Professor Zhao is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. He held the Chair of Civil Engineering from 2001 to 2019 and then the Head of Department of Civil Engineering from 2008 to 2011 at Monash University, Australia. Before joining PolyU as the Chair Professor of Civil Infrastructure, he was the Associate Dean (International) in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of New South Wales, Australia. Professor Zhao has published 9 books and over 430 refereed journal papers, edited four conference proceedings, and supervised more than 50 PhD students. Professor Zhao was a recipient of the International Institute of Welding Thomas Medal and Humboldt Research Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. His current research focuses on high-performance sustainable materials in civil engineering applications, steel-concrete-FRP hybrid construction and floating structure technology. Professor Dai serves as the Chair Professor of Structural Engineering and the Head of the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering at the City University of Hong Kong (CityU). His research primarily concentrates on "Emerging Materials and Structural Systems for Infrastructure Sustainability." His contributions to the field have earned him numerous prestigious awards, including the "Best Basic Research Paper Award" from the Journal of Composites for Construction, presented by the American Society of Civil Engineers; the "Outstanding International Collaboration Award" from the Japanese Society of Civil Engineers; the "Structural Excellence R&D Award" from the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers; the "Second Prize of the Chinese National Technology Invention Award"; and the “Gold Medal at the Geneva Inventions Expo 2022." Professor Dai is a Fellow of several esteemed organizations, such as the International Institution of FRP in Construction, the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, the Hong Kong Concrete Institute, the International Association of Advanced Materials, and the Asian Concrete Federation. He has authored over 260 SCI papers, which have collectively garnered more than 18,000 citations, resulting in an h-index of 74, as per Google Scholar. Additionally, he is recognized among Stanford's top 2% most cited scientists. Ir Dr. Siwei Liu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and a recognized Chartered Engineer (MHKIE – Structural Discipline) in Hong Kong. Specializing in steel structures, stability analysis methods, and computational structural mechanics, his research addresses design challenges in modern steel structures. His work has contributed to national standards such as the American Steel Code ANSI/AISC 360-22 for the stability design of nonsymmetric steel members. Dr. Liu has co-developed innovative structural analysis and design software—including RCD2016, NIDA10, MSASect2, and Mastan2-v5—used by research teams and consultancies in Hong Kong, Mainland China, Singapore, and the USA. His excellence in applied research is evidenced by prestigious accolades, including the HKIE Grand Award in Research (2020), a Commendation Award (2018), and another Grand Award (2016) from the joint structural division of HKIE and IStructE. Lim Soon Heng: In a world threatened by global warming with undeniable consequences such as rising sea levels, unprecedented floods and wildfires and biodiversity loss, space at sea is increasingly more attractive for human abodes, economic activities, recreation and for food. The attractiveness of living close to the sea is evidenced by the population distribution of littoral states. Massive wind farms and floating solar panels also benefit from the application of floating solutions. It is with this conviction that Lim Soon Heng founded the Society of Floating Solutions (Singapore) in 2018. He has initiated a series of World Conference on Floating Solutions that has so far been held in Singapore, Rotterdam, Tokyo, Hong Kong with the fifth to be held in Helsinki, Finland. Trained as a mechanical and marine engineer he also has expensive experience in the design and construction of piers, and graving and floating docks. Educated in the National University of Singapore, INSEAD he is a Fellow of the IMarEST, SSSS and a Professional Engineer registered in Singapore.
