News

Dr James FANG shares PolyU’s research efforts for sustainable marine development in newspaper article

Dr James FANG Kar-hei, Member of the Research Institute for Land and Space (RILS) and Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition, published an article in the education section of Sing Tao Daily earlier, sharing on PolyU’s research in marine pollution monitoring technology and seafood sustainability. In the article, Dr Fang shared that his team utilised 3D technology to monitor the impact of pearl oyster reefs on local biodiversity, hoping to improve water quality through assessing the level of marine pollution in Hong Kong. The team has also collaborated with local fishermen on aquaculture techniques to support the sustainable development of fisheries.   Online review: Sing Tao Daily - https://bit.ly/3TwPthv (Chinese only)

Prof. Charles WONG receives Smart Traffic Fund for research on enhancing traffic efficiency

Prof. Charles Man-sing WONG, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Construction and Environment and Management Committee Member of the Research Institute for Land and Space (RILS), has been awarded HK$5.3 million for his project titled “A study on public transport re-routing, with a healthy ‘Wait-to-Ride’ trip mode for optimizing public transportation routes and improving traffic congestion”.   The project aims to analyse the routes and stops of road public transportation. A spatio-temporal environmental database will be developed for providing suggestions on reorganising public transport routes in over-served areas with duplicated routes, with the aim of easing road traffic congestion and enhancing the efficiency of the road network.   Further reading: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/en/media/media-releases/2024/0923_three-polyu-projects-supported-by-smart-traffic-fund/   Online coverage: Mirage News - https://polyu.me/47JRrB2

Prof. Jianli CHEN elected as the AGU Fellow

Prof. Jianli CHEN, Professor in the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics and core member of RILS, has been elected as an American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fellow. Prior to joining PolyU under the Strategic Hiring Scheme in 2022, Prof. CHEN dedicated 28 years of his academic career to the University of Texas at Austin. He is a world-renowned expert in space geodesy and its applications in Earth sciences. In 2005, he received the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor in the United States for early career scientists and engineers, making him the first recipient in the field of geodesy.   Prof. CHEN joins a prestigious group of 53 individuals in the 2024 Class of AGU Fellows. The American Geophysical Union (AGU), the world's largest Earth and space science association, annually bestows this distinguished honor on a select number of individuals who have made exceptional contributions to their fields. Since its inception in 1962, less than 0.1% of AGU members have been selected as Fellows each year.   AGU Fellows are recognized for their scientific eminence, demonstrated through breakthroughs, discoveries, or innovations that advance Earth and space sciences. They also serve as external experts, advising government agencies and other organizations upon request. Prof. CHEN was selected for his exemplary leadership and outstanding scientific achievements, which have significantly advanced our understanding of space geodesy and global climate change.   Honorees will be recognized at AGU24, which will convene more than 25,000 attendees from over 100 countries in Washington, D.C., and online from December 9-13, 2024. Reflecting the theme 'What's Next for Science,' the Honors Reception will celebrate groundbreaking achievements that illustrate the continual advancement of science, inspiring the AGU community with their stories and successes.

Research by ADoRILS, Prof. Qihao WENG, idenifies effective heat indices for detecting dangerous outdoor conditions

