Chair Professor (Water and Environmental Engineering)
Professor Chuyang Y. TANG

BEng (First Class Honors), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
MEng, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
PhD, Stanford University

 

Professor, Chair of Environmental Engineering
Inaugural RGC Senior Research Fellow, FRSC, FICE

 

Office: HW 6-19B
Phone: +852 2859 1976
Fax: +852 2559 5337
E-mail: tangc@hku.hk
Research Group Website: https://www.membest.hku.hk

 

Teaching Activities

• CIVL1105 Introduction to Environmental Engineering
• CIVL3013 Final Year Project
• CIVL6006 Advanced Water and Wastewater Treatment
• CIVL6023 Environmental Chemistry
• CIVL6062 Advanced Topics in Water and Environmental Engineering
• CIVL8011 Advanced Topics in Water/Environmental Engineering

 

Research Interests

• Membrane technology
• Desalination
• Water reuse
• Water and wastewater treatment
• Resource recovery from waste and wastewater
• Clean energy production/recovery
• Nano-/bio-technology enhanced separation
• Water chemistry

 

Representative Research / Consultancy Projects

Around 20-year experience in membrane technology and environmental nanotechnology; outstanding grant record, with cumulative funding of >HK$100 million (in the capacity of PI); diverse funding sources (Hong Kong, Singapore, Finland, Australia, Austria, etc.).
• RGC Senior Research Fellow Scheme Project on water reuse (2021-2025)
• CRF Project on energy efficient and environmentally friendly smart desalination (2018-2021)
• Multiple projects from GRF (x5), NSFC-RGC (x2) and ITF (x8)
• Consultancy on TKO Seawater Desalination Plant in Hong Kong
• Numerous contract research projects

 

10 Selected Representative Publications

380 SCI papers, including flagship journals such as Nature Water (x 2), Nature Communications (x 7), Science Advances (x 1), Environmental Science & Technology (x 65), Environmental Science & Technology Letters (x 7), Water Research (x 31), Journal of Membrane Science (x 108), Desalination (x 39), etc.

 

Web of Science: Citation >34,000 times; H-index = 107
Scopus: Citation > 37,000; H-index = 111
Google Scholar: Citation > 45,000; H-index = 117
Research.com profile
AD Scientific Index profile


 

• Gan, B.; Peng, L. E.; Liu, W.; Zhang, L.; Wang, L. A.; Long, L.; Guo, H.; Song, X.; Yang, Z.*; Tang, C. Y.*, Ultra-permeable silk-based polymeric membranes for vacuum-driven nanofiltration. Nature Communications 2024, 15, (1), 8656.
• Sarkar, P.; Wu, C.; Yang, Z.; Tang, C. Y.*, Empowering ultrathin polyamide membranes at the water-energy nexus: strategies, limitations, and future perspectives. Chemical Society Reviews 2024, 53, (9), 4374-4399.
• Dai, R.; Zhou, H.; Wang, T.; Qiu, Z.; Long, L.; Lin, S.*; Tang, C. Y.*; Wang, Z.*, Nanovehicle assisted monomer shuttling enables highly permeable and selective nanofiltration membrane for water purification. Nature Water 2023, 1, 281–290.
• Yang, Z.; Wu, C.; Tang, C. Y.*, Making waves: Why do we need ultra-permeable nanofiltration membranes for water treatment? Water Research X 2023, 19, 100172.
• Gan, Q.; Wu, C.; Long, L.; Peng, L.E.,*, Yang, Z.; Guo, H.; Tang, C. Y.*, Does surface roughness necessarily increase fouling propensity of polyamide reverse osmosis membranes by humic acid? Environmental Science & Technology 2023, 57, (6), 2548-2556.
• Zhou, S.; Long, L.; Yang, Z.; So, S. L.; Gan, B.; Guo, H.*; Feng, S.-P.; Tang, C. Y.*, Unveiling the growth of polyamide nanofilms at water/organic free interfaces: toward enhanced water/salt selectivity. Environmental Science & Technology 2022, 56, (14), 10279-10288.
• Long, L.; Wu, C.; Yang, Z.*; Tang, C.Y.*, Carbon nanotube interlayer enhances water permeance and antifouling performance of nanofiltration membranes: mechanisms and experimental Evidence. Environmental Science & Technology 2022, 56, (4), 2656-2664.
• Guo, H.; Dai, R.; Xie, M.; Peng, L. E.; Yao, Z.; Yang, Z.; Nghiem, L. D.; Snyder, S. A.; Wang, Z.*; Tang, C.Y.*, Tweak in puzzle: tailoring membrane chemistry and structure toward targeted removal of organic micropollutants for water reuse. Environmental Science & Technology Letters 2022, 8, (4), 350-355.
• Liu, J.; Huang, T.; Ji, R.; Wang, Z.; Tang, C. Y.*; Leckie, J. O., Stochastic Collision–Attachment-Based Monte Carlo Simulation of Colloidal Fouling: Transition from Foulant–Clean-Membrane Interaction to Foulant–Fouled-Membrane Interaction. Environmental Science & Technology 2020, 54, (19), 12703-12712.
• Yang, Z.; Wang, F.; Guo, H.; Peng, L. E.; Ma, X.-h.; Song, X.-x.*; Wang, Z.; Tang, C. Y.*, Mechanistic insights into the role of polydopamine interlayer toward improved separation performance of polyamide nanofiltration membranes. Environmental Science & Technology 2020, 54, (18), 11611-11621.

 

Editorial Board Membership

• Co-Editor (2022-present) and Editorial Board Member (2019-present), Desalination, Elsevier
• Editorial Advisory Board Member (2018-present), Environmental Science and Technology Letters, American Chemical Society
• Editorial Board Member (2018-present), Journal of Membrane Science, Elsevier

 

Awards & Recognitions

• Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher (since 2021)
• Outstanding Researcher Award, The University of Hong Kong, 2023
• Woh Hup Distinguished Lectureship, National University of Singapore, 2022
• Global Chair (distinguished international visiting professor), the University of Bath, 2022
• Distinguished Young Membrane Scientist Award, International Young Scholar Forum on Membrane Technology &; International Congress on Separation and Purification Technology, Elsevier, 2022
• Water Reuse and Conservation Award for Outstanding Professional, the International Desalination Association, 2021
• CAPEES/Nanova Frontier Research Award, Chinese-American Professors in Environmental Engineering and Science, 2021
• Inaugural SPT® International Lectureship on Separation & Purification Technology, Elsevier, 2021
• RGC Senior Research Fellowship Award, 2020
• Inaugural HKU Innovator Award, The University of Hong Kong, 2020
• Rapid water filter technology recognized by Gold Medal at Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions, 2019 and MIT Technology Review (Asia Pacific Region for Dr. Hao Guo), 2019
• Desalters to Watch, Water Desalination Report, 2015
• Singapore Ministry for National Development R&D Merit Award, 2013
• Finland Distinguished Professor Program Fellowship Award, 2010
• International Desalination Association Fellowship, 2010
• North American Membrane Society Travel Award, 2007

 

Other Achievements

• Lead inventor of the Patented and commercialized technology on Aquaporin-based Biomimetic Membranes, see more at Aquaporin Company
• Pool of Experts (on the topic of "Desalination and Salt Production" for the Third World Ocean Assessment (WOA III)) of Regular Process under the United Nations General Assembly

 

• Watch the video of the Membrane-based Environmental & Sustainable Technology (MembEST) Group (MembEST video).