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PAIR Research Impact Video Series | Episode 2 | Illuminating eye health: Red light can reduce the dioptre of near-sightedness

The PolyU Academy for Interdisciplinary Research (PAIR) is pleased to present the second episode of the PAIR Research Impact Video Series. The Series invites PAIR researchers to share their latest research achievements and solutions to major challenges in the society. In this episode, Prof. HE Mingguang, Director of the Research Centre for SHARP Vision (RCSV), introduces his team’s research on a new technology named Repeated Low-Level Red Light (RLRL) therapy, that is, a user-friendly, affordable, safe and clinically proven treatment solutions that slow the progression of myopia.  Prof. He also shares the news of PolyU joining the Global SPECS Network hosted by the World Health Organization (WHO)!  At RCSV, Prof. He and other members shall continue pursuing various impactful and international collaborations, with the goal to create knowledge and solutions for the promotion of healthy life-long sharp vision. Watch the video now and learn how PAIR helps reducing myopia in children! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K90VS2iXC_A

Mechanical and materials engineering expert to deliver distinguished lecture on shape programmable 3D mesostructures and functional devices

PAIR cordially invites you to join our Distinguished Lecture on 8 August 2024 (Thursday) at 2:30pm–4:00pm (Hong Kong time) on PolyU campus. The lecture titled “Shape Programmable Three-Dimensional Mesostructures and Functional Devices” will be delivered by Prof. HUANG Yonggang, Jan and Marcia Achenbach Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, United States. A rapidly expanding research area involves the development of routes to shape programmable three-dimensional (3D) structures with feature sizes in the mesoscopic range (that is, between tens of nanometres and hundreds of micrometres). A goal is to establish methods to control the properties of materials systems and the function of devices, though not only static architectures, but also morphable structures and shape-shifting processes. Soft matter equipped with responsive components can switch between designed shapes, but cannot support the types of dynamic morphing capabilities needed to reproduce continuous shape-shifting processes of interest for many applications. Challenges lie in the establishment of 3D assembly/fabrication techniques compatible with wide classes of materials and 3D geometries, and schemes to program target shapes after fabrication. In this talk, Prof. Huang will introduce a mechanics-guided assembly approach that exploits controlled buckling for constructing complex 3D micro/nanostructures from patterned two-dimensional (2D) micro/nanoscale precursors that can be easily formed using established semiconductor technologies. This approach applies to a very broad set of materials (e.g., semiconductors, polymers, metals, and ceramics) and even their heterogeneous integration, over a wide range of length scales (e.g., from 100 nm to 10 cm). To allow realisation of 3D mesostructures that are capable of qualitative shape reconfiguration, Prof. Huang and his team devise a loading-path controlled strategy that relies on elastomer platforms deformed in different time sequences to elastically alter the 3D geometries of supported mesostructures via nonlinear buckling. He will also introduce a recent work on shape programmable soft surface, constructed from a matrix of filamentary metal traces, driven by programmable, distributed electromagnetic forces that follow from the passage of electrical currents in the presence of a static magnetic field. Under the guidance of a mechanics model-based strategy to solve the inverse problem, the surface can morph into a wide range of 3D target shapes and shape-shifting processes. The compatibility of such approaches with the state-of-the-art fabrication/processing techniques, along with the versatile capabilities, allow transformation of diverse existing 2D microsystems into complex configurations, providing unusual design options in the development of novel functional devices. Prof. Huang is the Achenbach Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University. He is interested in mechanics of stretchable and flexible electronics, and mechanically guided deterministic 3D assembly. He has published 2 books and more than 700 journal papers and book chapters, including 15 in Science and 7 in Nature. He is a Highly Cited Researcher in Engineering (2009), in Materials Science (since 2014), in Physics (2018), and is ranked #4 worldwide in the 2024 Ranking of Best Scientists in the field of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering by Research.com. Prof. Huang is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE), US National Academy of Sciences, a fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a foreign member of the Royal Society (London), Chinese Academy of Sciences, and 5 other academies in Europe and Canada. He has received research awards from the American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, and Society of Engineering Sciences (SES). He has received teaching or undergraduate advising awards from all universities he has taught. He is (was) the Editor-in-Chief of 4 international journals, including Applied Mechanics Reviews since 2022, and its impact factor increased from ~7 in 2021 to 14.3 in 2023. He was the SES President (2014), Chairman of the ASME Applied Mechanics Division (2019-2020), was the chair of the election committee and is the incoming chair of the mechanical engineering section of NAE. In 2024, SES renamed its Engineering Science Medal to Yonggang Huang Engineering Science Medal. Don’t miss the chance to learn from Prof. Huang! Find out more and register at: https://polyu.hk/XzYpk

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.  

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)