Prof HO Siu-lau Chair Professor of Electricity Utilisation
BSc, PhD, MHKIE

Location CF625
Phone +852 2766 6170
mail siu-lau.ho@polyu.edu.hk

Open Platform for University Scholars
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Biography Prof. S.L. Ho is the Chair Professor of Electricity Utilisation. Apart from being invited to the University of Warwick as a visiting fellow during 1986/87 for one year, he has been serving the University since 1979 until now. Over the years, he has been working closely with the local industry and he is now one of the key consultants to the local railway corporation. He played a key role in solving the electromagnetic interference problems prior to the opening of the West Rail in 2002, for example. He has helped the former KCRC to iron out problems associated with excessive vibrations in 2006. He developed the “Ho’s Imprinting Theory” to explain the cause of long wavelength undulations in the rail track. The Condition Monitoring System he developed during the investigation has now become the centre of attraction to many railway operators and guests at the University. The monitoring system is now being installed in all the rail lines in Hong Kong. It has also attracted many international operators and railway companies in South East Asia and the North West Rail Link in Sydney, Australia are now working with PolyU on the installation of such systems in their railways. In 2007, Prof. Ho has also helped to sort out the fire outbreak in a voltage transformer on the roof top of a running train.

Apart from offering his expertise to the local industries, he has also helped the Hong Kong Government to review the operational efficiency of MTR in 2005. Because of his collaboration with the Immigration Department to prosecute more than 200 Waste Paper Recycling Companies which tampered the Weighing Scales with intents to cheat, Prof. Ho was invited to take part in an half-hour TV show entitled “Operation Rosemary” in 2010 to help explaining how he identified and proved such frauds. In 2012, he has helped the Government to identify the root cause of a 4th alarm fire in Fa Yuen Street that killed nine residents. He also helped to explain the cause of a 3rd alarm fire in To Kwa Wan that killed three people. In 2014 he was one of the three members of a team that has won the second runner-up prize of the International Berthold Leibinger Innovationspreis award 2014. This was a very prestigious international prize awarded by a German Company to Scientists and Prof. Dr. Stephen (the Nobel Laureate for Chemistry 2014) had also been the second runner-up recipient of the same prize.

Externally, he sits on many committees in the professional and government communities. For instance, he was the Chairman of a number of Task Forces under the Innovation and Technology Committee looking after “Electrical Products” and “Certification Systems” in Hong Kong. He was the editor-in-chief of the HKIE Transactions, he was the Vice-Chairman of the Learned Society of the HKIE. He was the PolyU representative in the Hong Kong Examination Authority for a maximum period of six years during which the 3-3-4 Education Reform was being shaped. He has also chaired two Disciplinary Tribunals under Section 39 of Electricity Ordinance (Cap. 406) for the Hong Kong SAR Government, etc.

At the University level, he is the Chairman of the Committee on Undergraduate Admission. He is chairing a Task Force to look at the Academic Calendar (including the Class Timetable and Examination Timetables); He sat on the Task Force to look at the Framework for Higher Diploma and Articulation Degrees; He is also the Chairman of the Postgraduate Scheme in the Faculty of Engineering, etc.

Prof. Ho was the Adjunct Professor of the Shanghai University and Hunan University, China. He was the Science Advisor to the Zhucheng City Government in China. His research interests are on the design of novel electrical machines and design optimization of electromagnetic devices. Apart from having presented more than 300 papers in international conferences, he has also published more than 300 journal papers, mostly in IEEE Transactions.



Education and Academic Qualifications Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Warwick
Bachelor of Science, The University of Warwick




Professional Qualifications Member of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers