News

Two RISUD researchers received NSFC’s Young Scientists Fund 2022

Thirty-nine research projects led by young researchers at PolyU have been recognised by the National Natural Science Foundation of China’s (NSFC) Young Scientists Fund 2022, with PolyU ranking as the top grant recipient in terms of the number of projects awarded funding among local universities. The successful PolyU research projects cover a wide spectrum of topics, including environmental protection, green living environment, climate change, construction technology and innovation in AI-assisted medical devices, fostering a better future for our changing living environment. Among the 39 projects, 2 projects are led by RISUD researchers, Dr Yi Wen and Dr Frank Zou Fangxin. The Fund is open for applications by Hong Kong researchers and universities for the first time. Each project will be granted funding of RMB 300,000 to support basic research work for three years.

Dr. George Liu Appointed as Scientific Advisor to Hong Kong Observatory (HKO)

Prof. George Liu, RISUD member was appointed as a Scientific Advisor by the Director of the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO). Scientific Advisors are expected to help the HKO maintain an active link with the scientific community, advise HKO on long-term scientific and technical development strategies, and provide guidance on research studies and operational applications in specific scientific disciplines.  Over the past decade, Prof. Liu has developed a close collaboration with the HKO and made significant contribution to the meteorological research in Hong Kong and internationally. In the past many years, Prof. Liu and his students at the Micro-Laboratory of Atmospheric Research and Geomatics Engineering (Micro-LARGE) have dedicated to atmosphere observation and modeling using both satellite-based sensors and ground-based in-situ instruments. The advanced algorithms developed at the Micro-LARGE Lab have remarkably improved the observation accuracy of global water vapor from many different satellites – the largest greenhouse gas and an atmospheric constituent playing a critical role in weather change and climate monitoring. Arguably the accuracy of satellite water vapor data produced by the Micro-LARGE represents the world’s highest level of its kind. The sheer amount of high accuracy global water vapor data from different satellites is expected to significantly contribute to global NWP, climate change, hydrology, and many other applications. Currently, Dr. Liu is collaborating with HKO scientists on transforming the Micro-LARGE Lab research outcomes to HKO’s daily weather forecasting work, aiming to enhance HKO’s Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) performance.

BEEE’s Associate Professor Awarded RMB 2 million from the National’s 2022 Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Hong Kong and Macau)

RISUD member, Dr Wei Minchen Tommy was awarded a total amount of RMB 2 million from the National’s 2022 Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Hong Kong and Macau). Dr Wei has been continuously conducting research on fundamental colour science, and the research outcomes have contributed to the further understanding of human visual system and mechanisms, in order to investigate and improve the quality of lighting and imaging systems. The awarded project he led, namely “Colour Appearance Model and Colour Space”, aims to investigate colour appearance and difference under complicated conditions. The research findings can be used for various imaging systems, such as cameras, displays, smartphones, tablets, drones, and metaverse-related systems, which will be of great scientific and practical importance for colour science and industry. Under the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Hong Kong and Macau) aims to support young scholars (under the age of 38 for male or 40 for female) who have attained achievements in basic research and conducted innovative research in their chosen fields, fostering them to be internationally leading scholars

Project Led by Director of RISUD Awarded Theme-based Research Scheme 2022/23

Led by Prof Li Xiangdong, Director of Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (#RISUD), the research project titled “Unravelling the Black Box between Air Pollution and Public Health for Transformative Air Quality Management’’ is supported by the Research Grants Council (RGC) for the Theme-based Research Scheme 2022/23 (12th Round). The longstanding impact goal of this project is to provide policymakers, organisations, and practitioners with more effective and targeted control measures to mitigate the health effects/burden of air PM2.5 pollution. Project Title Project Coordinator  Funding Awarded   Unravelling the Black Box between Air Pollution and Public Health for Transformative Air Quality Management Prof. Xiangdong LI  HK$ 44.521 M   Press release: English - https://polyu.me/3Qcozb7; Chinese - https://polyu.me/3bsepDW   Media Coverage:  Ming Pao Daily News - https://polyu.me/3bY3CkG Hong Kong Economic Times - https://polyu.me/3Rr6Opl Sing Tao Daily - https://polyu.me/3au1mS9 Headline Daily - https://polyu.me/3IDmstJ Ta Kung Pao - https://polyu.me/3uEccvB Wen Wei Po - https://polyu.me/3P1ERCJ Hong Kong Commercial Daily - https://polyu.me/3yEzXoe Bastille Post - https://polyu.me/3IAkGtp China News - https://polyu.me/3AI9gSk Oriental Daily News - https://polyu.me/3Srp5Di Bio Spectrum - https://polyu.me/3PYcWEu Macau Business - https://polyu.me/3vBDt2l Asia One - https://polyu.me/3BE6E8D BizWire Express - https://polyu.me/3cRhRZ0 China.com - https://polyu.me/3PYrsvM Line Today - https://polyu.me/3oT83QZ  

JSCE International Outstanding Collaboration Award

Congratulations to our RISUD member, Prof. Dai Jian-Guo for receiving the FY2021 JSCE International Outstanding Collaboration Award from the Japan Society of Civil Engineers. This award recognizes the awardees’ continuous efforts and significant contribution to the development of concrete science and technology, the leadership and achievements in fostering the relationship among civil engineering researchers, as well as the commitment to strengthening the friendship between Japan and China through technical and cultural exchanges.

