News

SKL-CRCC Director Prof. Xiangdong LI Featured on RTHK to Discuss Landmark Oxford Collaboration

The State Key Laboratory of Climate Resilience for Coastal Cities is proud to share that our Director, Prof. Xiangdong LI — who also serves as Dean of Faculty of Construction and Environment, Director of Otto Poon Research Institute for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure, Chair Professor of Environmental Science and Technology and Ko Jan Ming Professor in Sustainable Urban Development —was recently featured on RTHK’s current affairs radio programme “Backchat”. During the programme (broadcast segment: 10:50 - 25:17), Prof. LI discussed the landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between PolyU and the University of Oxford. He shared valuable insights on how this strategic partnership will foster pioneering academic and research collaboration to tackle global challenges in climate change and urban sustainability. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in expanding PolyU's and our laboratory's international research footprint. The interview is available for online listening via RTHK, highlighting our leadership's active role in shaping global conversations on climate resilience. Online coverage : RTHK - https://polyu.me/4x4lVJ3

Prof. Xinyan HUANG Leads Development of AI-Driven Emergency Response Framework to Advance Smart Urban Firefighting

Prof. Xinyan HUANG, member of The State Key Laboratory of Climate Resilience for Coastal Cities and Associate Professor of the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering (BEE), alongside PhD candidate Weikang XIE, has developed an innovative LLM-AI self-driven emergency response agent framework. Integrating ChatGPT-4o with the ConvLSTM-Fire prediction model via AIoT technology, the newly developed system autonomously conducts situational awareness, data analysis, and task execution under natural language prompts. Remarkably, the system maintains over 97% temperature field prediction accuracy even during sensor failures, representing a significant technological leap forward for smart firefighting and emergency management in complex urban environments. This remarkable achievement has garnered online media coverage, including by Sciencenet, highlighting our laboratory's commitment to leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance urban safety and climate resilience. We look forward to Prof. HUANG and his team continued contributions to smart urban safety and disaster mitigation! Online coverage (Chinese Only): https://news.sciencenet.cn/htmlnews/2026/9/570800.shtm  

Ir Prof. Siwei LIU and Prof. Songye ZHU Honored at the HKIE Structural Division Structural Excellence Awards 2026

The State Key Laboratory of Climate Resilience for Coastal Cities is thrilled to announce that two of our distinguished members have been honored at The HKIE Structural Division Structural Excellence Award 2026 for their groundbreaking contributions to structural engineering and research innovation: Ir Prof. Siwei LIU (SKL-CRCC Member and Assistant Professor of CEE) : Ir Prof. LIU has won the Grand Award (R&D Category) for his award-winning project titled "Second-order Direct Analysis Method of the Stability Design of the First 3D Metal Printed Steel Structure in Asia using Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) - Innovation, Challenges, Insight and Future Applications" (featured structure: "Weaving Love"). This milestone project successfully leveraged low-carbon and advanced manufacturing technologies, reducing material waste by over 80%, construction time by 70%, and costs by 50% compared to conventional methods. Prof. Songye ZHU (Associate Director of SKL-CRCC and Head & Professor of CEE) : Prof. ZHU has been honored with the Commendation Merit Award (R&D Category) for his project titled "Self-centering Seismic-resistant Eccentrically Braced Frames with Superelastic Shape Memory Alloy Angles", recognizing his exceptional contributions to enhancing structural seismic resilience. Organized by The HKIE Structural Division, the Structural Excellence Awards celebrate distinction across building design, infrastructure, and research. We extend our warmest congratulations to Ir Prof. Siwei LIU and Prof. Songye ZHU on their outstanding achievements and look forward to their continued leadership in driving sustainable engineering excellence!     Online coverage: CEE Members Receive HKIE Structural Division Structural Excellence Award 2026 | Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering 卓越結構大獎2026｜創新結構撐起城市安全 組裝合成與低碳技術引領未來 (Chinese Only) 卓越结构大奖2026｜亚洲首个建筑用3D金属打印技术科研突破 「织．爱」缔造最浪漫打卡地标 (Chinese Only)

SKL-CRCC Direction Leader Prof. Tao WANG Honored with the Shandong Provincial Natural Science Award (Second Class) 2025

