News

Two PAIR members elected to Young Member Section of Hong Kong Academy of Engineering

Congratulations to Prof. Allen AU Man Ho, Member of Research Institute for Quantum Technology (RIQT) and Professor and Associate Head (Research and Development) of Department of Computing, and Prof. ZHAO Jiong, Member of Research Institute for Advanced Manufacturing (RIAM) and Professor of Department of Applied Physics, on their election as Members of Young Member Section of Hong Kong Academy of Engineering (HKAE). Prof. Au’s research focuses on cryptography, information security and blockchain technology. He has published over 200 papers in leading venues such as CRYPTO, IEEE S&P and ACM CCS. He is a recipient of the BOCHK Science and Technology Innovation Prize in FinTech and the Hong Kong Engineering Science and Technology Award. Prof. Au has won the international ZPrize twice and serves on editorial boards including IEEE TDSC. He is also a member of the HKMA CBDC Expert Group. Prof. Zhao’s research focuses on materials science and engineering, particularly in the areas of electronic materials, nanomechanics, materials synthesis and manufacturing, nanomaterials and nanotechnology. He has made significant contributions to the control and fabrication of ultra-thin films and has pioneered novel techniques for measuring physical properties at the nanoscale. Their election to the Young Member Section is a testament to their outstanding achievements and dedication to advancing engineering research and innovation.

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

The Global Smart Cities Summit cum the 4th International Conference on Urban Informatics, co-organised by the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and the International Society for Urban Informatics (ISUI), commenced yesterday (6 August 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. During the event, SCRI and ISUI also jointly announced the ISUI Smart City Index 2025, developed by a team led by Prof. John Wenzhong SHI, Director of SCRI, Chair Professor of Geographical Information Science and Remote Sensing, and President of ISUI.  The Index utilises a human-centric evaluation framework, comprising six dimensions—citizen, environment, social landscape, economy, infrastructure and governance, across 97 indicators.  It adopts an inclusive approach applicable to cities across all development stages—from advanced, to developing and emerging economies, and utilises only publicly available data, giving a broader perspective that enables more relevant and effective policy formulation worldwide. The Index assessed 73 cities worldwide, with the top 10 ranked cities being Stockholm, Washington, D.C., Barcelona, London, Tokyo, Zurich, New York, Hong Kong, Copenhagen, and Oslo.  Hong Kong ranked eighth globally and second in Asia, outperforming major regional competitors such as Singapore, as well as key cities in Europe and North America.  Notably, Hong Kong excelled in the dimensions of environment, economy, and governance. Press release: https://polyu.hk/wtVPG Conference details: https://www.isocui.org/icui2025 Full report of the Smart City Index 2025: https://www.isocui.org/smart_city_index

PolyU research reveals neurocognitive correlates of testosterone in young men that shape generosity and self-worth

A research team led by Prof. WU Yin, Associate Professor of the PolyU Department of Applied Social Sciences and Member of the Mental Health Research Centre (MHRC), has conducted interdisciplinary research to uncover the neurocognitive correlates of testosterone in the brain function of young men, and their impact on social behaviour.  The findings provide valuable insights into potential applications of testosterone therapy in clinical and mental healthcare. Their first study focused on the impact of testosterone on socio-economic behaviour.  The researchers combined pharmacological manipulation and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to discover how testosterone influences generosity and the underlying neural mechanisms.  Findings revealed that exogenous testosterone administration reduced generosity, particularly when interacting with more distant others.  Additionally, the fMRI results showed that higher testosterone levels are linked to reduced neural activity in the temporoparietal junction (TPJ), an upper brain region associated with social cognition.  The team suggested that testosterone may reduce concern for others’ welfare at the neural level by dampening activity in the TPJ, highlighting a correlation between increased testosterone levels, and selfishness and reduced empathy in economic decision-making. In another related study, the team explored the link between state self-esteem (SSE), a momentary sense of self-worth and perceived social status, and testosterone levels.  The team found that testosterone administration can boost SSE updating and alleviate aberrant behaviours linked to psychiatric conditions such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders and schizophrenia.  The research indicated that a single dose of testosterone can positively influence SSE, particularly in positive social environments.  It is suggested that future clinical practice consider combining exogenous testosterone with behavioural interventions that foster supportive environments and social feedback to enhance SSE as a potential pre-clinical treatment for relevant aberrant behaviours and clinical symptoms. The two studies have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesand the Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, respectively.  In recognition of his excellent research, Prof. Wu has been honoured with the Second-class Award under the 9th Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Awards (Humanities and Social Sciences) by the Ministry of Education of China. Press release: https://polyu.hk/rzWbp   Online coverage: TVB – https://polyu.me/4m2LXYa (00:49 - 01:22) (Chinese only) CRHK – https://polyu.me/4lcj8Y7 (2025-08-05 part 3; 16:44 - 19:09; subscription required) (Chinese only)

