PolyU Distinguished Professors and Academic Leaders

The title given to the head of a university changed three times over ninety years—from "Principal" to "President"—mirroring PolyU's ascent from a trade school. This article catalogues the faculty and institutional leaders of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and its predecessors—the Government Trade School (1937), the Hong Kong Technical College (1947), and the Hong Kong Polytechnic (1972)—past and present: successive Directors and Presidents, alongside master-level Chair Professors in aerospace, textiles, hotel and tourism, civil and structural engineering, and computer science. The emphasis here is on scholarly contribution and academic standing (fellowships, original work, international awards) and institutional governance roles; contentious matters such as campus politics and contract renewals fall outside the scope of this article and belong in the "wild history" module. For a full scholarly profile of Professor Yung Kai-leung and an in-depth analysis of the Named Professorship system, see faculty-and-leaders-2.md. For notable alumni, see ./notable-alumni.md; for a roster of honorary doctorates, University Fellows, and Outstanding Alumni Awards, see ./honorary-degrees-and-awards.md.

PolyU was founded on applied professional education, excelling at translating fundamental research into industrial and societal applications—from service and creative industries like design, hotel and tourism, and textiles and clothing, to STEM frontiers such as civil and structural engineering, precision engineering, and artificial intelligence, and on to health disciplines including nursing, rehabilitation, and optometry. Several threads run through the profiles of its academic leaders. One is the alumnus–teacher–leader circuit: figures like Yung Kai-leung and Lam Tai-fai first studied at PolyU before returning to teach or to lead. A second is the use of Chair Professorships to recruit and honour top scholars, many of whom have been elected as academicians of Chinese or international academies. A third is service to national strategy—PolyU is the only tertiary institution in Hong Kong to have participated in the nation's deep-space exploration missions (according to People's Daily).

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# 1. Past Directors and Presidents

The title of PolyU's leadership evolved with the institution's status: after upgrading to the Hong Kong Polytechnic in 1972, the head was styled "Director"; when it gained university status in 1994, the title became "President". The following table is compiled from public records (years are as given in the cited sources):

Institutional timeline: 1937 – Government Trade School founded on Wood Road, Wan Chai; 1947 – renamed Hong Kong Technical College; 1957 – main campus completed in Hung Hom Bay; 24 March 1972 – the Hong Kong Polytechnic Ordinance took effect, and the Polytechnic was established on 1 August; 25 November 1994 – upgraded to The Hong Kong Polytechnic University^※ (per Wikipedia).

# Poon Chung-kwong (1940– )

Poon Chung-kwong, a chemist, served as Director / President of Hong Kong Polytechnic / PolyU from 1991 to 2008, during which time he successfully led the institution's upgrade to university status in 1994^※ (per the English Wikipedia). He holds a PhD and a DSc from University College London, was a visiting scholar at the University of Southern California and Caltech, and has been awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star (GBS) and an OBE; he has also served as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). A cousin of his was the late singer Leslie Cheung.

# Timothy W. Tong (1951– )

Timothy W. Tong, fifth President (1 January 2009 – 1 January 2019) (per Baidu Baike and Wikipedia). Born and educated in Hong Kong, he went to the United States for mechanical engineering, earning a BS from Oregon State University in 1976, an MS from the University of California, Berkeley in 1978, and a PhD in 1980^※. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the International Center for Heat and Mass Transfer, and is an expert in heat transfer. Before joining PolyU, he was Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at George Washington University. After stepping down, he became Emeritus Professor in PolyU's Department of Mechanical Engineering.

# Teng Jin-Guang (1964– )

Teng Jin-Guang, sixth President, assumed office on 1 July 2019; in 2024, the Council renewed his appointment for a further five years (to 2029) (per PolyU and Wikipedia). He is a structural engineer specialising in fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite structures; he earned a BEng in Civil Engineering from Zhejiang University in 1983 and a PhD from the University of Sydney in 1990^※ (per the PolyU President's Office). His academic honours are dense: elected Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2017^※; International Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (UK) (2025); Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh; Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences (2013); Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Sciences (2023); second-class National Natural Science Award (2013); Bronze Bauhinia Star (2024). According to Stanford University’s "World's Top 2% Scientists" list, from 2019 to 2025 he consistently ranked globally 7th or 8th in the field of Civil Engineering, and 1st or 2nd among scholars of Chinese ethnicity (per the PolyU President's Office).

Note: Teng Jin-Guang is the incumbent President. This entry records his neutral, positive academic status as a noted structural engineer (the 00–12 reference zone records names factually as appropriate); campus governance and personnel disputes are not covered here.

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# 2. Aerospace and Precision Engineering

# Yung Kai-leung (1953– )

Yung Kai-leung is both an alumnus (Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from the Polytechnic in 1970) and a faculty member, currently serving as Chair Professor of Precision Engineering in PolyU's Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Director of the Research Centre for Deep Space Explorations, and Associate Head of the department (per Wikipedia). In the 1990s he developed the "Space Gripper", which was used on the Mir space station^※. His team has developed critical instruments for national space missions—providing the Camera Pointing System for the Chang'e-3 and Chang'e-4 lunar missions; developing the "Surface Sampling and Packing System" for Chang'e-5 to enable lunar sample return; and developing the "Mars Landing Surveillance Camera" for the Tianwen-1 Mars mission^※ (per People's Daily). He has won multiple Gold Medals with the Congratulations of the Jury at the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, was awarded the Bronze Bauhinia Star (BBS) in 2015, and was elected a Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences in 2014 (per Wikipedia). For his alumni profile, see ./notable-alumni.md.

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# 3. Textiles and Fashion

# Tao Xiaoming (To Chi-ho)

Tao Xiaoming is PolyU's Chair Professor of Textile Technology, Head of the Department of Textiles and Clothing, and Director of the Research Institute for Intelligent Wearable Systems (established in 2021) (per a The Paper interview and PolyU); she is a Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences. She earned a BEng in Textile Engineering from the China Textile University (now Donghua University) in 1982 and a PhD in Textile Physics from the University of New South Wales, Australia, in 1987^※. By integrating optical fibres with textile composites, she pioneered the field of smart textiles, authored monographs including Smart Fibres, Fabrics and Clothing, and has served as World President of the Textile Institute and received its highest individual honour, the Honorary Fellowship, as well as the Founder's Award from the Fiber Society (USA). The twist-spun yarn technology, washable electronic yarns, and other innovations developed by her team are now applied in medical and sports-health fields. Tao Xiaoming received a 2023 "Outstanding PolyU Alumni Award" in the Academic Achievement category^※ (per the PolyU OPAA database).

Note: Tao Xiaoming, awarded the Outstanding PolyU Alumni Award for Academic Achievement as a faculty member, reflects PolyU’s university-wide merit-based award design; as neither her undergraduate nor doctoral degrees were earned at PolyU, she is included here in her capacity as a teacher/scholar.

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# 4. Hotel and Tourism Management

# Kaye Kye-Sung Chon

Professor Kaye Chon is Dean and Chair Professor of PolyU's School of Hotel and Tourism Management (SHTM), and holds the Mr and Mrs Kwok Ping-sheung Foundation Professorship in International Hospitality Management (per PolyU SHTM and the English Wikipedia). He became Dean of SHTM in 2000, and during his tenure oversaw its upgrade to a "School" in 2001 and its establishment as an independent, autonomous academic unit in 2004^※. Before PolyU, he taught at the University of Houston, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and Virginia Tech, among other institutions. He established the teaching hotel Hotel ICON, and received the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Ulysses Prize, often called the "Nobel Prize of tourism studies". Under his leadership, SHTM has consistently ranked among the world's top in international hospitality and tourism subject rankings.