We are proud to announce that Prof. Tao WANG, Direction Leader of our laboratory and Chair Professor of Atmospheric Environment of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), has been awarded the Shandong Provincial Natural Science Award (Second Class) 2025 by the Shandong Provincial Department of Science and Technology. He received this prestigious accolade for his collaborative research with Shandong University, titled "The evolution, formation, and source of air pollution complex in the North China Plain". This recognition highlights his outstanding research contributions and far-reaching influence in the field of atmospheric environment. Prof. WANG’s research focuses on uncovering the root causes of air pollution using advanced experimental and numerical tools. His work advances our understanding of atmospheric physical and chemical processes, as well as the impacts of human-nature interactions on air quality. His research outcomes have been adopted in United Nations climate assessment reports and international tropospheric ozone assessments, and have actively facilitated governments in Hong Kong and Mainland China in developing effective air pollution mitigation measures for Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area, and other regions. The Shandong Science and Technology Awards were officially announced on 6 August, 2026, honoring 299 projects and individuals in total, including 51 Natural Science Awards, to recognize researchers who have achieved scientific breakthroughs and generated significant academic and societal value. We extend our warmest congratulations to Prof. WANG on this remarkable achievement and wish him continued success in his research endeavors! Online coverage (Chinese Only): http://kjt.shandong.gov.cn/art/2026/8/6/art_13364_10326518.html

SKL-CRCC Member Prof. Shuo WANG Provides Expert Insights into Potential Record-Breaking 2026 El Niño Event

Prof. Shuo WANG, a core member of the State Key Laboratory of Climate Resilience for Coastal Cities (SKL-CRCC) and Associate Professor at the Department of Land Surveying and Geospatial Science, recently shared expert insights in QQ News regarding the forecasted 2026 El Niño, which is projected to potentially become the strongest on record. As global climate changes and extreme weather events intensify, Prof. Wang’s professional analysis sheds light on this highly anticipated climate phenomenon and its far-reaching implications. His expert commentary has also received widespread online coverage across major media outlets. This recognition highlights our laboratory's dedication to advancing cutting-edge research in climate resilience and sharing scientific insights with the broader public. We look forward to Prof. Shuo WANG continued impactful contributions to climate research and sustainability! Online coverage (Chinese Only): Sina - https://polyu.me/4xOodMT; https://polyu.me/4xOLiPQ

SKL-CRCC Member Prof. Yiqing NI Honored with the Top Patents Filing Award at the PolyU Patents Achievement Award (PPAA) 2025

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has announced the results of the PolyU Patents Achievement Award (PPAA) 2025. We are thrilled to share that Prof. Yiqing NI, a core member of SKL-CRCC and Chair Professor of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) has been honored with the Top Patents Filing Award in recognition of his exceptional commitment to knowledge transfer and intellectual property (IP) innovation. The PPAA is a prestigious university-level accolade that recognizes faculty members for their outstanding contributions to innovation and commercialization, fostering a strong culture of research impact across PolyU. Prof. Ni received this distinguished honor for his remarkable IP filing achievements over the past three years (2022–2025). We extend our warmest congratulations to Prof. NI for his remarkable achievement! His dedication to driving innovation and successfully translating intellectual property into societal and commercial value is truly inspiring. We wish him continued success in advancing research excellence and knowledge transfer.

SKL-CRCC members elected as members of Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Young Member Section

As a leading hub for cutting-edge research, the State Key Laboratory of Climate Resilience for Coastal Cities (SKL-CRCC) is dedicated to addressing climate challenges through innovative research, driving societal progress, and continuously nurturing exceptional emerging scholars.   We are delighted to announce that Prof. Huan-Feng DUAN (Associate Director of SKL-CRCC; Associate Head (Research) and Professor of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering) and Prof. Chao ZHOU (Associate Professor of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering) have been elected to the Young Member Section of The Hong Kong Academy of Engineering (HKAE).   The Young Member Section is a dynamic division within the HKAE, which is dedicated to fostering the professional growth of academics and engineers post-doctorate, facilitating translational research, aiding in process and product development, and providing support for startup ventures and funding endeavours.   Please join us in congratulating Prof. DUAN and Prof. ZHOU on this well-deserved honor! We look forward to their continued leadership and impact in the engineering community.

