Pioneer in Underground Utility Assessment and Nondestructive Evaluation
Associated with :
The Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityProfessor Wallace Wai-Lok Lai currently serves as an Associate Professor and Associate Head (Teaching) in the Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, advancing from his previous role as Assistant Professor. His expertise spans nondestructive evaluation (NDE), near-surface geophysical technologies, and advanced signal processing, with particular focus on underground utility assessment and engineering structures. His research portfolio encompasses ground penetrating radar, infrared thermography, acoustic and electrical resistivity technologies, all aimed at imaging unseen components in engineering structures and the underground world. Professor Lai's academic foundation began at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and his career has included significant international collaboration, notably as a postdoctoral researcher and guest scientist at the Federal Institute of Materials Research and Testing (BAM) in Berlin, Germany. His professional contributions extend beyond academia as a technical assessor for the Hong Kong Laboratory Accreditation Scheme under the Innovation Technology Commission of the HKSAR Government. At PolyU, he leads research initiatives in surveying and mapping, 3D imaging, and the diagnosis of engineering structures, underground utilities, and construction materials, while managing the underground utility survey laboratory and contributing to the development of advanced nondestructive testing methodologies.