11th East Asia Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Workshop Concludes Successfully in Japan

The 11th East Asia Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Workshop (EAMAE-2025) was successfully held from November 4 to 6, 2025, at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan. This annual workshop, now in its eleventh year, is primarily organized by four leading universities in the East Asia region: Hokkaido University, Korea University, National Cheng Kung University, and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. The series provides a vital platform for academics and research students from these institutions to exchange ideas, share research findings, and discuss experiences in the broad field of mechanical and aerospace engineering. EAMAE-2025 attracted approximately 110 participants, who delivered 96 oral presentations across three parallel sessions. Distinguished professors from each of the four partner universities were invited to deliver keynote lectures. The event also facilitated productive discussions among the participating departments on enhancing and continuing student exchange programmes. These elements collectively solidified EAMAE-2025 as a significant and successful instalment in the workshop's history. The workshop was further enriched by a series of carefully organized social activities that showcased unique Japanese culture. These included a Japanese-style banquet dinner and an excursion to the Otaru City Center and the Aoyama Old Villa, allowing participants to mingle and enjoy themselves in a more informal setting. A delegation from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, led by Prof. SU Zhongqing, Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Chair Professor of Intelligent Structures and Systems, attended the event. He was accompanied by nine academic staff and 30 research students, all of whom were deeply committed to the preparation and success of the workshop. The dedication and hard work of this team were instrumental in making EAMAE-2025 another resounding success. The next workshop in the EAMAE series will be hosted by the Department of Mechanical Engineering at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2026.    

ME PhD Team Wins First Prize at the 5th Zero Carbon Future Innovation Competition

A postgraduate team from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University has won the First Prize at the 5th Zero Carbon Future Innovation Competition, held during the 2025 Annual Academic Conference of the Chinese Society of Engineering Thermophysics in Beijing. The team consists of Miss Bai Yuran, Mr Long Xin, Mr Fu Enkang, and Mr Gong Xusong, under the supervision of Prof. AN Liang and Miss Huo Xiaoyu. They were recognized for their project titled “Development and Demonstration of a Vanadium Redox Flow Battery Based Solar Energy Storage System.” In response to the global push for low carbon energy transition and climate change, the project aims to develop an energy storage system that integrates a 10 kW/40 kWh flow battery stack with a 10-kW solar photovoltaic system. The system enables efficient renewable energy conversion, storage, and utilization, providing a reliable and clean power supply for public facilities. This demonstration platform showcases the full cycle of renewable energy from generation to utilization while offering technical support for smart energy management and carbon neutrality goals. The Zero Carbon Future Innovation Competition serves as a premier platform for students to showcase creativity, share research insights, and explore practical low carbon technologies. This year’s competition received 274 entries, with 76 outstanding projects from nearly 40 universities. Following a rigorous evaluation, 26 finalist projects advanced to the final round held at the venue of the Chinese Society of Engineering Thermophysics Annual Conference, where PolyU’s team achieved the First Prize for their exceptional innovation, practical implementation, and potential impact on sustainable energy development.  

Prof. David Navarro’s Team Secures Championship at the 2nd Zhuhai International Dexterous Manipulation Challenge

On October 30, 2025, the Second Zhuhai International Dexterous Manipulation Challenge & Embodied Intelligence Industry Conference concluded at the Zhuhai International Convention & Exhibition Center. Competing against 20 top teams from around the globe, the "Omni-Mani" team, led by Prof. Zhou Peng, a 2023 PhD graduate supervised by Prof. David Navarro of the PolyU Department of Mechanical Engineering, successfully defended its championship in the "Domestic Robotics Track".  The victory comes with a RMB 500,000 cash prize and a RMB 6 million letter of intent for supporting investment. Notably, the "Omni-Mani" team is composed of Prof. Navarro's former and current doctoral students, demonstrating the enduring impact of his mentorship. The team includes leader Prof. Zhou Peng from Great Bay University, core member Prof. Qi Jiaming from Northeast Forestry University, and Researcher Wang Fangyuan from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Centered on the theme "Dexterous New Force, Intelligently Creating the Future," this year's challenge was an important platform for advancing embodied intelligence. The competition adhered to an "application-oriented" principle, featuring "Production" and "Domestic" tracks. In the "kitchen cooking" scenario, the team demonstrated precise human-robot collaborative manipulation. Their system excelled at tasks from utensil recognition and grasping to human-robot handover. It continuously optimized teleoperation performance using skills derived from low-dimensional representation and integrated a force-feedback mechanism to prevent object damage. This stable and sophisticated performance earned the team the competition's highest score.  

