Discover HKBU

HKBU scholars named RGC Senior Research Fellow and Research Fellow

31 Jul 2026

1-2 1-2
Professor Gao Meng (right), Professor of the Department of Geography, and Professor Han Bo, Associate Professor of the Department of Computer Science, have achieved recognition in the Research Grants Council’s 2026/27 Senior Research Fellow Scheme and Research Fellow Scheme respectively.

 

In recognition of their high-impact research, two HKBU scholars have been honoured in the Research Grants Council’s (RGC) 2026/27 Senior Research Fellow Scheme (SRFS) and Research Fellow Scheme (RFS) respectively.

The fellowship winners are Professor Gao Meng, Professor of the Department of Geography, and Professor Han Bo, Associate Professor of the Department of Computer Science. They have been awarded a five-year funding of over HK$14 million to undertake trailblazing research focused on alleviating the heat island effect in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), and advancing the safety of artificial intelligence (AI) respectively.

Professor Gao Meng, Professor of the Department of Geography, has been honoured with the RGC’s 2026/27 Senior Research Fellow Scheme award. He is ranked among the World’s Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University, named in the Forbes China 30 Under 30 List (Science and Medical Health) in 2020, and elected Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society. This year, he has also secured RGC’s support through the Overseas Research Fellowship Scheme and the General Research Fund. Professor Gao Meng, Professor of the Department of Geography, has been honoured with the RGC’s 2026/27 Senior Research Fellow Scheme award. He is ranked among the World’s Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University, named in the Forbes China 30 Under 30 List (Science and Medical Health) in 2020, and elected Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society. This year, he has also secured RGC’s support through the Overseas Research Fellowship Scheme and the General Research Fund.
Professor Gao Meng, Professor of the Department of Geography, has been honoured with the RGC’s 2026/27 Senior Research Fellow Scheme award. He is ranked among the World’s Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University, named in the Forbes China 30 Under 30 List (Science and Medical Health) in 2020, and elected Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society. This year, he has also secured RGC’s support through the Overseas Research Fellowship Scheme and the General Research Fund.

 

Tackling the dual threats of urban heat islands and localised air pollution

Professor Gao Meng has been named an “RGC Senior Research Fellow”, receiving a fellowship grant of around HK$8.5 million. His research project, “Integrating machine learning, nature-based solutions and engineered solutions for co-mitigation of urban heat and air pollution in the Greater Bay Area”, addresses the urban heat island effect (a phenomenon where temperatures in urban areas are significantly higher than in surrounding rural and natural areas) and air pollution in GBA through coupled atmospheric chemistry, urban climate modelling and advanced optimisation techniques.

The research team will evaluate and recommend the optimal combinations of eco-solutions (such as green roofs and parks) and engineered solutions (such as reflective materials) to establish a unified mitigation framework aimed at safeguarding the health of over 86 million residents across the GBA.

“By combining advanced machine learning with ecological engineering, we are building a practical, data-driven blueprint for healthier, more resilient subtropical cities. The RGC’s long-term support through this fellowship enables our team to conduct innovative research whose impact will be felt directly across the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the GBA, and rapidly urbanising subtropical regions worldwide,” Professor Gao says.

Professor Han Bo, Associate Professor of the Department of Computer Science, has received recognition in the RGC’s 2026/27 Research Fellow Scheme. He is ranked among the World’s Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University, named as Distinguished Speaker of the Association for Computing Machinery and a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. This year, he also received support from RGC’s General Research Fund. Professor Han Bo, Associate Professor of the Department of Computer Science, has received recognition in the RGC’s 2026/27 Research Fellow Scheme. He is ranked among the World’s Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University, named as Distinguished Speaker of the Association for Computing Machinery and a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. This year, he also received support from RGC’s General Research Fund.
Professor Han Bo, Associate Professor of the Department of Computer Science, has received recognition in the RGC’s 2026/27 Research Fellow Scheme. He is ranked among the World’s Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University, named as Distinguished Speaker of the Association for Computing Machinery and a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. This year, he also received support from RGC’s General Research Fund.

 

Enhancing AI safety

Professor Han Bo has been conferred the title of “RGC Research Fellow”, with funding of over HK$5.6 million. His project, “Towards Building Trustworthy and Efficient Reasoning Agents with Foundation Models”, focuses on developing a trustworthy and highly efficient reasoning framework for next-generation autonomous AI agents.

While standard foundational AI models function passively, transforming them into fully autonomous reasoning agents can lead to “hallucinations”, unreliable tool use, and physical safety risks in dynamic environments. Professor Han’s project introduces TERA (Trustworthy and Efficient Reasoning Agents), a unified framework that addresses four key bottlenecks in reasoning capability, environmental robustness, interaction safety, and long reasoning chain efficiency.

“As AI transitions from interactive chat systems to autonomous agents capable of making decisions on our behalf, safety and trust must be built directly into the design phase rather than added as an afterthought. The RGC fellowship provides the resources and stability to help us build a more trustworthy and efficient foundation for next-generation AI systems in safety-critical industries such as healthcare and automated programming,” says Professor Han.

HKBU’s research excellence recognised

Professor Lyu Aiping, Vice-President (Research and Development) cum Dean of Graduate School, congratulated the two awardees. “This double accolade not only recognises Professor Gao and Professor Han’s exceptional scholarly contributions but also attests to HKBU’s research excellence in environmental sustainability and frontier AI. These two distinguished projects, one dedicated to GBA climate governance and the other establishing a trustworthy defence line for AI safety, underscore HKBU’s commitment to delivering innovative solutions for pressing global challenges,” he says.

He adds that the HKBU research community had already excelled in the University Grants Committee’s General Research Fund, Early Career Scheme, and Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship Scheme, registering a record-high of 95 awarded research projects across the three schemes.

The SRFS and RFS aim to provide outstanding researchers with sustained support and relief from teaching and administrative duties. This enables them to devote their efforts to research and development, while nurturing and training the next generation of research talent for Hong Kong.