30-day CVRPLib BKS Challenge
The OptVerse-CityU team, a collaboration between Prof Qingfu Zhang’s research group and Huawei, which includes former research staff Dr Fei Liu, research staff Dr Zidong Wang, and PhD students Mr Xin Chen, Mr Qinglong Hu, Mr Shunyu Yao, and Mr Kefeng Zheng, has won the 30-day CVRPLib BKS Challenge.
This prestigious competition challenges teams to produce the best known solutions (BKS) for the large-scale Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP), and the OptVerse-CityU team succeeded in generating BKS for 51 out of 100 instances. Notably, their algorithm incorporates key components designed by the Evolution of Heuristics (EoH) system, marking a significant milestone as the first algorithm with AI-designed elements to win in this rigorous contest. Developed by Professor Qingfu Zhang’s research group and Huawei, the EoH system (its first version was called AEL) showcases innovative integration of evolutionary search and large language models.
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.