QRS 2026 Most Influential Paper Award
Prof Jacky Keung has received the Most Influential Paper Award for his paper titled “Empirical Evaluation of Cross-Release Effort-Aware Defect Prediction Models”, which was presented at the 26th IEEE International Conference on Software Quality, Reliability, and Security (QRS 2026) in Florence, Italy, from 22 to 25 July 2026.
The Most Influential Paper Award is presented on a ten-year basis to recognize papers published at QRS that have demonstrated the greatest impact on the theory or practice of software quality, reliability, and security over the decade following their publication. The paper was initially presented at the QRS 2016 in Vienna, Austria from 1 to 3 August 2016.
IEEE International Conference on Software Quality, Reliability, and Security (QRS) is a leading international forum that brings together researchers and practitioners from academia and industry to share research advances, practical experiences, and innovative solutions in software quality, reliability, and security. The conference plays an important role in advancing the development of reliable, secure, and trustworthy software systems.
Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS) 2026/27
A project led by Prof Jianping Wang has been awarded the Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS) 2026/27. The project, titled SynapseCity: AI Driven Urban Emergency Response and Rescue, has secured HK$55.69 million in funding.
TRS is a funding programme of the Research Grants Council (RGC) that aims to focus academic research efforts of UGC-funded universities on themes of strategic importance to the long-term development of Hong Kong. Proposals are assessed on academic excellence, including qualification as world-leading by international standards, impact to Hong Kong, the credentials of the project team, the existence of a clear strategy, and a sound structure for an excellent research project. Projects may receive up to HK$75 million in direct project costs over a maximum duration of five years. This year, the RGC approved 8 projects.
Prof Junhui Hou Awarded RGC Research Fellowship for 2026/27
Prof. Junhui Hou has been awarded the RGC Research Fellowship 2026/27 for his project titled “Neural Spatial Computing: Geometric Modeling, Representation Learning, and Applications”.
The RGC Research Fellow Scheme (RFS) aims to provide sustained research support, together with relief from teaching and administrative duties, for outstanding scholars in UGC-funded universities in Hong Kong.
In this round, the Research Grants Council approved 11 Research Fellowship awards. Each awardee is conferred the title of “RGC Research Fellow” and receives research funding of approximately HK$5.6 million to support their work over a five-year period.
Evolutionary Computation Pioneer Award 2027
Prof Qingfu Zhang has been honored by the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society (CIS) with the Evolutionary Computation Pioneer Award 2027 in recognition of his contributions to the foundations of evolutionary multiobjective optimization. This prestigious award, one of the highest honors in the field, is presented to researchers whose work has fundamentally shaped the direction and development of evolutionary computation.
Among Prof Zhang's most influential contributions is MOEA/D, one of the most cited, studied, and widely adopted algorithmic frameworks in the history of evolutionary computation. It has inspired extensive follow-up research, led to numerous variants and extensions, and established a basic methodology for multiobjective optimization. Today, it is widely taught in graduate courses worldwide and has been successfully applied across a broad range of domains.