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Prof. LENG Jinsong of Harbin Institute of Technology delivers a PAIR seminar on shape memory polymer composites

Prof. LENG Jinsong, Dean of the School of Future Technology, Director of the Centre for Smart Materials and Structures (CSMS), Director of the International Center for Applied Mechanics at Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), China, and Deputy Director of the Academic Committee of HIT, delivered the PAIR Seminar titled “Shape Memory Polymer Composites: Programmability, 4D Printing and Applications” on 15 July 2024. The seminar attracted more than 90 participants in person and captured an online viewing audience of over 12,500 who watched the live broadcast on multiple social media platforms, including Bilibili, WeChat, and Weibo. The seminar commenced with a welcome speech and speaker introduction by Prof. WANG Zuankai, Associate Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU. This was followed by Prof. Leng’s presentation. He first provided a brief background about shape memory polymers (SMP), pointing out that these smart materials can reversibly change between permanent and temporary shapes in response to changes in external stimuli such as temperature. Next, he gave an overview of the researchers from different scientific research institutions and universities around the world who specialise in SMP research, and the types of SMP materials that HIT researchers focus on. He said that SMP are hard to actuate and their recovery strength and speed are low, and so relevant solutions to these challenges are important for the development of SMP composites (SMPC). Prof. Leng then gave examples demonstrating how SMPC can be prepared through actuation methods involving different stimuli such as heat, electricity, magnetism, radio frequency, solution/water, light, etc. He mentioned that SMPC can be used to prepare various structures for aerospace, smart manufacturing, photoelectric applications, microelectromechanical systems applications, and smart clothing. After that, Prof. Leng introduced 4D printing, a novel additive manufacturing process for producing printed objects that can adaptively change their configurations/properties in response to external stimuli. He mentioned that 4D printing is important for producing a range of SMPC-based materials for biomedical applications. To conclude, Prof. Leng said that SMP research is a fast-growing emerging research field. He anticipated that shape memory smart structures incorporated with sensors, actuators, and controllers, would be widely used in aerospace, civil aviation, automotive, energy and daily life. Following the presentation was a question-and-answer session moderated by Prof. CHENG Li, Associate Dean (Research) of the Faculty of Engineering and Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Prof. MAI Yiu-wing, Distinguished Chair Professor of Composites Science in the same department. The audience engaged in a fruitful discussion with the professors. Please click here for an online review.  

Ir Prof. YUNG Kai-leung gives seminar to students joining aerospace technology study tour

Ir Prof. YUNG Kai-leung, Director of the Research Centre for Deep Space Explorations (RCDSE), attended the kick-off ceremony for the Aerospace Technology Study Tour to Beijing and Xi’an hosted by Hong Kong Shine Tak Foundation on PolyU campus on 13 July 2024, and gave a seminar on knowledge and experiences in deep space explorations to secondary school students joining the study tour. The ceremony featured a video speech by Chief Executive John LEE Ka-chiu, and was officiated by Mr HE Jing, Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in HKSAR, Mr TANG Ping-keung, Secretary for Security, and Dr CHOI Yuk-lin, Secretary for Education, etc. The study tour is an activity under the youth development programme of the Foundation, and is now in its seventh year. This year, the nine-day tour, from 20 to 28 July, will bring participants to visit places such as the Xinglong Observatory of the National Astronomical Observatory of China, to learn about the Nation’s achievements in aerospace technology. The activity aims to stimulate youth’s interest in pursuing future developments in science and technology, and cultivate their love for the Nation. Online coverage: TVB - https://polyu.me/4d3eEj3 Sing Tao Daily - https://polyu.me/46km4MN Headline Daily - https://polyu.me/4cVJVnV Ta Kung Pao - https://polyu.me/3W4YsGT Wen Wei Po - https://polyu.me/46b1mP9 Dot Dot News - https://polyu.me/3W6aaRR

Prof. TAO Xiaoming shares journey and passion as a teacher-researcher in exclusive interview

Prof. TAO Xiaoming, Director of the Research Institute for Intelligent Wearable Systems (RI-IWEAR), in an exclusive interview with Scientific Chinese, looked back on her 30 years’ scientific journey and shared her dedication to the research and development of textile engineering and intelligent wearable systems, as well as her commitment to nurturing next-generation research talents. Prof. Tao recalled that during the 1990s when she moved from Australia to Hong Kong to join PolyU for a new career, the textile industry was fading away and had difficulty in attracting top talents. To find the way forward for industrial transformation and upgrading, she began researching into smart optical fibre, which combind optical fibre and textile composite materials, with the goal to add vale to the traditional textile industry through utilising advanced, high value-adding technologies. Her pioneering concepts and inventions have propelled the development of smart textile. In recent years, Prof. Tao seized the research opportunities brought about by the emerging trends in smart wearable products and their application potential in the fields of health and sports. She established RI-IWEAR in 2021 and serves as the Institute’s Director, leading a team of over 200 researchers from different disciplines such as physics, chemistry, materials, textiles and clothing, design, electronics, mechanical engineering, and rehabilitation medicine, to engage in interdisciplinary research.  The team combines materials, devices, technologies and theories to develop technologies for “human-machine-environment” interaction. The Institute currently pursues research in three major areas: IWEAR System Applications, System Integration and Evaluation, and Fibre-based and Flexible Devices. The technologies and products developed by the team can be used widely for personal protection and in the fields clinical medicine, public health and many more. In addition to scientific research, Prof. Tao is enthusiastic about teaching. She said that top talents are vital for any fields to develop well, and at the same time, the society needs to cultivate different talents such as engineers, tech talents, civil servants, and entrepreneurs. Online coverage: China Science Communication - https://polyu.me/4ePuBLk (Chinese only) The Paper - https://polyu.me/4csEU6h (Chinese only)

Prof. CHAI Yang publishes review article on multidimensional vision sensors

A review article by Prof. CHAI Yang, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Science (Research) and Professor in the Department of Applied Physics and his team, titled “Multidimensional vision sensors for information processing”, was recently published in the Nature Nanotechnology journal. The review delves into the hardware implementation of multidimensional vision sensors, and explores their working mechanisms and design principles. The team exemplified multidimensional vision sensors built on emerging devices and silicon-based system integration. They further provided benchmarking metrics for multidimensional vision sensors and concluded with the principle of device–system co-design and co-optimisation. Prof. Chai is currently Management Committee Member of the Research Institute for Intelligent Wearable Systems (RI-IWEAR), and Member of the Photonics Research Institute (PRI), the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Research Institute for Smart Energy (RISE) and the Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence of Internet of Things (RIAIoT). Read the full article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41565-024-01665-7

Five PAIR members shine at PolyU’s inaugural Patents Achievement Award

The PolyU Patents Achievement Award was newly launched this year in appreciation and honour of the remarkable achievements of departments and inventors that actively engaged in IP filing. The scheme includes two categories of award. The “Top Patents Filing Award” considers the IP filing activities over the past five years, while the “Most Active Patents Filing Award” focuses on the IP filing activities within the award year. Results of the inaugural award have been announced. Congratulations to five PAIR members for winning the PolyU Patents Achievement Award 2023. Three members including Prof. Benny CHEUNG Chi-fai, Associate Director of the Research Centre for SHARP Vision (RCSV), Prof. John SHI Wenzhong, Director of the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI), and Prof. TO Chi-ho, Member of RCSV, won the “Top Patents Filing Award”. Two members including Ir Prof. POON Chi-sun, Director of the Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality (RCRE), and Ir Prof. ZHENG Yongping, Director of the Research Institute for Smart Ageing (RISA), won the “Most Active Patents Filing Award”!

