News

PolyU develops intelligent traffic monitoring system

Prof. Alan LAU, Management Committee Member of the Photonics Research Institute (PRI), Member of the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD) and Associate Head of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and his team have developed an Intelligent Real-time Traffic Monitoring System (ITMS) that harnesses fiber optic sensing technology to monitor the traffic flow without any additional hardware.   Prof. Lau explained that the ITMS leverages deployed fibre optic network for telecommunications that covers major roads in Kowloon and Hong Kong to collect location-specific vibration signals generated by vehicles that drive through these busy areas in real time. He believes the real-time data collected by the system could be used to monitor and reduce traffic congestion as well as providing valuable information for road maintenance.   Online coverage: Oriental Daily News - https://polyu.me/4dM4qVf Hong Kong Economic Journal - https://polyu.me/44PfhtF (subscription required) am730 - https://polyu.me/3wKespc Wen Wei Po - https://polyu.me/4bJRVrx Quamnet - https://polyu.me/3ypWKYF Line Today - https://polyu.me/3wGphZB

PolyU study reveals effectiveness of GBGI infrastructure in mitigating urban heat

Prof. GUO Hai, Member of the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD), 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

Four RISUD members win awards at International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva

Impactful innovations from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) won a record-breaking number of accolades at the 49th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva (Geneva Inventions Expo), a widely recognised annual event devoted exclusively to invention. 43 PolyU innovations seized 45 accolades, including two Special Prizes, five Gold Medals with Congratulations of the Jury, 18 Gold Medals, 13 Silver Medals and seven Bronze Medals. Among the award-winning projects, 4 of them are led by RISUD members. Congratulation to Prof. YANG, Prof. YAN, Dr HUANG and Dr CHOY. Project Principal Investigator(s) Gold Medal A Fireproof Solar PV Vacuum-Glazing Wall Panel (FSVG) as Building Insulation Layer Prof. YANG Hongxing Professor, Departmentof Building Environment and Energy Engineering, Management Committee Member of Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD) Flexible Perovskite Solar Modules Based on Surface Reconstruction Technology Prof. YAN Feng Chair Professor of Organic Electronics, Department of Applied Physics and Member of Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD) Silver Medal Smart Firefighting Robot Dr HUANG Xinyan Associate Professor, Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering and Member of Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD) Smart Headset featuring Adaptive Noise Filters for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder Dr CHOY Yat Sze Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Member of Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD) *In order of prize level and alphabetical order of project names

Concurrent heatwaves and sea level rises happening more at coastal locations, PolyU study finds

A research conducted by Dr WANG Shuo, Member of RISUD and Associate Professor in the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics (LSGI), and his team has found that the concurrent occurrence of heatwaves and extreme short-term sea level rises at coastal locations significantly increased between 1998 and 2017 when compared to the preceding 20 years. The study also predicted that, under a modelled high emissions scenario, the probability of the occurrence of such events in 2025–2049 may multiply by fivefold. The study has been published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.   Read the article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-024-01274-1   Online coverage: Forbes - https://polyu.me/4aw2tKM The Straits Times - https://polyu.me/3W0TgWf France 24 - https://polyu.me/43VGjiq Eyewitness News - https://polyu.me/3VSO2vK Deccan Herald - https://polyu.me/3vGHlCp The Telegraph Calcutta, India - https://polyu.me/49Afgdy Malay Mail - https://polyu.me/3vHSjaO Daily Excelsior - https://polyu.me/4aWw145 EurekAlert - https://polyu.me/3UgcSV1 China News Service - https://polyu.me/3W2qmoV ifeng.com - https://polyu.me/3UdjgMT

The Workshop on Climate-resilient Coastal Cities and Rural Areas I was successfully held

The Workshop on Climate-resilient Coastal Cities and Rural Areas I was successfully held at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) on 11 April 2024. The workshop aims to provide a platform for in-depth exchanges on the development of climate-resilient coastal cities, and to serve as a catalyst for developing further collaborations on engineering adaptation of coastal cities to cater for the effects of extreme weather events. 12 leading researchers from local, Mainland, and overseas institutions were invited to share their perspectives and insights on key topics, covering both the current status and future challenges, to identify future research needs and collaboration opportunities. The workshop concluded with a round-table discussion session to consolidate the current understanding of key issues and to outline key research directions for the future.

