Deepest condolences to our Centenarian Alumnus Mr Cheung Tsang-wai

The Department is sadly to learn that Mr Cheung Tsang-wai (張增衛校友), the oldest alumnus of PolyU, passed away on 12 May 2021 at the age of 100.  We extend our deepest sympathy and condolences on the loss of Mr Cheung. When the University’s predecessor Government Trade School (the School) was founded in 1937, Mr Cheung was among the first cohort of students who enrolled to study mechanical engineering. Eighty years after his graduation, Mr Cheung is still very supportive of his alma mater and loves to participate in events organized by PolyU. Born in 1921, the centenarian, who graduated in December 1940 with a Diploma in Automobile Engineering, still has vivid memories of his student life. “The School was a red-brick three-storey building on Wood Road, Wanchai. Classes for mechanical engineering were held on the ground floor,” he said. Having Mr Cheung among our alumni is a blessing for the Department. He reflects the long history of ME which dates back to the Government Trade School (1937-1947) to provide technical education to youngsters, the Department has gone through different stages of transformation. May his soul rest in peace. We will always remember this wonderful man in our thoughts.  

PolyU ME Research Outputs 90% rated as World Leading & Internationally Excellent in Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2020

The University Grants Committee (UGC) announced the results of Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2020 on 24 May 2021, which cover the research performance of 8 UGC-funded universities from 1 Oct 2013 to 30 Sept 2019. The research performance of the Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has been assessed using international benchmarks based on the research output (70%), impact (15%) and environment (15%). The Unit of Assessment (UoA) consisting of PolyU ME, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, and Institute of Textiles and Clothing has achieved overall 41% in world leading standard (4*), the 3rd among all universities in the same UoA. More specifically, the research outputs by 26 staff members in PolyU ME have been rated 43% as world leading (4*) and 47% as internationally excellent (3*) in terms of originality, significance and rigour, more than doubled in the 4*+3* rating from RAE 2014 results. We are very pleased with this year’s RAE results that PolyU ME research outputs achieved 90% in the top-notch ratings of 4* and 3*.  In particular, the sector average of the world leading standard (4*) among UoA 14 research outputs is 29% while ME achieved 43%. These results highlight the excellence and continuous improvement of our world leading research. PolyU ME will continue to conduct research that leads to original, significant and rigorous research outputs, as well as far-reaching and significant impact to the society. Details of the RAE 2020 results can be found here

ME researcher received the Acta Materialia & Scripta Materialia Outstanding Reviewer Award 2020

Dr Zengbao Jiao, Assistant Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been named a recipient of the Outstanding Reviewer Award 2020 by the journals of Acta Materialia and Scripta Materialia. This award recognizes the excellence of his contributions as a reviewer for the two journals. The Acta Journals annually choose a list of reviewers who have contributed the most significant reviews. Dr Jiao was one of the three recipients in Hong Kong of the 2021 Outstanding Reviewer awards for excellence in reviewing in 2020. Acta Materialia is one of the premier journals in materials science with an impact factor of 7.656 and a ranking of 1/79 in the field “metallurgy and metallurgical engineering” in 2019 JCR Science Edition. This journal was established in 1953 as Acta Metallurgica and renamed to Acta Metallurgica et Materialia in 1990, before obtaining its current name in 1996. It provides a forum for publishing papers and overviews that advance the in-depth understanding of the relationship between the processing, the structure and the properties of inorganic materials. Scripta Materialia is a LETTERS journal of Acta Materialia, providing a forum for the rapid publication of short communications on the relationship between the structure and the properties of inorganic materials. Elsevier: Learn more Materialstoday: Learn more

ME researchers demonstrated non-Hermiticity induced acoustic higher-order topology in Nature Communications

Mechanical behaviors are traditionally investigated with closed Hermitian systems. However, the Non-Hermiticity, such as the energy loss or gain, is everywhere when we study an open system that has energy exchange with the environment. In acoustic systems, the loss of sound energy to other types is generally treated as write-off. But if such loss or gain components can be intentionally designed and arranged, we may be able to turn waste into treasure, and realize non-conventional sound modulation such as topological sound energy and information guiding or localization. Recently, research team led by Dr Jie ZHU, Associate Professor of the PolyU Department of Mechanical Engineering, collaborate with Dr Baile ZHANG’s team from Nanyang Technological University, to bring non-Hermiticity design together with topological insulator in acoustic system. They present the first experimental demonstration of a non-Hermitian route to higher-order topology in an acoustic crystal. Specifically, a two-dimensional acoustic coupled resonator lattice that is incorporated with deliberately introduced losses has been designed and constructed. Through direct acoustic measurements, the sound energy is highly localized in the corners and edges of the topological insulator structure at specific frequencies, which are hallmark features of the higher-order topology. This finding points to a fundamentally new direction beyond the framework of conventional topological physics and offers the possibilities for actively steerable topological wave manipulations. It may help the development of new acoustic sensor, detecting network and system. This work has been recently published in Nature Communications [“Non-Hermitian route to higher-order topology in an acoustic crystal”, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-22223-y]. Dr He GAO, current PolyU ME Research Associate, also a PolyU ME PhD graduate, is the first author.

