News

Prof. Marco PANG receives World Physiotherapy International Service Award in Research

Prof. Marco PANG, Member of the Research Centre for SHARP Vision (RCSV), Director of University Research Facility in Behavioral and Systems Neuroscience (UBSN), and Professor of Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, received the International Service Award in Research at the recent World Physiotherapy Congress held in Dubai in June 2023. Prof. Pang is the first physiotherapist from Hong Kong to receive this prestigious recognition. The World Physiotherapy awards, which are presented by World Physiotherapy every four years, recognise awardees’ outstanding contributions to the profession and/or global health at an international level. Among the various award categories, the International Service Awards honours individuals who have made distinguished contributions through service in one or more of the following areas: practice, education, research, management/administration, advocacy.

ADoRCRE elected as President of APSE Executive Board

Congratulations to Dr LENG Zhen, Associate Director of the Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality (RCRE) and Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, for being elected as the President of the Executive Board of the Academy of Pavement Science and Engineering (APSE) for the 2023–25 period. The APSE is a global community of academics working together to educate, innovate, and advance the profession of pavement science and engineering.

MHRC Member Prof. Eric CHUI appointed as member of Mental Health Review Tribunal

Prof. Eric CHUI Wing-hong, Member of the Mental Health Research Centre, Professor and Head of the Department of Applied Social Sciences, Co-Director of Policy Research Centre for Innovation and Technology, was appointed as a member of the Mental Health Review Tribunal for a term of two years from 15 April 2023 to 14 April 2025. Prof. Chui has been actively involved in community and public services. He currently serves on the editorial boards of several SSCI journals and has served as a committee member or advisor of many social and public service organisations in Hong Kong. The Tribunal comprises a Chairman, 15 medical members, 15 social work members, and 15 other members with suitable experience in and knowledge of administration or clinical psychology, or other suitable qualifications or experience. The Tribunal was set up in 1989 pursuant to the enactment of the Mental Health (Amendment) Ordinance. The function of the Tribunal is to consider applications or cases of patients who are liable to be compulsorily detained in mental hospitals or to compulsory guardianship, as well as to determine whether these patients should be discharged in accordance with the Mental Health Ordinance (Cap. 136).

Prof. Daniel TSANG named among Best Environmental Scientists in China by Research.com

Prof. Daniel TSANG, Management Committee Member of the Research Centre of Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality (RCRE) and Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was ranked eighth nationally in the list of “Best Scientists (Environmental Sciences)” by leading academic research portal Research.com. The ranking is based on a scholar’s D-index (Discipline H-index), which includes exclusively papers and citation metrics for an examined discipline.  Full list of the ranking: https://research.com/scientists-rankings/environmental-sciences/cn

PolyU wins record-breaking number of awards at 48th Geneva Inventions Expo

PolyU has won a record-breaking 31 accolades at the 48th Geneva Inventions Expo in Switzerland. Among the 28 award-winning innovations, 17 are driven by members of PAIR’s constituent research units – a testimony of the PolyU community’s excellence in developing inventions and innovations that create long-lasting, real-world impact. Read more: https://polyu.hk/NfgoB

DoRiFood appointed Member of Advisory Council on Food and Environmental Hygiene

Dr Wong Ka-hing, Director of the Research Institute for Future Food and Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, has been appointed as a serving member of the Advisory Council on Food and Environmental Hygiene by the HKSAR government for a term of two years from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2025.    Established on 1 April 2000, the Council is to advise the Government on food and environmental hygiene issues. Press release from the HKSAR government: https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202303/31/P2023033100259.htm

RCRE research paper named High Impact Papers by ScienceDirect

A research paper titled “Sustainable Practice in Pavement Engineering through Value-Added Collective Recycling of Waste Plastic and Waste Tyre Rubber” with Dr LENG Zhen, Associate Director of the Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality (RCRE), as the corresponding author, has been named by ScienceDirect platform as one of the “High-Impact Papers” among the 234 papers indexed in Engineering since 2021. The paper was recognised as an ESI Hot and Highly Cited Paper. Read the Abstract: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095809920303738

SCRI project awarded in ETNet Smart Living Partnership Awards 2022

An interactive platform for COVID-19 status and risk prediction developed by the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI) won the “Outstanding One-stop Virus Decision Support Platform” award in the “Health Technology (HealthTech)” category of the ETNet Smart Living Partnership Awards 2022.  An award presentation ceremony was held on 27 February 2023 at Cyberport. Funded by the Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre (LSCM), the platform provides spatiotemporal predictions for COVID-19 symptom onset risk in future three days for Hong Kong, other cities in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), Taiwan, Malaysia, etc.

