Professor JIM, Chi Yung

BA HK; PhD Reading; CertHydrology US Geol Survey; MISoilSci; CSci; MHKIP (Hon); BH; JP

Chair Professor of Geography & Environmental Science

Professor Jim obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree (First Class Honours) in Geography and Geology from HKU, PhD in Soil Science from the University of Reading, in the UK, and a Certificate in Hydrology from the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colorado, USA. His long-standing community services have been recognized by the Badge of Honour and Justice of the Peace awards.

Research orbit and academic career

·      BA HK; PhD Reading; CertHydrology US Geol Survey; MISoilSci; FArborA; CSci; BH; JP.

·      Multidisciplinary researcher traversing the natural and social sciences.

·      Specialist in urban ecology, urban forestry, urban soil, urban climate, urban greening, green roof and green wall.

·      Community service awards: Justice of the Peace, Badge of Honour.

·      Chair Professor 2000-2018 (HKU); Professor (Reader) 1994-2000 (HKU).

·      Emeritus Professor 2018- (HKU).

·      Honorary Professor 2018- (HKU Geography, Real Estate and Construction).

·      Honorary Professor 2016- (THEi).

·      Research Chair Professor 2018- (EdUHK).

·      Master of Robert Black College 2015-2018 (HKU).

·      Head of Department of Geography 1998–2002 (HKU).

·      Dean of Faculty of Arts 2002–2003 (HKU).

·      Honorary Member of Hong Kong Institute of Planners 2009-.

·      Croucher Foundation Fellow 1987.

·      Commonwealth Scholar 1977-1980.

Stanford University World Top Scientists study, both career-long and one-year categories

·      Ranked first in the world in Forestry research in 2024 (1/32,813 researchers).

·      Ranked first in the world in Forestry research in 2023 (1/30,711).

·      Ranked second in the world in Forestry research in 2022 (2/28,776).

·      Ranked eighth in the world in Urban and Regional Planning research in 2021 (8/9701).

·      Top 2% Scientist of the World since the study’s inception, 2021 to 2024.

Other international research performance ranking

·      Top 1% Scholar of the World, 2012 to 2024, by Clarivate Analytics' Essential Science Indicators.

·      Ranked first in the world in 2017 by ISI Web of Science as the most cited scholar in Urban Greening.

·      Ranked fourth in the world in 2017 by Urban Studies as the 20 most productive authors in Urban China studies in 1990–2010.

Notable research awards

·      L.C. Chadwick Award in 2014 by the International Society of Arboriculture, in recognition of distinction in tree science research.

·      Silver Medal, Invention Geneva 2021, Tree Assessment for Life Education Project.

·      Gold Medal, and International Special Award, International Invention Innovation Competition in Canada, iCAN 2021, Tree Assessment for Life Education Project.

·      HKU Outstanding Researcher Award in 2000 (first batch).

·      HKU Outstanding Research Student Supervisor Award in 2003.

·      Green Building Award 2010: Grand Award for New Building.

·      Green Building Award 2012: Grand Award for Building Under Construction.

·      Green Building Award 2014: Grand Award for New Building.

·      Skyrise Greenery Awards 2012: Merit Award for Planning and Research Projects.

·      Skyrise Greenery Awards 2012: Merit Award for Schools and NGO Projects.

·      Hong Kong Institute of Landscape Architects (HKILA) Design Award 2012.

·      Energy Innovation Fund Best Application Award 2003–2006.

·      Asian Power Award 2013.

Notable research leadership recognitions

·      Co-Editor-in-Chief of Urban Ecosystems (Springer, New York).

·      Associate editor and editorial board of ten reputable international journals.

·      Physical Sciences Panel, Research Grants Council (RGC), 2018–2024.

·      Social Sciences Panel, Hong Kong Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2020, Research Grants Council (RGC), 2019–2020.

Notable research output metrics

·      Listed publications: Scopus = 336; Google Scholar = 542.

·      Citations: Scopus = 13,276; Google Scholar = 22,637.

