PolyU ME 85th Anniversary Alumni Homecoming

To celebrate the 85th anniversary of PolyU and ME, to pay tribute to outstanding alumni for their remarkable achievements, and to recognize dedicated alumni mentors for their professional guidance, the Department took great pleasure in hosting an alumni homecoming event on PolyU campus on 12 Nov 2022 (Sat). With the concerted efforts from the Department and the Mechanical and Marine Engineering Alumni Association (MMEAA), the event brought together about 150 guests, including alumni, current and former Heads/colleagues and ME Outstanding Alumni Award recipients as well as dedicated alumni mentors. The event was also the warmest occasion in which our alumni rejoiced and reconnected with their fellow classmates and teachers. The Faculty Dean Prof. HC Man kicked off the ME 85th anniversary event with the latest development of the Faculty of Engineering. Prof. CS Cheung, Vice President of MMEAA, brought back ME historic days and moments since 1937 which recalled very good memories for the audiences. Following that, the Department Head Prof. ZQ Su updated the recent achievements of the Department and it's looking ahead. In recognition of alumni professional/entrepreneurial achievements and significant contributions to the Department, PolyU and the wider community, three distinguished graduates were awarded the “Outstanding Alumni Award of PolyU Department of Mechanical Engineering 2022”. Ir Prof. Yuen Pak Leung Immediate Past President The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers Higher Diploma in Mechanical Engineering, 1979 Outstanding Alumni Award in Professional and Community Service Achievements of PolyU Department of Mechanical Engineering Miss Lui Ka Wing, Winky Electrical and Mechanical Engineer Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, HKSAR Government MSc in Mechanical Engineering, 2019 BEng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering, 2015 Outstanding Young Alumni Award in Community Service Achievement of PolyU Department of Mechanical Engineering Dr Wang Lei, Bruce Founder and CEO EcoFlow Inc. BEng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering, 2010 Outstanding Young Alumni Award in Entrepreneurial Achievement of PolyU Department of Mechanical Engineering On this auspicious occasion, the Department has the honour to have distinguished fellows sharing with us how they battled against adversity and innovated for transformation. Ir Prof. PL Yuen, a veteran hospital engineer and an expert in the specialized hospital ventilation system, showed us his several battles against the pandemics encountered by both SARS and COVID. Dr Bruce Wang, the founder and CEO of EcoFlow Incorporated, talked about his passion for renewable energy technologies and the company’s leading position in the global market. Ir Gilbert Tsang, the Executive Director of Gammon Construction, introduced the cutting-edge transformation in building services systems. ME has a proud history of 85 years with an extensive alumni network covering a wide spectrum of industries. Taking this opportunity, we paid tribute to our dedicated alumni mentors for their relentless support of the PolyU ME Alumni Mentorship programme over the years. Since the kick-off of the programme in 2009, we were so grateful to have numerous seasoned alumni giving unconditional guidance to our “to-be-graduates” year by year. The dedicated mentors receiving the awards of appreciation included: serving for 10 years - Lam Chi Ken, Lee Chun Leung serving for 9 years - Cheung Him Wah Angus, Kwan Kam Tim Timmy, Tong Kwok Kei serving for 8 years - Mou Yun Nin, Poon Chi Kin Lawrence, Wong Kin Ming Mac serving for 3 to 7 years - Au Tak Cheung Daniel, Au Yeung Chi Ting Gigi, Chan Hon Wah Joe, Chan Wai Yuk Bonnie, Chan Ying Ha Harriet, Cheung Nai Chung, Chiu Ka Lok Kevin, Chow Wai Keung, Gan Xin Nie Xinnie, Ho Wai Lun Wilson, Ip Chak Ki Jacky, Lam Hoi Bun Johnson, Lau Hon Kwong Vincent, Lee Yiu Kit Leslie, Leung Han Kwan Andy, Lui Pak Ho Alex, Ma Yat Ping Andy, Ng Chi Fai Coleman, Poon Yat Fai Dicky, Shum Yuet Hung Kane, Szeto Ka Sing Louis, Tse Man Ho Charles, Tsui Hon Kei, Tsui William, Wong Ka Ming Trajan, Wong Kam Ming Bill, Wong Siu Wah Alex, Yeung Yeuk Pong Alex, Yu Ching Man Sandy We were thrilled to have the presence of Mr George Ko, the most senior alumnus who graduated in 1960, being 85 years old same as PolyU and ME, presenting the award of appreciation to the most dedicated alumni mentor. The morning session concluded with heartfelt remarks by Dr Yau Wing Kwong, the President of MMEAA. The 85th celebrating luncheon at the Communal Staff Restaurant was officiated by our honorary guests and ME management. Prof. Jian Lu (former Head 2005-2010) Prof. Li Cheng (former Head 2011-2014, Chair Professor) Prof. SQ Shi ((former Head 2014-2021) Prof. ZQ Su (Head 2021-present) Dr H Tang (Associate Head) Dr HM Yao (Associate Head) Prof. CS Cheung (Vice President of MMEAA) Prof. ZK Wang (Chair Professor) Ir Prof. PL Yuen (representative of outstanding alumni awardees) Dr Tracy Choy (Chairlady of organizing committee) This was a harmonious and joyful lunch gathering. We were getting excited by the table prize and lucky draw - 30 table prizes of fabulous PolyU thermal tumblers sponsored by the MMEAA, 3 lucky draws of ME premium souvenirs plus city’super gift cards donated by the Head and Associate Heads. In the afternoon, alumni and former colleagues were eager to join the campus tour. We took a glance at the latest infrastructure of PolyU, new buildings, refurbished library, the 85th anniversary unveiled iconic main entrance and our ME Thermal Science Lab set up in recent years. PolyU ME’s 85th anniversary celebration was happily concluded with this signature homecoming event. More photos on PHOTO GALLERY

