Yifei and Wilson Pass Viva: Thesis Rated Excellent
Aug 2026
Yifei's PhD thesis, Computer Vision Methods for Enhancing Fire Hazard Quantification and Emergency Management, makes a major contribution to AI and computer vision applications in fire safety. Wai Kit (Wilson)'s thesis, Quantification of Smoke Visibility and Hazards towards Building Fire Safety, deepens our understanding of fire smoke hazards. After graduation, Yifei will start his postdoc at the University of Maryland, College Park. Wilson will move to Arup HK as a professional fire engineer.
Yuxin and Shaorun Start New Academic Journey
Sep 2026
Dr Yuxin Zhang will move to Kyoto University as a tenured Associate Professor. Yuxin was a postdoc at PolyU (2021-2022) and was promoted to Research Assistant Professor (RAP) in 2022.
Dr Shaorun Lin will move to the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) as a tenure-track Professor. Shaorun started his PhD at PolyU in 2018, and then worked as a postdoc at UC Berkeley and as a RAP at PolyU.
Welcome Visiting Prof. Sili Deng from MIT
Sep 2026
Prof. Sili Deng from MIT will visit PolyU X Fire Lab for 3 months starting in Sep 2026 under the Climate-Resilient Infrastructure Fellowship (CRIF). Her research combines experiments and computations, bridges fundamentals and applications, and focuses on energy conversion and nanomaterial synthesis. Specifically, the group is interested in multi-phase reacting flows, flame synthesis of nanomaterials, nanocatalysis, combustion kinetics and dynamics, emission reduction, and thermal management in engines and power systems.
Research Featured by Sciencenet
Aug 2026
The paper, published in Engineer and led by Weikang and Xinyan, 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. This work is featured in Sciencenet 科学网.
Members attend Fire and Structure Workshop
Aug 2026
Dayang and Xinyan attended the Luojia Global Summer School on Fire and Structural Modelling and the workshop at Wuhan University. Prof. Chao Zhang organised this event, including a 5-day summer school and a 1-day workshop. Xinyan gave a key presentation on the Application of Artificial Intelligence in Fire Safety Design and Management.
Lessons from Bangkok Bar Fire
July 2026
Following the tragic fire in Bangkok Bar fire, Xinyan was interviewed by Associated Press (AP) News to analyze the fire dynamics, explaining how rapid fire spread and evacuation challenges led to the high casualty rate. He highlighted critical factors such as ineffective fire compartmentation, the use of flammable building materials, and inadequate emergency exit management as common pitfalls in fire-prone urban environments. Major media outlets featured such professional assessments.
Two New Edited Books Online
July 2026
The first book, AI in Safety Science and Engineering, is edited by Xinyan Jihao and Dr Ming Yang of TU Delft and published by Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/C2024-0-01388-4
The second book, Virtual Reality in Tunnel Engineering, is edited by Yuxin and Xinyan, along with Prof. Yi Rui from Tongji University, and published by CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003514480
Many of our lab members have contributed several chapters to these two books, highlighting the advances in AI and VR for safety.
Group attends China Public Safety Conference
Aug 2026
Seven members of the PolyU Fire group attend the 2026 China Public Safety Conference, the largest national conference on safety science and engineering, and present their latest research on battery safety and smart fire engineering.
Dr Yuxin Zhang and Dr Zhichao He also received the Early Career Award from the China Association of Public Safety.
Members attend Intl. Combustion Symposium
July 2026
Xinyan, Shaorun, Sainan and Kuba have attended and presented at the 41st International Symposium on Combustion in Kyoto. This is the largest combustion conference in the world, with over 2000 attendees this year. Xinyan also co-organised the Mini-symposia on Wildfire and WUI fire with Dr Sara McAllister from the US Forest Service and gave a topical review on Interactive Smoldering-Flaming Fires at the Wildland-Urban Interface.
Xinyan Receives CI Early Career Award
June 2026
Prof. Xinyan Huang received the 2026 Tsuji Early Career Award from the Combustion Institute. The Hiroshi Tsuji Early Career Researcher Award recognizes excellence in fundamental or applied combustion science research. This award and prize of US $10,000 is annually bestowed upon an early career researcher who has advanced a specific field of research within four to ten years of completing a doctoral degree or equivalent. Congratulations!
PolyU X Fire Group Attends IAFSS at La Rochelle
June 2026
PolyU Fire Lab attended the 15th International Symposium on Fire Safety Science, held between June 7 – 12, 2026, in La Rochelle, France. Xinyan served as Symposium Communication Co-Chair and presented at the battery workshop. In total, 6 oral presentations and 8 posters from our group were highlighted at the symposium.
Sainan Receives the Best Fire Image Award
June 2026
The image "Fire suppression by air vortex rings", created by Sainan Quan and Caiyi Xiong (former postdoc), receives the Best Image Award out of 40 images. This award aims to promote the best fire safety science-related image based on originality, scientific significance, and artistic/aesthetic appeal. The selection will be made by the Symposium Delegates.
SFPE HK Student Chapter Receives Gold Award
May 2026
This is the 3rd time for us to win this Gold Award, under the leadership of Yuxin Zhou and Yichao Zhang. The SFPE Board of Directors established ACE (formerly known as the Chapter Excellence Awards) in 2005 to recognize SFPE Chapters that demonstrate excellence in contributing to the needs of their members and the Society. Three levels of recognition are awarded — Gold, Silver, and Bronze.
