CIVIL eNews, 1st Issue Spring 2016

Abstract

香港科技大學 THE HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CIVIL eNews Civil & Environmental Engineering eNewsletter Spring 2016

Departmental Updates JUL 2015 Message from New Head of CIVL, Prof. Lo What an honor to lead such a world-class Department, top-notch faculty, dedicated staff, and outstanding students, both UG and PG! Let me first thank Prof. Christopher Leung, my predecessor. Chris has set an outstanding example; I certainly have big shoes to fill.

Congratulations to our faculty for a superb year of research and teaching in 2015. We continue to rank among the world’s best civil and environmental engineering departments and we are very proud of that. Some of our achievements are highlighted in this newsletter.

2016 begins with UST’s 25th anniversary celebrations, and we will have our own anniversary seminar and dinner. I’d also like to mention the alumni event CEE PGSA’s AGM in Chengdu, China. More details on these are found in this newsletter. I invite you to join these events, and look forward to seeing many of you there.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank our alumni and friends and colleagues in the industry for their continued support. Our department stands ready to renew old and forge new connections, be them in the form of professional and educational support, offering mentoring and internships to our students, or simply keeping in touch and letting each other know any exciting endeavors. I invite and anticipate your active participation to make our Department an even better place.

All the best for a fulfilling 2016!

Hong K. Lo, Chair Professor and Head

JUL 2015

Welcome Prof. Choi Prof. Clarence Edward Choi was appointed IAS Junior Fellow and Research Assistant Professor at HKUST in July 2015. Prof. Choi’s research interest is in landslide flow hazards, specifically debris flows. He adopts physical and numerical modelling to study and understand complex landslide interaction with structural countermeasures.

Prof. Choi carried out his BSc in Civil Engineering at the University of Calgary in Canada and PhD in geotechnical engineering at HKUST.

Prof. Clarence Edward Choi (2013) has been recently appointed as IAS Junior Fellow and Research Assistant Professor at HKUST since July 2015 Jul 2015

Dr. Clarence Choi carried out his BSc in Civil Engineering at the University of Calgary in Canada and PhD in geotechnical engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). After completion of his PhD in 2013, he practiced geotechnical engineering in industry for about two years at Golder Associates (HK) Ltd (formerly Geotechnical Consulting Group). In 2015 Clarence returned to academia and was appointed Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the Geotechnical Group. Concurrently, he was appointed as Junior Fellow of HKUST Jockey Club Institute for Advanced Study.

Dr. Choi’s research interest is in landslide flow hazards, specifically debris flows. He adopts physical and numerical modelling to study and understand complex landslide interaction with structural countermeasures. Dr. Choi has experience in flume, centrifuge and large-scale modelling, as well as the Discrete Element Method (DEM).

Aside from research, Clarence also enjoys tennis, badminton, basketball, snowboarding, ice hockey, travelling and playing the piano.

SEP 2014 Welcome Prof. Zhou Prof. Chao Zhou was appointed Visiting Assistant Professor at HKUST in September 2014. His current research interest focuses on static and cyclic behavior of unsaturated soil, thermal effects on soil behavior, constitutive modelling of soil, as well as geo-energy engineering, particularly energy foundations.

Prof. Zhou received his bachelor degree from the Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University in 2009. He completed his PhD degree at HKUST in 2014.

Prof. Chao Zhou (2014) has been appointed as Visiting Assistant Professor at HKUST since Sept. 2014 Sep 2014

Dr. Zhou received his bachelor degree from the Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Tsinghua University in 2009. He completed his PhD degree in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at HKUST in 2014.

His current research interest focuses on static and cyclic behavior of unsaturated soil, thermal effects on soil behavior, constitutive modelling of soil, as well as geo-energy engineering, particularly energy foundations. Additionally, he is currently the principal investigator of two research projects entitled “Cyclic thermo-mechanical behavior of clay and sand with reference to energy piles” and “Experimental study and constitutive modelling of monotonic and cyclic behavior of unsaturated loess at different temperatures”.

Dr. Zhou was born and grew up in Hubei. He is fond of sports such as basketball and football, and also enjoys discovering the treasures of Hong Kong including food, culture and music.

SEP 2015 Employment of Our Graduates In the summer of 2015, we graduated our final batch of students under the 3-year undergraduate degree structure. Click here to view their employment statistics. Employment Statistics of 2015 Graduates Dec 2015

In the summer of 2015, we graduated our very last batch of students under the 3-year undergraduate degree structure. According to the latest statistics, 48% of the graduates are now working in consultant firms, 27% in contractor firms and 5% in the government. 4% have selected to continue their studies, while 16% have decided on other career paths. On average, each of our graduate from that batch received 2 job offers and had a starting salary of $19,533 per month (a 2.9% increase over the previous year’s salary).

Student Achievements SEP 2015 CIVL Students Won Championship in Earthquake Competition Our UG team won the championship in Undergraduate division and our PG team was runner-up in the postgraduate division in an international earthquake engineering competition – the IDEERS competition 2015, held at the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering, Taipei, Taiwan during 18-20 September 2015. The PG team has also won the Best Presentation Award Third Prize in the competition.

