Christopher Kin Ying LEUNG 梁堅凝

Prof Christopher K.Y. Leung received his BSc degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Hong Kong, his MS in Structural Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and his PhD in Civil Engineering from MIT in 1990. After two years of post-doctoral experience at MIT, he joined the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT as an Assistant Professor in 1992. After his promotion to Associate Professor at MIT in summer 1997, Prof Leung returned to Hong Kong and joined the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology as Associate Professor of Civil Engineering. He was promoted to Full Professor in 2005 and became Head of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department in 2009.

Prof Leung’s research interests are in the general field of construction materials, which include composite mechanics, application of fiber composites in civil engineering, fracture mechanics of cementitious materials as well as the mechanics-based design of fiber optic sensors. An early paper of his on the failure modes of fiber reinforced composites established the foundation for designing pseudo-ductile cementitious composites with strain-hardening behaviour. This work has received great attention worldwide from both the academia and construction companies. Strain-hardening cementitious composites have now been applied in real projects in the US, Japan and China. His recent paper on the shear strengthening of concrete beams with fiber reinforced polymer was selected as the Year 2007 Best Applied Research Paper in the ASCE Journal of Composites for Construction. Another paper, on the debonding of composite plates from a concrete substrate under mixed mode loading, was one of the Most Cited Articles in Engineering Fracture Mechanics between 2005 and 2009. The recognition of Prof. Leung’s research is also reflected by his invitations to give keynote and plenary lectures at international conferences in the US, Canada, UK, Belgium as well as China and India.

Prof Leung is a dedicated teacher and a two time recipient of the Teaching Excellence Appreciation Award from the School of Engineering at HKUST. He is the co-author of a textbook on Renovation Engineering, the first of its kind in the literature. Before taking up the Headship, he was leading the planning of the new 4-year curriculum for the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department.

Prof Leung is Fellow of HKIE and RILEM (International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction Materials, Systems and Structures). He chairs the RILEM Technical Committee on Optical Fiber Sensors for Civil Engineering Applications, and is the Honorary President of RILEM for the Year 2011. He has served as Associate Editor of many journals in his field, including ASCE Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, RILEM Materials and Structures as well as Construction and Building Materials. In terms of local service, Prof Leung was President of the ASCE Hong Kong Section (2004-2005). He is currently Chair of the Hong Kong Accreditation Service Working Party on Construction Materials Testing, and Member of the HKIE Accreditation Board.