Prof. Ma Yuan honoured with iCANX Young Scientists Award

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is committed to nurturing research talent and fostering innovation. Three young PolyU researchers were recently honoured with the 2025 iCANX Young Scientists Award for their pioneering work in advanced materials, wearable systems and healthcare technologies. The Awards were presented at the 2025 Hong Kong International Talent Festival. Established in 2021, the iCANX Young Scientists Award is an annual award that recognises and honours leading young scientists worldwide for their exceptional achivements. Among the awarded projects by PolyU researchers, one initiative by Prof. Ma Yuan from the Department of Mechanical Engineering entitled “Sensation by Design: Tailoring Friction for Next-Gen Human-Machine Synergy”. His work revolutionises tactile experiences by leveraging predictive modelling and dynamic control of friction at the finger-material interface. This enables the design of advanced haptic technologies and interactive surfaces, enhancing accessibility, user experience and inclusivity in digital devices through adaptive, multisensory feedback and robust, environmentally resilient tactile cues.    

ME PhD Student Clinches Champion at 2025 Young Persons’ Lecture Competition Hong Kong Heat

Congratulations to Miss ZHANG Kouer, a PhD student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, for winning the Champion at the Young Persons’ Lecture Competition (YPLC) Hong Kong Heat on October 2, 2025. Under the supervision of Prof. AN Liang, Kouer delivered a compelling presentation on her research, titled “Closing the Loop: Transforming Wastewater Nitrate into Sustainable Fertilizer,” which distinguished her among a strong field of participants. About the Research Ammonia production for fertilizers traditionally depends on the energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process. Kouer's research explores a more sustainable alternative: producing ammonia from electricity and wastewater nitrate. A key challenge is the competing hydrogen evolution reaction, which reduces efficiency. The team's solution is a novel catalyst composed of copper-cobalt nanowires grown on copper foam. In this tandem mechanism, cobalt sites initiate nitrate reduction, while copper sites complete the process, efficiently guiding the reaction toward ammonia and suppressing hydrogen production. Supported by advanced in-situ characterization and computational tools, this catalyst demonstrates high efficiency and long-term stability, paving the way for greener, scalable ammonia production. Representing Hong Kong at the World Final With this victory, Kouer has earned the right to represent Hong Kong at the YPLC World Final this November, where she will compete against other top young researchers from around the globe. The YPLC World Final brings together winners from national and regional heats organized by The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3). Since its inception in London in 2005, the competition has been held across four continents. The IOM3 Hong Kong Branch has organized the local heat annually since 2005, providing a platform for young professionals and students to showcase their expertise and presentation skills in materials, minerals, mining, and related engineering fields.      

ME PhD Graduate Achieves the PolyU PhD Thesis Award 2025 for Merit

We are delighted that Dr LIANG Zhaojian, a PhD graduate from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has received the competitive PolyU PhD Thesis Award for Merit (STEM Category). The PolyU Graduate School establishes the PhD Thesis Award to recognize, reward and promote the distinguished research achievements by graduating PhD students. There are two award classes, namely Outstanding and Merit, recognizing students’ performance of different levels. Dr Liang completed his PhD under the supervision of Prof. LI Mengying and has demonstrated exceptional research achievements through his graduating thesis.   Thesis Title: Theoretical investigations of the transient characteristics of solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) under unstable operational conditions - For contribution to a universal framework managing multi-timescale dynamics in electrochemical devices for renewable energy storage Chief Supervisor: Prof. LI Mengying To store fluctuating renewable energy like solar power, efficient and durable energy-conversion devices are essential. Our research investigated how solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) react to rapid changes in power, similar to when a cloud passes over a solar panel. We found that electricity, gas, and heat within the SOEC respond at different timescales: gas adjusts within a second, while heat changes occur over minutes. By connecting the principles of fluid mechanics and electrochemistry, we derived general characteristic times that predict these dynamic behaviors. These characteristic times were validated experimentally and across various electrochemical devices in the literature, establishing a universal framework for designing safer and more efficient energy systems. With these insights, we developed a control method for a solar-powered SOEC system that uses fast gas adjustments to manage slow heat changes. This maintains safe temperatures and high efficiency, making a crucial step for reliable, large-scale renewable energy storage.  