Two PolyU Projects led by RISUD members were Supported By Smart Traffic Fund

Smart Traffic Fund recently approved the fourth batch of three projects with a total grant amount of about HK$13.7 million. In this latest batch, two projects led by RISUD members have granted a total amount of HK$10.3 million. Both projects are committed to improving road safety and convenience using intelligent technologies, including safety assessment of bridge decks and a charging management system for electric vehicles. 1.    Smart Assessment of Bridge Deck Efficiency and Safety in Hong Kong Led by Prof. Tarek ZAYED, Associate Head (Research) of Department of Building and Real Estate, this project aims at developing a multi-tier inspection method for detecting surface and subsurface defects in concrete bridge deck; and designing a smart efficiency assessment model for bridge deck using non-destructive evaluation techniques to improve road safety. 2.   The smart charging development of zero-emission autonomous electric vehicles by the X2V and V2X technologies with respect to the dynamic traffic, grid and energy information Led by Dr CAO Sunliang, Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering, this project aims at developing a smart charging energy management system to recommend where, when and how to charge electric vehicles with a view to minimising mileage for locating available charging facilities.   The Smart Traffic Fund is funding initiated by the Transport Department to support local organisations or enterprises for conducting research and application of innovation and technology with the objectives of enhancing commuting convenience, enhancing the efficiency of the road network or road space, and improving driving safety. The vehicle-related I&T projects to be funded should be in line with the relevant Government’s policies, including the Smart City Blueprint for Hong Kong or Smart Mobility Roadmap for Hong Kong for promoting smart mobility in Hong Kong.

RISUD Member Awarded Young Innovative Researcher Award (YIRA) 2022

RISUD member, Dr Wei Minchen Tommy was awarded Young Innovative Researcher Award (YIRA) 2022 for a research project entitled “Human vision-based solutions for lighting and imaging systems”.   The PolyU Young Innovative Researcher Award (YIRA) aims to honor young PolyU researchers under the age of 35 who have demonstrated novelty, contributed to technology advancement, and propelled transformational innovation into solutions for addressing problems in society with a vision for a positive change to the future. This year, the YIRA assessment panel has reviewed 59 submissions across 22 departments, interviewed shortlisted applicants and selected six YIRA awardees. Each YIRA awardee will receive research funding support of HK$500,000 and personal cash prize of HK$20,000 as the encouragement for their research novelty and impact.     Dr Wei’s research focuses on color science, trying to understand how humans see color and light using different methods (e.g., psychophysics, eye-tracking, etc). The findings help to develop algorithms and solutions for various industries, including lighting, cameras, displays, smartphones, VR/AR/MR-enabled metaverse systems, through the collaborations with world-leading high-tech industrial partners.

RISUD Member Awarded Funding in the Public Policy Research Funding Scheme

A project proposed by Dr Zhu Xiaolin, Assistant Professor of PolyU’s Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics, has been awarded a funding of HK$281,060 from the first round of the Public Policy Research Funding Scheme managed by the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office.   Dr Zhu’s project, “Developing Low-Cost Remote Sensing System for Detecting Illegal Dumping of Construction Waste in Hong Kong”, is one of the only two projects receiving the funding out of 27 applications. The other one was proposed by a scholar from the School of Professional Education and Executive Development of PolyU.   Online coverage: Hong Kong Economic Times - https://polyu.me/3avhu59 Sing Tao Daily - https://polyu.me/3zprPu9 Headline Daily - https://polyu.me/3xcp6RQ Bastille Post - https://polyu.me/3tiBfDM

RISUD Members Won the HKIE Structural Excellence Awards 2022

Organized by the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) Structural Division, the Structural Excellence Award aims at promoting excellence in structural engineering through design and construction of buildings / infrastructures and research and application.    Congratulations to Prof. Zhu Songye, Professor, and Prof. Dai Jian-guo, Associate Head (Academic Development), for receiving the Grand Award and Commendation Merit of the HKIE Structural Excellence Award 2022. Their awarded papers are as follow:   HKIE Structural Excellence Award 2022 Title of Paper Awardees Grand Award Electromagnetic Shunt Damper for Bridge Cable Vibration Mitigation: Full-Scale Experimental Study Prof. Zhu Songye Professor of CEE Member of RISUD Commendation Merit Flexural Performance of UHPC–Concrete–ECC Composite Member Reinforced with Perforated Steel Plates Prof. Dai Jian-guo Associate Head (Academic Development) Group leader of RISUD

RISUD Members Won Two Prizes at 2022 Inventions Geneva Evaluation Days

The projects of Prof. Dai Jianguo, group leader of RISUD and Prof. Daniel Tsang, member of RISUD won the Gold Medal and Silver Medal respectively in the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva (Geneva Inventions Expo) - Special Edition 2022 Inventions Geneva Evaluation Days – Virtual Event. Congratulations to their achievements in applying their research into real-life application to benefit society and the world.   Project Principal Investigator Awards UmiCool: an Eco-friendly Smart Sub-ambient Radiative Cooling (SSRC) Coating Prof. Jianguo DAI Professor and Associate Head of CEE, Group Leader of RISUD, Founder of Pro-Infra Science & Technology Limited (a PolyU Academic-led start-up) Gold Medal Carbon-negative Climate-smart Biochar Partition Block Prof. Daniel Chiu-Wa TSANG Professor of CEE, Member of RISUD,  Founder of NeutralCrete Limited (a PolyU Academic-led start-up) Silver Medal