S.H. Chu, Ph.D., HKU

Assistant Professor (research-track)

Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

Principal Investigator '24, Columbia University, NY, NY, USA

Research interests

structural materials, electrochemical resources recovery, MgO cement, AI

Biography

Prof. Chu obtained his Ph.D. degree from The University of Hong Kong (Global 11th) with a full scholarship. His academic appointments at prestigious institutions include Endowed Principal Investigator at Columbia University (USA), Faculty at Penn State (USA), Research Fellow at NTU (Singapore), and Visiting Research Fellow at University of Cambridge (UK). His decade-long dedication is on sustainable, intelligent, and resilient infrastructure via advancing structural engineering and materials.

In 2025, he received the ACI Wason Medal for Materials Research (awarded only once globally each year since 1929). Since 2024, he has been ranked among the top 2% scientists (Career), and since 2022, among the top 2% (single year) by Stanford University and Elsevier. In 2015, he received the Hong Kong Government Green Innovation Merit Award. He is a full Member of ASCE, and ACI with an involvement in Committees 239 UHPC and 544 FRC. His research led to 77 publications in Q1 journals (including 4 highly cited papers and 1 best paper award) with 4000+ Google Scholar citations. Among these, 6 are single-authored, over 35 are first-authored, and more than 50 are first- or corresponding-authored. His publications include 3 single-authored papers in ACI Materials, 3 in Desalination / ACS journals, 8 in Cement and Concrete Composites / Cement and Concrete Research, and 8 in Engineering Structures / Composite Structures. 

Experiences

2025 –   Assistant Professor (research-track), Pennsylvania State University, USA

2024 – 2025   Scientist, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

                        Research: Electrochemical materials recovery and characterization

2022 – 2024 Research Scientist (Endowed PI), Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

                        Research: Multiscale modeling of Mg-based materials & resource recovery

2022 – 2022 Research Fellow (visiting), University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

                        Research: AI data-driven design of advanced composite materials

2021 – 2022 Research Fellow, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

                        Research: Recovery of Mg-based materials from desalination brine

2019 – 2020 Postdoc Fellow, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

                        Research: Advanced sustainable structural materials

Education

2019 Ph.D., Structural Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

2014 M.S., Mechanical & Automation Engineering, with minor courses from the Department of Systems Engineering and Engineering Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

Honors

2025 ACI Wason Medal for Materials Research

2025 Finalist (Top 75/1000 U.S. nationwide), Entrepreneurship Scientist Program

2024 Member, American Chemistry Society (ACS)

2023 Associate Member, American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE)

2023 Member, American Concrete Institute (ACI); Committees 239 & 544

2024 World's Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University (career & single year)

2023 World's Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University (single year)

2022 World's Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University (single year)

2021 World's Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University (single year)

2021 Four Highly Cited Papers by Clarivate

2016 Full scholarship (4 years), The University of Hong Kong

2015 Hong Kong Green Innovation Merit Award

Selected grants

2023 – 2024 Principal Investigator. To harvest magnesium-based low-carbon cement from the ocean for future construction. New York State, USA.

2024 – 2025 Full proposal preparation. To harvest reusable carbonation seeds by aqueous carbonation of brucite into magnesium carbonates. New York State, USA.