Past Events

New theory on tourist behaviour unveiled by Prof. Sara DOLNICAR at PAIR Seminar

At the PAIR Seminar on 14 October 2025, Prof. Sara DOLNICAR of The University of Queensland, Australia, shared her pioneering theory of consumer behaviour during leisure. Her presentation, titled “Habit-Enjoyment-Effort Theory – Changing Consumer Behaviour in Hedonic Contexts”, explored human behaviours in settings where the pursuit of pleasure is paramount. The seminar attracted over 170 in-person participants and an online audience of more than 13,800 across various social media platforms.

The Art of Achievement: Prof. David PUI’s Scientific Legacy

At the PAIR Seminar on 10 October 2025, Prof. David Y. H. PUI of University of Minnesota, USA, shared insights that have contributed to his career success in both academia and industry. His talk, titled “Preparing for a Successful Career Starting with Your Graduate Theses”, focused on the essential personal qualities and skill sets for completing university education and excelling as an educator or technologist. The seminar attracted over 100 in-person participants and an online audience of more than 15,000 across various social media platforms.

Prof. Iain McCULLOCH of Princeton highlights next-generation solar fuels at PAIR Seminar

Green hydrogen, produced from water using renewable energy, is anticipated to become a leading fuel of the future, offering clean, carbon-free energy for a wide range of industrial applications. It also has the potential to provide complementary energy storage when combined with intermittent solar power. However, achieving economically competitive, large-scale solar-generated hydrogen production remains a significant challenge. Photochemical water splitting, a process that uses light-absorbing nanoparticle semiconductors to drive redox reactions on their surface, offers a promising solution.

Unlocking brain signals: Prof. George Malliaras explores frontiers of electrophysiology in PAIR Distinguished Lecture

Recent advances in cortical and cutaneous electrophysiological recordings are rapidly expanding our ability to decode neural information. On 30 September 2025, Prof. George MALLIARAS from University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, delivered a PAIR Distinguished Lecture titled “How Much Can We Learn from Cortical and Cutaneous Electrophysiology?” He shared insights into the recent studies that explore the boundaries of cortical and cutaneous electrophysiology. The lecture attracted nearly 100 in-person attendees, with more than 13,500 online viewers tuning in via various social media platforms.

Revolutionising Sustainable Energy Through Catalytic Innovation

Catalysis can accelerate chemical reactions and plays a key role in producing cleaner and more economical fuels. On 17 September 2025, Prof. WANG Yong from Washington State University, USA, delivered a PAIR Distinguished Lecture titled “Catalysis: Driving Affordable Clean Energy”. He shared insights into the potential of advanced catalytic technologies in revolutionising fuel production and reducing emissions. The lecture attracted over 120 in-person attendees, with more than 17,900 online viewers tuning in via various social media platforms.

Robot metamorphosis: Prof. DAI Jiansheng of King’s College London delivers PAIR Distinguished Lecture

Metamorphosis is an innate natural attribute in the evolution and survival of species. The development of shape-shifting robots is a core area within the field of intelligent structures. By integrating computational intelligence, there is hope for achieving true embodied intelligence in today’s rapidly advancing world of artificial intelligence.

Unlocking potential applications in patient care and other key industries: Prof. HUANG Yonggang shares the latest development of bioelastic mechanoreceptors

The diverse array of mechanoreceptors found in human skin provides a versatile engineering interface for transmitting information and eliciting perceptions, with the potential to serve a wide range of applications in patient care and other key industries. However, targeted multisensory engagement of these afferent units continues to present significant challenges, particularly for wearable, programmable systems that must operate adaptively across the body.

PolyU hosts Global Smart Cities Summit cum the 4th International Conference on Urban Informatics and unveils Smart City Index 2025

The three-day conference brings together over 240 speakers from around the world to share cutting-edge insights and innovations in urban informatics and smart city development, attracting over 600 scholars and industry professionals. It features keynote speeches by internationally renowned scientists, forums with government and industry leaders, and innovation and technology exhibitions, providing an excellent platform to foster collaborations among government, industry, academia, and research sectors in the field of smart cities.

Uncertainty posed by AI: Geospatial science pioneer Prof. Michael GOODCHILD dissects past, present and future

Geospatial data finds applications in a wide array of fields, including urban planning, environmental management, disaster response, and transportation, leveraging spatial patterns to support decision-making in various sectors. Nevertheless, errors, imprecision, and complexities in datasets containing information about space and/or time can undermine the quality and reliability of spatial data and analyses. This issue of uncertainty in geospatial science (GIS) is expected to intensify as AI-driven geospatial applications become increasingly widespread, according to Prof. Michael GOODCHILD, Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA.

RISA hosted Research Seminar- Molecular Endotyping of Osteoarthritis for Precision Medicine

RISA Seminar – Molecular Endotyping of Osteoarthritis for Precision Medicine, organised by the Research Institute for Smart Ageing (RISA) and the Department of Biomedical Engineering of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU BME), took place on 28 July 2025. We were honoured to have Prof. Ali Mobasheri, Professor of Musculoskeletal Biology at the University of Oulu as the speaker to share his insights in researching Osteoarthritis (OA). The event enticed participants from diverse backgrounds.