PAIR members showcase research at Beijing-Hong Kong-Macao Young Scientists Conference

Dr Gail CHANG, Member of Research Institute for Future Food (RiFood) and Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition; Dr TAO Yong, Member of Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality (RCRE) and Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; and Dr Bruce WANG, Member of Research Institute for Smart Ageing (RISA) and Research Assistant Professor in the Department of English and Communication, showcased their research project outcomes at the Beijing–Hong Kong–Macao Young Scientists Conference held in Beijing on 1 August 2025. At the Conference, Dr Chang shared that mushroom-derived probiotics can not only increase the abundance of Akkermansia muciniphila (AKK) in the gut, but also offer various health benefits such as the prevention of obesity, diabetes and fatty liver disease. Her team is collaborating with various companies to introduce mooncakes, pineapple cakes and ice cream infused with the innovative formula. Dr Tao presented his team’s research on converting waste concrete into green building materials through a newly developed calcination method, thereby saving energy, reducing carbon emissions and improving material performance. Dr Wang shared how his team is using ultrasound imaging technology to study speech disorders and sublingual muscle dysfunction caused by Parkinson’s disease, facilitating innovations in speech therapy. Their projects highlight the research impact of young scientists at PAIR on multiple disciplines, demonstrating the potential of innovative solutions to pressing societal challenges. The Conference provided a valuable platform for knowledge exchange, fostering collaboration among researchers across the globe and paving the way for future advances in health, sustainability and technology.   Online coverage: The Paper - https://polyu.me/4ftzjip Toutiao - https://polyu.me/4ldSPkh

PolyU-developed lunar surface sampling device and Mars camera unveiled at “The Journey of Chinese Aerospace, Aviation and Navigation” exhibition

Jointly organised by the HKSAR Government and the China National Space Administration (CNSA), the “National Development and Achievements Series — Endless Exploration: The Journey of Chinese Aerospace, Aviation and Navigation” exhibition is being held at the Hong Kong Science Museum from 1 August to 7 September 2025. The exhibition features three main zones dedicated to space, aviation and maritime exploration, as well as a Hong Kong zone showcasing the significant contributions by local scientists to national space exploration and deep-sea research. Over one hundred exhibits and installations are on display, and admission is free for all members of the public. The Hong Kong section showcases two innovations developed by the team of Prof. YUNG Kai-leung, Director of Research Centre for Deep Space Explorations (RCDSE), highlighting Hong Kong’s significant contribution to the Nation’s space endeavours. The exhibits include the “Surface Sampling and Packing System”, which and successfully returned lunar soil samples back to Earth in the Chang’e-5 and Chang’e-6 lunar missions; and the “Mars Camera”, which monitored the status of Zhurong rover for the Tianwen-1 Mars mission This exhibition not only allows the public to appreciate the Nation’s latest achievements in aerospace, aviation and maritime technology up close, but also inspires the younger generation’s passion and dreams for scientific exploration, injecting new impetus into Hong Kong’s innovation and technology development. We warmly invite everyone to visit and explore the boundless possibilities of Chinese science and technology.   Online coverage: Ming Pao Daily News - https://polyu.me/4kZZI8J Headline Daily - https://polyu.me/41mdiMF Ta Kung Pao - https://polyu.me/45vuNg4 Wen Wei Po - https://polyu.me/4l4APc8 HK01 - https://polyu.me/4fr1u1B Dot Dot News - https://polyu.me/40MEcgF Hong Kong China News Agency - https://polyu.me/4mlIfZp China Review News - https://polyu.me/41gbbKf Orange News - https://polyu.me/4m2Oy4G hkong.hk - https://polyu.me/4m0mmiK    