Prof SU Zhongqing clinches Ministry of Education Higher Education Award

We are proud to announce that Prof. SU Zhongqing, along with his Postdoctoral Research Fellow Dr XU Wei and his research collaborator Prof. CAO Maosen at Hohai University, received the Natural Science Award (2nd class) in the Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Awards (Science and Technology) 2020 from the Ministry of Education. Dr XU Wei was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow under the support of the Hong Kong Scholars Scheme from 2018-2020. This award was conferred to the team to honour the team’s cutting-edge research on “Laser Dynamic Perception-driven Diagnosis of Structural Damage” (基於激光動力感知的結構損傷診斷理論與方法)”. The research team focused on innovation in theories and algorithm development for structural damage diagnosis using laser scanning. Advanced laser scanning technology was established to precisely measure full-field waves and vibration of structures. Novel algorithms were developed to characterize features from laser-scanned waves and vibration for structural damage diagnosis. Outperforming conventional theories, the innovative algorithms have endowed conventional laser scanning with the capability of delivering quantitative evaluation of structural damage at an early stage. The Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Awards (Science and Technology) set up by the Ministry of Education are presented to individuals and units of higher education institutions for their outstanding contributions in the areas of scientific discovery, technological invention, promotion of scientific and technological advancement, and the implementation of patented technologies.

ME Staff Honoured for 2020 Long Service Award

Colleagues of the PolyU Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME) have always been devoting themselves to the development of ME. This year, the Department Head, on behalf of the University, paid tribute to long-serving staff members for their loyal and committed service over the years. Congratulations to the awardees and heartfelt thanks for their years of dedication and devotion which have marked the achievements of the Department. Long Service Award 2020 Award Recipients   Length of Service 　Name   　Post Title 30 years 　Dr W.O. Wong 　黃偉安 　Associate Professor 30 years 　Ms Irene Ngai 　魏愛玲 　Clerical Officer II 25 years 　Mr Raymond Chan 　陳孝曾 　Scientific Officer II 20 years 　Prof. Li Cheng 　成利 　Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering 20 years 　Ms Merlin Wong 　王倩卿 　Clerical Officer II 15 years 　Prof. Wallace Leung 　梁煥方 　Distinguished Research Professor

ME wins Gold Award at 2021 Inventions Geneva Evaluation Days

Ir Dr Curtis NG (Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University) collaborated with Ir William AU (General Legislation Division of Electrical and Mechanical Services Engineering, HKSAR Government) (EMSD), Avaron Technologies Limited and Anlev Elex Elevator Limited to develop a smart mechanism of “Artificial Intelligent Nylon Optical Fibre Sensing Escalator Combs”.  The project achieved an outstanding result at the 2021 Inventions Geneva Evaluation Days, winning a Gold Medal.  By making use of 3D scanning and printing technology, a conventional escalator metal comb has been transformed into an A.I. monitor using optical fiber sensing and artificial intelligence cloud analysis technology. This real-time detection technology via mobile applications has greatly reduced the occurrence of escalator accidents. Safe and reliable escalators are essential to maintain efficient accessibility and functional vertical transportation in Hong Kong.  Escalators offer tremendous convenience to our society. Breakdowns in escalator operation induce unexpected delays in daily activities and user discomfort.  Therefore, ensuing escalator safe operation is of premier concern.  According to the statistics of escalator incidents, apart from passenger behaviour, the major factor in most of the cases is the intrusion of small foreign objects such as screws and coins into gaps between combs and step treads, causing collision damages and injuries.  The objective of this project is to reduce unnecessary escalator incidents and passenger injuries. The project started with re-engineering the escalator comb design by 3D scanning technology, then the simulation and adoption of new nylon material by multi-jet fusion (MJF) 3D printing technology to enhance its mechanical properties, especially for its ductility and resilience.  The feature of the warning message “Mind the Steps” has been printed on the comb surface to attract public safety awareness.  In a pilot test, the excellent resilience nylon combs successfully bounced all 8 screws from the escalator step to the platform.  In the test, the intrusion of screws did not cause any failure of the nylon combs. To summarize, the main advantages of the re-engineered 3D printed nylon combs are: less possibility of intrusion or trapping of foreign objects due to redesign for minimizing comb clearance; lower risk of high-energy fracture and ejecting of broken metallic pieces because of the use of ductile and compliant MJF 3D-printed nylon; and additional freedom (with almost negligible cost) to have tailor-made features (e.g., reduced clearance, different colors, the addition of alert message) due to the MJF 3D printing technology. The recognition ME achieved is not only a testament to the Department’s research excellence, but also demonstrates the strength of ME in transforming research breakthroughs into real-world solutions.