Prof. WEI, RISUD member, received Hong Kong Engineering Science and Technology Award 2023

Professor WEI Minchen Tommy, Professor of the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering and member of RISUD, has been honored with the prestigious Hong Kong Engineering Science and Technology (HKEST) Award 2023. This esteemed award recognizes Prof. WEI's exceptional contributions and achievements in the field of optical engineering, with a particular focus on color and imaging science. The HKEST Award, presented by the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences (HKAES), celebrates individuals who have made significant advancements in the domains of engineering, science, and technology. Prof. WEI's groundbreaking research and remarkable work in optical engineering have earned him this well-deserved recognition.

Dr James Fang, RISUD member, named one of the six Pew Marine Fellows worldwide

Dr James Kar-Hei Fang, Associate Professor and Member of RISUD, has been selected as one of the six global recipients for the 2024 Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation. Dr Fang is the sole recipient from the entire East Asia region this year. The Pew Marine Fellows are selected by an international expert committee of marine science through a rigorous nomination and review process. Each recipient of the Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation is granted US$150,000 over three years to pursue a research project dedicated to marine conservation. Dr. Fang’s research focuses on restoring pearl oyster reefs in order to promote coastal environmental health, biodiversity and seafood sustainability in urban Hong Kong.

RISUD develops biomineralisation technique to prevent microbial corrosion in marine structures

Prof. LI Xiangdong, Dean of the Faculty of Construction and Environment, Director of the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development, Chair Professor of Environmental Science and Technology, Ko Jan Ming Professor in Sustainable Urban Development and his research team, have successfully developed a novel biomineralisation technique, which can effectively protect marine concrete from microbially induced corrosion, thereby contributing to the achievement of sustainable coastal structures.  Sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) is a type of anaerobic bacteria which accelerates the production of hydrogen sulphide that can lead to material corrosion and deterioration. The biomineralisation technique developed by the team is an environmentally friendly coating method. It utilises carbon dioxide to produce mineral precipitates on concrete surfaces. This results in the formation of a biomineralised film, which acts as a protective layer to control sulphate diffusion and isolate concrete from the corrosive SRB. This biomineralisation strategy has strong potential for applications in various environments in which microbial corrosion occurs, such as marine environments, sewage environments, and water-cooling utilities. The research “Biomineralization to prevent microbially induced corrosion on concrete for sustainable marine infrastructure” was published in Environmental Science & Technology.  Further reading: https://polyu.hk/OXIRi Read the full article: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.3c04680

RISUD EXCO Member secures Strategic Public Policy Research Funding from the Government to drive cross-regional cooperation in GBA construction industry

The project “Policy Framework for Cross-Regional Cooperation Strategies in the Greater Bay Area’s Construction Industry”, led by Prof. Geoffrey Q.P. SHEN, Executive Committee Member of RISUD, PolyU Associate Vice President (Global Partnerships) and Chair Professor of Construction Management of the Department of Building and Real Estate, has received HK$3.96 million funding support from the SPPRFS 2023/24 for a period of 36 months. Focusing on development opportunities for the GBA under the National 14th Five-Year Plan, the research examines three strategic areas - talent cooperation, project management cooperation and regulatory cooperation. It aims to provide effective guidance and identify appropriate strategies to enable government departments and the industry to promote high-quality cooperation within the construction industry across the GBA.    Press release: English - https://polyu.me/3RWaqAN; Chinese - https://polyu.me/48Vlq8e   Online coverage: Sing Tao Daily - https://polyu.me/3TWOcRR (subscription required) Dot Dot News - https://polyu.me/3vKU7z6 Hong Kong China News Agency - https://polyu.me/48KDiTo

Prof. Jerry Yan, RISUD Executive Committee Member, bestowed HKAES Fellow honour

Congratulations to Prof. Jerry YAN Jinyue, Chair Professor of Energy and Buildings, Executive Committee Member of the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD), on his election as 2023 Fellows of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences (HKAES), in recognition of his outstanding achievements in the field of science, engineering and technology for the benefit of society. The HKAES is a professional engineering organisation in Hong Kong. Elected fellows are recognised leaders in their professions with distinguished achievements in engineering sciences and their applications. A total of 13 engineering experts received the prestigious honour this year.