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# 5. Civil Engineering, Structures and the Built Environment

PolyU's Faculty of Construction and Environment holds international standing in civil engineering, surveying, and building services. In addition to the current President, Teng Jin-Guang (structural engineering; Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, see above), PolyU has multiple scholars listed on Stanford's "World's Top 2% Scientists" list who rank among the global leaders in their respective fields, according to the PolyU entry on the English Wikipedia. In 2025, four PolyU scholars placed in the global top 10 in the fields of Building & Construction, Operations Research, Geological & Geomatics Engineering, and Civil Engineering^※ (per the English Wikipedia).

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# 6. Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence

# Cao Jiannong

Cao Jiannong is PolyU's Dean of the Graduate School, Otto Poon Charitable Foundation Professor in Data Science, Chair Professor of Distributed and Mobile Computing in the Department of Computing, and Director of the Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things (per lecture announcements by South China Normal University and the University of Science and Technology Beijing, and Baidu Baike). He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and a Distinguished Member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). His research covers distributed systems, blockchain, wireless sensing and networking, big data and machine learning, and mobile cloud and edge computing. He has published over 500 academic papers and received the China Computer Federation (CCF) Overseas Outstanding Contribution Award (2017)^※ (per CCF).

# Lei Zhang

Lei Zhang joined PolyU as an Assistant Professor in 2006 and has been a Chair Professor since 2017^※ (per a "Chinese Scholar Profiles" source). He has long been engaged in research on computer vision, image processing, and pattern recognition. He is an IEEE Fellow and was continuously listed by Clarivate as a Highly Cited Researcher from 2015 to 2023 (publications in the top 1% by citations in their field).

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# 7. Founding Figures and Institutional Governance (Council)

PolyU was not "founded" by a single academic but was established jointly by government and the industrial and commercial sectors. The following individuals are included for their foundational/governance roles (not as academic faculty); their own educational backgrounds are noted separately:

# Chung Sze-yuen (1917–2018)

Sir Chung Sze-yen was a Hong Kong industrial pioneer and statesman. His own degree was a first-class honours BEng in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Hong Kong (1941) (per Wikipedia), and he was not a Polytechnic alumnus; however, he played a key role in planning the Hong Kong Polytechnic, and when it was established in 1972 he became the first Chairman of its Council^※ (per Wikipedia and related reports). He was also involved in the founding of the City Polytechnic (now CityU) and HKUST, and served as the first Convenor of the Executive Council of the Hong Kong SAR (1997–1999). PolyU has a building named Chung Sze Yuen Block in his honour.

# Lam Tai-fai (1959– )

Lam Tai-fai, an alumnus of the Polytechnic's Department of Textiles and Clothing and a former managing director of the Peninsula Knitters Group, was made a University Fellow of PolyU in 2000 and awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Business Administration in 2004^※. He is the current Chairman of the PolyU Council (per PolyU and reports of mainland Chinese university visits). He serves as Council Chairman in his capacity as a PolyU alumnus. His alumni and industrial/commercial profile is detailed in ./notable-alumni.md.

Note: Lam Tai-fai is the incumbent Council Chairman. The house style for this wiki requires removing names of current leadership in the context of campus politics, wild history, or disputes; however, this entry is in the 00–12 reference zone and only states his neutral and positive alumni identity and governance title (containing no contentious material), hence his name is recorded factually. Campus governance disputes are in the wild history module.

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# 8. Design and Creative Disciplines

# Cees de Bont

Professor Cees de Bont, former Dean of the School of Design at PolyU, now serves as Vice President (Academic). De Bont took up the Deanship of the School of Design in 2014^※, and during his tenure drove the School's internationalisation strategy, the integration of industry and academia, and the permeation of design thinking into other disciplines. Under his leadership, the School of Design secured numerous international design awards over consecutive years, such as the iF Design Award and the Red Dot Award, and its Art and Design subject has consistently ranked high in Asia in the QS World University Rankings by Subject.

