Ir Professor Christopher Chao Vice President (Research and Innovation), Chair Professor of Thermal and Environmental Engineering

Location M1705
Phone +852 2766 4673
mail christopher.chao@polyu.edu.hk
stream Personal website

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Biography Prof. Christopher Chao received his BSc(Eng) degree in Mechanical Engineering (First Class) from The University of Hong Kong (HKU) in 1988. He was awarded the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fellowship for Overseas Studies in 1990 and obtained his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from The University of California, Berkeley, USA, in 1992 and 1994, respectively. Prof. Chao was an Assistant Professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) from 1995-1997. Before returning to PolyU in September of 2021, he was an Assistant Professor (1997-2002), Associate Professor (tenured, 2002-2009), Full Professor (2009-2015) and Chair Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (2015-2018) at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). He was Associate Dean of Engineering (Research and Graduate Studies) (2011-2014) and Head of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at HKUST (2014-2018). He joined HKU to serve as Dean of Engineering and Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering from 2018 to 2021.Prof. Chao was ranked by Clarivate Analytics in the top 1% worldwide by citations in the research field of Engineering in 2021. He has published over 170 archival journal papers. He serves as Editor and is on the editorial boards of several major journals in the field of Energy and Built Environment including Energy and Buildings, Building and Environment, Indoor Air, Building Simulation, Indoor and Built Environment, etc. He is a Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering Sciences, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers, Hong Kong Institution of Engineers and International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate. He serves in various Government units and core I&T organizations including the New Energy Transport Fund and Gas Safety Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong Environment Bureau, the Building Committee of the Housing Authority, the Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund Council, Board of Directors of Cyberport, Board of Directors of the Engineering Forum of HKIE, etc.





Research Overview Aerosol and gaseous contaminant transport in indoor environments
Solar and waste heat driven cooling and refrigeration system,
Passive radiative cooling
Nanofluid heat transfer
Bio inspired heat transfer
Fire dynamics and combustion