ME Scholars ranked among World’s Top 2% Most-cited Scientists

In the newly released metrics compiled by Stanford University, 21 scholars of PolyU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME) have been ranked among the world’s top 2% most-cited scientists in their main disciplines for career-long citation impact. 12 of them are current ME members. In addition, 3 other current ME academics have also been ranked for single recent year impact *. The scholars were named in the latest release of the Stanford University-led compilation of citation indicators covering over 100,000 top scientists. They were grouped into 22 subject fields and 174 sub-fields using the indicators including information on citations, individual’s scientific research output, co-authorship and a composite indicator for career-long citation impact up to the end of 2021. The latest dataset is based on the 1 Sep 2022 snapshot from Scopus. The recognition reflects the significant influence and research excellence of the Department’s scientists, who are committed to furthering their knowledge for the benefit of the world. Congratulations to the following ME scholars who have been ranked among the top 2% of scientists in the world in their respective fields: Dr An Liang Prof. Chan Tat Leung Prof. Christopher Chao Yu Hang Prof. Chen Guohua Prof. Cheng Li Prof. Cheung Chun Shun Prof. Fu Mingwang Prof. Wallace Leung Woon Fong Dr Liu Yang Prof. Su Zhongqing Dr Yao Haimin Dr Zheng Guangping Dr Jiao Zengbao * Dr Sun Yuxiang * Dr Wu Maochun * Prof. Ronald So Ming Cho (Emeritus Professor) Prof. Woo Chung Ho (Emeritus Professor) Prof. Jing Xingjian (former staff) Prof. Alan Lau Kin Tak (former staff) Prof. Leung Chun Wah (former staff) Prof. Shi Sanqiang (former staff) Prof. Wen Chih-Yung (former staff) Prof. Zhou Limin (former staff) Prof. Zhou Yu (former staff) Data available at Elsevier Published: 3 November 2022 | Version 5 | DOI:10.17632/btchxktzyw.5

