News

2 RISUD railway technology projects supported by MTR Research Funding Scheme

PolyU received a total funding of HK$7.25 million in the 2023 MTR Research Funding Scheme for six research projects that aim at developing cutting-edge technologies for the future advancement of railways. Among them, two projects are led by RISUD researchers: In alphabetical order of last name: Principal Investigator PAIR Research Unit Project Title Dr HUANG Xinyan Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD) Intelligent Emergency Digital Twin System in Metro Station for Fire Evacuation Dr LAI Siu-kai   Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD)   Development of a New Inerter-based Rail Damper to Mitigate Railway-induced Ground-borne Noise by a Physics-informed Deep Learning Framework Read more: https://polyu.me/45mTfNr   Online coverage (Chinese only): Oriental Daily News - https://polyu.me/46jFost HK01 - https://polyu.me/46pRZdU

RISUD MC member receives Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Award from the Ministry of Education

Congratulations to Prof. Raymond Wai-yeung WONG, Executive Committee Member of the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD), Dean of Faculty of Science, Chair Professor of Chemical Technology and Clarea Au Professor in Energy at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has received the Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Award (Science and Technology) 2022 for his research in organic photovoltaic materials.  The Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Awards (Science and Technology) were set up by the MOE to recognise outstanding research projects at tertiary institutions nationwide. The award is presented to individuals or units who have made remarkable contributions in science and technology advancement, translational research and talent cultivation.

RISUD member honoured by National Natural Science Foundation of China

Congratulations to Dr HUANG Xinyan, Member of the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD) and Associate Professor in the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering, has been awarded the 2023 Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Hong Kong and Macao) by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), to support his research. Dr Huang’s awarded research project is titled “Smouldering Wildfire.” The smouldering combustion of decomposed plant litter and organic soils is the largest combustion and fire phenomenon on Earth, resulting in tremendous economic losses, regional haze events and ecological damage. This multi-disciplinary research project, investigating combustion, safety, ecology and geology, aims to control and reduce mega-scale smouldering wildfires. The research project not only provides scientific guidelines to help reduce carbon emissions from smouldering wildfires but also helps reduce the hazards of wildfires in the Belt-and-Road countries, thereby promoting China as a leader in fighting against global climate change. Online coverage: Ta Kung Pao - https://polyu.me/45WNVBt Wen Wei Po - https://polyu.me/3PDxDHQ

RISUD MC member receives the International Association for Green Energy (IAGE) Lifetime Achievement Award 2023

Congratulations Prof. Jerry Jinyue Yan, Executive Committee Member of the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD) and Chair Professor of Energy and Buildings, on this well-deserved achievement! Prof. Yan has been honored with the International Association for Green Energy (IAGE) Lifetime Achievement Award 2023. This prestigious award recognizes his exceptional leadership and research contributions to energy systems, renewable energy, climate change mitigation, and related policies.

RISUD Member conferred as RGC Senior Research Fellow

Prof. NI Meng, Member of the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD), Associate Dean of the Faculty of Construction and Environment and Professor in the Department of Building and Real Estate, has been awarded in the Research Grants Council (RGC)’s Senior Research Fellow Scheme (SRFS). Prof. NI was conferred the title “RGC Senior Research Fellow”, and awarded funding for his interdisciplinary project which aims to promote sustainable and clean energy generation. The project “Protonic ceramic fuel cells for clean power generation: From new cathode materials to new stack designs” will integrate engineering, chemistry, physics and material science in developing new cathode materials for enhancing the performance of protonic ceramic fuel cells (PCFCs) for clean power generation. The SRFS aims to provide sustained support to exceptionally outstanding researchers at the UGC-funded universities in Hong Kong. It provides ten places to scholars from all academic disciplines. The supporting university of each awardee will receive a fellowship grant at around HK$7.8 million for a period of 60 months. Press release: https://polyu.me/3q5zewd   Online coverage: Sing Tao Daily - https://polyu.me/3QbxtIq (Chinese only; subscription required) Ming Pao Daily News - https://polyu.me/46eOplJ

RISUD Member receives funding from Research Grants Councils for project on intelligent tropical-storm-resilient system