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. On 1 August 2025 (Friday), Prof. Goodchild gave the 42nd PAIR Distinguished Lecture on the topic of “Geospatial Futures”.  Joined by 76 in-person participants and an online audience of 15,310, the Lecture reviewed the key developments and legacy practices in the evolution of GIS, revealing the forthcoming directions and future prospects in the field.  In the Lecture, Prof. Goodchild briefly introduced the history of GIS, discussing how innovations in areas including measurements, naming conventions, computing, global positioning system (GPS) and locating-measuring technologies have combined to propel the development of GIS. According to Prof. Goodchild, the explosion of data and diffusion of advanced technologies, including machine learning, generative AI and digital twins in the modern era, would present multiple new technical problems to GIScience, including geographic bias, transparency of machine learning, environmental cost, and uncertainty in predictions, challenging the fitness-for-use of geographic systems built.  In the Lecture, he emphasised a new direction for GIS: the achievement of more powerful and cheaper computation for finer-resolution data, better models, machine learning and 3D photorealism.  In illustrating the importance of computational breakthroughs for GIS, he shared several compelling examples of digital twin models that give virtual representations of physical landscapes such as volcanoes, coastal regions and urban environments.  In closing his presentation, Prof. Goodchild drew attention to the ethics of GIS, remarking that “while software developers are maximising the use of general-purpose GIS packages, the public should exercise responsibility in using the software appropriately and repurposing it.” Prof. Goodchild is a Senior Fellow at PAIR, and Chairman of the International Advisory Committee of the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI). Please click here for an online review.

Prof. WANG Zuankai’s ground-breaking research in energy and thermal-fluid sciences honoured with two international awards

Prof. WANG Zuankai, Associate Vice President (Research and Innovation), Dean of Graduate School, Kuok Group Professor in Nature-Inspired Engineering, and Chair Professor of Nature-Inspired Engineering, and Member of Research Institute for Intelligent Wearable Systems (RI-IWEAR) and Research Institute for Sports Science and Technology (RISports), has recently received two internationally acclaimed research awards in recognition of his ground-breaking contributions to nano-energy and interfacial engineering. These include the Nano Energy Award and the Micro Flow and Interfacial Phenomena (μFIP) Prominent Research Award. These accolades underscore Prof. WANG’s significant contributions to advancing sustainable technologies through nature-inspired design and cross-disciplinary innovation, reinforcing his global leadership in thermal-fluid sciences. Acknowledging the collective effort behind these achievements, Prof. WANG encouraged his team and young researchers, “Not afraid of tackling uncharted problems with curiosity and rigour. Recognition serves as a reminder that even incremental progress, when driven by purpose, can create a ripple effect, ultimately leading to transformative impact.” Nano Energy Award: revolutionising energy harvesting Established in 2012, the Nano Energy Award is one of the most prestigious honours in the field of nanoenergy, presented biennially at the International Conference on Nanoenergy and Nanosystems (NENS). Prof. WANG was recognised for his pioneering advancements in nature-inspired interfacial engineering for energy harvesting. Prof. WANG’s ground-breaking innovations, particularly in droplet-based electricity generators, have fundamentally reoriented the research trajectory of scalable energy harvesting. By integrating multiple energy conversion processes through interfacial engineering, his innovative designs offer sustainable solutions for harnessing energy from water, sunlight, and heat. His signature approach combines classical scientific principles with nature-inspired mechanics, enabling novel solutions to critical challenges in energy systems. These breakthroughs have catalysed a new generation of interfacial engineering-driven systems that transcend conventional efficiency boundaries. μFIP Prominent Research Award: inspiring critical applications Separately, Prof. WANG was honoured with the Micro Flow and Interfacial Phenomena (μFIP) Prominent Research Award at the Micro Flow and Interfacial Phenomena held at the University of California, Santa Barbara, between June 16–18, 2025. This award recognises his influential contributions to thermal-fluidics, particularly his development of nature-inspired surfaces that dynamically modulate interfacial and transport processes, such as wetting, adhesion, and thermal-fluid transport. These innovations have enabled wide-range applications in energy harvesting, thermal management, and flexible electronics. Prof. WANG expressed his gratitude for these honours and said, “Research that spans disciplines holds the power to resonate globally, offering innovative insights to address the complex challenges shared by humanity. These recognitions reaffirm the significance of fusing fundamental material innovations with real-world engineering pragmatism. Breakthroughs often emerge at the intersection of disciplines, and this continues to inspire me to bridge laboratory discoveries with practical solutions for a sustainable future.”