The UG team was comprised of Siu Kwan Choi (team leader), Ho Fai Chung, Po Hon Wong, Chi Fai Yuen, while the PG consisted of Nan Zhang (team leader), Chunyang Du, Cheng Ning Loong, Yang Liu.

Civil Engineering Students Won the Championship in International Earthquake Engineering Competition 2015 Sep 2015

The HKUST civil engineering undergraduate team has won the Championship (First Prize) of the Undergraduate Division (本科生組冠軍) and the postgraduate team has been the Runner-up (Second Prize) of the Postgraduate Division (研究生組亞軍) in an international earthquake engineering competition – the Introducing and Demonstrating Earthquake Engineering Research in Schools (IDEERS) competition (抗震盃–地震工程模型國際競賽), held at the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering, Taipei, Taiwan during 18-20 September 2015. In addition, the HKUST postgraduate team has also won the Best Presentation Award Third Prize in the competition.

This international competition was jointly organised by the National Applied Research Laboratories (NARLabs) and the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE) of Taiwan, and the British Council. 42 undergraduate and 16 postgraduate teams from different countries and regions of the world participated in the competition, which included the University of Tokyo, National University of Singapore, National University of Taiwan, etc.

In IDEERS 2015, the members of the HKUST civil engineering undergraduate team included Siu Kwan Choi (team leader), Ho Fai Chung, Po Hon Wong, Chi Fai Yuen, and the postgraduate team Nan Zhang (team leader), Chunyang Du, Cheng Ning Loong, Yang Liu.

OCT 2015 Bridge to China Team Honored for Exemplary Work HKUST’s Wu Zhi Qiao team 2014/15 has been awarded both “Best Community Project” and “Best Wu Zhi Qiao Project” for their work in Dawazhe village in Yuanyang county, Yunnan. The team also received “Outstanding Performance Gold Award (Hong Kong Team)” for their superb effort throughout the year.

Bridge to China Team Honoured for Exemplary Work Oct 2015

We are ecstatic and proud to announce that the HKUST Wu Zhi Qiao team has been awarded both “Best Community Project 2014/15” and “Best Wu Zhi Qiao Project 2014/15” for their work in Dawazhe village in Yuanyang county, Yunnan. The team also received “Outstanding Performance Gold Award (Hong Kong Team) 2014/15” for their superb effort throughout the year.

Seven core members of the HKUST team attended the Wu Zhi Qiao Interflow Camp 2015 – “Serve to Learn” between September 30 and October 4. The aim of the camp was to strengthen ties within the Wu Zhi Qiao community, bridging teams from Hong Kong, China and beyond. The awards were given during a ceremony that concluded the camp. HKUST shared the “Best Project” honours with teams from Chongqing Jiaotong University, Minzu University of China, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Kunming University of Science and Technology.

Looking forward, the HKUST Wu Zhi Qiao team now prepares for an exciting new project in Pengshui county, Chongqing, and is currently recruiting new core members.

Other Student Awards Jozsef Danka, supervised by Prof. Limin Zhang, was awarded the Kézdi Prize by the Hungarian Geotechnical Society of International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering.

Yichuan Deng, supervised by Prof. Jack C. P. Cheng, received the Best Paper Award at the 27th KKHTCNN Symposium on Civil engineering in Shanghai, China.

Duruo Huang, supervised by Prof. Gang Wang, was awarded Best Student Presentation Award by the Hong Kong Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics.

Mengyuan Li, supervised by Prof. David Rossiter (CSE), won the Gold Award of the 2014-2015 President's Cup.

Jun Ma, supervised by Prof. Jack C. P. Cheng, took Third Place out of 3,743 teams in The Big Challenge of Intelligent Transportation System Algorithm 2015.

Hong Yu Shao, supervised by Prof. Zongjin Li, received the Best TA Award 2014-15 of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, HKUST.

Pui San So, supervised by Prof. Charles W. W. Ng, was awarded First Prize of the Association of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Specialists (Hong Kong) Final Year Projects Competition 2015.

Vincent Kok Sin Woon, supervised by Prof. Irene M. C. Lo, received the HKIE 2015 Biannual Environmental Best Paper Award.

Wing Nam Yiu, supervised by Prof. Limin Zhang, was the Winner of the AECOM Prize for Best Final-Year Geotechnical Project.

JUL 2015 CIVL Faculty Awarded Two Theme-based Research Projects The projects “Understanding Debris Flow Mechanisms and Mitigating Risks for a Sustainable Hong Kong”, led by Prof. Charles W. W. Ng, and “Smart Urban Water Supply Systems (Smart UWSS)”, led by Prof. Mohamed Ghidaoui, were each awarded HK$33.225 million under the RGC Theme-based Research Scheme. Both projects have Developing a Sustainable Environment as their theme.

20 / 07 / 2015 Two Engineering Academics-Led Projects Received Funding under RGC Theme-based Research Scheme Professors Charles Ng (2nd from right), Mohamed Ghidaoui (5th from the right) and Joseph Lee (6th from the right), attending the Theme-based Research Scheme Media Briefing on 13th July 2015. [Download Photo]

The research excellence of the School of Engineering saw two HKUST-led projects receive funding totaling more than HK$66 million under the fifth round of Research Grants Council’s Theme-based Research Scheme. The project on “Understanding Debris Flow Mechanisms and Mitigating Risks for a Sustainable Hong Kong” was led by Prof Charles W W Ng, Associate Vice-President (Research and Graduate Studies) and Chair Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the project on “Smart Urban Water Supply Systems (Smart UWSS)” was led by Prof Mohamed Ghidaoui, Chair Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Each project was awarded HK$33.225 million, both under the theme of Developing a Sustainable Environment.

