News

Prof. Michael BATTY from University College London delivers distinguished lecture on science of cities

The PAIR Distinguished Lecture delivered by Prof. Michael BATTY, Bartlett Professor of Planning at University College London, was successfully held on 1 September 2023. The lecture was moved completely online given special arrangements under Super Tyhoon Saola. The webinar attracted over 300 participants from more than 30 countries and regions. It was also broadcasted live on multiple social media platforms, including Bilibili and Weibo, and viewed by over 11,000 online audience in total. In the lecture, Prof. Batty began by giving an overview of the development of science of cities in the last 50 years. Drawing on the system approach and complex theory, he shared how urban science involves top-down and bottom-up thinking, and is a systematic, complex and evolving discipline built on knowledge in social physics, economics, transportation and many scientific methods that yield theories. He illustrated this with city morphology examples from the UK and the Greater Bay Areas (GBA) generated by large-scale computer models. He concluded the lecture by speculating on some of the challenges with fractal geometry, size and scaling, networks, and building models in the field and suggesting the way forward for the discipline. A question-and-answer session moderated by Prof. CHEN Qingyan, Director of PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research and Prof. John SHI Wenzhong, Director of Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute, followed. The audience was inspired to have a fruitful exchange with Prof. Batty. Please click here for an online review.

Excel x Impact is now available online!

Check out the latest issue of Excel x Impact for articles featuring the interdisciplinary research and recent developments at PAIR: Research on sports science and technology to make sports safe, interesting and rewarding for all https://polyu.hk/DuokJ PAIR Conference to promote interdisciplinary research excellence https://polyu.hk/lklOw Competition staged in search of excellent future public housing designs https://polyu.hk/szpTm Fostering urban sustainability through innovative technologies https://polyu.hk/aYifG PolyU research finds baicalein a promising glaucoma treatment https://polyu.hk/CdueM A record 19.31% power-conversion efficiency for organic solar cells https://polyu.hk/VotGL Establishment of China Harbour-PolyU Joint Research Centre for Land Development https://polyu.hk/JrmyO PolyU and China Resources collaborate on carbon neutral new materials research https://polyu.hk/RbLYf PolyU impactful startups to commercialise medical devices for societal benefit https://polyu.hk/vSSWA UGC delegation visits PolyU’s innovative teaching facilities https://polyu.hk/fJPsM  

PAIR Newsletter ∙ Issue 7 ∙ June 2023 is now available online!

We are thrilled to announce the release of the 7th issue of the PAIR Newsletter, offering a comprehensive overview of the latest interdisciplinary research at PAIR. Enjoy reading our "Feature Stories" covering perspectives on interdisciplinary success, additive manufacturing and smart city development, and getting to know our latest happenings in "Research Achievements", "People", and "News & Events" sections! We welcome you to share captivating articles or valuable links from our Newsletter with your friends and colleagues. Your sharing of the latest news in science and technology and PAIR impact stories will spread valuable knowledge, spur inspiration and keep PAIR motivated for interdisciplinary excellence! Happy reading! https://polyu.hk/eHzRS

PAIR researcher led-startups on Forbes Asia 100 to Watch

Three PolyU-backed startups have been listed in this year’s Forbes Asia 100 to Watch. The three startups are Eieling Technology and Telefield Medical Imaging, both co-founded by Prof. ZHENG Yongping, Director of the Research Institute for Smart Ageing (RISA), and Fleming MedLab, which was co-founded by Dr Kelvin HEUNG Ho-lam, Member of the Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality (RCRE).   Online coverage: Sing Tao Daily - https://polyu.me/47UCKL4 Chinese Press - https://polyu.me/3R0aKj8