·      h-index: Scopus = 59; Google Scholar = 81; i10-index: Google Scholar = 277.

·      Author of 40 scholarly books and over 420 refereed papers.

·      Supervised to graduation 52 PhD and MPhil research students.

Notable teaching and service indicators

·      Teaching the largest class ever in the history of HKU, with over 1000 students.

·      HKU Best Teacher Award in 1986, by Student Union (first batch).

·      Degree-level accreditation experience through HKCAAVQ.

·      HKU Long Service Award (twice).

Key research weblinks

·      ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4052-8363

·      Scopus: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=7006143750

·      Google Scholar Citations: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=aZobaBoAAAAJ

·      Web of Science: https://publons.com/researcher/2921713/cy-jim/  (ResearcherID O-1025-2019)

·      Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/CY_Jim

·      EdUHK: https://www.eduhk.hk/ssps/cyjim

·      Researcher Repository: https://repository.eduhk.hk/en/persons/chi-yung-jim/publications/

• Urban ecology, urban biodiversity and nature conservation
• Urban forestry, tree planting, care and management (arboriculture)
• Urban soil science, characterisation, limitations, amelioration and management
• Urban climatology, thermal comfort, microclimatic benefits of green-cum-blue covers, and climate-change adaptation
• Urban green infrastructure, as sustainable city and nature-based solutions
• Urban spatial-environmental planning, conservation, enhancement and creation of nature in cities

Urban ecology

Urban forestry

Urban green infrastructure

Nature-based solutions for sustainable cities

Current Notable External Appointments



Expert advisor to Hong Kong bodies

• Executive Committee and Trustee, Friends of the Country Parks (FOCP) (1999–).
• Specialist Assessor, Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ) (2016–).
• Expert Advisor, Hong Kong Science Museum (2016–).
• Advisory Member, Greening Master Plan Committee (2004–).
• Governing Council, Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency (HKQAA) (appointed 2017–2024).
• External advisor, Hong Kong Institute of Landscape Architects (HKILA), Panel on Accredited Arborists (2018–2020).
• Non-Panel Reviewer of research grant applications, Public Policy Research (PPR) Funding Scheme, Central Policy Unit (2016–).
• Expert Reviewer of research grant applications, Environment and Conservation Fund (2023)
• Honorary Professor, Faculty of Design and Environment, Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi) (2016–2021).
• Emeritus Professor, University of Hong Kong (2018–).
• Honorary Professor, Department of Geography, University of Hong Kong (2018–).
• Honorary Professor, Department of Real Estate and Construction, University of Hong Kong (2018–2022).
• External Examiner, BSc (Hon) Horticulture, Arboriculture and Landscape Management, Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (2021–).
• External Examiner for the Degree Modules in the Department of Social Sciences, Hang Seng University of Hong Kong (2018–).
• Physical Sciences Panel, Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC), Research Grants Committee (RGC) (2018–).
• Social Sciences Panel, Hong Kong Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), Research Grants Committee (RGC) (2019–).
• International Urban Forestry Conference, Hong Kong, Chairman of international session (2024)
• Member, High-level Advisory Panel, Chief Executive’s Award for Teaching Excellence (CEATE) (2018/2019).
• Member, Academic Review Committee of Hong Kong Chronicles, Our Hong Kong Foundation (2019–).
• Management Board, Tong Mei Road Government Primary School (2019-).
• Board of Governors, Hong Kong Nang Yan College of Higher Education (2019–2024).
• Council Member, Hong Kong Nang Yan College of Higher Education (2012–2024).
• Member, HKQAA Remuneration Committee (2020-2024).
• Chairman, HKQAA Certification Review Board (2020-2024).
• Chairman, HKQAA Technical Committee on Environmental Management (2020-2024).
• Chairman, HKQAA Technical Committee on Hygiene Control Systems (2020-2024).
• External Examiner for PhD thesis, Chinese University of Hong Kong (2017, 2019, 2022).
• External Examiner for PhD thesis, Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2017, 2022).