Professor Wallace Leung Chaired 13th World Filtration Congress in USA

The 13th World Filtration Congress (WFC13) was held at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, CA, USA, October 5 to 9, 2022. The world congress was held typically every four years rotating among member countries that belong to the International Delegation on Filtration (INDEFI). Currently, there are 9 member countries in the INDEFI membership with activities in filtration and separations. The American Filtration and Separations Society (AFS), which represents USA, has secured the right in 2016 to host the WFC13, which was originally scheduled to be held April 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, WFC13 was postponed twice until October 5 to 9, 2022. WFC has 48 years of history with the first congress, WFC1, held in Paris in 1974. AFS has hosted WFC3 (1982) in Downingtown, PA, USA, chaired by the AFS founder, the late Mr. Wells Shoemaker, and WFC9 (2004) in New Orleans, LA, USA, chaired by Prof. Wallace Leung, who also chaired this present WFC, WFC13 (2022). There were three key activities in WFC13 - technical program, exposition, and short courses. On Day 1 (October 5, 2022), there were 12 short courses, each offered for four hours covering general topics on filtration and separation, such as solid-gas filtration, solid-liquid separation, membrane separation, to specific topics, such as nanofiber filter technologies for removal of submicron and nanoaerosols and centrifugal separation for biopharmaceutical applications. Day 2 (October 6, 2022) was the first day of the technical program presentations with four traditional tracks of solid-gas filtration, solid-liquid separation, membrane separation, and filter media, respectively. In addition, three symposia each with two-day duration were kicked off concurrently with the four traditional tracks. Unlike the traditional four tracks focusing on specific filtration/separation technologies, the three symposia were thematic, focusing on environmental, energy, and health, respectively. The environmental symposium covered Days 2 and 3, the energy symposium covered Days 3 and 4, while the health symposium covered Days 4 and 5. Each symposium has two plenary speakers, with exception of the health symposium which has three plenary speakers. The plenary speaker for environmental symposium (liquid), Prof. Eric Hoek, covered in his lecture various innovative approaches of developing novel membrane with superior filtration characteristics for water purification. The second plenary speaker for environmental symposium (air), Prof. David Pui, covered in his lecture various innovative technologies on air filtration. The plenary speaker for energy symposium, Mr. Val Hollingsworth, gave a talk on public awareness of the energy benefits of filtration, while the other plenary speaker, Dr. Martin Lehmann, delivered a presentation on filtration for mobility applications. The plenary speaker for health symposium, Mr. Geoff Crosby, gave a general talk relating health and filtration. The second plenary speaker of the health symposium, Prof. Andrew Zydney, presented membrane technology for the production of biopharmaceuticals. The third plenary speaker, Prof. Wallace Leung, delivered a presentation on nanofiber technologies for combating airborne SARS-CoV-2 virus. In addition to the seven plenary talks, there were 28 keynote speeches presented for all four tracks and three symposia by experts in the field. These keynotes were interweaved in the technical program and all these seven concurrent events were color-coded for ease of reference for the audience. Of worthy to note is that there were two keynotes in the health symposium delivered respectively by a medical doctor from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and a professor from University of California San Francisco (UCSF) on the artificial kidney project. These two interesting keynote presentations further highlighted the importance of filtration and separation in non-traditional filtration applications. There were 56 technical breakout sessions presented by 240 speakers who came from 24 countries around the globe highlighting the congress truly international. At any given time, there were as many as seven concurrent sessions. Again, all four tracks and three symposia spanned for the entire period of the congress, from Day 2 to Day 5. In addition, there were 30 student posters presented on Day 2 (16 posters) and Day 3 (14 posters), respectively. Concurrently, there was also an Industry Poster with 14 posters presented on these two days. There was a competition among all the students presenting at the student posters. Independently, poster awards were given to the industry presenters at the industry poster sessions. Awards were presented to the winners of the student poster and industry poster at the gala dinner, which was held in the evening of Day 4. The gala dinner and the reception held earlier on Day 2 evening provided great opportunity to make new friends and networking. In addition to the technical program, the exposition starting Day 2 and ending Day 4 was extremely well arranged with 100 companies exhibiting their latest technologies and solutions for filtration and separations. There were plenty of time where congress delegates not only attended the technical sessions but have ample time to walk through the exposition and discuss with the exhibitors. WFC13 came to an end on Day 5 with an announcement of the next WFC14 which will be held in Bordeaux, France, June 30 to July 4, 2025. On behalf of the organizer, AFS, Wallace Leung thanked all the attendees, including exhibitors, speakers, moderators, track chairs, short course lecturers and participants. Following the tradition, the immediate past WFC13 Chair, Wallace Leung, passed the “WFC Book” recording all past 13 world filtration congresses since 1974 to the new Chair of the INDEFI and WFC14, Dr. PY Pontalier. There was a total of 910 participants in the five-day WFC13, approximately split between the technical program and the exposition. The total number also includes over 60 participants taking the short courses. The WFC13, which was the largest filtration event in the world with 320 presentations, 100 companies exhibiting, and 12 short courses, was held successfully despite the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and two-year delay; much gratitude goes to all the people around the world who were involved. Special thanks also go to the WFC13 Secretariat, Ms. Lyn Sholl.

