Research Impact Fund (RIF) for 2025/26
A project led by Prof Dapeng Wu has been awarded the Research Impact Fund (RIF) for 2025/26. The project, titled “CuCloud: AI-Enabled Green Ecosystem”, has secured HK$6.4 million in funding from RGC. The RGC funds 70% of the project cost, while university / organisational partner(s) will match the remaining 30% of the project cost.
The primary goal of the RIF is to enhance the societal benefits of research by encouraging local academics to demonstrate the potential of their work for the wider community. The RIF promotes impactful and translational research while fostering collaboration with government, industry, and research institutes. Successful applications are eligible for up to HK$10 million in funding for projects lasting three to five years.
2025 IEEE Signal Processing Society (SPS) Best Paper Award
Prof Junhui Hou, along with former staff Prof Tak Wu Sam Kwong, and former research staff Dr Chongyi Li, Dr Chunle Guo and Dr Runmin Cong, have been awarded the 2025 IEEE Signal Processing Society (SPS) Best Paper Award for their paper titled “An Underwater Image Enhancement Benchmark Dataset and Beyond” published in the IEEE Transactions on Image Processing in 2019.
Additionally, Prof Junhui Hou has received the Outstanding Editorial Board Member Award for his exceptional service to IEEE Transactions on Image Processing (TIP).
IEEE SPS is the premier global association dedicated to advancing signal processing, boasting a community of 25,000 members, including engineers, researchers, and industry professionals. Each year, IEEE SPS honours author(s) of exceptional papers with its Best Paper Award, recognizing outstanding contributions published in its key transactions, such as the Transactions on Audio, Speech, and Language Processing and the Journal of Selected Topics in Signal Processing.
IEEE TIP is one of the key publications under the IEEE SPS, focuses on innovative theories and algorithms for the capture, processing, and display of images, videos, and multidimensional signals. Key topics include modeling, coding, enhancement, and restoration, with applications in image communications, biomedical imaging, and remote sensing.
Fellow of the prestigious Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Prof Weifa Liang has been named a Fellow of the prestigious Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in the class of 2026 for his outstanding contributions to resource allocation and optimization in edge computing and wireless networks.
The IEEE Grade of Fellow is conferred by the Board of Directors upon a person with an extraordinary record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. The total number selected in any one year does not exceed one-tenth of one percent of the total voting Institute membership.
Highly Cited Researchers 2025 by Clarivate
Prof Shiqi WANG and Prof Kede MA have been honoured as Highly Cited Researchers 2025 by Clarivate, with Prof Wang recognized in the Cross-Field category and Prof Ma in the Engineering category.
Clarivate, a leading global data analytics company, publishes the Journal Citation Reports (JCR), which provide the Journal Impact Factor (JIF). The JIF is a widely recognized metric for evaluating the relative influence of academic journals and serves as an important tool for academic assessment. The Highly Cited Researchers list identifies scientists and social scientists who have made a significant impact in their fields by publishing multiple papers that rank in the top 1% for citations.