We are delighted to announce that the research team led by Prof. Qihao WENG, Associate Director of RILS and Chair Professor of Geomatics and Artificial Intelligence in the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI), has published a groundbreaking study. This research addresses the need for developing global heat wave frameworks to effectively identify dangerous outdoor conditions across diverse climatic and geographic regions. These developments will assist climate scientists, health professionals, policymakers, and communities in creating mitigation strategies and raising awareness about heat risks. The article, titled “Comparing Existing Heat Wave Indices in Identifying Dangerous Heat Wave Outdoor Conditions,” was published on 7 August 2024, in the journal Nexus of Cell Press. Dr. Pir MOHAMMAD, a postdoctoral research fellow in the JC STEM Lab of Earth Observations at PolyU, is the first author, while Prof. WENG serves as the corresponding author. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of commonly used heat wave indices in identifying dangerous outdoor conditions, using recent heat wave events observed in Asia, Europe, and North America as case studies. The results underscore the necessity for a global heat risk framework and nomenclature for heat risk early warning systems. Additionally, they highlight the need for local authorities to adopt more sophisticated heat stress mitigation and adaptation measures in the face of rapid global warming. This study encourages a broader discussion on the feasibility of using existing heat stress indices to accurately assess and respond to dangerous heat stress scenarios across various climatic, geographic, and meteorological contexts. The discussion surrounding the development of a heat risk framework closely aligns with the World Health Organization’s call for action on extreme heat. For more information, please visit the publication: DOI: 10.1016/j.ynexs.2024.100027 Congratulations to Prof. WENG and his team on this remarkable achievement! Online Coverage: EurekAlert! by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science Daily The Economic Times Science Magazine Eurasia Review

Sr Prof. Charles WONG Man-sing appointed as Member of Energy Advisory Committee of the Environment and Ecology Bureau by the HKSAR government

Sr Prof. Charles WONG Man-sing, Management Committee Member of RILS and Associate Dean of the Faculty of Construction and Environment, was appointed as a Member of the Energy Advisory Committee of the Environment and Ecology Bureau by the HKSAR government, for a term of two years, with effect from 15 July 2024. The Committee advises the government on energy policy, including policy matters concerning energy supply and demand, energy conservation and efficiency, and other related matters. HKSAR Government press release: https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202407/15/P2024071500801.htm

RILS member Prof. Zhen LENG awarded ACSE’s 2024 Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize

Congratulations to Prof. Zhen LENG, Associate Director of the Research Centre for Resources Engineering for Carbon Neutrality (RCRE) and Member of the Research Institute for Land and Space (RILS) and the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD), for receiving the 2024 Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize (Huber Award) by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) for his innovative research in developing durable, low-carbon, cost-effective pavement materials and technologies.   The Huber Award is the highest-level mid-career research award given annually to individuals with notable achievements and contributions in research with respect to all disciplines of civil engineering.

RILS develops deep learning-based remote sensing image classification for land use land cover mapping in cloud-prone areas

Prof. Qihao WENG, Associate Director of the Research Institute for Land and Space (RILS) and his team have developed an integrated time series mapping method to enhance the land use and land cover (LULC) mapping accuracy and frequency in cloud-prone areas. Other key PolyU members on the research team include Prof. Xiaoli DING, Director of RILS, and Dr Zhiwei LI, Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics. The method incorporates spectral-indices-fused deep learning models and time series reconstruction techniques. The team applied the method to the cloud- and rain-prone Pearl River Delta (i.e., Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, GBA), and yielded an overall mapping accuracy of up to 87.01%, outperforming existing LULC products. This method has the potential to generate seamless and near real-time maps for different regions in the world by using deep learning models trained on datasets collected globally. It can provide high-quality LULC data sets at different time intervals for various land and water dynamics in cloud- and rain-prone regions.   Read the full paper: https://shorturl.at/jyj1B

RILS scholars win two Smart Living Partnership Awards 2023/24

Congratulations to Prof. Xiaoli DING, Director of the Research Institute for Land and Space (RILS), and Dr Wallace LAI, core Member of RILS, for winning the awards “Outstanding Land Subsidence Monitoring Technology by Integrating Satellite Remote Sensing & Mobile Surveying” and “Outstanding Imaging Technologies for Rapid Leakage Diagnosis of High-Pressure and Large Water Mains” respectively, in the Smart Building / Environment Technology / Green Technology category of the Smart Living Partnership Awards 2023/24.   Co-organised by ETNet and Hong Kong Cyberport, the Award aims to recognise, promote and support outstanding companies or organisations which demonstrate commitment to promoting Hong Kong as a Smart City, improving the society’s competitiveness and increasing public awareness of digitalisation.   Online coverage: ETNet - https://polyu.me/4e0Kw94 Anue - https://polyu.me/3UVQmju