PAIR and China Resources foster interdisciplinary dialogue at PAIR Salon

The PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR) and the China Resources Research Institute of Science and Technology (CRRIST) jointly organised the PAIR SALON (“the Salon”) at Hong Kong Science Park on 31 August 2023. The Salon, themed on “Interdisciplinary Dialogue”, aims to encourage PAIR researchers and industry to collaborate in the forthcoming Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus Scheme (RAISe+ Scheme), a HK$10 billion initiative by the HKSAR government to provide matching funding to at least 100 university research teams with good potential to become start-ups, with an aim of promoting the transfer and commercialisation of R&D outcomes by university research teams. The RAISe+ Scheme will be launched in fall this year, and local designated universities including PolyU will be eligible for application. The Salon started with welcome speeches by Prof. CHEN Qingyan, Director of PAIR, and Mr LI Nan, Vice Dean of China Resource Research Institute of Science and Technology. Next, Mr Kelvin WONG, Director of Knowledge Transfer and Entrepreneurship Office of PolyU introduced the RAISe+ Scheme. It was then followed by presentations by 22 PAIR members, sharing PAIR’s research progress and outcomes in various fields, including textile technology, energy technology, optical communication, civil infrastructure engineering, urban informatics, traditional Chinese medicine, logistics, mental health and medical imaging, etc. Attendees coming from different sectors also exchanged views and ideas with fruitful outcomes. The Salon was concluded with a closing remark by Prof. LI Li, Associate Director of PAIR. Launched in February 2023, the PAIR SALON is an initiative to provide a platform for closer exchange between academia and industry, with a view to encouraging university-industry research collaboration and facilitating knowledge transfer.

RILS scholar finds causes for wild weather swings from drought to flood

A collaborative study by Dr WANG Shuo, Member of the Research Institute for Land and Space (RILS) and Associate Professor of the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI), Miss QING Yamin, PolyU doctoral student, and researchers from the University of Texas and Columbia University, found that wild weather swings from severe drought to heavy rains are becoming more common with climate change, based on analysis on climate data during 1980–2020. The team also discovered the “land-based feedback loops”, which explains how the movement of moisture from humid regions to dry regions increases the chance of downpours after drought. These results can be useful to help increase the accuracy of predictive climate models and help communities to better prepare for swings between drought and flooding.   The study has been published in Communications Earth & Environment https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-023-00922-2   Online coverage: Yahoo UK - https://polyu.me/45x6Faq

RISA Member wins 1st Runner Up in Health Future Challenge 2023 to develop a hearing-cognitive training system for older adults with hearing loss

Dr Ivy ZHAO, Member of the Research Institute for Smart Ageing (RISA), was awarded the 1st Runner Up in the Health Future Challenge 2023 organised by the Knowledge Transfer and Entrepreneurship Office and received Translational Research Grant from the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences for her start-up project “A web-based game-like dual-task hearing-cognitive training system”. The project aims to develop a web-based, game-like, dual-task hearing-cognitive training system for older adults with hearing loss to enhance their hearing efficiency, cognitive functions and social engagement. Health Future Challenge is a start-up ideation competition for students, researchers, alumni and industrialists to team up and come up with health-tech ideas and business models.

Prof. WU Bo featured in China Surveying and Mapping magazine

Prof. WU Bo, Associate Director of Research Centre for Deep Space Explorations (RCDSE), Associate Head (Research) and Fiona Cheung Professor in Spatial Science in the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics, was featured in an interview in the China Surveying and Mapping magazine, sharing his research team’s active participation in national space missions over the years. Since 2011, the team has been using a large amount of lunar remote sensing data to conduct topographic and geomorphological analysis of the landing sites for the “Chang’e-3” and “Chang’e-4” missions, utilising innovative lunar topographic mapping and geomorphological analysis technologies to evaluate and select safe and scientifically valuable landing sites. Since 2016, the team has been assisting relevant national space agencies with the analysis and evaluation in the “Tianwen-1” Mars exploration mission, screening possible landing sites, and conducting detailed topographic, geomorphological and geological characterisation analysis of each candidate landing sites to help select landing sites. On 15 May 2021, the “Tianwen-1” lander carrying the “Zhu Rong” rover successfully landed near the centre of the optimal landing ellipse, leaving a Chinese mark on Mars for the first time and taking an important step in the Nation’s interstellar exploration. Prof. Wu highlighted the importance of innovation in the interview. He mentioned that in addition to the continuous innovation in traditional surveying and mapping, remote sensing, and geographic information technologies, technologies such as machine learning and deep learning have great potential in the big data, automation, and intelligent analysis in the field of deep space exploration. Moreover, real-time and chip-based surveying, mapping and remote sensing technology are also in urgent demand in the field, and further breakthroughs are needed. To promote better public understanding of the Nation’s achievements in deep space exploration, Prof. Wu’s team developed a virtual reality system based on images and data of the lunar and Mars surface, restoring the various stages of the lunar and Mars landing process and allowing the public to experience roaming various landing sites on the lunar and Mars surface. The interactive exhibit “Moon | Mars VR” is now open to the public at the Hall of the Cosmos of the Hong Kong Space Museum. Online coverage: China Surveying and Mapping - https://polyu.me/3qErWQi (Chinese only)