ME Scholars Ranked Among World's Top 2% Most-cited Scientists

In the newly released metrics compiled by Stanford University, 14 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. In addition, 2 other ME academics have also been ranked for single recent year impact *. Scientists are classified into 22 scientific fields and 174 sub-fields according to the standard Science-Metrix classification. Field- and subfield-specific percentiles are also provided for all scientists with at least 5 papers. Career-long data are updated to end-of-2024 and single recent year data pertain to citations received during calendar year 2024. The selection is based on the top 100,000 scientists by c-score (with and without self-citations) or a percentile rank of 2% or above in the sub-field. This version (8) is based on the August 1, 2025 snapshot from Scopus, updated to end of citation year 2024. This work uses Scopus data. Calculations were performed using all Scopus author profiles as of August 1, 2025. 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: Prof. An Liang Prof. Christopher Chao Yu Hang Prof. Chen Guohua Prof. Cheng Li Prof. Fu Mingwang Prof. Jiao Zengbao Prof. Mai Yiu Wing Prof. Su Zhongqing Prof. Wang Liqiu Prof. Wang Zuankai Prof. Yao Haimin Prof. Zhang Dan Prof. Zhang Xiao Prof. Zheng Guangping Prof. Wu Maochun * Prof. Yu Xiang * Data available at Elsevier Published: 19 September 2025 | Version 8 | DOI:10.17632/btchxktzyw.8  

Prof. Wang Zuankai develops acid-resistant artificial mucus for improving gastric wound healing in animals

A team of researchers and clinicians led by Prof. WANG Zuankai, Associate Vice President (Research and Innovation), Dean of Graduate School, Kuok Group Professor in Nature-Inspired Engineering and Chair Professor of the PolyU Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME), has developed an acid-resistant hydrogel called “ultrastable mucus-inspired hydrogel” (UMIH).  This research has recently been published in Cell Press journal Cell Reports Physical Science, with Dr YANG Xiao, Postdoctoral Fellow of ME, as the first author, along with corresponding author, Dr CHAU Yeung Yeung, Research Associate of ME. “UMIH has potential for treating gastroesophageal reflux, gastric ulcers, and post-surgical wound protection and can be combined with endoscopic delivery for minimally invasive therapy,” says first co-author LI Bei of Sichuan University. “In both rat and pig models, it not only sticks firmly but also helps wounds heal faster and better.” Prof. WANG envisions, “UMIH represents a major step forward in biomaterials for gastrointestinal repair. Its strong adhesion, durability, and scalable manufacturing process position it as a promising platform for clinical translation.” In lab tests under acidic conditions (pH2), UMIH showed 15x stronger adhesive abilities compared to aluminum phosphate gel (APG), a clinically approved mucosal protectant and antacid that is used to manage gastric ulcers and acid reflux. And whereas APG degraded completely after 3 days, UMIH still maintained 50% of its structural integrity after 7 days in acidic conditions. UMIH was not associated with any toxicity issues in lab-grown gastrointestinal cells. It also inhibited the growth of E. coli and S. aureus bacteria, indicating that it has antimicrobial potential.  Dr YANG remarks, “UMIH achieves an adhesion strength 15 times higher than that of clinically approved materials in acidic conditions. It remains stable for 7 days and shows excellent biocompatibility and significant tissue repair capability.” In pig and rat models of esophageal injury, UMIH adhered tightly to wounds and improved healing compared to control animals and animals treated with APG. UMIH was associated with less tissue damage, reduced inflammation, and it promoted the growth of new blood vessels, which is essential for healing.  This research was supported by funding from the Innovation and Technology Commission of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province, the Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen, and the Shenzhen Medical Research Fund.  

