Advances in Climate Science: Fine-Scale Projection for Managing Extreme Risks in Asia’s Cities

Prof. Jimmy Fung is a well-recognized expert in atmospheric sciences, climate modeling, and air quality research. Currently serving as the Associate Provost (Teaching & Learning) and Chair Professor in the Division of Environment and Sustainability and the Department of Mathematics at HKUST, he is at the forefront of advancing interdisciplinary research and education. With over 30 years of academic and research experience, Prof. Fung specializes in high-resolution air quality modeling, regional climate simulation, computational fluid dynamics, and the application of remote sensing technologies. His groundbreaking contributions include establishing Asia’s first university-based regional air quality forecast system and leading the development of the PRAISE-HK app for personalized real-time air quality monitoring.

Our Sustainability Goals for 2025

1. Reaching carbon neutrality by 2040
2. Becoming the center of sustainable finance in the region

Ma Qing joined Siemens in 1997. From then until 2010 she served in numerous human resources roles in the company, including as Senior HR Consultant, HR Strategic and Policy Manager, HR Operation Manager, Deputy HR Director, Vice President and HR Director, responsible for optimizing and implementing HR strategic plans, promoting and applying global talent and organization development principles and best practices in China, designing and improving HR management systems and procedures, building a learning & growing organization plan as well as reforming incentive & performance system, , driving the research, planning, supervision, implementation and evaluation of various HR programs, and providing effective HR solutions customized for particular organizational, team and cultural needs to support Siemens’ business development.

In April 2010, Ma was appointed as the Executive Vice President and People and Organization (P&O) Director, Siemens Greater China, and has since then initiated and promoted numerous P&O programs. By doing so she has been utterly committed to constantly innovating and improving people and organization management systems, building and strengthening an industry-leading P&O team, establishing a strong employer brand, empowering the business teams and key talents, improving their cognitive, operational, collaborative and leadership skills, reinforcing company culture and values, enhancing team cohesiveness, competitiveness and improving employee experience.

In October 2021 Ma took on another role, as the Lead of Sustainability, Siemens Greater China, responsible for facilitating the implementation of Siemens’ global sustainability framework “DEGREE”1 in China, establishing the sustainability strategic roadmap and action plan, developing an effective and collaborative governance system, in order to enhance Siemens’ leading position in sustainability.

Mrs. Ma obtained a Bachelor’s Degree from Beijing Capital Normal University.

Bradley Mellicker is the Head of IOM’s Climate Mobility Innovation Lab in Asia and the Pacific. Prior to this position, Brad was Senior Regional Emergency and Post Crisis Specialist in Asia and the Pacific, focusing on a series of issues linked to disaster risk reduction, emergency preparedness, humanitarian response, and recovery. Prior to that, he worked with IOM Iraq, overseeing large scale work related to internal displacement, stabilization, recovery and durable solutions. Earlier, Brad worked in the private sector supporting renewable energy projects in developing markets; held several other positions with IOM, including in Guinea, Cameroon, the Philippines, Haiti and Timor-Leste; and with the Office of the Prosecutor at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. Brad holds BAs in History and Political Science, a Juris Doctor (law) and an MA in International Human Rights. He is admitted to practice law in Colorado, USA.

Professor Charles W. W. Ng is the Vice-President of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in Guangzhou campus. He is also the Dean of HKUST Fok Ying Tung Graduate School, CLP Holdings Professor of Sustainability and a Chair Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at HKUST.
Professor Ng was elected as a Changjiang Scholar (Chair Professorship in Geotechnical Engineering), a Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering, the Royal Academy of Engineering, UK, and Overseas Fellow of Churchill College, the University of Cambridge. Professor Ng is the immediate Past President of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (2017 – 2022). Currently, he is an editor-in-chief of the prestigious Canadian Geotechnical Journal.

Professor Ng has published some 400 SCI journal articles and 250 conference papers (with a H-index of 96). He is the main author of four reference books: (i) A Short Course in Soil-structure Engineering of Deep Foundations, Excavations and Tunnels by Thomas Telford in 2004, (ii) Advanced Unsaturated Soil Mechanics and Engineering, (iii) Plant-Soil slope Interaction and (iv) Advanced Unsaturated Soil Mechanics: theory and applications (2nd edition) by CRC: Taylor & Francis in 2007, 2019 and 2024, respectively. According to the Stanford University published the top 2% Scientists Worldwide in September 2024, he is the youngest ranked within top five professors, in the category of career-long impact in the sub-fields: Geological & Geomatics Engineering; Civil Engineering.

He has received many awards including the 2025 Telford Gold Medal by the Institution of Civil Engineers (The highest honour awarded by the Institution. He is the first awardee from greater China since its establishment by the Institution in 1838), 2025 Donald Stanley Award by the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering for the best paper in Environmental Engineering, 2022 Varnes Medal by the International Consortium on Landslides, 2022 Fredlund Award from the Canadian Geotechnical Society, and the R. M. Quigley Awards from the Canadian Geotechnical Society four times for his four best papers published in 2007, 2012, 2016 & 2023. Moreover, he won the Teaching Excellent Appreciation Award for the academic year 2018-19 at HKUST.