The State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution (SKLMP) under the College of Science (CSCI), City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) was awarded the “2024 Dayu Water Conservancy Science and Technology Progress Award (2nd Class)” (Dayu Award) by the Chinese Hydraulic Engineering Society, for the project “Key Technologies and Applications for Enhancing Urban Seawall’s Defence Capability and Ecological Function in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area”.

Led by Professor Kenneth Leung Mei-yee, Director of the State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution and Chair Professor of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry from the Department of Chemistry, the CityUHK team was responsible for the research task of enhancing the ecological functions and applications of urban seawalls in the project.

The research team has established ecological theories that enhance habitat complexity and marine biodiversity and has developed various ecologically engineered features suitable for vertical and sloping artificial seawalls. Field tests have demonstrated that these ecologically engineered features can effectively and significantly enhance biodiversity and ecosystem functions on seawalls.

Professor Leung said, “We are very pleased to receive this honour with the research teams from the Pearl River Water Resources Research Institute, among others. Winning the Dayu Award acknowledges our efforts in ecological restoration research and our support for the implementation of artificial ecological seawalls by the nation and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government.”

Professor Leung also sincerely thanked the HKSAR Government’s Development Bureau and the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) for their trust and the valuable opportunities they provided for the research team to conduct trials of innovative products on artificial seawalls in Hong Kong over the years. “The support from the Development Bureau and the CEDD has played a critical role throughout the research and development process, promoting product diversification and design optimisation,” he added.

The Dayu Water Conservancy Science and Technology Award was the first national science and technology award in the field of water conservancy in China. The award was established with the approval of the National Office for Science & Technology Awards. It is a national scientific and technological award in the field of water conservancy, established and organised by the Chinese Hydraulic Engineering Society and approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China. The awarded project was jointly conducted by CityUHK, the Pearl River Water Resources Research Institute, Hohai University, Guangdong Hydropower Planning & Design Institute Co., Ltd., and Guangzhou PRHRI Engineering Survey & Design Co., Ltd.

This article is originated from CityUHK NewsCentre.