Selected Publications in Recent Years:
1.R.Y.M. Wong, C.Y. Tso, C.Y.H. Chao, Thermo-radiative Energy Conversion Efficiency of a Passive Radiative Fluid Cooling System, Renewable Energy, 180, pp. 700-711, 2021.
2.F.R. Siddiqui, C.Y. Tso, S.C. Fu, H.H. Qiu and C.Y.H. Chao, Droplet Evaporation and Boiling for Different Mixing Ratios of the Silver-graphene Hybrid Nanofluid Over Heated Surfaces, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 180, 121786, 2021.
3.Y. Zhang, S.C. Fu, K.C. Chan, D.M. Shin and C.Y.H. Chao, Boosting Power Output of Flutter-driven Triboelectric Nanogenerator by Flexible Flagpole, Nano Energy, 88, 106284, 2021.
4.X.L. Zhong, S.C. Fu, K.C. Chan and C.Y.H. Chao, Experimental Study of Particle Deposition on Patterned Microstructured Surfaces in a Chamber Environment, Journal of Aerosol Science, 157, 105802, 2021.
5.W. Ma, Y. Li, C.Y.H. Chao, C.Y. Tso, B. Huang, W. Li and S. Yao, Solar-assisted Icephobicity Down to -60 °C with Superhydrophobic Selective Surfaces, Cell Reports Physical Science, 2, 100384, 2021.
6.C.T. Wang, S.C. Fu and C.Y.H. Chao, Short-range Bioaerosol Deposition and Recovery of Viable Viruses and Bacteria on Surfaces from a Cough and Implications for Respiratory Disease Transmission, Aerosol Science and Technology, 55, pp. 215-230, 2021.
7.Y. Li, C.J. Lin, Z.X. Wu, Z.Y. Chen, C. Chi, F. Cao, D.Q. Mei, H. Yan, C.Y. Tso, C.Y.H. Chao and B.L. Huang, Solution-Processed All-Ceramic Plasmonic Metamaterials for Efficient Solar-Thermal Conversion over 100-727 oC, Advanced Materials, 33, 2005074, 2021.
8.S.C. Fu, X.L. Zhong, Y. Zhang, T.W. Lai, K.C. Chan, K.Y. Lee and C.Y.H. Chao, Bio-inspired Cooling Technologies and the Applications in Buildings, Energy and Buildings, 225, 110313, 2020.
9.S. Liu, C.Y. Tso, H.H. Lee, Y. Zhang, K.M. YU and C.Y.H. Chao, Bio-inspired TiO2 Nano-cone Antireflection Layer for the Optical Performance Improvement of VO2 Thermochromic Smart Windows, Scientific Reports, 10, 11376, 2020.
10.H. Xu, S.C. Fu, K.C. Chan and C.Y.H. Chao, Investigation of Particle Deposition on a Micropatterned Surface as an Energy-efficient Air Cleaning Technique in Ventilation Ducting Systems, Aerosol Science and Technology, 54(10), pp. 1210-1222, 2020.
11.F.R. Siddiqui, C.Y. Tso, S.C. Fu, H.H. Qiu and C.Y.H. Chao, Evaporation and Wetting Behavior of Silver-graphene Hybrid Nanofluid Droplet on its Porous Residue Surface for Various Mixing Ratios, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 153, 119618, 2020.
12.C.T. Wang, W.T. Leung, J.C. Xu, S.C. Fu and C.Y.H. Chao, Droplet Detachment Behavior from a Rough Hydrophilic Surface, Journal of Aerosol Science, 139, 105469, 2020.
13.S.Y. Jeong, C.Y. Tso, Y.M. Wong, C.Y.H. Chao, and B.L. Huang, Daytime Passive Radiative Cooling by Ultra Emissive Bio-inspired Polymeric Surface, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 206, 110296, 2020.
14.S.Y. Jeong, C.Y. Tso, J.Y. Ha, Y.M. Wong, C.Y.H. Chao, B.L. Huang and H.H. Qiu, Field Investigation of a Photonic Multi-layered TiO2 Passive Radiative Cooler in Sub-tropical Climate, Renewable Energy, 146, pp. 44-55, 2020.
15.Y. Zhang, C.Y. Tso, J.S. I?igo, S. Liu, H. Miyazaki, C.Y.H. Chao and K.M. Yu, Perovskite Thermochromic Smart Window: Advanced Optical Properties and Low Transition Temperature, Applied Energy, 254, 113690, 2019.
16.B. Traipattanakul, C.Y. Tso and C.Y.H. Chao, A Phase-change Thermal Diode Using Electrostatic-induced Coalescing-jumping Droplets, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 135, pp. 294-304, 2019.
17.T.W. Ng, M. Ip, C.Y.H. Chao, W.J. Tang, K.P. Lai, S.C. Fu, W.T. Leung and K.M. Lai, Differential Gene Expression in Escherichia Coli During Aerosolization from Liquid Suspension, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 102(14), pp. 6257-6267, 2018.
18.T.C. Ho, S.C. Fu, C.Y.H. Chao and S. Gupta, Numerical Study on Merging and Interaction of Jet Diffusion Flames, ASME Journal of Heat Transfer, 140(10), 101201, 2018.
19.S.C. Fu, Y.S. Cheung, H.H. Lee, J.K.C. Kwan and C.Y.H. Chao, Studies on Detachment Behavior of Micron Sized Droplets: A Comparison between Pure Fluid and Nanofluid, Aerosol Science and Technology, 52(1), pp. 69-77, 2018.
20.X. Liang, S.C. Fu, B.X. Ou, C.L. Wu, C.Y.H. Chao and K.H. Pi, Computational Study of the Effects of the Radius Ratio and Attachment Angle on the Performance of a Darrieus-Savonius Combined Wind Turbine, Renewable Energy, 113, pp. 329-334, 2017.
21.W.T. Yuen, S.C. Fu and C.Y.H. Chao, The Effect of Aerosol Size Distribution and Concentration on the Removal Efficiency of an Acoustic Aerosol Removal System, Journal of Aerosol Science, 104, pp. 79-89, 2017.
22.C.Y. Tso, K.C. Chan and C.Y.H. Chao, A Field Investigation of Passive Radiative Cooling under Hong Kong’s Climate, Renewable Energy, 106, pp. 52-61, 2017.
23.H.H. Lee, S.C. Fu, C.Y. Tso and C.Y.H. Chao, Study of Residue Patterns of Aqueous Nanofluid Droplets with Different Particle Sizes and Concentrations on Different Substrates, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 105, pp. 230-236, 2017.
24.W.T. Leung, S.C. Fu, and C.Y.H. Chao, Detachment of Droplet by Air Jet Impingement, Aerosol Science and Technology, 51, pp. 467-476, 2016.
25.A. Hussain, C.Y. Tso and C.Y.H. Chao, Experimental Investigation of a Passive Thermal Management System for High-powered Lithium Ion Batteries using Nickel Foam-paraffin Composite, Energy, 115, pp. 209-218, 2016.





Education and Academic Qualifications BSc(Eng), MS, PhD



Professional Qualifications FHKEng, FHKIE, FASME, FIMechE, FCIBSE, FISIAQ