Director of PReCIT

Prof. Christopher Chao received his BSc(Eng) degree in Mechanical Engineering (First Class) from The University of Hong Kong (HKU) in 1988. He was awarded the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fellowship for Overseas Studies in 1990 and obtained his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from The University of California, Berkeley, USA, in 1992 and 1994, respectively. Prof. Chao was an Assistant Professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) from 1995-1997. Before returning to PolyU in September of 2021, he was an Assistant Professor (1997-2002), Associate Professor (tenured, 2002-2009), Full Professor (2009-2015) and Chair Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (2015-2018) at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). He was Associate Dean of Engineering (Research and Graduate Studies) (2011-2014) and Head of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at HKUST (2014-2018). He joined HKU to serve as Dean of Engineering and Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering from 2018 to 2021. Prof. Chao was ranked by Clarivate Analytics in the top 1% worldwide by citations in the research field of Engineering in 2021. He has published over 170 archival journal papers. He serves as Editor and is on the editorial boards of several major journals in the field of Energy and Built Environment including Energy and Buildings, Building and Environment, Indoor Air, Building Simulation, Indoor and Built Environment, etc. He is a Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, Hong Kong Institution of Engineers and International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate. He serves in various Government units and core I&T organizations including the New Energy Transport Fund and Gas Safety Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong Environment Bureau, the Building Committee of the Housing Authority, the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund Council, Board of Directors of Cyberport, Board of Directors of the Engineering Forum of HKIE, etc.

• Bachelor of Science in Engineering, University of Hong Kong
• Master of Science, University of California
• Doctor of Philosophy, University of California

• Fellow of The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers
• Fellow of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers
• Fellow of Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences