News

Professor Zhonghua QIAO has been named a Fellow of the China Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (CSIAM)

We are delighted to share with you that Professor Zhonghua QIAO, our RISE member has been named a Fellow of the China Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (CSIAM)! The Fellowship is the highest academic honour conferred by the CSIAM in recognition of their extraordinary achievements in the field of industrial and applied mathematics. Congratulations to Professor Qiao!   Online coverage: Science Net - https://polyu.me/3J3Y2OR

37 RISE Scholars Ranked World’s Top 2% Scientists Released by Stanford University (Career-Long)

Stanford University has released an update for science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators in September 2025. According to the latest two rankings, 37 RISE scholars were included based on their career-long citation impact. Together with the scholars named for their single-year citation impact, 48 RISE scholars were recognised. It is prepared by a team of experts led by Professor John P.A. loannidis of Stanford University. 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). By being included in this list, scientists receive global recognition for advancing knowledge and influencing their scientific communities. The list can be downloaded from here. Congratulations to our RISE top scholars! Reference: Ioannidis, John P.A. (2025), “August 2025 data-update for "Updated science-wide author databases of standardized citation indicators"”, Elsevier Data Repository, V8, doi: 10.17632/btchxktzyw.8   RISE Top 2% Scientists in the Global List  * 37 RISE scholars were included based on their career-long citation impact. Name(by alphabetical order of surname) Subject Field Prof. AN Liang * Energy Prof. BU Siqi Energy Prof. CAO Jiannong* Networking & Telecommunications Prof. CAO Sunliang* Energy Prof. CHAI Yang * Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Prof. DAI Jiyan * Applied Physics Prof. DONG You * Civil Engineering Prof. HAN Suting * Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Prof. HAO Jianhua * Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Prof. HUANG Haitao * Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Prof. HUANG Xinyan * Energy Prof. LAU Shu Ping Daniel * Applied Physics Prof. LEE Yoon Suk Lawrence Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Prof. LEU Shao-Yuan Biotechnology Prof. LI Gang * Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Dr LIU Junwei Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Prof. LOO Ka Hong Electrical & Electronic Engineering Ir Prof. LU Lin, Vivien * Energy Dr Rujie MA Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Ir Prof. MUI Kwok-wai Horace * Building & Construction Prof. NI Meng * Energy Ir Prof. NIU Jianlei * Building & Construction Prof. QIAO Zhonghua Numerical & Computational Mathematics Prof. SHOU Dahua * Materials Prof. TAO Xiaoming * Materials Prof. TSANG Yuen Hong * Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Ir Prof. WANG Shengwei * Energy Prof. WONG Yuhong * Building & Construction Ir Prof. WONG Ling Tim * Building & Construction Prof. WONG Wai Yeung Raymond * Organic Chemistry Prof. WU Maochun Energy Prof. WU Tao, Tom * Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Prof. XIAO Fu, Linda * Building & Construction Prof. XU Bingang * Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Prof. XU Zhao* Energy Prof. XU Zhenglong Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Prof. YAN Feng* Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Prof. Jinyue YAN Jerry * Energy Prof. YANG Guang Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Ir Prof. YANG Hongxing* Energy Prof. YANG Xusheng Materials Prof. YAO Haimin * Mechanical Engineering & Transports Prof. ZHANG Biao * Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Prof. ZHANG Xiao * Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Prof. ZHANG Xiaoge * Artificial Intelligence & Image Processing Prof. ZHENG Guangping* Materials Prof. ZHENG Zijian * Nanoscience & Nanotechnology Prof. ZHU Songye * Civil Engineering

RISE members awarded for the PolyU Patents Achievement Award 2024

We are pleased to share the good news to all of you! Three of our RISE members are awarded for the PolyU Patents Achievement Award 2024!  The PolyU Patents Achievement Award continues to honour the exceptional achievements of departments and inventors who actively contribute to IP filing. This year, to recognise the contributions and achievements in creating impact through IP commercialisation, a new category“ Licensing ” has been launched. This new category aims to: • Recognise departments/research teams excelling in translating IP into commercial or societal impact. • Highlight achievements in leveraging IP for revenue generation through licensing and commercialisation. Professor Xinyan HUANG is awarded for the Top Patents Filing Award and Most Active Patents Filing Award. Professor Xiaoming TAO and Professor Hongxing YANG are awarded for the Outstanding IP Commercialisation Award. Congratulations to Professor Huang, Professor Tao and Professor Yang for their remarkable achievement and contributions!

World Fuel Cell Conference was successfully held on 9-12 July 2025

We are delighted to share with you that the World Fuel Cell Conference 2025 (WFCC 2025) was successfully held on 9-12 July 2025! This year, Hong Kong which is a cosmopolitan and energetic city, was selected to oragnise the  WFCC 2025! The conference was chaired by Prof. Meng Ni, the Head of Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering and a member of the management committee of Research Institute for Smart Energy (RISE) of PolyU, and was co-chaired by Prof. Liang An (PolyU), Prof. Mengying Li (PolyU), Prof. Jian Wang (CityU), Prof. Weihong Li (CityU), Prof. Xianguo Li (University of Waterloo) and Prof. Jianbo Zhang (Tsinghua University).  Miss Kate Fung served as the secretariat for the conference. It is our honour to have Ir Professor Christopher Chao, our Vice President (Research and Innovation) and Mr Arthur Lee, Commissioner for Climate Change in the Environment and Ecology Bureau of HKSARG to deliver the welcome speech and the opening speech. In the Conference, more than 300 speakers and participants from 15 different countries and regions, such as United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, Singapore, Germany, Italy, France, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, India, New Zealand, South Korean, and Mainland China etc. shared their valuable insights towards the recent developments in hydrogen production, hydrogen storage, fuel cells, and innovative systems. Besides, the conference also features a 3MT competition for research postgraduate students. In the closing ceremony, we had award presentation session, more than 50 awardees are awarded with Best Poster Awards, Best Presentation Awards and 3MT Competition Awards. Congratulations to all of the awardees! At the end, Professor Xianguo LI are invited to announce an existing news which is the next World Fuel Cell Conference would be held in Japan! More information will be provided later. Undoubtedly, this conference provides an excellent platform for scientists, engineers, industrial practitioners, and governmental policy makers to exchange ideas and seek collaborations on the development and applications of hydrogen energy, fuel cells, and the inter-connection.   We’d like to thank all participants to join our Conference and look forward to the next conference!   Conference detail: https://www.iahe-fcd.org/wfcc2025 Prof. Christopher Chao was giving an opening speech. Mr. Arthur Lee from the Environment and Ecology Bureau of HKSARG was giving his opening speech Prof. Xianguo Li was giving a speech at the closing ceremony Group Photo of WFCC 2025 Organisers  The tea break of the conference                                                                      

Prof. Shengwei WANG, Director of RISE has been awarded the “ASHRAE Hong Kong Chapter Technology Award 2025 in the category of “Commercial Buildings (Existing)”.

Prof. Shengwei Wang, Director of Research Institute for Smart Energy, Chair Professor of Building Energy and Automation, and Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Professor in Smart Buildings, has been awarded the “ASHRAE Hong Kong Chapter Technology Award 2025” in the category of “Commercial Buildings (Existing)”.   Prof. Wang and his team have been collaborating with the International Commerce Centre (ICC) management team to implement the life cycle retro-commissioning (LC-RCx) technologies aiming at optimizing the large and complex air-conditioning systems. This initiative involves analyzing the building's energy consumption and developing strategies to enhance energy performance. As a result, ICC has achieved significant improvements in energy efficiency, realizing approximately 39% energy savings from July 2023 to June 2024 compared to the energy use in 2012.   ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is an international society of more than 50,000 heating, refrigerating and air conditioning professionals from over 132 nations, dedicated to serving humanity and promoting a sustainable world. The ASHRAE Hong Kong Chapter was founded in 1984 and is one of the largest Chapters in ASHRAE.  

RISE young star Prof. Guang YANG and his team published research in Nature Sustainability

We are pleased to announce that our RISE young star Prof. Guang YANG, Member Assistant Professor of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEE), collaborating with Prof. Jinsong HUANG's team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, published groundbreaking research titled "Reductive cation for scalable wide-bandgap perovskite solar cells in ambient air" in Nature Sustainability. The team innovatively incorporated a reductive methylhydrazinium cation (Mhy+) into wide-bandgap perovskite materials, enabling scalable fabrication of solar cells in ambient conditions. Key highlights: Material Improvement: Mhy+ significantly reduces defect density while suppressing iodide oxidation and halide demixing, leading to enhanced efficiency and stable production of wide-bandgap solar cells in ambient air conditions. Performance Breakthrough: Achieved 23.3% power conversion efficiency (PCE), 1.28 V open-circuit voltage, and just 0.37 V voltage loss, setting new records. Successfully fabricated 25 cm² mini-modules with 19.8% efficiency. Stability Enhancement: Under accelerated aging conditions at 55±5°C, the mini-modules maintained 94% of their initial efficiency after 700 hours of light soaking, demonstrating exceptional long-term stability. This research not only addresses the technical challenges of scalable fabrication but also provides a viable pathway for the sustainable use of solar energy, paving the way for future innovations in the field. Read the full paper:  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-025-01529-5  

智慧能源研究院院長王盛衛教授獲邀出席Road To EcoCity中國香港環保科技論壇2025並發表主題演講 ( 只有中文版本 )

