IAS Scholars
IAS Junior Fellow Shu Ning Chan
Dr. Shu Ning Chan was trained as a civil engineer. In his research, he focuses on the use of fluid mechanics to solve problems with the water environment, such as stormwater drainage design, wastewater treatment, water quality modeling and forecasting and assessment of the environmental impact of pollution discharge. Using the emerging technologies of computer modeling, machine learning and unmanned aerial vehicles, he hopes to contribute to the development of “smart cities” worldwide through his research on environmental hydraulics.
After receiving his PhD from the University of Hong Kong, Chan served as a postdoctoral researcher at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He joined HKUST in 2015 and subsequently became an IAS Junior Fellow and Research Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Smart Water Management for a Sustainable Hong Kong
Water pollution control is a challenging task for Hong Kong, a densely populated coastal city with a complex tidal flow of seawater. Given the massive amount of wastewater created by daily activities, the careful treatment and discharge of sewage will be necessary to maintain Hong Kong’s precious coastal water environment.
Chan and his colleagues collaborated with the Hong Kong government to develop a daily coastal water quality forecast system for the city, using computational hydrodynamic models. By predicting the tidal transport of pollutants in real time, it provides citizens with an online daily forecast of beach water quality indices through the Internet. Together with their recent research on chlorine dosage optimization for sewage disinfection, the system has enhanced coastal water quality management in Hong Kong. It is regarded as one of the most advanced systems of its kind in the world.
Chan has also collaborated on research on drinking water quality and safety. He is one of the key investigators on an interdisciplinary project studying lead contamination and transport in the drinking water supply system of high-rise buildings. In his research, experiments, computer modeling and advanced chemical analysis are used to understand the mechanisms leading to a recent local incident of excess lead in drinking water, with the aim of enhancing public health protection.