News

ReACT2024 successfully held

The 1st International Conference on Research and Application of Carbonation Technology for Wastes and Concrete (ReACT2024) was successfully held from 11 to 14 December 2024 on PolyU campus. The Conference was jointly organized by the Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality (RCRE) and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) of PolyU together with the Solid Waste and Eco-material Subcommittee of the Chinese Ceramic Society. The Conference attracted more than 270 academics, researchers, industrial professionals, government officials and postgraduate students from all over the world, including Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Mainland China, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States.  The Conference commenced with an opening address from Prof. Christopher Chao (VP(RI)) and a welcome address from Prof. Chi-sun Poon (Chair of ReACT2024 Organising Committee, Director of RCRE and Head of CEE). We were honoured to have Prof. Jos Brouwers from Eindhoven University of Technology, Prof. Thomas Matschei from RWTH Aachen University, Prof. Changwen Miao from Southeast University, Prof. Liwu Mo from Nanjing Tech University, Prof. Takafumi Noguchi from The University of Tokyo, Prof. Chi-sun Poon from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Prof. Fazhou Wang from Wuhan University of Technology, and Dr Maciej Zajac from Heidelberg Materials AG as our keynote speakers to share their valuable insights and inspirations with us in the Plenary Sessions. In addition, more than 160 papers were presented at the Conference and they covered a spectrum of topics related to advanced carbonation technologies. The Conference served as an effective platform for exchanging knowledge and exploring the challenges and opportunities associated with the research and application of advanced mineral carbonation technology for construction materials, particularly in the context of waste and concrete. On the last day of the Conference, a cultural experience tour was organized to hike at Dragon’s Back, Shek O. It was grateful to see the participants enjoying this hiking tour. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all speakers, Organizing Committee members and participants who made this conference a resounding success. Your passion and dedication are very much appreciated. Our sincere gratitude also goes to our financial sponsor, Beijing NELD Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. for the generous support.

RCRE showcased at the Gammon Sustainability Conference and the HKAEE Experience Sharing Seminar Day

RCRE involved in the exhibitions at the Gammon Sustainability Conference at Nina Hotel on 28 November 2024 and at the 2024 Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence (HKAEE) Experience Sharing Seminar Day at Hong Kong Productivity Council on 11 December 2024, respectively, to showcase the innovative technologies on sustainable low-carbon construction materials.  

RCRE Member won a Gold Medal at the 4th Asia Exhibition of Innovations and Inventions Hong Kong

Congratulations to Ir Prof. Vivien Lin Lu, Professor of Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering and RCRE Member, for winning a Gold Medal at the 4th Asia Exhibition of Innovations and Inventions Hong Kong (AEII) that was held in Hong Kong on 5-6 December 2024. The award-winning project, led by Ir Prof. Lu, is titled “Synergistic integration of terrestrial radiative cooling and bifacial solar photovoltaics for low-carbon buildings”. The project developed an environmentally friendly solar-driven adaptive radiative cooling coating that can adjust cooling capacity based on solar irradiance, thus cooling building roofs and walls without consuming any energy.   AEII is a prestigious annual exhibition and competition dedicated to innovations and inventions in Asia. It brings together scholars, experts, and inventors from around the world to showcase a diverse range of groundbreaking inventions and solutions.

Two RCRE Members were listed as the World’s Most Highly Cited Researchers

Congratulations to two RCRE members, Prof. Haitao Huang and Dr Xiao Zhang, for being recognised in the list of “Highly Cited Researchers 2024” by Clarivate Analytics. This annual list recognises researchers for significant impact in their respective research fields. Each researcher selected has authored multiple highly-cited papers that have ranked in the top 1% by citations for their fields and publication year in the Web of Science over the past 11 years.       

Eco Expo Asia 2024

RCRE participated in the Eco Expo Asia 2024 to showcase the innovative technologies on sustainable low-carbon construction materials. This event was held at the AsiaWorld-Expo from 30 October to 2 November 2024.

RCC3D Forum 2024

RCC3D Forum, that co-organized by PolyU-NAMI 3D Concrete Robotic Printing Research Centre (RCC3D) and Research Centre for Resources Engineering towards Carbon Neutrality (RCRE), was successfully held on 28 October 2024 (Monday) at PolyU with more than 80 participants from industry, government and academics. The forum was kicked off by a welcome address by Ir Prof. Chi Sun Poon, Director of RCC3D, Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and Director of RCRE. The keynote speaker, Dr Hongjian Du, Senior Lecturer of National University of Singapore, gave his presentation on the recent development of 3D concrete printing in Singapore. Other distinguished speakers, Dr Shipeng Zhang, Deputy Director of RCC3D, Assistant Professor of CEE and Member of RCRE, Mr. Eric Chen, Senior Engineer of NAMI, and Dr Jacky Chung, Deputy Director of RCC3D, Senior Engineering Manager of Industrial Centre (IC) and Member of RCRE, gave their presentations on 3D concrete printing technologies and applications in Hong Kong. Panel discussion was moderated by Dr Hon Wah Wai, Director of RCC3D and Director of IC. Visit to the concrete printing laboratory was also arranged at the end of the forum. 

RCRE showcased at the PolyU InnoTech Open Day × Alumni Homecoming 2024

The University’s flagship event InnoTech Open Day × Alumni Homecoming 2024 was successfully held on 19 October 2024. RCRE was invited to participate in the Innovations Exhibition at the Jockey Club Auditorium, showcasing the innovative technologies on sustainable low-carbon construction materials. Ir Prof. Poon Chi-sun, Director of RCRE, also shared the latest projects and research achievements of RCRE at the PAIR InnoTech Forum. Fruitful discussion was made in the moderated question-and-answer session with the attendees.

RCRE Director and Twenty Members Ranked World’s Top 2% Scientists Released by Stanford University

RCRE Director and 20 members have been listed among world’s top 2% scientists for 2024, as released by Stanford University. Three of them are ranked among the top 100 in their respective fields. To highlight a remarkable achievement, Ir Prof. Chi-sun Poon, Director of RCRE, ranked 4th in the world in the field of Building & Construction.   The report was prepared by a team of experts led by Prof. John Ioannidis of Stanford University. According to the team, the publicly available database provides standardized information on citations, h-index, co-authorship adjusted hm-index, citations to papers in different authorship positions and a composite indicator (c-score).   Congratulations to our top-notch researchers! This internationally recognized list reflects RCRE’s commitment in research excellence and the endeavour to conduct ground-breaking research.

PolyU RCRE Webinar Series: Towards Sustainable Waste-to-Wealth: Process Development, Decision-making and Systems Integration for Carbon-neutrality and Sustainability Transition

Dr Jingzheng Ren (ISE) delivered a webinar with the topic of “Towards Sustainable Waste-to-Wealth: Process Development, Decision-making and Systems Integration for Carbon-neutrality and Sustainability Transition” on 23 September 2024. The webinar was co-organized with CEE of PolyU and HKIE Environmental Division. Over 140 participants joined the webinar.

Delegation Visit of Highway Department to RCRE

A delegation of Highway Department visited the RCRE on 10 September 2024. In the visit, Ir Prof. Chi-sun Poon (Director of RCRE) introduced various low-carbon construction materials such as foam glass-based lightweight concrete, superhydrophobic lightweight foam concrete, and Dr Jacky Chung (RCRE member) introduced 3D concrete printing technology and products to the delegates.