 November in Shenzhen. The product was a highly dispersed nanocomposite paste for self-cleaning photovoltaic panels, which was developed by Prof. Hongxing Yang, Dr Lin Lu, and Dr Yuanhao Wang. |
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| The Excellent Product Award |
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| Merit Award for CEE Academic |
In the Building Products and Technologies Category of the Green Building Award 2016, Prof. Chi-Sun Poon, Associate Head (Research Development) of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), received a Merit Award for maximizing the use of waste glass in cement-based construction materials.
Since 2000, Prof. Poon has led a research team to develop methods to recycle construction and demolition waste. Some of the developed techniques have produced eco-blocks and eco-glass cement, which are now commercially available for the construction industry. |
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| Prof. Poon (middle) receiving his award |
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| Education Road Shows in Malaysia |
| From 13 to 17 December 2016, some PolyU representatives visited Malaysia to promote the university on the Further Study Interactive Education Road Shows. One of them was Dr Matthew Pang, Scientific Officer of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI), who participated in exhibitions in Kluang, Malacca, Seremban, and Petaling Jaya to introduce PolyU’s undergraduate programmes, admission requirements, the multicultural campus life and opportunities for scholarships to more than 2,000 high-school students. On exhibit was Virtual PolyU, a research product of LSGI that Malaysian students could use to virtually explore the PolyU campus from more than 2500 km away by putting on a Virtual-Reality (VR) headset. In addition to meeting with prospective students, Dr Pang also met with officials of various universities to discuss possibilities for establishing student exchanges. |
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| New Academic Staff |
| The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) welcomed a new assistant professor in December 2016. Dr You Dong received his Bachelor’s degree in Bridge Engineering from Hunan University in China in 2009 and his PhD in Structural Engineering from Lehigh University in the US. After that, he worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Lehigh. He has published several journal papers, refereed proceedings, and invited keynotes. He has also been a reviewer for some international scientific journals. Dr Dong is a committee member of the ASCE-SEI Technical Council on Life-Cycle Performance, Safety, Reliability and Risk of Structural Systems. His research mainly focuses on the development of the next generation of civil and marine structures, incorporating risk, resilience, and sustainability in a life-cycle context. Specifically, he has formulated possible solutions to make our cities and communities safer, more resilient, and more sustainable. |
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| OSH Best Project Award 2016 |
| On 9 December 2016, a PhD candidate from the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE) was honoured in a prize presentation ceremony at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Organized by the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Council, the annual awards promote the importance of occupational safety and health. Based on the relevance, quality, and originality of his submission, Mr Hafiz Zahoor Ahmad Khan received a cash prize of $3,000 and a shield for his investigation of the relationship between safety climate and safety performance in the construction of multi-storey buildings in Pakistan. He was supervised by Prof. Albert Chan, Head of BRE. |
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| Mr Khan (right) receiving his award |
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| CIOB(HK) Outstanding Student Award for BRE Graduate |
| On 25 November 2016, a recent graduate of the BSc (Hons) programme in Surveying, Miss Hannah Yeung, was honoured with an Outstanding Student Award for her final year dissertation. Organized by the Hong Kong branch of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), the awards promoted excellence in project management in construction. Based on the quality of her work in evaluating the construction time performance of high-rise private commercial building projects in Hong Kong, Miss Yeung won a prize cheque of $1,000 and an award certificate. Her supervisor was Dr Daniel Chan, Associate Head (Teaching and Learning) and Associate Professor of the Department of Building and Real Estate (BRE). |
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| Miss Yeung (middle) receiving her award |
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Programme Admission |
Invitation for Programme Admission 2017/18
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Applications are now invited for the following taught postgraduate programmes.
For details, please visit https://www.polyu.edu.hk/fce/postgrad-scheme/acad.html |
Master of Science (MSc)/Postgraduate Diploma (PgD)
Building Services Engineering 屋宇設備工程學
Civil Engineering 土木工程學
Construction and Real Estate
建築及房地產學
Construction Law and Dispute Resolution 建築法及爭議解決學
Environmental Management and Engineering 環境管理及工程學
Facility Management 設施管理
Fire and Safety Engineering 消防及安全工程學
Geomatics (Geographic Information Systems) 測繪及地理資訊學(地理資訊)
Geomatics (Surveying) 測繪及地理資訊學(測量)
High Performance Buildings 高效能建築
Project Management 項目管理
Sustainable Urban Development 可持續城市發展學
For programme details, please visit https://www.polyu.edu.hk/study
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Faculty Public Lecture |
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The Faculty of Construction and Environment was honoured to have the following speaker giving lecture at FCE: |
Scientia Prof. Deo Prasad AO
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FCE Public Lecture
"Lowering the Carbon Footprint of Cities – a collaborative model for Impact"
Date: 15 December 2016 (Thursday) (Details)
Speaker:
Scientia Prof. Deo Prasad AO
Professor, Faculty of Built Environment, University of New South Wales, Australia
CEO of the Low Carbon Living CRC (Cooperative Research Centres) Australia
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Forthcoming Events |
Information Seminar on Postgraduate Scheme in Construction and Environment
Date: 14 January 2017
Time: 2:30 – 4:00pm
Venue: Y305, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
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International Youth Competition – World Sustainable Built Environment Conference 2017 HK
Date: 5-7 June 2017
Details: http://www.wsbe17hongkong.hk/iyc |
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Copyright © Faculty of Construction and Environment, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. All rights reserved.
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