Professor FU Mingwang awarded Royal Society Wolfson Visiting Fellowship

Prof. FU Mingwang, Chair Professor of Advanced Manufacturing, Associate Director of Research Institute for Advanced Manufacturing, was recently awarded the Royal Society Wolfson Visiting Fellowship with a grant of £125,000.00 to support this fellowship. The Visiting Fellowship belongs to the Royal Society Wolfson Fellowship/Visiting Fellowship Scheme, which awards less than 10 people each year with this prestigious fellowship title and funding support for both fellowship and visiting fellowship. For the Visiting Fellowship, based on the Royal Society, it provides an opportunity for outstanding international research leaders to foster international collaborative links and enrich scientific research in the host organization as well as the wider UK science base. For the Royal Society, it is the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences founded in 1660 for “promoting science and its benefits, recognizing excellence in science, supporting outstanding science, providing scientific advice for policy, education and public engagement and fostering international and global co-operation”.

Dr Jiao Zengbao clinched Scientist Award and Fellow of IAAM

Dr Jiao Zengbao, Associate Professor of PolyU Department of Mechanical Engineering, received the IAAM Scientist Award from the International Association of Advanced Materials (IAAM) in recognition for his contribution to advanced structural materials. IAAM Scientist Award is an illustrious honour that the IAAM presents to distinguished researchers and scientists to recognize their distinct contributions to the sphere of Materials Science, Engineering and Technology. Dr Jiao has also been elected as a Fellow of IAAM, which is a notable distinction that the IAAM confers upon researchers and scientists to recognize their important contribution and efforts for the advancement of materials. IAAM is a renowned non-profit international scientific research organization active in the world of advanced materials. The organization works to facilitate a highly interactive community of advanced materials researchers and to stimulate partnerships, collaborations, and joint ventures that can translate into the rapid development of the scientific world. With the motto of "Advancement of materials to global excellence", IAAM strives to utilize the sector of advanced materials to find solutions to the pressing issues of the world.

ME Scholar and Outstanding Entrepreneur Alumnus named Young Technological Pioneers