ADoRILS develops deep learning-based super-resolution method for building height estimation

A study by Prof. Qihao WENG, Associate Director of the Research Institute for Land and Space (RILS), Director of Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Geomatics, Member of the Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Smart Cities Research Institute (SCRI) and Chair Professor of Geomatics and Artificial Intelligence, and his research team, titled “A deep learning-based super-resolution method for building height estimation at 2.5 m spatial resolution in the Northern Hemisphere” was recently published in the journal Remote Sensing of Environment.   Building height is an important indicator for assessing the level of urban development along the vertical dimension. Existing large-scale building height estimation studies focusing on coarse spatial resolution cannot reveal height variations across buildings in urban areas.   The team proposed a deep learning-based super-resolution method to generate building height maps. The researchers created an open building height dataset with 45,000 samples covering 301 cities in the Northern Hemisphere, including China, the conterminous United States, and Europe. The dataset generated provides great potential in high-resolution database updating, urban planning, and natural disaster assessment, as well as a new perspective of how cutting-edge satellite imaging technology can be utilised in urban observation, measurement, monitoring, and management.   Read the full paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0034425724002591

PolyU study reveals effectiveness of GBGI infrastructure in mitigating urban heat

Prof. Hai GUO, Management Committee Member of the Research Institute for Land and Space (RILS) and Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, together with global researchers, have conducted a first-of-its-kind study on the effectiveness of green-blue-grey infrastructure (GBGI) in cooling urban heat across various regions. The study findings have been published in the international interdisciplinary journal The Innovation.   The study revealed regional and city-specific variations in the effectiveness of GBGI for mitigating urban heat. In Europe, Asia, North America and Australia, the overall cooling effect of GBGI is up to 18.9°C, 17.7°C, 12°C and 9.63°C respectively. In addition, the implementation of green and blue infrastructures has proven to be highly effective in lowering air temperatures globally. While green infrastructures can regulate urban heat through evaporation, transpiration, shading and thermal insulation, blue infrastructures absorb heat and cool the surrounding area through evaporation.   The study also showed notable effects of various GBGI features in mitigating urban heat in Mainland China cities. The most effective means include botanical gardens, wetlands, green walls and attenuation ponds which exhibited temperature reductions of up to 10°C, 9.27°C, 8°C and 7°C respectively. Although the cooling effect ranges are generally similar in the north and south of China, there is variability within the same region. For example, in Beijing, botanical garden could result in up to 10°C temperature decrease while that in Shaanxi province only contributed to 2.7°C. In Hong Kong, parks, green roofs and golf courses were found to play substantial roles in cooling urban heat, resulting in temperature reductions of 4.9°C, 4.9°C and 4.2°C respectively.   Press release: https://polyu.hk/BqOJh Read the full paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666675824000262?via%3Dihub Online coverage: Sing Tao Daily - https://polyu.me/4bbXhvP Sing Tao Headline - https://polyu.me/4bYufjt Ta Kung Pao - https://polyu.me/3K1bUGq Dot Dot News - https://polyu.me/3UIActC Xinhua Finance Agency - https://polyu.me/3K719Cg Hong Kong China News Agency - https://polyu.me/44HGhex Associated Press - https://polyu.me/3UHAC3v ETNet - https://polyu.me/3V3LgTw Macau Business - https://polyu.me/3UJ5CA7 Taiwan Business News - https://polyu.me/3V1UkZ5 Global News - https://polyu.me/4bIX8zF GBA Biz Tech Magazine - https://polyu.me/3V6Aj3O HXCJ - https://polyu.me/4biIXSo Cntechw.com - https://polyu.me/44J3mxq Scienmag - https://polyu.me/4bQn7p4 Science Daily - https://polyu.me/4avRaRS