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# 9. Construction, Environment and Civil Engineering

PolyU's Faculty of Construction and Environment (FCE) has comprehensive strengths in surveying, quantity surveying, structures, geotechnics, building environment, and measurement fields. In addition to the current President, Teng Jin-Guang (structural engineering; Academician of CAS), FCE is home to several other top scholars:

# Zhong Guohui

Professor Zhong Guohui is a Chair Professor in the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, FCE, and won the National Award for Innovation Excellence in 2020^※ (per a PolyU press release). This award is jointly conferred by China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and other bodies and is one of the highest national-level team awards in the field of engineering and technology.

# Poon Chikin (and related scholars)

Multiple scholars in FCE publish highly cited papers in applied engineering research areas such as structural health monitoring, super-tall buildings, and landslide early-warning systems. The authoritative list of individual names is available on the departmental staff pages of FCE^※.

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# 10. Business and Finance

PolyU's Faculty of Business has a representative standing in business subject rankings.

# Finance and Management Research

According to the Faculty of Business website, the Department of Accounting and Finance is one of Hong Kong's main Certified Public Accountant (CPA) training units—it maintains a high level of accredited collaboration with international professional bodies such as HKICPA, ACCA, and ICAEW.

The Faculty houses research centres such as the Research Centre for Operations Management and Corporate Governance, and its scholars' research appears in top-tier journals such as the Journal of Finance and The Accounting Review.

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# 11. Engineering — More Chair Professors

# Hu Xiaoling

According to a PolyU news item from January 2025^※, an intelligent health monitoring device developed by a team led by Hu Xiaoling of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering won a CES 2025 Best of Innovation Award—CES is one of the world's largest technology trade shows, and this award is given only to the top products among thousands of exhibitors.

# The Legacy of Chung Sze-yuen's Engineering Education

PolyU's engineering education has been deeply influenced by industry since its inception: the word "applied" is built into the institution's self-definition. According to Wikipedia, PolyU engineering graduates have long been among the most numerous in Hong Kong in terms of registered engineers and licentiates of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE), supplying a large quantity of engineering talent to Hong Kong's construction, manufacturing, and aviation maintenance sectors.

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# 12. Chair Professors and Scholars in Nursing and Health Sciences

PolyU's School of Nursing has 21 Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers in 2025—one of the highest densities of highly cited researchers in the nursing discipline among all Hong Kong universities.

# Chien Wai-tong

According to the School of Nursing's Research page^※, several of its scholars consistently publish high-impact papers in mental health nursing, chronic disease self-management, cancer care, and palliative care. Professor Chien Wai-tong, a specialist in mental health nursing, has been repeatedly named a Highly Cited Researcher.

# Optometry Research — The DIMS Team

The "Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments (DIMS)" spectacle lens study, led by the team of Philip Chong-ki Cho of the School of Optometry—published in Ophthalmology and commercialised in partnership with HOYA—is the single most industrially impactful research output from PolyU's health sciences and a showcase example of knowledge transfer from Hong Kong's university health disciplines.

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# 13. International Scholar Mobility and the Endowed Chair Model

PolyU's "Chair Professor" system is a core mechanism for attracting and retaining top scholars:

• Chair Professorships are sometimes named after donors (e.g., the "Mr and Mrs Kwok Ping-sheung Foundation Professorship in International Hospitality Management" is a donor-endowed title).
• Some Chair Professor positions are tied to national-level platforms (e.g., Yung Kai-leung's role as Director of the Research Centre for Deep Space Explorations).
• PolyU has 428 scholars listed in the annual Stanford "World's Top 2% Scientists" list (2024 data).
• In the 2025 Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers list, PolyU has 21 researchers, covering nursing, engineering, computer science, and materials science.

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# 14. Research Institute Leadership and Interdisciplinary Hubs

The leaders of several PolyU research institutes combine academic leadership with the function of translating research into industry applications:

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