To spur the passion and the creativity of young scientists and technological entrepreneurs, the Hong Kong Young Scientists Association (香港青年科學家協會) has initiated the Selection of Young Science and Technology Pioneers so as to assure their contribution to the vibe of the science development of Hong Kong. The “Selection of Young Technological Pioneers cum Scientific Creativity Forum (青年科創先鋒人物評選暨科創論壇)” was held on 30 Aug 2022 and announced 25 awardees. At the event, some awardees together with the leading heads of the field gave a thematic speech and had an exchange on the prospect of the scientific development of society. The selected pioneers include Unicorn entrepreneurs, young professors, and innovators whether growing up locally, studying in Hong Kong or overseas investors with projects in Hong Kong. Their business covers various fields like robots, artificial intelligence, cyber network, biological medication, and fintech. We are thrilled that our Associate Professor Dr An Liang (安亮博士) and young graduate Dr Wang Lei (王雷博士) were elected among the 25 young science and technology pioneers in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the innovation and technology ecosystem in Hong Kong. During the forum, Dr An Liang as an expert in energy conversion and storage technologies expected the Government to enhance its support to scientific researchers and encouraged enterprises to establish joint laboratories with universities so as to nurture more research talents for the whole society. Dr An has systematically studied the characteristics of flow and mass transport in a complex microporous structure in which electrochemical reactions occur, and achieved a number of innovative results. He was also awarded funding from China’s Excellent Young Scientists Fund 2020. Dr Wang Lei started his undergraduate study in Mechanical Engineering with full scholarship in 2006 and obtained his BEng with First Class Honours in 2010 from PolyU. Dr Wang has always been interested in renewable energy technologies. His interest and passion were strongly cultivated in the dynamic study environment at PolyU and drove him to continue his further study. He then completed his PhD research in new energy storage technologies in 2014 at the University of Hong Kong. Dr Wang founded EcoFlow in 2017 and has been serving as the company’s CEO. Under his leadership, EcoFlow has developed into a national high-tech enterprise and is recognized as a unicorn company backed up by Sequoia and Hong Kong Foundation X with a valuation of over one billion USD in 2021. It is very encouraging to see that the young scientist and entrepreneur alumnus from the Department were acclaimed by the Nation to further develop scientific research in cutting-edge technologies and made remarkable contributions to the community. Online coverage: Wen Wei Po - https://polyu.me/3CJxblB

Warmest welcome to our Fresh Research Students!

In the new academic semester, we are delighted to welcome 37 newly admitted research students to the PolyU Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME). Led by the Department Head Prof. SU Zhongqing, fresh research students attended an online orientation in the afternoon on 29 Aug 2022. Research study at ME aims for training our students not just professionals of its field but also opening their minds to discover new knowledge that benefits society. Dr Tang Hui, Associate Head (Research) and Chairman of Departmental Research Committee (DRC), introduced the department’s 6 research areas – Advanced Materials and Processing, Aerospace Engineering, Clean Energy and Energy Storage, Robotics and Control, Sound and Vibration, Thermofluids and Combustion. They all focus on challenges faced by our society and globe in the decades to come. Dr David Navarro-Alarcon, Research Student Liaison Officer, is taking care of coordination among all research students in the department. Dr Ma Yuan and Dr Wu Maochun, Seminar Coordinators, are inviting guest speakers to broaden students’ exposure to the latest research and technologies. Students were thrilled to learn about the dynamic learning activities – ME Webinar Series, Research Sharing Talks, ME Research Presentation Competition. Finally, Ms Lily Tam, DRC Secretary and Administrative Support Group Leader, delivered a comprehensive introduction of the study programme and pattern, examination and grading, studentships and fellowships, funding and support, etc. The students’ responses were enthusiastic. They are eager to meet the professors and supervisors. We can assure them they will have a supportive, knowledge-oriented, interactive approach experience in their studies.

Professor Cheng Li elected President-elect of the International Institute of Noise Control Engineering

In the 51st International Congress on Noise Control Engineering (INTER-NOISE 2022) held on 21-24 August 2022 in Glasgow, Prof. Cheng Li, Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering, was elected President-elect of the I-INCE (International Institute of Noise Control Engineering). Founded in 1974, I-INCE is a worldwide consortium of organizations concerned with noise control, acoustics and vibration, with over fifty member societies representing over forty countries. As the President-elect (2023-2025), Prof. Cheng will take over the Presidency of the I-INCE in 2026 for a three-year term. He will then be the 9th President of this prestigious organization in his 48 years of history. Prior to this new position, he also served I-INCE in different capacities including the Vice President for Asia Pacific and a board Director. Among other activities, I-INCE is the sponsor of the INTER-NOISE Series of International Congresses on Noise Control Engineering, which is the largest international gathering of experts in noise control engineering held each year since 1972. The 47th edition of the INTER-NOISE was held in Hong Kong, co-organized by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the Hong Kong Institute of Acoustics. Learn more about The International Institute of Noise Control Engineering (I-INCE)

