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Our Team

Last update: JAN 2019

Our Research Committee has developed three research thematic groups (Figure 2) which are aligned with the university’s and faculty’s mission (Table 1) for the department’s strategic research directions.

SUSTAINABILITY

China

environment

urban & transport

Figure 2. Three thematic groups that fall under the broad umbrella of sustainability.

(i) China: China’s rapid development over the last 40 years has had a number of significant impacts on the growth and spatial distribution of the global economy. A constant renewal of our understanding of China allows us to track and trace the many socio-economic structural shifts that occur. Hong Kong’s unique geographical position within the Greater China region provides us with privileged access to the mainland and allows the department to create complimentary research opportunities for contemporary China studies.

 

(ii) Environment: Climate, hydrology, biogeography, and ecosystems in the natural environment are the primary foci in this thematic group. Through research such as tree-ring studies, air quality modelling, remote sensing of environmental issues, water quality and resource management fieldwork, and urban green infrastructure strategies for green cities, faculty members use their expertise to better understand abnormal climatic patterns, as well as to develop effective adaptations and mitigation measurements to preserve our fragile ecosystem and attain environmental sustainability for future generations.

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(iii) Urban and Transport: Rapid urbanization has resulted in a massive shift socio-economically, culturally, and politically in urban transport planning and development in cities. With Hong Kong being a globally-recognized transport gateway to China and the world, on-going exploration is essential when examining and drawing on public discussions and policy recommendations to improve transport planning and design, mobility, resilience, and safety in the development of smart cities.

As of Q4 2019, the department has 15 full-time professorial faculty members and a total of 17 RPg students actively conducting research under the three thematic groups (Table 2). A full list of departmental faculty members can be found in the Appendix.

Table 2. Faculty members in our three research thematic groups.

Sustainability

CHINA

ENVIRONMENT

URBAN & TRANSPORT

Miss L. HE

Mr. R. E. JIANG #

Professor G. C. S. LIN *

Mr. X. Liu #

Miss Z. J. LYU #

Dr. J. X. QIAN

Mr. M. WU #

Dr. H. S. ZHANG

Mr. C. N. CHAN ##

Dr. W. Y. CHEN

Miss Y. CHEN #

Mr. R. R. CONG #

Mr. W. HAN #

Dr. Y. F. LAM

Dr. J. B. LI *

Mr. B. E. LIU #

Dr. L. S. RAN

Miss Y. Y. SU #

Miss Y. A. WANG ##

Mr. Z. WANG #

Mr. Z. HUANG #

Dr. B. L. IAQUINTO

Dr. K. KOH

Miss Y. C. LIN #

Professor B. P. Y. LOO *

Mr. K. H. J. TSOI #

Mr. F. ZHANG #

Dr. F. van der WOUDEN

Dr. A. P. Y. LEE +

* Research Thematic Group Coordinator      + Postdoctoral Fellow      # PhD student      ## MPhil student

Faculty members conducting research in each of the three thematic groups have research expertise that is both complementary and synergetic (Table 3a–3c). The department strongly encourages collaboration among colleagues and with others from different thematic groups. Interdisciplinary, interinstitutional, and international research collaboration is also highly valued.

Table 3a. Research expertise of faculty members in The China Group.

Research Expertise of Faculty Members
China
  • Urban and Regional Development in China
     

  • Land Property Rights in China
     

  • Transnationalism and Chinese Diaspora
     

  • Social Geography of China; Public Policy and Regional Development; Economic Geography; Hong Kong-Guangdong Integration

  • Public Space
     

  • Urban Studies & Urban Theory
     

  • Indigenous People & Indigenous Development
     

  • Religion
     

  • Cultural Economic Geography
     

  • Place and Place Politics

  • Smart Cities and Sustainable Development
     

  • Remote Sensing of Urban Environment
     

  • Remote Sensing of Wetlands
     

  • Multi-sensor Data Fusion

* Research Thematic Group Coordinator

 Table 3b. Research expertise of faculty members in The Environment Group.

Research Expertise of Faculty Members
ENVIRONMENT
  • Regional/ Local Air Pollution Modeling and Inventory Development in Both Present and Future Climate
     

  • Intercontinental Long-range Transport of Air Pollution
     

  • Impact Assessment of Future Climate Change and Air Quality
     

  • Ozone Air Pollution related Physical and Chemical Processes

  • Riverine Carbon Cycle
     

  • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
     

  • Soil Erosion and Carbon Export
     

  • Chemical Weathering and CO2 consumption
     

  • Sediment Transport and River Channel Change

  • Climate Change
     

  • Paleo Climate
     

  • Drought
     

  • Dendro-chronology
     

  • Forest Ecology

  • Ecological Economics
     

  • Environmental Economics
     

  • Valuation of Ecosystem Services
     

  • Urban Forestry
     

  • Environmental Science

  • Remote Sensing
     

  • Landscape Ecology
     

  • Spatial Modelling
     

  • Ecosystem Services
     

  • Green Infrastructure

  • Climate Change
     

  • Paleo Climate
     

  • Drought
     

  • Dendro-chronology
     

  • Forest Ecology

  • Ecological Economics
     

  • Environmental Economics
     

  • Valuation of Ecosystem Services
     

  • Urban Forestry
     

  • Environmental Science

* Research Thematic Group Coordinator

Table 3c. Research expertise of faculty members in The Urban & Transport Group.

Research Expertise of Faculty Members
Urban & Transport
  • Transportation Geography: Transport and Development
     

  • Sustainable Transportation 
     

  • Road Safety Research
     

  • Surveys
     

  • Quantitative Spatial Analysis: Applied Geographic Information Systems
     

  • Global Development: Economic Geography
     

  • Travel Behavior Analysis

  • Sustainable Tourism
     

  • Mobilities
     

  • Tourism Geography
     

  • Cultural
    Geography

     

  • Backpackers
     

  • Tourism Policy
     

  • Tourism and Climate Change

  • Health/ Medical Geography
     

  • Geographic Information System (GIS)
     

  • Urban
    Economics

     

  • System Science

  • Innovation
     

  • Collaboration
     

  • Technological change
     

  • Economic growth
     

  • Mobility
     

  • Cities
     

  • Impact of distance on socio-economic activity
     

  • Econometrics
     

  • Network Science
     

  • Machine Learning
     

  • Computational social science
     

* Research Thematic Group Coordinator

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