SKL-CRCC Member Prof. Kaiming BI Honored with the Nishino Prize at EASEC-19

The 19th East Asia-Pacific Conference on Structural Engineering and Construction (EASEC-19) was successfully held from July 13 to 15, 2026, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, under the theme “Advancing Sustainability in Structural Engineering and Construction Through Emerging Technologies”. Prof. Kaiming BI, a member of the State Key Laboratory of Climate Resilience for Coastal Cities (SKL-CRCC) and Associate Professor in CEE, has been awarded the prestigious Nishino Prize in recognition of his significant contributions to the field. Named after the founder of the EASEC conference series, the Nishino Medal and Nishino Prize are presented at each biennial conference to 1 to 3 young engineers (under the age of 45) in the Asia-Pacific region. The award honors individuals who have made major contributions to structural engineering and construction through research, development, or practice, while demonstrating strong potential for future excellence. EASEC is one of the most influential international academic conferences in this field, established in Bangkok, Thailand in 1986. Prof. BI has made outstanding contributions to earthquake engineering and structural vibration control, particularly in seismic ground motion modeling and simulation, structural response prediction, structural performance enhancement, and adverse vibration mitigation. He has generated over 220 papers in leading international journals, with Google Scholar citations exceeding 11,000 and an H-index of 56. His research outcomes have been widely applied in engineering practice and incorporated into seismic design guidelines. Furthermore, Prof. BI serves as an Associate Editor of Engineering Structures, a flagship journal in structural engineering. We extend our warmest congratulations to Prof. BI on this well-deserved honor and look forward to his continued contributions to the advancement of structural engineering.   Online coverage: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/cee/news-and-events/news/2026/20260724_news/  

SKL-CRCC Member Prof. Fu XIAO Leads Breakthrough in Building Cooling Technology for Enhanced Urban Resilience

The State Key Laboratory of Climate Resilience for Coastal Cities (SKL-CRCC) is proud to share a major research milestone achieved by Prof. Fu XIAO, a core member of our Laboratory and a faculty member of the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering (BEEE). Prof. XIAO’s research team has successfully developed a revolutionary radiative cooling surface, offering an innovative, energy-efficient solution to combat rising temperatures in urban environments. The team’s research demonstrates a passive cooling technology capable of dissipating heat from building surfaces into deep space without any energy consumption. This technology proves highly effective during extreme heat events, significantly reducing indoor temperatures and lowering dependence on traditional air conditioning, which in turn helps to mitigate the urban heat island effect. This research underscores Prof. XIAO’s commitment to advancing building energy efficiency and environmental resilience. Her team’s achievement represents a vital step toward sustainable urban development, providing a scalable technological framework for climate-resilient cities. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Prof. XIAO and her team for this impactful scientific advancement. Online coverage: https://www.polyu.edu.hk/rio/news/2026/20260715---revolutionising-building-cooling/?sc_lang=en

PolyU Experts Analyze Bangkok Bar Fire, Highlighting Critical Lessons in Urban Fire Safety

Following the recent tragic bar fire in Bangkok that resulted in significant casualties, Prof. Xinyan HUANG, Associate Professor at BEEE and member of the State Key Laboratory of Climate Resilience for Coastal Cities (SKL-CRCC), and Prof. Liming JIANG, Associate Head (Partnership) and Associate Professor at the Department of Building Environment and Energy Engineering (BEEE), were invited to provide expert insights on the incident. Prof. JIANG and Prof. HUANG analyzed the fire dynamics, explaining how rapid fire spread and evacuation challenges led to the high casualty rate. They highlighted that critical factors — such as ineffective fire compartmentation, the use of flammable building materials, and inadequate emergency exit management—are common pitfalls in fire-prone urban environments. Their professional assessments were featured in various major media outlets, including United Daily News, Economic Daily News, and the Bastille Post. Prof. HUANG has long been dedicated to research in fire dynamics and urban resilience. By contributing their expertise to this public discourse, Prof. JIANG and Prof. HUANG have highlighted the importance of fire safety engineering in urban planning. This collaborative effort underscores the commitment of the University and the SKL-CRCC to translating scientific research into practical solutions that enhance public safety and build more resilient, disaster-prepared coastal cities. Online coverage: Bastille Post - 曼谷酒吧大火30死數十傷 專家指安全措施不足或致嚴重傷亡 Economic Daily News (Taiwan) - 曼谷酒吧大火至少32死73傷 各國專家看法一次看 | 國際焦點 | 國際 | 經濟日報 Line Today - 曼谷酒吧大火至少32死73傷 各國專家看法一次看 | 中央通訊社 | LINE TODAY MSN Lifestyle UK - 曼谷酒吧大火至少32死73傷 各國專家看法一次看 PChome - 曼谷酒吧大火至少32死73傷 各國專家看法一次看 - 國際新聞 - PChome Online 新聞 Vision Times - 曼谷酒吧大火酿32死73伤 专家点出致命问题(图) - 亚洲 - Yahoo News (Taiwan) - 曼谷酒吧大火至少32死73傷 各國專家看法一次看 United Daily News - 曼谷酒吧32死73傷 火勢如何失控、為何逃不掉？各國專家看法一次看 | 聯合新聞網 World Journal - 曼谷酒吧大火至少27死73傷 各國專家看法一次看 | 世界新聞網