News

RCRE served as a Supporting Organizer for the Opening Ceremony of PolyU-NAMI 3D Concrete Robotic Printing Research Centre cum Seminar of Pioneering Next-gen Construction Technology on 24 June 2023

With the support from RCRE, the Opening Ceremony of PolyU-NAMI 3D Concrete Robotic Printing Research Centre (RCC3D) cum Seminar of Pioneering Next-gen Construction Technology was successfully held on 24 June 2023 (Saturday) at PolyU with more than 150 participants.   The event was kicked off by the welcome address of Ir Prof. Christopher Chao, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU, and Prof. Pak-chung Ching, Chairman of Nano and Advanced Materials Institute (NAMI), followed by the opening speech by the Guest of Honor, Mr Victor Tai, JP, Under Secretary for Housing of the HKSAR Government. Ir Prof. Chi-sun Poon, Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and Director of RCRE, introduced the RCC3D and highlighted its vision on the research and application of 3D concrete printing.   Other distinguished speakers, Prof. Behrokh Khoshnevis, Louise L. Dunn Distinguished Professor of Engineering of University of Southern California, Prof. Richard Liew, Professor and Head of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of National University of Singapore, Dr Gordon Leung, Associate Director of Research and Development (Construction) of NAMI, and Dr Jacky Chung, Senior Engineering Manager of Industrial Centre (IC) of PolyU, gave their presentations on the topics related to the research and application of 3D concrete printing. The RCC3D and RCRE laboratories were also visited at the end of the event.   Co-organized by CEE, IC and NAMI, RCC3D is a pioneering research centre in Hong Kong that dedicated to advancing the field of 3D concrete printing. The Director of RCC3D is Ir Prof. Chi-sun Poon who is also the Director of RCRE.

PolyU RCRE Webinar Series: Navigating the Divide: Contrasting Consumer and Investor Attitudes Towards Corporate Carbon Neutrality

Dr Di FAN (SFT) delivered a webinar with the topic of “Navigating the Divide: Contrasting Consumer and Investor Attitudes Towards Corporate Carbon Neutrality” on 17 May 2023. The webinar was co-organized with CEE of PolyU.

Director of RCRE won Award in the 48th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva

Warmest congratulations to Director of RCRE, Ir Prof. Poon Chi-sun, for winning a Gold Medal with Congratulations of the Jury Special Prize in the 48th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva for his project “Eco-Tiles for Enhancing Marine Biodiversity” collaborated with CityU.  Eco-engineered tiles made of low pH eco-friendly concrete using recycled materials and incorporated with various microhabitats are suitable for different marine organisms to promote sustainable biodiversity on artificial seawalls.  

RCRE Members received Awards in the 48th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva

Congratulations to 7 RCRE members for winning several awards in the 48th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva. The awards for their projects are listed below.   Prize of the State of Geneva and Gold Medal with Congratulations of the Jury – “Novel High Efficacy Nano Multi-ring Defocus Incorporated Spectacle Lens for Myopia Control” by Prof. Benny Cheung and his team Gold Medal – “Long-lasting Self-disinfecting Materials Technology” by Dr Chris Lo and Prof. Chi-wai Kan Silver Medal – “BioCharttery: A Climate-smart and Carbon-negative Growing Material” by Prof. Dan Tsang and his team Bronze Medal – “Food Waste-derived 3D Printing Material” by Dr Ka-hing Wong and Prof. Dan Tsang Bronze Medal – “Novel Smart Precast Porous Road System Against Flooding” by Prof. Yuhong Wang Bronze Medal – “The Fleming Ankle – Lightweight and Wearable Exoskeleton for Mobility Enhancement” by Dr Kelvin Heung  

PAIR Annual Conference - RCRE Session on 10 May 2023

The RCRE Session of PAIR Annual Conference was successfully held on 10 May 2023 (Wednesday) at PolyU. The Session contains a keynote presentation, 5 technical presentations and 10 poster presentations. Over 100 participants joined this Session physically or by online mode.

Associate Director of RCRE being elected as the President of the Academy of Pavement Science and Engineering

The Board of Governors of Academy of Pavement Science and Engineering (APSE) announced on 4 May 2023 that Dr Zhen Leng, Associate Director of RCRE, had been elected as the President of the 2023-2025 Executive Board. APSE is a global community of academics working together to educate, innovate, and advance the profession of pavement science and engineering (http://www.pavements.academy).

RCRE Member Ranked No. 8 in the Best Environmental Sciences Scientists in China 2023

Congratulations to RCRE member, Prof. Dan Tsang, achieving National Rank 8 in the Best Environmental Sciences Scientists in China 2023 (https://research.com/scientists-rankings/environmental-sciences/cn). Position in the ranking is based on a scholar’s D-index (Discipline H-index), which includes exclusively publications and citation metrics for an examined discipline. 

Associate Director of RCRE’s paper has been awarded as one of the High-Impact Papers published in Engineering

A research paper titled “Sustainable Practice in Pavement Engineering through Value-Added Collective Recycling of Waste Plastic and Waste Tyre Rubber” with Dr LENG Zhen, Associate Director of RCRE as the corresponding author, has been named by ScienceDirect platform as one of the “High-Impact Papers” among the 234 papers indexed in Engineering since 2021. The paper was recognised as an ESI Hot and Highly Cited Paper. Read the Abstract: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095809920303738

RCRE hosted a lab tour for industry leaders and members of PolyU Foundation

A delegation comprising Ir Tsui Tak-kong of T.K. Tsui & Associate Ltd, Mr Xu Min-luo of Wu Yi Construction Company Limited and members of PolyU Foundation visited the RCRE laboratory on 20 January 2023. The visit enabled the RCRE to showcase the latest research developments and achivements and encouraged possible academic-industry collaborations.

Call for Applications - RCRE Funding Schemes

Third Round of Seed Fund of RCRE Scheme (2022/23) welcomes applications to promote and nurture inter-disciplinary research collaboration in fields related to RCRE research directions and enhance the competitiveness of staff intending to apply for major competitive research grants. The funding ceiling of the seed fund is HK$500,000 per project. RCRE Young Researcher Supporting Scheme (2022/23) is a new initiative that aims to support and nurture promising early career academics, and promote and nurture inter-disciplinary research collaboration in the fields related to RCRE. The Scheme is open to full-time Research Assistant Professors in the University and offers support of up to HK$250,000 per project. Funding for both schemes can only be used for research purposes, including equipment and general expenses, hiring short-term research supporting staff and research-related trips. The selection criteria are based on research excellence and strategic importance of the applications, plan to bid for external grants, involvement of multi-disciplinary members and research output generated by the proposals.  Interested parties should submit completed application form to RCRE on or before 17 February 2023. For more information, please contact info.rcre@polyu.edu.hk.