

Principal Investigator
Associate Professor, Dept of Building Environment and Energy Engineering
Deputy Director, Research Center for Smart Urban Resilience and Firefighting
Address: ZS832, BLK Z, 181 Chatham Road South, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Email: xy.huang@polyu.edu.hk Google Scholar Profile Short CV
Research Areas: Combustion, Fire Safety Engineering, Smart Firefighting, Energy Safety, Human Behaviors in Fire, Fire Investigation, and Wildland Fire Ecology
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Ph.D. in Mech. Engineering, Imperial College London (2016)
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M.Sc. in Mech. Engineering, University of California, San Diego (2012)
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B.Eng. in Thermal Engineering, Southeast University, China (2010)
Postdoc Fellows
Dr Botao Zhang 张博韬
Postdoc Fellow (2025 - )
Email: botazhang@polyu.edu.hk
Research: Smart Firefighting, Intelligent Evacuation Guidance and Pedestrian Movement Prediction.
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PhD, City University of Hong Kong (2025)
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MEng, Beihang University (2021)
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BEng, Beihang University (2018)
Postdoc Fellow (2026 - )
Email: yunzhu.qin@connect.polyu.hk
Research: Smouldering, Wildland Fire and Fire Ecology, Fire Emission
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BEng, Sichuan University (2021)
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PhD, HK Polytechnic University (2025)
Postdoc Fellow (2026 - )
Email: yizhou-b3e.li@connect.polyu.hk
Research: Wildfire, Coal Fire, AI-based Firefighting
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PhD, HK Polytechnic University (2026)
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BEng, China Univ of Mining & Technology (2021)
PhD Students
PhD Student (2021 - )
Email: deacon-hoyin.wong@connect.polyu.hk
Research: AIoT Sensor, Smart firefighting
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BEng, City University of Hong Kong (2021)
PhD student (2022 - )
Email: wai-kit-wilson.cheung@connect.polyu.hk
Research: Smouldering fire, performance-based design, fire modelling and firefighting robots
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BEng, Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2022)
PhD student (2022 - )
Email: yifei.ding@connect.polyu.hk
Research: Smart Firefighting
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BEng, South China University of Technology (2022)
PhD Student (2023 - )
Email: lei23.zhang@connect.polyu.hk
Research: Battery thermal safety, Battery structure
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MSc, Imperial College London (2022)
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BEng, Jiangnan University (2021)
PhD Student (2023 - )
Email: meng-rick.wang@connect.polyu.hk
Research: Smart firefighting, Firefighting robots
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MSc, HK Univ of Science and Technology (2022)
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BEng, Yangzhou University (2019)
PhD Student (2023 - )
Email: wei-kang.xie@connect.polyu.hk
Research: IoT-based Temperature Monitoring and Building Smart Firefighting
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MEng, China University of Petroleum (2022)
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BEng, China University of Petroleum (2018)
PhD Student (2023 - )
Email: yuxin.zhou@connect.polyu.hk
Research: Lithium-ion battery thermal runaway; Flame retardant materials; Water mist
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MEng, Nanjing Tech University (2023)
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BEng, Nanjing Tech University (2020)
PhD Student (2024 - )
Email: saizhe.ding@connect.polyu.hk
Research: Pedestrian Evacuation, Virtual Reality, Event-based Camera, Flame Detection
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MEng, University of Science and Technology of China (2023)
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BEng, Chang'an University (2020)
PhD Student (2024 - )
Email: rong.deng@connect.polyu.hk
Research: Smart Firefighting, Coal Fire, Operational Research.
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MEng, China Univ of Mining & Technology (2024)
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BEng, China Univ of Mining & Technology (2021)
PhD Student (2024 - )
Email: yichao.zhang@polyu.edu.hk
Research: Wildland Fire and Biodiversity
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MSc, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University (2023)
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BSc, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University (2020)
PhD Student (2024 - )
Email: mengyao.geng@connect.polyu.hk
Research: Fault diagnosis of Lithium-ion battery
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MEng, Beijing Institute of Technology (2024)
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BEng, China University of Geosiences (2021)
PhD Student (2024 - )
Email: lenton.lu@connect.polyu.hk
Research: Pedestrian Dynamics.
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MEng, Central South University (2024)
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BEng, Southwest Jiaotong University (2020)
PhD Student (2024 - )
Email: changlin-aaron.liu@connect.polyu.hk
Research: Lithium-ion battery fire suppression.
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MEng, Southwest Jiaotong University (2024)
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BEng, Southwest Jiaotong University (2020)