The research project led by Prof Ng will adopt a holistic approach to tackle scientific challenges and to address the risk of debris flows in Hong Kong. It comprises research studies in three inter-related key areas of landslide material characterisation from micro to macro-scales and innovative monitoring techniques; investigation of debris flow mechanisms; and risk mitigation measures. The project aims not only to advance our scientific knowledge and understanding of dynamic interaction between debris flows and multiple flexible barriers, but also to develop world-leading design guidelines for multiple flexible barriers against debris flows to reduce the environmental impacts, risks and costs of mitigation measures again debris flows, contributing to the safe and sustainable development of Hong Kong.

The research team led by Prof Ghidaoui proposes a comprehensive theme-based research program involving theoretical, laboratory and field studies to develop a new diagnostic paradigm for water supply network monitoring and fault detection. The resulting data will be processed with advanced transient-based inverse methods and algorithms to pinpoint and characterize leaks, blockages and weak pipes. The World Bank estimates the monetary value of the lost water from supply systems worldwide is about US$15 billion/year. Indeed, water infrastructure has been highlighted as a critical issue nationally — in the 2011 “No. 1 document” issued by the Chinese Central Government; in the 2011 “Green Quality Living in Greater Pearl River Delta” study; and in the 2008 “Total Water Management” and 2015 “Water Intelligent Network (WIN)” policies of the Hong Kong government. Hong Kong has committed HK$23 billion to the rehabilitation and replacement of its water supply infrastructure. Many other countries are long overdue for massive UWSS upgrades (e.g. the American Water Works Association estimates that at least US$250 billion is needed in the USA alone).

A total of five research projects chosen among 28 applications are funded in the latest round of the Theme-based Research Scheme.

JAN 2016 CIVL Faculty Received Prestigious State Scientific Technological Advancement Award Prof. Charles W. W. Ng and his colleagues from Tianjin University and four other construction companies received the 2015 State Scientific Technological Advancement Award (2nd Class) for the project “Novel supporting technologies and their applications on the safe and economical construction of long, large and extra deep excavations”.

Prof. Charles W. W. Ng received the 2015 State Scientific Technological Advancement Award (Second Class) Jan 2016

Professor Charles W.W. Ng and his colleagues from Tianjin University and other four construction companies received the 2015 State Scientific Technological Advancement Award (Second Class) from the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. The title of their winning project is “Novel supporting technologies and their applications on the safe and economical construction of long, large and extra deep excavations”. This Award is given to them for their new scientific and technological contributions in three major advancements:

(i) technological development of scientific methods for safe excavation of long and extra deep excavations; (ii) multi-stage retaining technology for constructing large and extra deep excavations without propping and (iii) groundwater pumping and recharging circulation system for constructing excavations in coastal areas.

One of Professor Ng’s key contributions to this project has also been recognized by the National Research Council, Canada for their paper entitled “Excavation effects on pile behaviour and capacity”, which received the R M Quigley Award for the best paper published in the internationally reputable Canadian Geotechnical Journal in 2012. This is the only award received by researchers from the Greater China region since the establishment of the Journal more than 50 years ago.

JAN 2016 CIVL Faculty Received Prestigious State Natural Science Award Prof. Christopher K.Y. Leung and his collaborators from Zhejiang and Shantou Universities received the 2015 State Natural Science Award (2nd Class) for the project “Double-K Fracture Criterion for Crack Propagation in Concrete Structures and Fundamental Research on the Improvement of Crack-Control Performance”.

Prof. Christopher Leung received the 2015 State Natural Science Award (Second Class) Jan 2016

Prof. Christopher Leung and his collaborators from Zhejiang University and Shantou University received the 2015 State Natural Science Award (Second Class) from the State Council of the People's Republic of China, for a project entitled "Double-K Fracture Criterion for Crack Propagation in Concrete Structures and Fundamental Research on the Improvement of Crack-Control Performance". The award is among the most prestigious in science and technology in China. Only five State Science and Technology Awards in total were presented to Hong Kong researchers in 2015.

Prof. Leung led the part on the development of pseudo-ductile cementitious materials for crack control, while Prof. Shilang Xu of Zhejiang University led the effort on the characterization and analysis of fracture in concrete structures. Starting out as fundamental research studies, the research results have been employed in the safety assessment of concrete dams as well as the design of crack-resistant building and bridge components.

JUN 2015 Honorary Membership of IAHR Prof. Joseph H. W. Lee has been awarded Honorary Membership of the International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR). The Honorary Membership is the most prestigious honor conferred by the IAHR Council. Prof. Lee is the first recipient of the membership from Hong Kong and second from Greater China among 30 international recipients since the award was first presented in 1983. There were three awardees in 2015 including Prof. Lee.