Member of Chinese Academy of Sciences to deliver seminar on shape memory polymer composites

PAIR cordially invites you to join our seminar on 15 July 2024 (Monday) at 2:30pm–4:00pm (Hong Kong time) on PolyU campus. The seminar titled “Shape Memory Polymer Composites: Programmability, 4D Printing and Applications” will be delivered by Prof. LENG Jinsong, Dean of School of Future Technology, Director of the Center for Smart Materials and Structures (CSMS), Director of International Center for Applied Mechanics at Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), and Deputy Director of the Academic Committee of HIT, China. Shape memory polymers and their composites are smart materials with excitation response. They have the ability to maintain temporary shape and return to their original shape under specific external environment excitation. At present, shape memory polymers such as epoxy, cyanate ester, styrene, polyimide, polylactic acid, and polyurethane with adjustable glass transition temperatures have been developed. Smart structures prepared based on shape memory materials have unique shape memory properties and characteristics of lightweight and high strength and have the functions of active deformation, self-sensing and self-repairing. Prof. Leng and his research team have developed a variety of shape memory smart structures, which have been initially applied in aerospace, biomedical, 4D printing, and other fields. These materials offer significant promise for future smart products in many areas of science and technology. Prof. Leng is a Member of Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Foreign Member of Academia Europaea, Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. His research fields include smart materials and structures, sensors and actuators, stimulus-responsive polymers (shape memory and electro-active polymers) and their composites, multifunctional nanocomposites, space deployable structures, 4D printing and biomedical applications, etc. He currently serves as Vice President of the International Committee on Composite Materials (ICCM), Vice President of Chinese Society of Aeronautics and Astronautics (CSAA), and Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Smart and Nano Materials (IJSNM). He was elected as Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Fellow of the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE), Fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Fellow of Institute of Physics (IOP), Fellow of Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS), Fellow of Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining (IMMM) and Associate Fellow of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). Don’t miss the chance to learn from Prof. Leng! Fine out more and register at: https://polyu.hk/wxlgD

Ir Prof. Albert CHAN awarded Medal of Honour

Congratulations to Ir Prof. Albert CHAN Ping-chuen, Associate Director of the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD), Dean of Students, Able Professor in Construction Health and Safety and Chair Professor of Construction Engineering and Management, for receiving the Medal of Honour from The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on 1 July 2024, in recognition of his contributions in the construction policy research and in nurturing young talents to join the construction industry. The Government of the HKSAR Press Release: https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202407/01/P2024063000273.htm

Dr BU Siqi develops deep reinforcement learning-based framework for accurate prediction of photovoltaic power

Dr BU Siqi, Member of the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Research Institute for Smart Energy (RISE), Associate Professor and Associate Head of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and his teammates developed a novel deep reinforcement learning-based interpretable framework considering outliers for the accurate prediction of photovoltaic (PV) power. The study has recently been published in the journal Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments. The team utilised cutting-edge deep reinforcement learning-based interpretable models for predicting the occurrence of PV power outliers and improving PV power prediction accuracy. The proposed framework not only distinguishes outliers in forecast data, but also obtains complete outlier information with correct classification of PV power types, which can help engineers take emergency measures such as participating in demand response, increasing energy reserves, and optimising bids. The framework was verified on the actual operation data of the PV plant in Northwest China. The prediction performance of the proposed framework was analysed and compared with benchmark methods. Research results demonstrated that the proposed PV power prediction framework has great potential for application in future electric energy systems. Read the full article: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213138824002261?dgcid=coauthor#appSB

DoRiFood honoured with Chief Executive’s Commendation for Community Service

Congratulations to Prof. WONG Ka-hing, Director of the Research Institute for Future Food (RiFood) and Professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, for receiving the Chief Executive’s Commendation for Community Service from The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on 1 July 2024, in recognition of his contributions in promoting the sustainable development of the fisheries industry in Hong Kong.   The Government of the HKSAR Press Release: https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202407/01/P2024063000273.htm

MHRC Member Dr Jessie LIN shares views on postpartum depression

Dr Jessie LIN, Member of the Mental Health Research Centre (MHRC) and Assistant Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, shared her professional perspectives on postpartum depression in an interview with Bastille Post. Dr Lin explained that postpartum mothers can experience significant mood swings due to factors such as hormonal changes and challenges of maternal role adaptation. Family care and support can greatly help postpartum mothers to adapt to role changes and regulate emotions. She recommended seeking help from professionals as soon as possible should there be signs of postpartum depression or emotional distress. Read more: https://www.bastillepost.com/hongkong/article/14159866 (Chinese version only)