Dr Yao Haimin receives Materials Genome Engineering Outstanding Reviewer Award 2020

Dr Yao Haimin, Associate Professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been named the recipient of the Outstanding Reviewer Award 2020 for Materials Genome Engineering by the Universal Wiser Publisher. The Materials Genome Engineering (MGE)  Outstanding Reviewer recognition is given annually to commend the top reviewers for their outstanding reviewing work over the past year. The award recognizes individuals who have provided exemplary efforts to assess the validity, quality and originality of manuscripts published by MGE. Outstanding Reviewers are those who provide excellent, prompt and productive feedback to authors for further improvement. Outstanding Reviewers are also those who frequently review for the journal, and who provide the Editors with constructive advice about the submissions they review. Recipients of the MGE Outstanding Reviewer Award are recognized by the Editorial Office of Universal Wiser Publisher, Outstanding Reviewer Certificates are granted in recognition of their invaluable contribution to the progress of science. Learn more … https://ojs.wiserpub.com/index.php/MGE/announcement/view/100 https://ojs.wiserpub.com/index.php/MGE/

ME Student and Graduate Teams scored Champions at Hong Kong Techathon 2021

Mechanical Engineering (ME) undergraduates and research postgraduates together with students/graduates from other department or university have formed 2 teams to join a start-up competition, the Hong Kong Techathon 2021. There were 4 divisions at the competition, and ME won in 2 divisions. Team ‘ing” with graduates from PolyU ME (Mohammad Shehzaad, Rudra Someshwar) and School of Design, and HKU with the topic of “Feelit” won the Overall Champion and Champion (Health and Social Impact). Team “FJ005” with PhD and MSc students from PolyU ME (Wen Weisong, Ng Hoi Fung) and graduates from Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering with the topic of “Indoor visual positioning system for IoT applications” won the Champion (Smart City). Hong Kong Techathon is a competition for programmers, engineers, designers, marketers, and entrepreneurs to present their business solution ideas and prototypes. Competitors of over a hundred groups from different universities pitched for seed fund and incubation support. This year, the Division has provided one-week online workshops and programmes (2-9 January 2021) guiding participants to brainstorm new business solutions and presenting their ideas to renowned academic and industrial panelists.

ME researchers’ innovative micro-manufacturing as the cover feature on the top journal IJMTM

Prof. Mingwang Fu’s recent paper, co-authored with Chair Prof. Sanqiang Shi and postdoctoral researcher Dr XF Tang as the first author, was featured as the cover of the International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture (IJMTM) for three issues from January to March of 2021. IJMTM is the top one journal in manufacturing with the impact factor of 8.019. The paper entitled “interactive effect of grain size and crystal structure on deformation behavior in progressive micro-scaled deformation of metallic materials” was published in IJMTM in January 2020 and reported the findings of the interactive effect of grain and geometry sizes and crystal structure on the process behavior, performance and the quality and properties of the parts made by the unique deformation-based micro-manufacturing process. It also summarizes the development of an innovative process and the scientific understanding and insight into the nature of the effects of microstructure and geometrical sizes and the crystal structure of materials to provide a basis for process innovation and process and quality optimization. This research is a hot topic in micro-manufacturing as it involves multi-disciplines covering micro-mechanics, materials and manufacturing sciences. The journal of IJMTM selects four best papers from all the papers published in the journal each year to be featured as the cover of the journal and each cover is used for three months. The paper to be featured by the journal comes from the NSFC key project with the funding of RMB 3 million of which Prof Mingwang Fu is the principal investigator of the project. Nowadays, micro-manufacturing has become an important manufacturing process for making micro-scaled parts and structures to meet the huge demands from different industrial clusters due to the upward trend of product miniaturization. Micro-forming is one of the micro-manufacturing processes to be widely used in industries for its high productivity, low cost and good properties of the fabricated parts and structures. However, there are many unfathomable and bottlenecked issues from different aspects including innovative process development, process parameter optimization, product quality assurance and properties tailoring. On the other hand, it is very difficult, if not fully impossible, to leverage the data, information and knowledge developed in the traditional macro-scaled manufacturing to micro/nano-manufacturing since they are not fully valid in the downscaled domains. Successfully addressing these issues needs to have an in-depth understanding and scientific insight into the physical essence and nature of the process. The paper published in IJMTM aims at addressing these issues and providing a basis for large-scale application of the process. Read more at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmachtools.2019.103473. XF Tang, SQ Shi, MW Fu, Interactive effect of grain size and crystal structure on deformation behavior in progressive micro-scaled deformation of metallic materials, International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 148 (2020) 103473.