PolyU-developed Liverscan to launch in China, enabling mobile, non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis

Liverscan, a palm-sized real-time B-mode ultrasound imaging guided system for liver fibrosis assessment developed by Prof. ZHENG Yongping, Director of the Research Institute for Smart Ageing (RISA), and his research team, will soon be introduced to the mainland Chinese market. The technology marks a major step in promoting the precise prevention and effective diagnosis of liver diseases in China. Liver fibrosis is a common condition of chronic liver inflammation, which may lead to cirrhosis, loss of liver function or cancer. Liver biopsy, which has been the gold standard in the diagnosis of liver diseases, requires puncturing the skin of patients’ abdomen using needles and collecting a small sample of liver tissues. Liverscan provides a novel, non-invasive technology for liver fibrosis assessment. Liverscan was developed after five years of development by the team based on PolyU’s related research results and patents. During the period, the team obtained the supports from Incu-bio incubation program of Hong Kong Science and Technology Park, Technology Start-up Support Scheme for Universities, and other funds.  Prof. Zheng founded Eieling Technology Limited, a PolyU-supported start-up, together with former and current team members, to develop, manufacture and market Liverscan. At present, Liverscan equipment is being trialled among some hospitals and medical examination centres in Hong Kong, as well as some top hospitals in mainland China. Online coverage: ifeng.com - https://polyu.me/4521I9o

Global Smart Cities Summit cum the 3rd International Conference on Urban Informatics commences

The Global Smart Cities Summit cum the 3rd International Conference on Urban Informatics (GSCS & ICUI 2023), organised by the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI) and the International Society for Urban Informatics (ISUI) commenced on 21 August 2023. This three-day conference has attracted over 500 participants globally and over 230 speakers will share their insights and research on urban informatics and smart cities. The Opening Ceremony was attended by Prof. SUN Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, HKSAR Government; Prof. TENG Jin-guang, President, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU); Prof. John SHI Wenzhong, Director of SCRI and President of ISUI; Mr Tony WONG, Government Chief Information Officer; Prof. Michael GOODCHILD, Member of the National Academy of Sciences; Prof. Michael BATTY, Fellow of the British Academy and the Royal Society; Prof. Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation), PolyU; Dr Otto POON, Founder of the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation; Prof. GONG Peng, Vice President and Pro-Vice Chancellor, The University of Hong Kong; and Prof. CHEN Qingyan, Director of the PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR). As an emerging interdisciplinary field, urban informatics is the foundational science and technology for smart cities. The GSCS & ICUI 2023 aims at promoting global smart city development and advances in urban informatics. This year’s conference received 300 abstract submissions from 21 countries and regions. The Conference features keynote speeches by world leading scientists, forums and technology innovation exhibitions. It provides an excellent platform for exchanging information about state-of-the-art technologies and innovations in smart cities and urban informatics. Don’t miss the last chance to join the GSCS & ICUI 2023! Register at: https://www.isocui.org/icui2023 Read more: https://polyu.hk/CHUEO Online coverage: ETNet - https://polyu.me/3qvYrjS Hong Kong Commercial Daily - https://polyu.me/3YLpDYl Ticker Technologies - https://polyu.me/45f0PdG BizWire Express - https://polyu.me/3E91RMx CISION PR Newswire - https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/polyu-hosts-the-global-smart-cities-summit-cum-the-3rd-international-conference-on-urban-informatics-attracting-over-500-global-scholars-and-industry-professionals-301905551.html