OCT 2015 Appointment of Expert by the Commission of Inquiry into Excess Lead Found in Drinking Water Prof. Joseph H. W. Lee has recently been appointed to be one of the three independent international experts to look into the causes of excess lead in drinking water in the public housing estates in Hong Kong. He led a team of HKUST researchers (from Civil Engineering, Division of Environment, and Health, Safety and Environment Office (HSEO) Laboratory) to carry out an in-depth investigation of this highly complex lead contamination problem in the unique highly compact and congested high rise building complexes of Hong Kong - including field studies and computational fluid dynamics modelling. His report is publicly available.

DEC 2015 Distinguished Fellow of the IWA Prof. Guanghao Chen has been elected a Distinguished Fellow of the International Water Association (IWA).

Prof Guanghao Chen Elected as Distinguished Fellow of International Water Association Dec 2015

Prof Guanghao Chen, Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been elected as a Distinguished Fellow of the International Water Association (IWA). There are currently only 30 Distinguished Fellows out of 10,000 members in IWA and only four people around the world are elected in 2015. He is the first one from Hong Kong to receive this prestigious honor.

The IWA Distinguished Fellow designation is limited in number (currently around 20% of Fellows), and is for Fellows or other professionals who have been recognized for their uniquely significant long-term contributions to advancing water science and management. Prof Chen has been elected an IWA Fellow since 2011 when he was also the first Hong Kong scholar to receive this honor. Election to fellowship represents a high honor that is bestowed upon an individual by the Association.

Young BIMer of the Year Awarded by the CIC Prof. Jack C. P. Cheng was named Young BIMer of the Year by the Hong Kong Construction Industry Council in 2015. He is the only academic to receive this industry-wide award, which recognizes endeavors and achievements in building information modeling (BIM).

Projects Led by CIVL Faculty Awarded HKUST25 Projects Status The projects “Low-cost High-impact Pedestrian Bamboo Bridges” , led by Prof. Ilias Dimitrakopoulos, and “Development of Thin-Wall Bowl-shaped Shell Type Floating Straight-Bladed Darrieus Vertical Axis Wind Power Generation System” , led by Prof. Zongjin Li were both selected as HKUST25 Projects.

Project led by Prof. Ilias DIMITRAKOPOULOS was elected as HKUST25 Projects Jan 2016

Low-cost High-impact Pedestrian Bamboo Bridges

PI: Prof. Ilias DIMITRAKOPOULOS

Targeted Funding from HKUST25 Projects: HK$2,500,000 (Final amount depends on the donations)

Bridges are vital lifeline-links to health, education, job and higher quality of life. The privileged world is characterized by an extensive network of high-cost, high-technology bridges. At the same time, the underprivileged world experiences a contrasting reality. Many poor rural areas, worldwide, suffer from a devastating lack of even primitive footbridges, which limits dramatically living standards. Today, a large number of pedestrian bridges, estimated in the order of thousands in China alone, are needed for people to cross rivers and other obstacles.

In the privileged world, the “few” (experts/professionals) construct costly bridges for the “many” (the public). In the underprivileged world this paradigm is not viable, due to the lack of funding, experts and resources, but also, because of the sheer number of bridges needed. Not surprisingly, despite the remarkable efforts of volunteers and charitable organizations, over the last decade, an efficient solution to the problem is yet to be found.

The proposed project deploys an alternative “bottom-up” approach which aims to empower the “many” and enhance the self-reliance of the local communities. Key hypothesis is that a viable and sustainable solution should be simple enough, and inexpensive enough, to be implemented by the “many”. Mimicking the “IKEA” model, we propose manualized “build-it-yourself” pedestrian bridges, assembled out of (inexpensive) processed bamboo members. Bamboo is a natural material with excellent mechanical properties and in abundance in all areas of interest (Southeast Asia, India, Africa, South America). The project will design, prototype, optimize and validate experimentally bamboo footbridges. In this context, particular research challenges are to standardize the construction, maximize pre-fabrication, minimize handcrafting on site, and ensure the structural safety and durability. This is an original idea as it bypasses the need for expensive materials, techniques and skilled labor and liberates from the heavy dependence on exogenous aid, or charity.

Project led by Prof. Zongjin Li was selected as HKUST25 Projects Jan 2016

Development of Thin-Wall Bowl-shaped Shell Type Floating Straight-Bladed Darrieus Vertical Axis Wind Power Generation System

PI: Prof. Zongjin Li

Targeted Funding from HKUST25 Projects: HK$2,500,000 (Final amount depends on the donations)

Nowadays, the sustainability issue becomes more and more important. Wind power can largely reduce the CO2 emission, consumption of natural resources, and pollution and hence a main renewable energy for sustainability. The installed wind power generating capacity has been increased from 17GW in year 2000 to 318GW by end of 2014. However, even though, the current utilization rate of the wind resources is only about 1/1000 or less than the total wind energy resource in the world, which is about ten times of the total water energy resource on the earth. Obviously, there is still great room to increase the wind power generating capability. However, there are obstacles that prevent a faster development for wind power utilization: cost effective and higher efficiency comparable with other power generating system. The current wind power generators relies on the bearing to take over their vertical load, which limit the size increase and hence the power generating capability. In addition, with the increase of the vertical loading, the friction during the blade rotating increases significantly, which result in low efficiency for power generating. Moreover, fatigue failure will be more frequent under high loading situation for bearing and large sized blade, which increases the maintenance expenses. For these reasons, the largest sized wind power generators only reached MW level with the blade having about one hundred meters in diameter. But such sized wind power generators already have encountered some vital problems such as the fatigue failure appeared on the pedestal or the root of blade and failed to generate power in short period due to the extremely high maintenance cost. Hence, there is an urgent need to develop an innovative technology to overcome the above problems and make the cost-effective and high efficient giant-sized 10MW or 100 MW wind power generator possible. This project is proposed to meet such a need with the new invention of the bowl-shaped floating vertical axis wind power generator.

