The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is committed to nurture young researchers by fostering novel insights and providing support to drive innovative research. Two PolyU projects have been awarded the JC STEM Early Career Research Fellowship for Translation and Application, with a total grant of HK$5.72 million. The fellowships offer young talents the opportunity to gain hands‑on experience in technology commercialisation and to expand their networks with industry partners and research end users.
The two awarded projects exemplify PolyU’s strengths in advancing cutting‑edge research with strong translational potential. They offer innovative solutions that bridge academic discovery and industry application, enabling the selected STEM post-doctoral researchers to lay a solid foundation for turning scientific breakthroughs into impactful applications.
Led and supervised by Prof. NI Meng, Associate Dean of Faculty of Construction and Environment, Head of Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering, and Chair Professor of Energy Science and Technology, the project titled “Additive Manufacturing of Ultra-lightweight Solid Oxide Fuel Cells and Electrolysis Cells for Vehicles, Portable Devices, Low-altitude Aircraft, and Aerospace Applications” has received HK$2.861 million for a duration of 48 months.
This project aims to integrate 3D solid oxide cells (3D-SOCs) made by additive manufacturing to form compact and lightweight 3D-SOC stacks for vehicles, portable, and aerospace applications, through structural optimisation, process refinement, and material design.
Led and supervised by Prof. LUO Xiapu Daniel, Associate Dean (Research) of Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences, and Professor of Department of Computing, the project titled “Next-Generation Program Analysis Techniques for Proactive Web Application Security Lifecycle Management” has received HK$2.861 million for a duration of 48 months.
This project aims to transform how we secure our digital world, spanning from large-scale cloud services to ubiquitous smart home devices. Currently, identifying and remediating software vulnerabilities remains a largely manual and time-consuming process, leaving critical systems exposed to malicious actors for extended periods. To address this challenge, the team will develop an intelligent, automated framework that proactively uncovers hidden vulnerabilities before adversaries can exploit them. Crucially, this system will go beyond detection. It will automatically assess the real-world exploitability and severity of each flaw, and harness AI-driven techniques to rapidly synthesize security patches that generalise across diverse applications, enabling the remediation of similar weaknesses at scale.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has established the JC STEM Early Career Research Fellowship for Translation and Application as a strategic initiative to nurture a pool of promising STEM postdoctoral researchers who aspire to translate scientific research into industry applications. The Research Grants Council (RGC) is a partner organisation of this Fellowship.
