---

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Pengyu Zhu is a Professor in the Division of Public Policy at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). He is also the Director of the Center for Applied Economic Social and Environmental Research, Associate Director of GREAT Smart Cities Institute. Prof. Zhu’s research focuses on the Transportation–Land Use–Economic Development Policy nexus, including: 1) Low-altitude economic development strategy; 2) Travel Behavior (including automobile, transit, non-motorized transportation modes, and telecommuting), Location Choice, and Associated Implications for Economic and Environmental Issues; 3) Links between Transportation Infrastructure, Housing Market, and Economic Development (e.g. residential segregation, mobility, accessibility and labor market success; transportation finance; and the economic impact of transportation infrastructure); 4) Using Spatio-temporal Big Data Analytics to Inform Urban Planning and Policy Decisions.

To date, his work has been published in major academic journals such as Landscape and Urban Planning, Urban Studies, Annals of Regional Sciences, Transportation, Transportation Research Part A/D, Urban Geography, Cities, Regional Science and Urban Economics, and International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology. He was also among the world’s top 2% scientists in 2023 and top 1% in 2024, based on TopResearchersList.com ranking by Elsevier and Stanford University. In recognition of his outstanding achievements and academic excellence, Prof. Zhu has been recently awarded 5.2 million HKD and conferred the esteemed title of ‘RGC Research Fellow‘, a prestigious recognition from the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC) under their Research Fellow Scheme (RFS) in support of only the most outstanding scholars in Hong Kong. Notably, Prof. Zhu was the only awardee under the Humanities, Social Sciences, Economics and Business Studies Panel (H-Panel) in 2024, while the other awardees were recognized under the Sciences, Medicine, Engineering and Technology Panel (S-Panel).

He has led or participated in numerous collaborative research projects, including “Strategic Planning for Transforming Hong Kong into a Leading Global Aviation and Innovation Hub”, “Monitoring Greenhouse Gas Emission Point Sources from China Space Station” (both funded by Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Commission), “Decarbonization Solutions for Buildings in Hong Kong: Development, Assessment and Deployment” (funded by Hong Kong Research Grants Council’s Strategic Topics Grant), and “Development Strategies for An Advanced Air Mobility Network in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area” (funded by the Hong Kong Chief Executive Policy Unit’s Strategic Public Policy Research Funding Scheme).