2025年3月24日 - 由減碳生活基金會和香港科技創新教育聯盟聯合主辦的 Road To EcoCity中國香港環保科技論壇2025順利舉行。當日中聯辦經濟部部長 徐衛剛先生及環境及生態局副局長 黃淑嫻女士等獲邀出席為主禮嘉賓。繼2022年首届論壇「聚焦雙碳目標，踐行綠色發展」隆重啓動后，本届論壇以「智能減碳，綠色科創」為主題，進一步聚焦並探討了科技賦能環境產業發展的發展方向和策略，以及高密度城市碳中和路徑及建築物的角色與技術。香港理工大學智慧能源研究院院長王盛衛教授獲邀為是次主題作演講，共同探索人類科技與環境保護的「綠色未來」。    

Prof. NI Meng discusses hydrogen energy development on RTHK TV programme

We are please to share that Prof. NI Meng,our RISE Management Committee Member, Associate Dean (Research) of the Faculty of Construction and Environment and Chair Professor of Energy Science and Technology, shared his expertise on hydrogen energy in a recent interview with RTHK TV programme Hong Kong Connection.  Prof. Ni elaborated on the benefits and limitations of grey, blue and green hydrogen, emphasising their important roles in the global transition to sustainable energy systems. He also pointed out that renewable energy supply and demand are not always matched, resulting in the generation of more renewable energy than needed, hence causing renewable energy being wasted; if the excess renewable energy can be used to produce hydrogen, this can not only avoid energy waste, but also truly achieve zero-emission hydrogen production, contributing to carbon neutrality and sustainability. Online coverage: RTHK - https://polyu.me/4hcfKKX (06:39 - 08:53; 15:05 - 16:23)（只有中文）

Prof. WANG Shengwei co-authors white paper on enhancing building energy flexibility through smart technologies

Prof. WANG Shengwei, Director of Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Research Institute for Smart Energy (RISE) and Prof. Lasantha MEEGAHAPOLA, Associate Professor of School of Engineering of RMIT University, have recently published a white paper titled “Delivering Demand Response Services to the Power Grid via Smart Building Load Flexibility”.   The white paper, a deliverable from a research project supported by the PolyU–RMIT FutureLab, explores the provision of demand response services through smart building load flexibility. The project “Advanced Grid Support Services from Smart Buildings and Building Microgrids” involves experiments on load flexibility, building data analytics and developing machine learning models to identify load flexibility in smart buildings, and building microgrids to provide grid support services.   Demand response, a method of power balancing, encourages customers to adjust their energy usage in response to price signals. Digitalisation and advances in communications technologies, artificial intelligence and machine learning further enhance buildings’ potential for demand response.   The white paper demonstrated how building energy flexibility can be characterised by power adjustment direction, capacity, availability, predictability and response time. The team also analysed ancillary service frameworks in Australia, China and Hong Kong, and concluded by examining the regulatory and policy landscapes across the three places and posing open industry and research questions. Overall, advancements in electric vehicles, artificial intelligence, smart energy conversion, and digitalisation provide substantial opportunities for leveraging smart building load flexibility for demand response services to power grids. Effective regulations, policies, and market mechanisms will be critical for unlocking building load flexibility.   Read the full paper at: https://zenodo.org/records/14571315

Prof. Lin LU Vivien integrates green radiative cooling coating with photovoltaics for energy saving in buildings

We are delighted to share with you that Prof. Lin Lu Vivien lead investigator of RISE and her research team, was interviewed by Sing Tao on 21 Jan 2025, regarding to integrate the solar-driven adaptive radiative cooling (SARC) coating they developed, with bifacial solar photovoltaics (PV) to achieve synergistic enhancement in thermal management and power generation, transforming buildings from energy consumers into energy harvesters, with the support of the PolyU Carbon Neutrality Funding Scheme. This Scheme aims to support the application of university research outcomes and to take the campus as a testbed to apply research solutions, with a goal of achieving carbon neutrality on campus and supporting Hong Kong’s goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. The team is planning to install bifacial PV panels on the rooftops of the under-construction PolyU Kowloon Tong Student Hostel, with new coating applied on the corresponding area under the panels, to enhance power generation while radiatively cooling the buildings.   The carbon dots (CDs)-driven photoluminescent radiative cooling nanocoating can be applied to building rooftops and exterior walls. This novel coating can automatically adjust its absorption and emission of solar and thermal radiation in response to changes in environmental temperature or light conditions, helping to mitigate the heat island effect caused by building materials. It uses photoluminescence technology to convert ultraviolet light into visible light, thereby improving the absorption and utilisation of light by PV and increasing its conversion efficiency.   Compared to traditional coatings, this novel coating can effectively improve effective daytime solar reflectance from 92.5% to 95%, increase the cooling effect by 10% to 20%, and reduce the temperature by up to 25°C when applied to concrete rooftops. This nanocoating is environmentally friendly, water-soluble, volatile organic compounds (VOCs)-free, and can be produced in various colours, thus demonstrating significant application potential. Press Release: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/media/media-releases/2024/0924_polyu-researchers-unveil-novel-carbon-dots-driven-green-radiative-cooling-coating/ Online coverage: Sing Tao Headline - https://polyu.me/4hofXLG (Chinese only)