The newly invented thin-wall concrete (fiber composite material) bowl-shaped floating vertical axis wind power generation system utilizes the liquid to carry out the weight of the whole system, reduces the friction during the rotating, increases the power generating efficiency, and enhances the stability of the whole system under the strong winds. It completely eliminates all the bottlenecks for giant-sized wind power generator and opens new direction for clean energy production. Moreover, the utilization of concrete will make the initial and maintenance cost of the wind power generator much lower. The new system may lead to a revolution in clean energy field.

UROP Faculty Research Award Prof. J. P. Wang received the UROP Faculty Research Award 2015.

Faculty Story Engineering Harmony Some of you may remember Prof. Christopher Leung’s virtuoso harmonica performance at a departmental gathering. For several decades now, in fact, Chris’ interest and talent in the harmonica have been showcased at pro-level performances at various venues such as City Hall in Hong Kong, and at the World Expo in Shanghai.

Engineering Harmony Dec 2015

As some of you may still remember, Prof. Chris Leung gave us a virtuoso harmonica performance at a departmental gathering. In fact, for several decades now, Chris’ interest and talents in the harmonica have been showcased at pro-level performances at various venues such as the Hong Kong City Hall and the World Expo in Shanghai.

Chris’ passion for the harmonica started during his secondary school days. As his music class required singing and picking a musical instrument, this relatively simple piece was picked. He was taught by a harmonica teacher at school for two years, and played at his school’s summer concerts. Afterwards, Chris joined the Hone Kong Chinese YMCA Harmonica Orchestra (YMCAHO) to continue pursuing his passion, where he further refined his skills through his interaction with other expert performers. Here are some photos from various YMCAHO performances which Chris joined during the eighties:

Chris and teammates performing at the 5th Festival of Asian Arts (1980)

Chris playing a “chord harmonica” on a rare occasion (1981)

Despite Chris’ success as a young and talented harmonica player, he virtually stopped performing during his studies in the USA. About seven to eight years ago, partially due to his discovery of online music scores (http://imslp.org/), his interest was rekindled. He started playing and performing again with his former YMCA teammates, who are also his good friends. They now give about two performances a year, often at the Hong Kong City Hall. They also performed at the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010, and here is someone familiar to us all, but appearing in a very different setting:

Chris’ performer pass at the World Expo, Shanghai (2010)

If you wish to listen to Chris’ performance, you don’t have to wait until the next concert! On the following link, just click on track 16 (or 26) for a live recording of his 2011 concert performance at the HK City Hall. Enjoy!

http://www.claying.net/studio/20110409.html

YMCAHO concert poster (2011)

Alumni Achievements CIVL Graduate Promoted to Technical Director of AECOM Dr. Chi Yin Cheuk, Johnny (MPhil, 2001; BEng, 1999) has recently been promoted to Technical Director of AECOM, the largest engineering consulting company in Hong Kong.

CIVL Graduate Appointed Assistant Professor at IIT India Our heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Ankit Garg (PhD, 2015), appointed Assistant Professor at IIT India in April 2015.

CIVL Graduate Promoted to Professor at NUS Our congratulations are extended to Dr. Qiang Meng (PhD, 2000), now full professor at the National University of Singapore.

Dr. Qiang Meng (PhD graduate, 2000) was prompted to a full professor at National University of Singapore Dec 2015

Dr. Qiang Meng received his PhD from our department in 2000 under the supervision of Prof. Hai Yang. He was just prompted to a full professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at National University of Singapore (NUS) with effective from 1 January 2016. Dr. Meng’s research covers three major areas: transportation network modeling and optimization, shipping and intermodal freight transportation analysis, and quantitative risk assessment of transport operations. He is one of the most active and talented researchers in the field of shipping and intermodal transportation systems. Dr. Meng’s scholarly achievements are recognized internationally. He has received a number of research awards and honors, including Dean’s Chair, Singapore MOT (Ministry of Transport) Minster’s Innovation Awards, and World Conference on Transportation Research Society (WCTRS) Prize for the Best Paper at the 13th Triennial WCTRS. He is also associate editors and editorial board members of several leading international transportation and logistics journals. Furthermore, he has worked on a number of external research projects since joining NUS. Dr. Meng is an excellent teacher and PhD supervisor. He has received the teaching commendation from the Faculty of Engineering at NUS three times. He has supervised ten PhD students as a sole/main/cooperative supervisor since joining NUS as an assistant professor in 2003. Seven of these ten graduated PhD students now work as faculty members ranking from assistant professor to full professor in universities worldwide, including countries such as Australia, China, Malaysia and United States.

Our Graduate Garnered YIAH Ir Dr. Derrick Pang was among the 2015 winners of the Young Industrialist Awards of Hong Kong (YIAH), given by the Federation of Hong Kong Industries on November 3. Dr. Pang was recognized for his great contribution to the industry and society.