Yifei wins the Sheldon Tieszen Student Award
May 2026
The paper "Coupling computer-vision house fuel load estimation with fire spread simulation in the Wildland–Urban interface", led by Yifei Ding wins the Sheldon Tieszen Student Award. The award consists of US$1,250 cash payment to assist the recipient at the IAFSS Symposium. Recipients must present their papers at the Symposium. The award recipients will be selected by the IAFSS Awards Committee in coordination with the Chair of the FORUM.
Tong Wins a Pioneer Award in BEEE Industry Day
May 2026
Tong LU's research poster on smart evacuation design wins the Pioneer Award for the BEEE Industry Day 2026. The event featured a poster exhibition and award ceremony highlighting the latest capstone projects and research achievements of BEEE research and degree students in the field of Building Sciences and Engineering. Guests were invited to explore the diverse and innovative work presented by students, reflecting the Department’s commitment to advancing excellence in building environment, safety, resilience, and energy.
Xinyan Receives Outstanding AE Award
April 2026
Prof. Xinyan Huang is awarded the 2025 Outstanding Associate Editor Award by the International Journal of Wildland Fire (IJWF). Xinyan has served as an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Wildland Fire since 2021. This annual honor, nominated by journal editors-in-chief, is given to only one recipient worldwide each year from a team of 40 associate editors. Prof. Huang has also been a board member of the International Association of Wildland Fire (IAWF) from 2022 to 2024 and was honored with its Early Career Award in Fire Science in 2025.
APSS 2027 to be Held in PolyU
April 2026
PolyU Fire Lab is proud to announce that we will host the 12th Asia Pacific Symposium on Safety (APSS 2027), 20-23 May 2027, in Hong Kong. APSS is an international conference dedicated to advancing industrial safety and disaster prevention. APSS 2027 will feature world-class keynote speeches, technical sessions, panel discussions, and networking opportunities, fostering collaborations across academia and industry. We warmly welcome researchers, professionals, and students from around the world to join us in Hong Kong in 2027 for this landmark event.
SFPE Performance-Based Design Conference
April 2026
Ho Yin Wong, Wai Kit Cheung, Weikang Xie, and Tong Lu, PhD students from the PolyU Fire Group, attended the 16th SFPE Fire Safety Conference on Performance-Based Design in Singapore in April 2026. This conference brought together global researchers, engineers, and experts to discuss current and future trends in performance-based design and fire regulatory systems. Tong Lu delivered an oral presentation, and Ho Yin, Wai Kit, and Weikang gave poster presentations on the smart evaluation design, effectiveness of dynamic exit signs, exit sign visibility performance in smoke, and LLM-powered fire emergency response.
Group Attend Australia Wildland Fire Conference
April 2026
PolyU Firelab participated in the 8th International Fire Behavior and Fuels Conference held in Tasmania, Australia. Dr. Shaorun Lin, Dr. Yunzhu Qin and Yichao Zhang attended the event on behalf of the team. They exchanged latest research findings on fire behavior, fuel characteristics and wildfire safety. The conference offered a valuable global platform for academic communication, international collaboration and sharing cutting-edge advances.
Shaorun Gave Plenary Talk in National Meeting
April 2026
Dr Shaorun Lin was invited to give a plenary speech at The 11th Young Scholar Meeting on Combustion Research, organized by the Chinese Society of Engineering Thermophysics. The title of his presentation is Smoldering wildfire: Combustion Dynamics and Mechanism. Only 6 young researchers were invited, so it is a highest recognition for young researchers in the combustion domain. Xinyan was invited to give a plenary talk at the 3rd Meeting back in 2017 .
Wai Kit awarded by SFPE and Arup
March 2026
Wai Kit Cheung is awarded SFPE Student Research Grant for his project titled “Extending Visibility in Smoke Model beyond 15 m Range with Experimental and Numerical Approach.” He has also been awarded 3rd place in the Arup Margaret Law Fire Safety Award, a global student award that recognizes innovative and practical research in fire safety engineering. The award is named after Margaret Law MBE, a pioneering fire safety engineer who established Arup’s fire engineering team in 1974.
Team Wins CES Best Innovation Award
Jan 2026
A smart firefighting robot created by a PolyU startup, WideMount Dynamics, co-founded by Meng WANG, Yuxin Zhang and Xinyan Huang, has won the prestigious Best of Innovation Grand Award at CES 2026, Las Vegas. This AI-powered robot can navigate smoke-filled environments, identify fire risks, and extinguish initial blazes autonomously, greatly improving urban firefighting safety and efficiency. It obtained the highest score in the Human Security for All product category at this important global innovation event.
Lessons to be Learned from Tai Po Fire
Jan 2026
On 26 November 2025, a fire at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, Hong Kong, scaled the bamboo scaffolding and wrapped itself around seven of the eight residential towers undergoing façade repair. It has caused 168 deaths, and all have to learn this fire disaster. Unless fire safety is built into how sustainability is defined and implemented, dense urban renovation will continue to produce large-scale disasters like the Wang Fuk Court Fire as predictable and systemic outcomes rather than rare accidents. See our correspondence in Nature Cities.
Winning 1st prize in Arup Research Competition
Jan 2026
Wai Kit Cheung, Yuxin Zhou, and Lei Zhang, PhD students from the PolyU Fire Group, have been awarded 1st prize in the Arup Research Competition 2025 under the theme “Empowering the future: Energy transition and urban development.” The winning project, titled “Multi-Modal Sensor Fusion for Early Thermal Runaway Prediction in Large-scale Battery Energy Storage Systems”, leverages multi-modal sensing technology to enable early detection of battery thermal runaway.