Yixuan Liang 梁逸煊
PhD Student (2024 - ) Part-time
Email: yixuan.liang@connect.polyu.hk
Research: Construction Fire Safety
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MEng, HK Polytechnic University (2023)
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BEng, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture (2022)
PhD Student (2024 - )
Email:
Research: Smart Firefighting.
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MEng, Beijing Univ Science & Technology (2023)
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BEng, Beijing Univ Science & Technology (2020)
PhD Student (2025 - )
Email: yanghan.su@polyu.edu.hk
Research: Battery thermal safety
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M.Eng. in Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (2024)
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B.Eng. in Central South University (2021)
Yuting Jiang 江雨婷
PhD Student (2025 -)
Email: yuting25.jiang@connect.polyu.hk
Research: Fire and explosion on battery energy storage system.
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BEng, Dalian University of Technology (2021)
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M.Sc., Dalian University of Technology (2024)
Hongtao Zheng 郑宏涛
PhD student (2025 - )
Email: hongtao.zheng@connect.polyu.hk
Research: Smart Firefighting and Highly Autonomous Firefighting Robots, Fire Research Based on Generative AI, Fire Big Data Analysis.
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B.Eng., Hangzhou City University (2023)
Xiaoyu Sun 孙笑语
MPhil Student (2025 - )
Email: 2718811S@student.gla.ac.uk
Research: Social Impact of Major Fire Incidents
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BSc, Glasgow University (2025)

Ziqi Cai 蔡子祺
MPhil Student (2025 - )
Email: cai-ziqi.cai@connect.polyu.hk
Research: Lithium-ion battery, thermal runaway, Battery safety
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B.Eng. in Shenzhen Technology University
Research Assistants & Visitors

Prof. Bo Li 李博
Visiting Scholar (2024 - )
China University of Geoscience

Feifan He 贺非凡
Visiting PhD student (2025 - )
Email: feifan.he@polyu.edu.hk
Research: Respiratory injury mechanisms and protection strategies for individuals in hazardous environments
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B.Eng., Tsinghua University (2022)
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Ph.D. student, Tsinghua University (2022 - )

Mostafa Ali
Visiting PhD student (2025 - )
Email: mostafa.ali@unsw.edu.au
Research: Lithium-ion battery fire safety, safety of alternative & renewable energy technologies, fire type detection using deep learning.
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Ph.D. student, The University of New South Wales
Previous Postdoc and PhD Students
Postdoc Fellow (2020)
PhD in University of Hong Kong (2019)
Current Position: Associate Professor at Southeast University, China

Dr Han Yuan 袁晗
Postdoc Fellow (2021)
PhD in Imperial College London(2021)
Current Position: Senior Scientist at Huadian Electric Power Research Institute
Postdoc Fellow (2021)
PhD in Beihang University (2017)
Current Position: Associate Professor at Beihang University (Hangzhou)
Postdoc Fellow (2021 - 22)
PhD in PolyU (2021)
Current Position: Lecturer at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand

Dr Caiyi Xiong 熊才溢
Postdoc Fellow (2019 - 22)
PhD in University of Science and Technology of China (2019)
Current Position: Associate Professor at South China Univ of Technology
Postdoc Fellow (2021 - 22)
PhD at PolyU (2018 - 21)
Current Position: Research Assistant Professor, HK PolyU

