Donor
Mr Yau Kwok-fai
A graduate with a Higher Diploma and a First Class Honours degree in Civil Engineering from Hong Kong Polytechnic, Mr Yau Kwok-fai obtained a Diploma and a Master of Science degree in Structural Steel Design by Imperial College London and the University of London respectively in 1991. A civil and structural engineer by profession, he is currently an Executive Director of Able Engineering Holdings Limited.
Holding fast to his belief in the necessity of "giving back to one's alma mater, honouring one's teachers, supporting teaching and research, and leading by example", Mr Yau has remained ever responsive to the development needs of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). In 2015, he facilitated the establishment of the Endowed Professorship in Sustainable Structures and Materials with a generous donation from Vantage Charity Foundation. The Endowed Professorship is named after lr Professor Ko Jan-ming, former Vice President and Chair Professor of Structural Engineering of the University, as Mr Yau's tribute to Professor Ko for his guidance.
In 2017, Mr Yau set up on his own behalf another Endowed Professorship in support of PolyU's research in Structural Engineering. To pay homage to the guidance of his teachers from Kwun Tong Government Secondary Technical School, currently known as Kwun Tong Kung Lok Government Secondary School, this Endowed Professorship is named after the following four teachers: Mr Yim Kwong-yung, Ms Mak Suk-hing, Mr Kwok Hei-leung and Ms Chung Wai-fan.
With these Endowed Professorships, Mr Yau wishes to honour such model teachers' selfless dedication to their students and their great contributions to society.
Appointee
Ir Professor You-lin Xu
Ir Professor You-lin Xu is currently Dean of the Faculty of Construction and Environment, and Chair Professor of Structural Engineering. From 2007 to 2013, he was Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Professor Xu has been a veteran researcher and consultant in structural engineering for over three decades, with special interests in wind effects on long-span bridges and tall buildings, structural health monitoring of mega infrastructure, structural vibration control and smart structures. He has published over 240 Science Citation Index (SCI) journal papers and has delivered over 90 keynote speeches or invited lectures at academic conferences around the world. Professor Xu has also held leading roles at relevant international associations and journals. He is on the Civil Engineering list of the Most Cited Researchers developed for ShanghaiRanking's Global Ranking of Academic Subjects 2016 by Elsevier. In recognition of his research accomplishments, he has reaped such prestigious awards as American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Robert H. Scanlan Medal in 2012, Qian Ling Xi Computational Mechanics Award in 2010 and Croucher Award in 2006.
Professor Xu has written the following three books: Structural Health Monitoring of Long-Span Suspension Bridges, Wind Effects on CableSupported Bridges and Smart Civil Structures published by Spon Press (Taylor & Francis), John Wiley & Sons, and CRC Press (Taylor & Francis) respectively. He has been engaged in many high-impact knowledge-transfer mega projects, including structural health monitoring of the Tsing Ma Bridge and the Stonecutters Bridge in Hong Kong, the China Central Television (CCTV) Tower in Beijing, and the Shanghai Tower in Shanghai. He is a Fellow of The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Engineering Mechanics Institute of the United States, and the Institution of Structural Engineers of the United Kingdom.
The Endowed Professorship will not only enable Professor Xu to push the envelope and take his research in smart structures with applications in wind turbines, tall buildings and long-span bridges to new heights, but will also be conducive to further advances in Hong Kong-branded technologies.