The project “INTACT: Intelligent Tropical-storm-resilient System for Coastal Cities” led by Prof. NI Yiqing, Member of the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD), Yim, Mak, Kwok & Chung Professor in Smart Structures, Chair Professor of Smart Structures and Rail Transit in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Director of National Rail Transit Electrification and Automation Engineering Technology Research Center (Hong Kong Branch), was awarded a funding of HK$48.293 million from the Research Grants Council’s Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS) 2023/24. The project aims to mitigate the risk of tropical storms and enhance the resilience of high-rise building clusters in coastal cities by developing a real-time early-warning and management system, which will be made accessible to the public for guiding effective emergency responses. The project will also lead to new methodologies and design codes/standards for high-rise buildings that are more resistant to tropical storms, thus benefitting the construction industries, developers, public and city planners in the medium and long run. Press release: https://polyu.me/3rrBRsF Online coverage: Ming Pao Daily News - https://polyu.me/3pNARP2 Hong Kong Economic Times - https://polyu.me/3NUj4Ol Oriental Daily News - https://polyu.me/44rSgMg Sky Post - https://polyu.me/46Kg2EJ Ta Kung Pao - https://polyu.me/44AlHeO HK01 - https://polyu.me/3OcrxNX Line Today - https://polyu.me/3pFswNr  

RISUD Annual International Symposium successfully held

The Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD) of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) successfully held its annual international symposium on 6–7 July 2023 on campus. Under the theme of “Urban Sustainability through Innovative Technologies”, the Symposium brought together about 50 speakers from across the globe to deliver plenary presentations and workshops. At the opening ceremony, Prof. TENG Jin-Guang, President of PolyU, gave an opening speech via video. He said, “With an aspiration to be an innovative world-class university with a strong sense of social responsibility, PolyU is committed to conducting cutting-edge interdisciplinary research to address pressing societal challenges, including those related to urban sustainability.” The two-day Symposium included plenary sessions by five speakers including Mr WONG Kam-sing, Former Secretary for Environment of the HKSAR Government; Prof. JIANG Guibin, Director of State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Prof. Frank KELLY, Humphrey Battcock Chair of Community Health and Policy , School of Public Health, Imperial College London; Prof. CHOU Siaw Kiang, Emeritus Professor, College of Design and Engineering, National University of Singapore; and Prof. LIN Ming, Chief Scientist of China Communications Construction Co., Ltd. and Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering. Over 40 keynote and invited speakers provided their insights in workshops on three frontier topics, including air pollution and human health, large floating infrastructure, and urban carbon neutrality. At the closing ceremony, Prof. Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU, summarised the event. He said, “During this two-day Symposium, I believe we all share the feeling that the fast-growing urbanisation has placed more and more stress on the precious resources on the planets, and challenges like environmental pollution, surging population and land shortage have become more pressing than before. Urban sustainability is now one of the most discussed topics in the society. As we, humankind, all have a common dream and aspiration for quality, sustainable living.” Sponsored by The Ove Arup Foundation and Kwang-Hua Education Foundation, the Symposium attracted over 250 participants joining onsite from different parts of the world.

RISUD EXCO Member receives Ministry of Education’s Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Award (Science and Technology)

Prof. WANG Tao, Executive Committee Member of the Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development (RISUD), Associate Director of the University Research Facility in Chemical and Environmental Analysis, Chair Professor of Atmospheric Environment in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and other five mainland research collaborators received the 2022 Second-Class Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Award (Science and Technology) from the Ministry of Education for their research project on the chemical transformation mechanism of atmospheric reactive nitrogen oxides and their impacts on ozone and smog pollution. Online coverage (Chinese only): Oriental Daily News - https://polyu.me/3XsTrIt Sing Tao Daily - https://polyu.me/3pnKP9D (subscription required) Ta Kung Pao - https://polyu.me/43U5elE Wen Wei Po - https://polyu.me/3Xqn3Gw Hong Kong Commercial Daily - https://polyu.me/3XGIgwh Dot Dot News - https://polyu.me/3XqWyAK Yahoo HK - https://polyu.me/46locDp Hong Kong China News Agency - https://polyu.me/430UZKY East Money - https://polyu.me/3CONKLO Sohu - https://polyu.me/3XsZM6R

Achievements of RISUD member

Congratulations to Prof. Xiao Lin Zhao, RISUD member, for his recent achievements of being conferred with the prestigious Humboldt Research Award 2023 and elected as Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. Prof. Zhao has been awarded the prestigious Humboldt Research Award for his outstanding academic achievements, scientific research and subject leadership in the field of civil infrastructure. The award, granted by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, is given to internationally renowned academics whose discoveries, theories or insights have had a significant impact on their discipline and beyond, and who are expected to continue producing cutting-edge academic achievements in the future. Additionally, Prof. Zhao has been elected as a Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in the class of Technical & Environmental Sciences, in recognition of his contribution to the field of engineering and infrastructure. The Academy is a platform that brings together eminent scholars and practitioners from various disciplines to stimulate cross-disciplinary collaboration.

RISUD member had been elected as the President of the Academy of Pavement Science and Engineering

Congratulation to Dr Zhen Leng, RISUD member, had been elected as the President of The Board of Governors of Academy of Pavement Science and Engineering (APSE).  The executive board officers for the next two years.