Dr Rahul Wadhwani
Postdoc Fellow (2022 - 23)
PhD at Victoria University (2019)
Current Position: Postdoc at Missoula Fire Sciences Lab. USA
Postdoc Fellow (2021 - 22)
PhD at Tongji University (2021)
Current Position: Research Assistant Professor, HK PolyU

Dr Shakeel Ahmad
Postdoc Fellow (2022 - 23)
PhD at HK PolyU (2020)
Current Position: Postdoc at KAUST

Dr Peiyi Sun 孙培艺
Postdoc (2022 - 24)
PhD (2019 - 22), MEng (2017 - 18)
Current Position: Postdoc at Carleton University

Dr Xiaoning Zhang 张小宁
Postdoc Fellow (2024)
PhD (2021 - 24)
Current Position: Postdoc at Peng Cheng Lab

Ling-Chu Su
PhD Student (2019 - 23)
Current Position: Risk Engineer at HDI Global SE

Dr Yanfu Zeng 曾彦夫
PhD at PolyU (2021 - 24)
Current Position: Fire Safety Engineer at Arup, Australia

Postdoc Fellow (2023 - 25)
Current Position: Associate Professor at Beijing Institute of Technology
Previous Fire Lab Members
Visiting Scholars

Prof. Cangsu XU 许沧粟
Visiting Professor (2019 - 20)
Associate Prof. at Zhejiang University
Visiting Professor (2023 - 24)
Professor at Anhui University of Science and Technology
Previous Research Assistants & Visiting Students

RA in PolyU (2024 - 25)
Current Position: PhD Student in City University of Hong Kong

Feiyu Guan 管飞宇
Joint PhD student (2024 - 25) with Huazhong Univ Science & Technology

Younggi Park
Research Assistant (2019-20)
Current Position: CFD Engineer in LG Co.

Dayang Nur Sakinah Binti Musa
Visiting PhD student (2022)
Universiti Malaysia Pahang
Current Position: Senior Lecturer at University Malaysia Sabah

Xinghao Chen
Research Assistant (2023)
Current Position: PhD student at HK PolyU

Jakub Bielawski
Visiting PhD student (2023 - 24)
Building Research Institute (ITB), Poland

Diane Luan 栾蝶
Visiting PhD Student (2023-24)
PhD in Central South University

Jiekai Xie 谢捷凯
Joint PhD Student (2024 - )
PhD in Guangdong University of Technology

Fuqiu Wang 王福秋
Research Assistant (2022-24)
Current Position: Engineer at HAI ROBOTICS

Janice Hiu Ching Ma
Visiting Student (summer 2024)
Cambridge University
Previous Master Students

Xiao Yang 萧洋
MEng in BSE (2018-19)
Current Position: CEO Assistant at Galaxy Holding Group

Research Assistant (2020)

Research Assistant (2020-21)
Current Position: Engineer at HK Electrical & Mechanical Services Department (EMSD)

Master Student (2020-2021)
Current Position: Engineer at Bright Future Chinese Medicine Ltd., HK

Yifan JIA 贾逸凡
MEng in BSE (2019-20)
Current Position: China Railway Design Corporation, Tianjin

Jingze Zhu 朱靖哲
MEng in BSE (2018-19)
Current Position: Engineer at Guangdong Academy of Building Research Group Co. Ltd
Previous Undergraduate Students

Ms Haiwei (Flora) Li 李海蔚
Undergrad Assistant (2018-19)
Project: Fire Impact on the Drying Process in Porous Soils
Current Position: PhD Student at University of Cambridge with full scholarship

Undergrad Assistant (2020-21)
Project: Ignition mechanism of concentrated sunlight
Current Position: PhD Student at University of California, Berkeley with full scholarship

Gulzhan Aldan
Undergrad Assistant (2021-22)
Project: Immersion Cooling for Li-ion battery
Current Position: PhD Student at University of Pennsylvania with full scholarship