ME Retreat in Aug 2022

The staff retreat of the Department took place on 15 Aug 2022 at Hotel ICON. The retreat kicked off with the Head Prof. Su Zhongqing’s welcoming remarks to the newly joined colleagues. We were thrilled to have the young and promising talents on board. They are Dr Cheng Song, Dr Ma Yuen, Dr Wu Maochun and Dr Zhang Xiao.   The agenda of the ME retreat included an overall review of the Department’s performances, strategies and challenges. Prof. Su started with the introduction of departmental KPI performance, budget and funding issues, review on staff appraisal criteria.  Following that, the Associate Head (Research) Dr Tang led a discussion of the new research postgraduate allocation mechanism and formulated a plan for the next Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) in 2026. Taking the opportunity, the Department paid tribute to Chair Prof. Chen Guohua and Prof. Zhou Limin and Dr Zhang Peng.  Prof. Su expressed the greatest gratitude for their dedication and contribution to the department. The morning session concluded with the heartfelt valedictory speech by Prof. Chen, Prof. Zhou and Dr Zhang. In the afternoon, Prof. Cheng Li, Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering, shared his seasoned experience in preparing General Research Fund (GRF) proposals. Admission status updates and future plans were reported by programme leaders, namely Dr An Liang and Dr Ruan Haihui (BEng in Mechanical Engineering), Dr Randolph Leung and Dr Eunice Tam (BEng in Product Analysis and Engineering Design), Dr Jiao Zengbao and Dr Zhang Xiao (MSc in Mechanical Engineering). After that, the Associate Head (Teaching & Learning) Dr Yao Haimin led a discussion about teaching and learning, quality assurance, accreditation, scholarship and new scheme update. Besides, Dr Curtis Ng (Space Allocation Committee Secretary) bought up the space issue. Dr Tracy Choy (Publicity Committee Chairman) reported the local and non-local student recruitment publicity as well as the ME 85th Anniversary Alumni Homecoming Day and celebration activities. Dr Eunice Tam (International Exchange Officer) updated the current outbound and inbound student exchange participation, and elaborated the challenges in expanding global learning experiences. At the end of the retreat, Prof. ZQ Su led an open forum. Over 30 staff members joined the retreat and found it being insightful and constructive for the year to come. More photos on PHOTO GALLERY

ME research reported in Nature Material and National Science Review

The research group, led by Chair Prof. L. Cheng in ME, has made good progress in the development of acoustic/elastic/mechanical metamaterials. Recent research results are published in prestigious journals like Nature Materials, National Science Review, Journal of Mechanics of physics and Solids, Acta Materialia and Physics Review applied etc. Their latest work on programmable gear-based mechanical metamaterials was published in the latest issue of Nature Materials (21, 869-876, 2022, IF 47.656) as cover story. The new design leads to unprecedented tunability and programmability based on gear clusters embracing traditional Chinese Taiji pattern. The work was also reported by Nature (606, 2022) as research highlight, which states “Sheets of connected gears made from various materials can morph from soft and deformable to extremely stiff, all while bearing heavy loads … Such clusters of gears could be a way to make machine parts that have controllable elasticity but are still strong. For example, robots with appendages that soften and stiffen on demand would be able to jump and grab objects easily”. The paper was the fruit of the research work of Dr Fang Xin, Hong Kong scholar in ME under the supervision of Prof. Cheng, in collaboration with National University of Defense Technology and Fraunhofer for Mechanics of Materials, Germany. Meanwhile, significant progress has been made on the topological design of metasurface for acoustic and elastic wave manipulation. In particular, the group proposed a systematic inverse design paradigm, which leads to a new class of metasurfaces allowing for various exotic wave functionalities (steering, focusing, levitation). They reported the combined effects of topology-specific internal resonances, bi-anisotropic and multiple scattering, which lead to record-breaking broadband and achromatic material properties. The work was online published in National Science Review (IF 23.178) with Dr. Dong Haowen as the leading author, who is another Hong Kong scholar working with Prof. Cheng (2019-2020). Other related works on broadband pentamode metamaterials and elastic waves have also been published in prestigious journals like Journal of Mechanics of physics and Solids 2020, 2021), Acta Materialia (2019) and Physical Review Applied (2022).