Climate action in structural engineering

Mr Joseph Chi is a Fellow Member of the Institution of Structural Engineers, he is currently Chairman of the Regional Group of IStructE.

Mr. Wong is a civil engineer by profession. He has over 30 years’ design and practical experience in various engineering aspects, including project management, feasibility study, design and construction supervision of urban development, site formation, environmental protection, drainage, sewerage, roads, and historic buildings revitalization. As Chief Engineer in Port Works, he looked after the construction and maintenance of port facilities and carried out technical studies of several reclamation projects. He was also involved in research and development to enhance the standards of marine structures design and maintenance and their resilience under the effects of climate change. Mr. Wong was the Deputy Head of the Civil Engineering Office (Port and Land) of Civil Engineering and Development Department in June 2018 before moving to his current position.

With a career that spans over three decades and several continents, Robin has worked on many of the world’s record-breaking cable-stayed and suspension bridge projects. For his notable contributions to the civil engineering profession, he has been appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, recognized by the UK’s Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) as an engineering superhero and Gold Medallist, and named by the Engineers’ Society of Western Pennsylvania as one of the greatest bridge engineers of the 20th and 21st centuries. Robin Worked on the Kap Shui Mun Bridge, arguably the most difficult rail-road cable-stayed bridge ever built. He also pioneered the creation of third generation suspension bridges to attain aerodynamic stability in typhoon winds at speeds in the realm of 100m/s (Tsing Lung Bridge); he spearheaded the sciences of construction engineering with the first attempt in history to construct cable-stayed bridges with main spans exceeding 1km (Sutong and Stonecutters Bridges) at a time when such a human endeavor was technologically uncharted; and he created seismic-resilient and scour-tolerant designs for disaster prevention and economic expansion (Second Penang and Padma Bridges).

Will leads the IStructE’s response to the climate emergency, bringing sustainability action into all aspects of its work. He is responsible for driving change within the profession, setting the minimum sustainability standards for institution members, producing sustainability publications and training to support this, and collaborating across the wider industry as it moves towards zero emissions. Previous to his work with the Institution, Will was a practising structural engineer at Arup for 10 years, where he was responsible for key aspects of ambitious architectural projects across the world. Will is chair of the Construction Industry Council’s 2050 Group, and an active member of The Edge thinktank, the UK Built Environment Advisory Group, and the Engineering Advisory Group for The Structural Engineer magazine. He also sits on the judging panel for The Structural Awards. In 2021, Will was presented with the President’s Award by the Institution, in recognition of his work instigating change in the field of structural sustainability.