CIVL Alumnus Ir Dr Derrick Pang Garnered the Young Industrialist Awards of Hong Kong Nov 2015

Congratulations to our outstanding alumnus, Ir Dr Derrick Pang garnered the Young Industrialist Awards of Hong Kong issued by Federation of Hong Kong Industries on 3 Nov 2015, in recognition of his great contribution to the industry and society.

Dr Pang, who obtained Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2014, is the Deputy Chairman of Chun Wo Development Holdings Limited. He joined Chun Wo in 2001. With his professional experience and technical knowledge in construction engineering and his open-minded leadership style, Dr Pang has led the Group to become one of the largest local construction firms in Hong Kong with over 4,000 staff. Chun Wo has participated in major infrastructure projects such as the Central-Wanchai Bypass, the Passenger Clearance Building of HK-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, Guangzhou-Shenzhen-HK Express Rail Link-HK Section and MTRC Shatin to Central Link. The company’s revenue increased from HKD2.6 billion in 2010 to HKD8.3 billion in 2015 (a compound annual growth rate of 26 per cent). The revenue of construction segment has been increased six times in six years from HKD1.3 billion in 2009 to HKD7.8 billion in 2015.

Understanding the importance of how corporate culture enhances the competitiveness for an enterprise, Dr Pang introduced a new set of corporate culture, including “Vision, Mission, Core Values”, for Chun Wo to align the staff from the top management to frontline workers to complete their target under same vision. He also set up an ownership system and special incentive schemes to boost staff’s sense of belonging. Dr Pang initiates and oversees the Elite Program in the Group, which is a pioneer 7-year construction industry training programme providing systematic training in specific technologies, management skills and personal development to engineering graduates. The Programme was awarded the “Gold Award for Excellence in Training and Development” by the Hong Kong Management Association in 2013. Dr Pang, a professional engineer who upholds the highest standard of integrity, insists “Safety” as Chun Wo’s main concern. Chun Wo implements RFID to prevent workers at sites from getting too close to heavy machines. This safety measure has been conferred with the Bronze Award of the “Innovative Safety Initiative Award 2015”.

To promote the development of Hong Kong construction industry, Dr Pang endeavoured to develop bonding between industry practitioners and young generations. In 2012, he founded the Young Member Society (YMS) within the Hong Kong Construction Association, a cross educational institution platform that nurtures young people’s interest in the construction industry.

Dr Pang also founded Lifewire which uses the crowdfunding platform to raise money for children who have medical needs. He also takes part in various fundraising activities of many other charitable organisations, such as Construction Charity Fund, St James’ Settlement, Habitat for Humanity, Youth Outreach and Hong Kong Young Women's Christian Association, etc.

Dr Pang practises what he preaches and wins the trust with his pragmatic attitude. It is well-deserved for Dr Pang to garner the Young Industrialist Awards of Hong Kong.

Alumni Updates Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association (CEEAA) The Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association (CEEAA) brings alumni, friends and the CVIL Department closer together. A number of events were held in 2015 and were highly appreciated by our members.

20th Anniversary Reunion Dinner - Class of 1995 The department gathers alumni graduated 20 years ago in an annual anniversary dinner. Faculty and graduates of Class 1995 were so excited to meet each other again in our first 20th Anniversary Reunion Dinner – Class of 1995 on 27 Nov 2015. We look forward to meeting you when it’s your turn! Stay tuned with us for the next gathering.

Civil Family Programme 2015 Being mentored by experienced engineers, fresh graduates could better adapt to the industry and plan their career paths.

Professional Examination Preparation Workshops Candidates are better equipped for professional assessments administered by the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) and the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE).

Support to Current Students Various events like job searching seminar, mock interviews are provided to current students before they enter the industry.

Website: http://ceeaa.ce.ust.hk Email: al_civil@ust.hk

Events Organized by Civil and Environmental Engineering Alumni Association (CEEAA) in 2015 Dec 2015

Class of 1995 - 20th Anniversary Reunion Dinner

Starting from 2015, the department will co-organize a 20th Anniversary Reunion Dinner with CEEAA, to gather alumni graduated 20 years ago. Faculty and graduates of Class 1995 were so excited to meet each other again in our first 20th Anniversary Reunion Dinner – Class of 1995 on 27 Nov 2015. We look forward to meeting you when it’s your turn! Stay tuned with us for the next gathering.

Civil Family Programme 2015

The Civil Family Programme was launched by CEEAA in 2014. This is a mentoring programme for fresh graduates, with experienced engineers as the mentors, which aims to help the graduates to adapt to the industry and plan their career paths.

In 2015, there are 6 groups established ( AECOM / Atkins China Ltd / C M Wong & Associates Ltd / Hsin Chong / Meinhardt / Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong Ltd ). New groups in Mannings (Asia) Consultants Ltd and Leader Construction Co. Ltd will be established soon. The latest event was the company visit to Mannings (Asia) Consultants Ltd held on 3 October 2015. In the visit, the students had a better understanding of the company life from alumni experience. Mannings’ staffs have shared their invaluable experience for working with the firm. In particular, the top management of Mannings has shared their experience on how to set up and develop a local consultant firm in Hong Kong. Following with group discussion and an office tour, all students enjoyed the visit and have a better understanding of how a civil engineering consultant firm operates and serves the community.