Warmest welcome to our new research students joining ME!

We are delighted to welcome 50 newly admitted research students to the Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME) at PolyU for the new academic semester. On the morning of 1 September 2025, an orientation session was held for the incoming research students, led by our Department Head, Prof. SU Zhongqing. Research studies at ME aim not only to train students to become professionals in their field but also to broaden their perspectives in discovering new knowledge that benefits society. He introduced the department’s six key research areas: Advanced Materials and Processing, Aerospace Engineering, Clean Energy and Energy Storage, Robotics, Control, Automation & AI, Sound and Vibration, and Thermofluids and Combustion. These areas are strategically aligned with addressing the challenges our society and the world will face in the coming decades. Prof. TANG Hui, Chairman of Departmental Research Committee (DRC) and Associate Head (Research), extended a warm welcome to the students. He encouraged them to reach out to him or their supervisors if they encounter any problems.  Prof. Tang expressed his hope that all students will enjoy their studies in ME and have a fruitful academic journey. Prof. LI Mengying, Research Student Liaison Officer, is responsible for coordinating among all research students in the department. Together with Prof. ZHANG Xiao and Prof. ZHANG Baoping, who serve as Seminar Coordinators, they are arranging for guest speakers to expose students to the latest research and technological advancements. Students were excited to learn about the dynamic learning activities available, including the ME Seminar Series, Research Sharing Talks, and the ME Research Presentation Contest. Ms Lily TAM, DRC Secretary and Administrative Support Group Leader, provided a comprehensive overview of the study programme structure, examination and grading systems, studentships and fellowships, as well as funding and other support mechanisms. Finally, Ir Dr NG Chun, Curtis, Technical Support Group Leader, led a lab tour showcasing PolyU ME's state-of-the-art research facilities. These included the Acoustics Lab (DE001), Aeronautical Laboratory (DE005), Materials and Mechanics Technology Lab (FJ003), and Thermal Science Lab (FJ004), where innovative research activities and advanced equipment were demonstrated. The students responded with great enthusiasm and positive feedback. We are confident that they will enjoy a supportive, knowledge-rich, and interactive learning experience throughout their studies.  

ME Student Clinches Champion at PolyU International Future Challenge (Jinjiang Region) - Student Track

Congratulations to Mr Liu Yunpu, an undergraduate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering (ME), supervised by Prof. Zhang Dan under PolyU Undergraduate Research and Innovation Scheme (URIS), for achieving outstanding performance at the PolyU x Xiangfu International Future Challenge (Jinjiang Region) - Student Track finals held on 28 August in Jinjiang. Among 10 outstanding teams, Mr Liu's project entitled "Research, Development and Industrialization of the Intelligent Rehabilitation Robots for Knee Joint Injury" secured Champion with a RMB 15,000 cash prize. He will advance to the Grand Final in Shenzhen this December, competing against leading teams from other regions. The Jinjiang Region invites start-ups and innovators to focus on key industry sectors, including textile and apparel technology, future food, microelectronics, tourism management, healthcare, and the application of AI in these areas, and propose innovative solutions to address the challenges of current society and the market. Apart from the open track, which welcomes established companies, funded startups, and growing enterprises from across the globe. Jinjiang Division has specially created a student track registration channel, which is exclusively open to current students worldwide. Aiming to create an atmosphere of innovation and entrepreneurship and stimulate the enthusiasm of young students. The PolyU International Future Challenge (IFC)—the University’s flagship innovation and entrepreneurship competition—adopts a unique "1+N" framework, with Hong Kong, China as the main hub and additional rounds in six Chinese Mainland cities (Huizhou, Wenzhou, Qianhai, Shanghai, Nanjing, and Jinjiang). Open to global innovators, the competition partners with leading enterprises and PolyU Mainland Translational Research Institutes to offer participants mentorship, corporate visits, business consultations, and overseas opportunities.