RISE member granted 2023 Guangdong Natural Science Fund

The three-year project “Rational Design of Advanced Pd-based Electrocatalysts for Carbon Dioxide Reduction” by Dr Bolong HUANG, Member of the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Research Institute for Smart Energy (RISE), was awarded a grant of RMB100,000 from the 2023 Guangdong Natural Science Fund (General Program) under the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Fund of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology (GDST). The Fund encourages young researchers from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau regions to conduct basic research with a view to facilitating the development of an international innovation and technology hub in the Greater Bay Area (GBA).

Two MHRC Associate Directors receive over HK$3.2 million funding from the Health Bureau of the HKSAR Government

Two projects led by two Associate Directors of the Mental Health Research Centre (MHRC), Prof. Hector TSANG, Chair Professor and Head of Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, and Prof. Sylvia CHEN, Associate Dean of Faculty of Health and Social Sciences and Professor of the Department of Applied Social Sciences, received funding totaling HK$3.2 million in Phase 2 of the Mental Health Initiatives Funding Scheme of the Health Bureau. Launched in 2021 and coordinated by the Advisory Committee on Mental Health, the Scheme aims to fund projects that could help provide better support to those in need in the community and to raise public awareness on mental health. The two awarded projects devise sustainable solutions to address the mental health issues of different people, including the implementation of short-term certificate programmes for caregivers of persons with disabilities, and the application of virtual reality technology to support adolescents with special educational needs (SEN). Prof. David SHUM, Dean of the Faulty of Health and Social Sciences, member of MHRC, said, “Mental health is an imperative issue that we cannot ignore. Under the impact of the pandemic in recent years, different groups in the community are faced with urgent needs for mental health support. The Faculty of Health and Social Sciences has been committed to mental health research over the years. The funding support combined with our strengths in scientific research and practice will bring impactful solutions for the benefit of various community groups.” Two projects awarded under Phase 2 of the Mental Health Initiatives Funding Scheme: Principal Investigator: Prof. Hector TSANG Associate Director of MHRC, Chair Professor and Head of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences Project Title: Enhancing the Mental Health of Carers of Persons with Disabilities with Support Services Delivered by Trained Carer Support Ambassadors Project Summary: The project aims to support carers of persons with disabilities. It will implement a short-term certificate programme for frontline workers such as occupational therapy assistants, rehabilitation assistants, patient care assistants and welfare workers to become Carer Support Ambassadors who will deliver mental health support to carers. This innovative approach is designed to address the shortage of manpower in mental health services and the growing support needs for carers. Funded Amount: HK$1.3 million   Principal Investigator: Prof. Sylvia CHEN Associate Director of MHRC, Associate Dean of Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Professor of the Department of Applied Social Sciences Project Title: Reducing Social Avoidance and Enhancing Prosocial Behaviour among Adolescents with Special Educational Needs Project Summary: The project aims to foster prosocial behaviour of adolescents with special educational needs (SEN) in transition with the use of virtual reality (VR) technology. It will implement social anxiety intervention based on a cognitive-behavioural approach with a virtual coach acting as the therapist and develop a gamified prosocial VR intervention for adolescents with SEN. This VR-assisted social avoidance and prosocial behaviour intervention would benefit individuals and society by cultivating psychological and socially healthy young people. Funded Amount: HK$1.9 million Co-PIs: Prof. Winnie Mak (Member of MHRC and Professor, Department of Psychology, CUHK) Dr Bryant Hui (Member of MHRC and Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Social Sciences, PolyU) Co-Is: Dr Jeffrey Ho (Assistant Professor, School of Design, PolyU) Dr Richard Li (Research Assistant Professor, Department of Computing, PolyU) Dr Rosetta Wong (Teaching Fellow, Department of Applied Social Sciences, PolyU)