Professional Examination Preparation Workshops

Professional examination is one of the career milestones for our alumni. From Feb to Sep 2015, CEEAA organized a series of professional examination preparation workshops to help the 2015 candidates in preparing the professional assessments of Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) and Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). Similar to 2014, we have about 10 candidates joining the workshops. The workshops covered report writing skill, interview technique and experience sharing by previous interview assessors. Candidates equipped themselves with numbers of report review and mock interviews by experienced engineers. We wish all candidates best of luck in the 2015 professional examinations.

Support to Current Students

CEEAA aims to provide services and guidance to the current students before they start their career in the industry. We organized different events such as promotion section, job searching seminar and mock interview. The events were greatly supported by the students. The CV workshop and mock interview for final year students was held on 5 October 2015. With 26 students joining the workshop, our alumni shared the dos and don’ts of CV preparation and interview. Students also participated in the mock interviews conducted by our alumni from government offices, consultants and contractors. The students benefited from the sharing and mock interview by the experienced engineers, and would be better equipped for the job hunting.

CV workshop and mock interview for final year students

Dr Morgan YANG, Vice President (Infrastructure, China) of AECOM, in mock interview

Ir Connie Chan, Technical Director of Meinhardt, in CV workshop

Ir Simon NG (Director of Mannings (Asia) Consultants Ltd, 96’ graduate) introduced the background of the company

Promotion section for final year students in May 2015

Civil and Environmental Engineering Postgraduates and Scholars Association (CEE PGSA) Our alumni spread all over the world and the HKUST CEE PGSA serves to keep a strong bond between them, particularly those in the PRC. In 2015 the PGSA held its 6th Annual General Meeting in Beijing from April 3 to 6. The gathering also included an academic conference and local visits.

Alumni Stories Finding a Life beyond HKUST—Trevor Chung

Finding a Life beyond HKUST - Trevor Chung Dec 2015

My life before was heading for drabness: I was born into a typical Hong Kong family. I went to local schools and sat public exams. I took relish in being accepted into HKUST, and was expected to settle in a local engineering job after graduation. Civil engineering changed all that: I had the fortune to work with first Prof. Mohamed Ghidaoui then Prof. Neil Mickleborough, who both opened my eyes to the world beyond Hong Kong. Particularly, Prof Mickleborough, my FYP supervisor, said to me with a Budweiser in his hand, “Hong Kong is just a small place. Never confine yourself to it!” Ever since, life has taken me to Europe, mainland China and the Middle East.

Prof. Christopher Leung—my gratitude to him as well—encouraged me to go on exchange while I completed my master’s degree under his supervision, so I spent a life-changing semester at Chalmers University in Gothenburg, Sweden and learned many interesting things about schoolmates from all over the world. Swedes, for example, enjoy decorating their homes and throwing parties in the long dark winter (that’s perhaps the reason why they are known for their furniture). You can never trust a Mexican who says the food is not spicy! Slovenia has some die-hard Bruce Lee fans. We all know Germans love precision, especially the engineers, but little did I know it was to that extent. And Bulgarians speak a different head language—a shake means “yes” and a nod means “no”!

Schoolmates in Sweden

When I looked for employment upon graduation, what separated me from the rest of the pool of candidates turned out not to be my master’s degree but my overseas experience. It really impressed my company, as they believed the key to being a good engineer is to have an open mind and good communication skills. I feel fortunate to have acquired both from being overseas.

Eventually I found myself on the team that built the 828m Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The project required me to stay in the United Arab Emirates for three years and I had some of the best times in my life there. It was the chance of a lifetime not only to be involved in such a great feat of civil engineering, but also to learn about the fascinating culture of Islam. I learned that, for example, weekends in the UAE span Friday to Saturday; Sunday is the first work day of the week (Muslims have their Jumu’ah prayer every Friday). The UAE has a committee to report moon sighting shortly after the sunset on the 29th day of the month—if a crescent moon is not observed (which includes the moon being blocked by clouds), that month will have a 30th day; otherwise it has only 29 days. Pork and alcohol are allowed in Dubai but only in hotels/liquor stores/supermarkets with a special license, and any public display of affection (including kissing) is prohibited…

I have discovered a whole new world beyond my conventional comfort zone, and there’s still so much more to look forward to!

Colleagues in Dubai

A CIVL Billion-dollar Success Story—Terry Tsang Dec 2015

With prospects in real estate and infrastructural development soaring high in Hong Kong, as much as 99% of civil engineering graduates choose to work in a construction or consulting firm. Terry Tsang, founder of Madhead, however, envisioned something different, which, as it turned out, led him to becoming a billionaire.

Terry initially chose the finance industry instead of civil engineering when he graduated, but he knew what he really wanted was to own a business—an Internet business. Now Terry’s company has a billion-dollar valuation, and we have asked him what he thinks are the key to his success.

A background in engineering

Terry says his favorite subjects—and the reason he chose engineering—are mathematics and physics (i.e. he has a flair for science and technology), but he also credits his engineering training for giving him the skill set and seamless transition into running a business. What engineering teaches, as Terry describes it, is more than just the technical stuff. Engineering, which is very mathematical, trains people to think logically, to believe that there are always solutions to problems, and to devise those solutions. Problems are just an everyday part of running a business; it is up to him as a business owner to identify and solve them, and engineering has prepared him to do that very well.