Expert advisor to international bodies

• External Expert Advisor, Center for Tree Science, Morton Arboretum, Chicago (2013–).
• External Expert, Academic Board for PhD, University of Florence (2017–).
• Scientific Committee, First World Forum on Urban Forests, FAO, United Nations (2018).
• Group Member of FAO (UN) Asia Pacific Outlook Study on Urban Forestry (2018).
• External reviewer of Urban Forestry e-learning course for the FAO e-Learning Academy, United Nations (2023–2024).
• Adjudicator for international green roof award, Word Green Infrastructure Network (2024–).
• Official nominator for the VinFuture Prize (2024–).

External examiner for PhD thesis

• University of Wales Bangor (1995).
• Sydney University (2014).
• Copenhagen University (2015).
• National University of Singapore (2013, 2017).
• University of New South Wales (2018).
• University of Putra Malaysia (2020).
• University of Malaya (2019, 2020, 2023).
• Melbourne University (2015, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2023).
• Griffith University (2023).

External assessor for research grant applications

• UK Natural Environment Research Council (2011, 2015, 2016).
• Kazakhstan National Centre of Science and Technology Evaluation (2017).
• European Union COST research grants (2014, 2017).
• Belgium Fund for Scientific Research (2019).
• UK Medical Research Council (2019).
• Cyprus University ONISILOS Funding Scheme (2019).
• European Union Horizon research grants (2020).
• European Research Council (2020).
• Singapore Housing Development Board Research & Development Programme (2020a, 2020b).
• Israel Ministry of Science and Technology (2021).
• Hebrew University, Israel (2021).
• Swiss National Science Foundation (2022).
• Discovery Grant, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) (2023).
• United Arab Emirates University, UAE (2024).
• Cities of Tomorrow (CoT) R&D Programme, National Research Foundation of Singapore (2024).

External Assessor for the appointment of professors

• University of Malaya (1999).
• National Taiwan University (2009).
• UC Berkeley (2011).
• Asian Institute of Technology (2011).
• University of Dublin (2014).
• United Arab Emirates University (2014).
• Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (2015).
• Melbourne University (2015).
• National University of Singapore (2016).
• University of British Columbia (2018, 2016).
• University Putra Malaysia (2019).
• UC Davis (2022).
• University of Melbourne (2022).
• University of the Punjab (2022).
• Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (2023).

International journal editorship

• Co-Editor-in-Chief, Urban Ecosystems, Springer, New York (ISI journal; 2021–).
• Editorial Board, Landscape and Urban Planning, Elsevier, Amsterdam (ISI journal; ranked first in Urban Studies Group; 2004–).
• Editorial Board, Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, Elsevier, Amsterdam (ISI journal; ranked Q1 in Urban Studies Group; 2002–).
• Associate Editor, Urban Ecosystems, Springer, New York (ISI journal; 2011–2021).
• Associate Editor, Arboriculture and Urban Forestry, flagship journal of the International Society of Arboriculture, Champaign, IL (2010–).
• Editorial Board, Cities, Elsevier, Amsterdam (ISI journal; ranked Q1 in Urban Studies Group; 2004–).
• Editorial Board, Pedosphere, Elsevier, Amsterdam (ISI journal; 2002–).
• Editorial Board (founding member), Socio-Ecological Practice Research, Springer, New York (New journal; 2018–).
• Editorial Board, Arboriculture and Urban Forestry, International Society of Arboriculture, Champaign, IL (2005–2008).
• Editorial Board, Arboricultural Journal, Arboricultural Association; Taylor & Francis, Abingdon, UK (1991–).
• Editorial Board, Forests, MDPI, Basel, Switzerland (ISI journal; 2021–2024).
• Editorial Board, Journal of Geographical Sciences, Springer, Beijing (ISI journal; 2001–).
• Editorial Board, Journal of Geographical Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei (2002–).
• Editorial Board, Asian Geographer, Taylor & Francis, Abingdon, UK (2017–).