World Fuel Cell Conference 2025 successfully held

The World Fuel Cell Conference 2025, organised jointly by the Research Institute for Smart Energy of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, City University of Hong Kong, the University of University of Waterloo, Canada, and the International Association for Green Energy, was successfully held on PolyU campus, 9–12 July 2025. Chaired by Prof. NI Meng, Associate Dean (Research) of the Faculty of Construction and Environment and Management Committee Member of RISE, the conference brought together more than 300 speakers and participants from 15 different countries and regions for valuable exchanges on topics including hydrogen production, hydrogen storage, fuel cells, and innovative systems. Conference details: https://www.iahe-fcd.org/wfcc2025 Online coverage: Toutiao – https://polyu.me/4lPZTov

PolyU scholars honoured as RGC Senior Research Fellows and Research Fellow in recognition of outstanding research achievements

Three PAIR scholars have been awarded fellowships under the Research Grants Council’s (RGC) Senior Research Fellow Scheme (SRFS) and Research Fellow Scheme (RFS) 2025/26, in recognition of their outstanding research achievements in the fields of biomedical engineering, artificial intelligence, and advanced materials. Two scholars named in the RGC SRFS are Prof. SUN Lei, Professor of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Member of the Research Institute for Smart Ageing (RISA) and Research Institute for Sports Science and Technology (RISports); and Prof. TAN Kay Chen, Head of the Department of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, Chair Professor of Computational Intelligence, and Member of the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI). Prof. Sun’s project, “Development of sonogenetics for non-human primates”, aims to develop a new version of sonogenetics specifically for non-human primates and to investigate its performance in terms of cellular specificity, spatial accuracy and penetration capability.  Prof. Tan’s project, “Towards adaptive pretrained vision-language foundation models for medical image analysis”, aims to develop an integrated intelligent interpretation system to provide personalised and human-centric healthcare, featuring several functionalities such as visual question answering, radiology reports and computer-aided diagnosis. Prof. ZHAO Jiong, Professor of the Department of Applied Physics and Member of the Research Institute for Advanced Manufacturing (RIAM), was named in the RGC RFS.  His project, “From slidetronics to twistronics: a twisting platform for dissipationless ferroelectricity”, primarily focuses on Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and 2D materials.  His team will integrate cutting-edge methods with synthesis, device fabrication and theoretical frameworks to contribute to improving material quality and enabling device applications. Press release: https://polyu.me/44KjwrY   Online coverage: Dot Dot News – https://polyu.me/419eoeA (Chinese only) hkong.hk – https://polyu.me/46VZ2hh (Chinese only)

PAIR featured on THE Campus, sharing insights on short course design

Raising public awareness about interdisciplinary research is crucial for driving sci-tech innovations that offer promising solutions to social challenges including human health and well-being.  Curious about how PolyU makes interdisciplinary research accessible to everyone through popular science education? Let’s learn more from Prof. CHEN Qingyan, Director of PAIR, who shares insights on Times Higher Education Campus (THE Campus) about the Academy’s special considerations and strategies for designing the PAIR Advanced Education Programme.  This programme is PAIR’s new education initiative to provide short courses that give members of the public insight into cutting-edge interdisciplinary research related to their daily lives. Read the full article: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/make-interdisciplinary-research-accessible-everyone Course enrolment and details: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/pair/education/