October 17, 2022

Positions Opening: Ph.D. Students (Doctoral Research Assistants)

Laura_Chow77@163.com

Prof. Qihao Weng at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University is seeking multiple number of PhD students (i.e., Doctoral Research Assistants, for 3-4 years funding), full-time Post-Doctoral Fellows (for 2-3 years), and full-time Research Assistant Professors (for 3/6 years) in the areas of remote sensing, image science, geospatial artificial intelligence, geospatial computer vision, and geospatial big data, with applications in urbanization, sustainability, coastal environments and ecosystems, urban climate and environment, urban hazards, land use and land cover change, carbon emission and global change. The recruited researchers will work with Dr. Weng and a group of excellent scholars in land surveying, Earth observations, geo-informatics, geoscience, as well as an interdisciplinary team of researchers on urbanization, urban climate, ecosystems, environments, hazards, land use/cover, and sustainability at PolyU. They would also have ample opportunities for international collaboration.

Short Bio – Dr. Qihao Weng

Dr. Weng is a Chair Professor of Geomatics and Artificial Intelligence and a Global STEM Scholar at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University since July 2021 and worked as the Director of the Center for Urban and Environmental Change and a Professor at Indiana State University, USA, 2001-2021. He currently serves as an Editor-in-Chief of ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, and Lead of GEO’s Global Urban Observation and Information Initiative. Dr. Weng is a Foreign Member of Academia Europaea (The Academy of Europe), and an elected Fellow of IEEE, AAAS, AAG, ASPRS, and AAIA. He has been honored with distinguished career awards that include NASA senior fellowship, AAG Distinguished Scholarship Honors Award, Taylor & Francis Lifetime Achievements Award, and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Short-term S[E]) Fellowship. He is the author of over 272 articles, 14 books, and 5 conference proceedings, with over 28,000 citations and H-index of 74.

More details about Dr. Weng’s research can be found at https://qihaoweng.net/, as well as https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=SbbCxE8AAAAJ&hl=en

The research team will be housed in the Hong Kong Jockey Club STEM Lab of Earth Observations at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Preliminary lab information can be found: https://weng-poleis.com/

Doctoral Research Assistants (PhD Students):

Candidates for Doctoral Research Assistants should have (1) a master’s degree in remote sensing, GISci, computer science, statistics, geography, urban planning, landscape architecture, geoscience, environmental science, ecology, meteorology and climatology, natural resources, agricultural/forest engineering, or a related field; (2) fluent in oral and written English; and (3) one peer-refereed, high- quality publication (Q1, in English) in which the perspective applicant plays a major role (first or corresponding author).
A bachelor’s degree holder would be considered if s/he has an extremely strong pertinent background, extensive research experience, and substantive research outputs.
The research assistantship normally lasts for 3-4 years. Annual salary is expected in the range of HK$200- 240K (around US$26-30K), with research support funds. A candidate will work towards a Ph.D. degree upon satisfactory academic progress and job performance.
The scope of the work by RAs includes, but not limited to, development, improvement, and implementation of GeoAI and remote sensing algorithms and methods to analyze satellite remote sensing imagery and geospatial big data; modeling of urbanization impacts, urban climate and environments, urban hazards, coastal ecosystems, land use and land cover, and global change; and compile, disseminate, and apply research findings.

To Apply for These Positions:

The web site for graduate admission is below: http://www51.polyu.edu.hk/eprospectus/rpg
All applicants shall follow the procedure set up by the graduate school. The normal admission can either start on January 2023, May 2023, or September 2023. Earlier joining Dr. Weng’s team as a research associate/assistant is an available option before a semester starts.

At the meantime, send the following information by email with the subject line “HK PolyU doctoral student” to qihao.weng@polyu.edu.hk as a single PDF file: 1) a cover letter discussing your research interests, experience, and detailed research plan, 2) a detailed curriculum vitae, 3) one representative publication, 4) dissertation research proposal, and 5) contact information for three academic referees. We will review the applications and provide feedback in due course.

In addition, well-qualified students are encouraged to apply for:
The Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (HKPFS). Established by the Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong, it aims at attracting the best and brightest students in the world to pursue their PhD studies in Hong Kong’s universities. The eligibility, fellowship details, and selection criteria can be found here: https://cerg1.ugc.edu.hk/hkpfs/index.html#award