Honouring Distinguished Faculty Promotions at SEE

The School of Energy and Environment (SEE) at City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) is delighted to share outstanding faculty promotions this year, which will take effect on 1 July 2026. We warmly congratulate our faculty on these significant career milestones, which reflect their scholarly excellence, dedication, and impactful contributions.

Prof. Edwin Chi‑Yan Tso – Promotion to Chair Professor
Prof. Tso, SEE’s Associate Dean (Internationalisation and Outreach), will be promoted to Chair Professor with the title of Chair Professor of Energy and Sustainability. He has recently received widespread recognition for his pioneering research in fundamental heat transfer, thermal management, indoor built environments and optics for energy-efficient and sustainable technologies and advanced engineered materials. His work includes innovative passive radiative cooling and smart windows solutions as passive building envelopes to reduce energy consumption and enhance building sustainability. Major honours include the NSFC Excellent Young Scientist Fund (Category B, 2025), the Hong Kong Engineering Science and Technology Award (2024–25), the iCANX Young Scientist Award (2025), the RGC Research Fellowship (2024), the HKIE Grand Award (2024) and the TERA Gold Award (2023). Prof. Tso has also been listed the world’s top 2% most highly cited scientists by Stanford University since 2020, underscoring his global impact. Beyond these distinctions, he leads the FIRST Programme (Fostering Innovation for Resilience and Sustainable Transformation), which UNESCO endorsed in 2025 as part of the UN Science Decade. Prof. Tso is a young fellow or member of numerous professional bodies: including the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering (YFHKEng), the Institute of Measurement and Control (FInstMC), the Hong Kong Young Academy of Sciences (YASHK), the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (MHKIE), the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (MCIBSE), the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (MIMechE), the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate (MISIAQ), the Hong Kong Green Building Council (MHKGBC), the Hong Kong Research Grants Council Research Fellow Alliance (MHKRFA), and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (MASME). He is also a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and a Registered Professional Engineer (RPE).

Prof. Angus Hin-Lap Yip – Promotion to Chair Professor
Prof. Yip, jointly appointed with the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, will be promoted to Chair Professor with the title of Chair Professor of Photovoltaic. He has been named a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate for 2014–2025 and was awarded a Senior Research Fellowship (2025/26) by the Research Grants Council (RGC). Prof. Yip’s research focuses on solution-processed optoelectronic materials and devices for energy generation and energy saving, with particular emphasis on organic solar cells, perovskite solar cells, and perovskite LEDs. His interdisciplinary group spans materials science, environmental science, physics, chemistry, and engineering. He has published over 300 papers in leading journals, including Nature, Science, Nature Photonics, Nature Communications, Advanced Materials, and Energy & Environmental Science, receiving over 50,000 citations with an h-index of 114. Beyond fundamental research, Prof. Yip is committed to translational innovation, actively advancing the commercialization of next-generation solar technologies to support Hong Kong’s carbon-neutrality goals.

Prof. Jin Shang – Promotion to Professor
Prof. Shang will be promoted to the position of Professor. He leads the Gas Adsorption and Separation Laboratory and is internationally recognized for discovering the molecular trapdoor mechanism, a breakthrough that established a new paradigm in adsorptive gas separation. His research focuses on adsorption science and engineering in porous systems, including zeolites and metal–organic frameworks, advancing fundamental understanding and practical solutions for carbon capture, methane purification, nitrogen oxides abatement, and energy gas storage. Prof. Shang has published over 140 papers in leading journals including Nature Communications, JACS, Angewandte Chemie, and Advanced Materials, with an h-index of 55, more than 9,100 citations, and a Field-Weighted Citation Impact of 2.4, ranking among Stanford’s top 2% most cited scientists (2022–2025). His team’s innovations have earned global recognition, including a Gold Medal at the Silicon Valley International Invention Festival (SVIIF 2025), alongside recent high-impact contributions to gas separation and sustainable technologies. His achievements have been recognized with major international honors, including the 2024 Carbon Capture Award for Exceptional Research, 2023 IChemE & CCST Young Investigator Award, and 2022 ISTP-Bogen Young Scientist Award.

Prof. Wei Wu – Promotion to Professor
Prof. Wu will be promoted to Professor. His research focuses on building energy and sustainability technologies (BEST) towards carbon neutrality, including advanced heat pumps, novel working fluids, thermal energy storage, renewable energy utilization, and net-zero energy buildings. Prof. Wu has published more than 150 peer-reviewed papers, obtained or filed 28 patents, and authored a Springer book and an Elsevier book, earning recognition among the Top 2% Most Highly Cited Scientists Worldwide by Stanford University. He has received numerous prestigious honours, including the NSFC Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Hong Kong and Macau), the Willis H. Carrier Young Researcher Award of the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR), the NIST Distinguished Associate, Global EBE Excellent Young Scholar, Sustainability Carbon Neutrality Award, National HVAC Distinguished Young Scholar, and the SEE Excellent Innovation Award 2025. His team has achieved global impact with a breakthrough study on thermal energy storage published in Nature Communications, and won nine Gold Medals at different international Invention Exhibitions. He is a Chinese Representative of IEA-SHC and IEA-HPT, an Associate Editor of Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, and a Co-Founder of Solar.E Tech Limited. Prof. Wu also contributed to the China Data Center Cooling Annual Report/Summit and HVAC standards, underscoring his leadership in advancing sustainable building technologies and carbon-neutral solutions.

Prof. Fatwa F. Abdi – Substantiation as Associate Professor
Prof. Abdi will be substantiated as Associate Professor. His research advances solar-to-chemical conversion technologies, including a recent breakthrough study published in Nature Communications demonstrating the successful operation of pressurized solar water-splitting devices up to eight bar, a milestone toward scalable solar hydrogen production. He has also developed integrated approaches that couple solar hydrogen production with value-added chemical synthesis, highlighted in his recent Nature Reviews Clean Technology article, outlining pathways to enhance the economic and environmental viability of solar fuels. In 2025, he was awarded the ANR–RGC Joint Research Scheme (2024/25 Exercise), further strengthening his leadership in international collaboration and sustainable energy innovation. Prof. Abdi was also named among the world’s top 2% most highly cited scientists by Stanford University. In addition, he was honoured as the SEE Teaching Excellence Awardee 2025, reflecting his dual commitment to impactful scholarship and outstanding teaching.

Prof. Jian Wang – Promotion to Associate Professor with Substantiation
Prof. Wang will be promoted to Associate Professor with substantiation. His research focuses on sustainable electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices, including fuel cells, electrolyzers, and batteries, with particular emphasis on dynamic electrochemical processes. Prof. Wang has published extensively in leading journals such as Nature Catalysis, Nature Energy, Nature Communications, Energy & Environmental Science, and Advanced Materials, with several works featured as journal covers and research highlights. In recognition of his outstanding contributions, he was honoured with the SEE Excellent Young Researcher Award 2025 and the prestigious 2025 iCANX Young Scientist Award. He was also named among the world’s top 2% most highly cited scientists by Stanford University, further affirming his global impact.

These promotions showcase the remarkable achievements of SEE faculty and reaffirm the School’s commitment to advancing sustainability, energy innovation, and environmental leadership. By driving groundbreaking research, earning international recognition, and excelling in teaching and innovation, our faculty continue to strengthen SEE’s reputation as a dynamic and supportive academic community.

Congratulations to Prof. Tso, Prof. Yip, Prof. Shang, Prof. Wu, Prof. Abdi, and Prof. Wang on these well‑deserved achievements! Their dedication and impact continue to inspire the entire School of Energy and Environment community and beyond.