Listen to your heart’s desire

A job in civil engineering is potentially steady, comfortable, and leaves no room for unconventional aspirations, but Terry knew his heart desired something else and he followed that desire. Without much support he gave himself the challenge to start a web business in 2008, envisioning that one day his work would have an impact. This vision led him onto a bumpy but eventually successful journey.[GT1]

Get involved outside of the classroom

While in university Terry volunteered in the Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps and Lions Clubs International (Leo Club), joined a mentorship program and paddled a dragon boat. As he continued onto his master’s degree, he worked part-time as a project manager in the company FDMT, which provided training to university students, and Terry was responsible for planning activities[GT2] . All these widened his horizons, expanded his social network, opened his mind, and let him see his desire to become a business owner.

Have passion for what you do

Terry’s work and company are a labor of love: He started the company all on his own and was very excited about all aspects of its operations, even including “problems” such as tackling M&A (Memorandum and Articles of Association) issues, getting insurance and setting up its MPF program. How can you tell if you have passionate for what you do? Terry says, that’s when you no longer require an alarm clock to get you to your office in the morning.

Understand the market and people

Terry’s company is very adaptable to market trends and people’s needs. At first he created a website called Pencake and started an e-card business; neither did very well. But then he noticed the rise of Facebook and saw a window of opportunity in developing Facebook Apps. Soon his company began to turn a profit. Terry then saw a second opportunity: Smartphones were gaining unprecedented popularity and so were smartphone games, so he began to focus on designing games and never looked back. You are now looking at Terry Tsang, creator of the billion-dollar game Tower of Saviors, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Picture taken at university

Current picture

Upcoming Events Open for Nomination—Outstanding Alumni Awards To recognize professional achievements of alumni graduated from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at HKUST, both UG and PG, the department is now inviting nominations for the Outstanding Alumni Award and Outstanding Young Alumni Award. More information of the awards and the nomination form are available here.

Please submit completed nomination form along with requested documents to the department by mail on or before March 25, 2016.

Outstanding Alumni Award Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, HKUST Objective To recognize professional achievements of the alumni graduated from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Qualification The award is open to graduates of either the undergraduate or the post-graduate program of the department. Award i) Outstanding Alumni Award ii) Outstanding Young Alumni Award (For candidates of age 35 or below by 31 March 2016) *Remarks: Nomination for both awards is accepted as long as the age requirement is fulfilled. Nomination To become a candidate for the award, the following documents should be submitted to the departmental office: (i) an official nomination form (can be obtained from the department’s website http://www.ce.ust.hk the alumni association’s website http://ceeaa.ce.ust.hk/); (ii) a curriculum vita;(iii) a two-page statement highlighting the candidate’s professional experience, development and achievement; and (iv) two recommendation letters from people who are familiar with the candidate's career development. Note that the nomination form has to be signed by two other alumni or faculty members in the department. The deadline for submission is 25 March 2016. Please submit the original documents to: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (Attn: Outstanding Alumni Award) Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Clear Water Bay, Kowloon Hong Kong

Selection Criteria The documents submitted will be reviewed by a committee consists of members from both the department and the industry. The selection will be mainly based on the following criteria: (1) Professional development and experience; (2) Impact and contribution to the profession; and (3) Leadership in societal, professional, alumni and departmental activities.

The Award The award is an honor offered by the department to its alumni. It will be delivered at an official ceremony and the recipient’s name will be engraved on a plaque to be displayed permanently in the department.

Enquiry Should you have any enquiries, please contact Miss Mandy Lam at 2358- 7158 or cemandy@ust.hk.

CEE PGSA 7th AGM The 7th annual general meeting (AGM) of the HKUST Civil Engineering and Environmental Postgraduate and Scholars Alumni Association (CEE PGSA) will be held from March 25 to 28, 2016 in Chengdu in Sichuan, China. The CEE PGSA will co-organize an academic conference and some local visits with Sichuan University. You are cordially invited to the event and more details can be found here.

CIVL 25th Anniversary Events—Seminar and Dinner CIVL is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The department, the CEEAA and the Civil Division of the HKIE will jointly organize a one-day seminar “Asia-Pacific Forum on Mega Infrastructure and Urban Development Construction 2016” at the Institute for Advanced Study, HKUST on April 29, 2016. We expect over 250 alumni and practicing engineers from Asia.

The 25th anniversary dinner will be held in the evening on the same day, April 29, 2016, in Hotel ICON. We look forward to the reunion of CIVL community.

Upcoming Event Asia-Pacific Forum on Mega Infrastructure and Urban Development Construction 2016 Date: 29 - 30 April 2016 Time: 29-30 April 2016 Venue: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong 25th Anniversary Dinner for Civil Engineering Alumni Date: 29 April 2016 (Friday) Time: 7:00 p.m. cocktail for 7:30 p.m. dinner Venue: Hotel ICON, Silverbox Ballroom, 17 Science Museum Road, Tsim Sha Tsui HKUST CEE PGSA 2016 AGM Date: 26 - 28 March 2016 Venue: Chengdu, Sichuan