HKUST Prof. ZHANG Limin Honored with Certificate of Merit at the Fourth National Award for Excellence in Innovation

Prof. ZHANG Limin, Head and Chair Professor of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), recently received a Certificate of Merit at the Fourth National Award for Excellence in Innovation, in recognition of his pioneering research achievements in  geotechnical engineering and his outstanding contributions to national disaster prevention and mitigation.  

The National Award for Excellence in Innovation is jointly organized by the China Association for Science and Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council. Conferred on a triennial basis, to the award recognizes scientific and technological organizations and professionals who have made outstanding contributions in areas including basic research and frontier exploration, major equipment and engineering breakthroughs, technology transfer and innovative entrepreneurship, and social services.

This honor represents another prestigious national recognition for Prof. Zhang, following his distinction as the only scholar from Hong Kong to receive the National Outstanding Engineer Award, underscoring his exceptional academic achievements.

Expressing his profound honor upon receiving the award, Prof. Zhang said: "This honor recognizes not only my research team, but also serves as a tremendous encouragement from the nation for HKUST’s research development. In response to the country’s pressing needs for intelligent disaster prevention and mitigation, my team and I will continue to drive the translation and application of innovative research outcomes in this field. We strive to safeguard people's lives and property with cutting-edge technology, and to contribute HKUST’s strengths to the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the nation as a whole."

Prof. Nancy Ip, President of HKUST, noted that the National Award for Excellence in Innovation recognizes the outstanding contributions of researchers in advancing scientific innovation and serving the nation. She expressed her gratitude for the country’s continued support for research development in Hong Kong and extended her heartfelt congratulations to Prof. Zhang.

She said, “Prof. Zhang Limin and his research team’s pioneering breakthroughs in disaster prevention and mitigation, together with their outstanding contributions to safeguarding public safety, exemplify HKUST’s commitment to addressing pressing global challenges through innovative research while delivering meaningful impact to society. Against the backdrop of intensifying global climate change and escalating risks from extreme weather and natural disasters, their work has become increasingly vital and urgent. Last year, with strong national support, the University was honored to be entrusted with establishing the State Key Laboratory of Climate Resilience for Coastal Cities, where Prof. Zhang leads research on climate change risk perception and early warning systems. HKUST will continue to provide strong support to his team, as they drive scientific innovation and proactively advance the goals of the national 15th Five-Year Plan, particularly in building resilient cities and strengthening climate change adaptation capacity.”

Over the past two decades, Prof. Zhang has conducted extensive research in earthquake-prone regions of Southwest China and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, achieving breakthrough results in three core areas: the evolutionary mechanism, full-process simulation, and smart prevention and control of landslide disaster chains. His major scientific research accomplishments and applications include:

•    Building a Digital Twin Disaster Management Platform for Hong Kong: Prof. Zhang led the development of a territory-wide digital twin emergency risk management platform for landslides and floods. The platform integrates artificial intelligence with physics-based models to enhance the city's real-time monitoring and risk assessment capabilities against multiple natural disasters. He also co-led HKUST’s satellite projects, including the launch of the "HKUST-FYBB#1" satellite in 2023, leveraging satellite remote sensing technology to comprehensively strengthen the "space-air-ground" monitoring and emergency response capabilities across the Greater Bay Area.  

•    Pioneering Engineering Solutions for Disaster Resilience in Mountainous Regions: Prof. Zhang uncovered the evolutionary mechanisms governing landslide disaster chains triggered by earthquakes, heavy rainfall, and glaciers. He developed comprehensive technologies for route selection and disaster mitigation in mountainous highways, which have been applied to over 3,000 kilometers of post-earthquake reconstruction projects in regions such as Wenchuan, Lushan, and Jiuzhaigou, helping to safeguard nearly 50 million residents. His work has also the risk management for the Sichuan-Tibet Railway.

•    Developing Full-Process Simulation Systems for Accurate Barrier Lake Predictions: Prof. Zhang developed simulation platforms for rainstorm disaster chains and glacier-related hazards, as well as a real-time full-process landslide risk assessment model, enabling integrated prediction across different disaster types. During the 2018 large-scale landslide dam events on the Jinsha River and Yarlung Tsangpo River, his team accurately predicted key parameters—such as peak flood discharge and breaching timing—prior to the formation and failure of the barrier lakes. These efforts provided critical support for national emergency decision-making and helped secure zero casualties within the 700-kilometer downstream affected area.

Furthermore, Prof. Zhang co-led the development of the world’s first lightweight, high-resolution, and high-precision synergistic observatory for carbon dioxide and methane emission point sources – named “MUSICO” (Multi‑Spectral Imaging Carbon Observatory). As Hong Kong’s first scientific payload deployed on the national space station, it marks a historic breakthrough for the city in the development of high‑end aerospace instruments and plays a key role in addressing global climate change, while serving the nation’s strategic “carbon peak and carbon neutrality” goals.

Prof. Zhang boasts illustrious academic achievements. In recent years, he has received numerous top honors in the engineering field, both nationally and internationally. These include being the sole scholar from Hong Kong to receive the National Outstanding Engineer Award in 2024, and the first scholar in Asia to win the Ralph B. Peck Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2023. He was also the sole scholar from China to receive the Lacasse Lecture Award from the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering in 2020, the recipient of the Tang Lecture Award from the Geotechnical Safety Network in 2025 and was elected as the prestigious Huang Wenxi Lecture Speaker for 2026 by the Chinese Geotechnical Society.