SKLCRCC Director Prof. Charles NG Wang-Wai Honored with Three International Awards
For Pioneering Contributions to Geotechnical Engineering
Prof. Charles NG Wang-Wai, Vice-President for Institutional Advancement and Chair Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has received three distinguished awards: the Telford Gold Medal from the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) in London, the Donald Stanley Award from the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering, and the Scott Sloan Best Paper Award from Computers and Geotechnics. These accolades celebrate Prof. Ng's exceptional contributions in debris flow mechanics, sustainable waste management, and slope stability.
Prof. Ng is an internationally acclaimed expert in soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering, specializing in unsaturated soil mechanics, landslides, and eco-geotechnics. According to the list of the top 2% Scientists Worldwide published by Stanford University in late 2024, he is the youngest, and the only Chinese scholar ranked within the top five professors in the category of career-long impact in the sub-fields of Geological & Geomatics Engineering and Civil Engineering. Prof. Ng has recently been appointed by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China as a Director of the newly established State Key Laboratory of Coastal Climate Resilience (SKLCRCC).
Prof. Ng said, “These honors are not my individual achievements, but a testament to the efforts of the entire team. I am privileged to take on my new role at the SKLCRCC, I will continue to deepen collaborations with the global academic community, industry and governments to drive impactful research and translation that aligns with national strategic goals.”
Prof. Ng has made many contributions in soil mechanics and geotechnical engineering. His notable achievements include developing a state-dependent theory for unsaturated soil mechanics and its applications, as well as the development of related experimental instruments and equipment based on this theory. The theory and equipment have been adopted by more than 300 research institutions and universities worldwide, with the theory successfully applied in engineering projects in mainland China, Hong Kong, Brazil, and several Southeast Asian countries. These scientific and technological innovations fully demonstrate the critical value of cross-disciplinary collaboration and cross-sector integration.
Furthermore, to enhance sustainable societal development and address the challenges posed by climate change, Prof. Ng recently pioneered a new interdisciplinary field – ecological geotechnics - based on his "state-dependent theory for unsaturated soil mechanics ". The textbooks he has authored on this subject have been adopted by universities in mainland China, Hong Kong, and many countries worldwide, guiding the development of this field. This new interdisciplinary theory has laid a crucial theoretical foundation for the SKLCRCC.
In addition to his numerous previous honors and accolades, Prof. Ng has recently received three more distinguished awards. They are:
The Telford Gold Medal
Established in 1838, the Telford Gold Medal is the highest honor bestowed by the British Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), named after its first president, Thomas Telford. It is awarded only to exceptional journal papers that make significant contributions to civil engineering fields. Due to its stringent standard, the award is withheld if a paper of sufficient merit is not available, no awards were given between 1938 and 1952 due to WWII.
Prof. Ng’s research team, which includes researchers Dr. Usman Majeed and Dr. Clarence E. Choi, is the first team from Greater China to receive this honor since 1838. Their winning paper, "Effects of Solid Fraction of Saturated Granular Flows on Overflow and Landing Mechanism of Rigid Barriers", was recognized for its exceptional contribution to geotechnical engineering, particularly in enhancing the understanding of debris flow dynamics, which is critical for disaster mitigation.
Donald Stanley Award
Established in 2006 by the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE), the award recognizes the year's most outstanding paper in the Canadian Geotechnical Journal in honor of Dr. Donald R. Stanley’s legacy, a pioneer in environmental engineering and the original founder of Stantec Inc., a global engineering firm with over 230 offices worldwide. It celebrates excellence in research that bridges academia and professional practice in environmental protection and sustainability.
Prof. Ng won the award for his paper on plant-biochar interaction, which demonstrates that biochar-amended landfill covers enhance water retention, reduce infiltration, and boost evapotranspiration, effectively mitigating climate-related risks to soil and water resources.
Scott Sloan Best Paper Award
Named in honor of the late Scott Sloan, this award recognizes impactful papers in geotechnical engineering. This impact is based on SCOPUS citations (excluding self-citations) for the previous five years, in conjunction with the opinion of the Editors. Prof. Ng's winning work investigates plant reinforcement for slope stability, providing a science-based method for using vegetation to reduce landslide risks.
Prof. Ng has received many other major awards, including the 2022 Varnes Medal from UNESCO’s International Consortium on Landslides; the 2022 Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Prize for Scientific and Technological Progress; the State Council of PRC’s 2020 National Natural Science Award (2nd class) and 2015 Scientific Technological Advancement Award (2nd class). He was elected as Fellow of the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering in 2008 and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2020.
About The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) (https://hkust.edu.hk/) is a world-class university that excels in driving innovative education, research excellence, and impactful knowledge transfer. With a holistic and interdisciplinary pedagogy approach, HKUST was ranked 3rd in the Times Higher Education’s Young University Rankings 2024, 19th Worldwide and No.1 in Hong Kong in Times Higher Education’s Impact Rankings 2025. Thirteen HKUST subjects were ranked among the world’s top 50 in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2025, with “Data Science and Artificial Intelligence” holding the 17th place, maintaining its position as first in Hong Kong. Our graduates are highly competitive, consistently ranking among the world’s top 30 most sought-after employees. In terms of research and entrepreneurship, over 80% of our work was rated “Internationally excellent” or “world leading” in the latest Research Assessment Exercise 2020 of Hong Kong’s University Grants Committee. As of May 2025, HKUST members have founded over 1,800 active start-ups, including 10 Unicorns and 17 exits (IPO or M&A).
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