Faculty of Engineering

Researchers and scholars at the Faculty seek to benefit society by creating world‑leading engineering knowledge that fosters sustainability, prosperity, and resilience.

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Departments

Dean of Engineering

Dean of HKU Engineering

David Srolovitz is Dean of Engineering and Chair of Materials Theory at the University of Hong Kong in the Departments of Materials and Energy and of Mechanical Engineering. He received his B.A. degree in Physics from Rutgers University in 1978. His M.S.E. and Ph.D. degrees were both awarded by the Department of Materials Science and Engineering of the University of Pennsylvania in 1980 and 1982, respectively. Professor Srolovitz is the author of ~550 research papers on materials theory/simulations of defects, microstructure, deformation, and film growth and has an h-index of 118, with his work garnering 49,000 citations. He is a Member of the US National Academy of Engineering - 2015, the Hong Kong Academy of Engineering - 2022, and is Fellow of many major materials research societies (MRS-2009, TMS-2013, ASM-1998, Institute of Physics-1999). He was a staff member at Exxon Corporate Research and Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Executive Director of the Institute for High Performance Computing in Singapore. He has been a professor at the University of Michigan, Princeton University, Yeshiva University, the University of Pennsylvania, and City University of Hong Kong where he held faculty positions in Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Physics, Computer Science, Applied Physics, and Applied Mathematics. He has previously served as a department head, dean, institute director, and scientific director at various institutions around the world. He is the recipient of numerous honours and awards, including: The TMS Hume-Rothery Award – 2026, the ReX&GG Cyril Stanley Smith Award – 2026, the China Friendship Medal – 2025 and the MRS Materials Theory Award – 2013. He presented honorary lectures at many leading universities, including, the University of Michigan Lawrence H. Van Vlack Lecture and the Tel Aviv University David Seidman Lecture – 2025, University of Science and Technology Beijing 112th China Distinguished Materials Scientist Lecture – 2023, Northwestern University Dow Lecturer – 2016, Johns Hopkins University Christie Lecture – 2015, Princeton University Baetjer Lecture – 2010, HKUST Distinguished Lecture – 2010, National University of Singapore Commencement Speaker – 2010, and University of British Columbia Weinberg Memorial Lecture – 2009. And, received Outstanding Paper Awards from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, NASA, and Acta Metallurgica.

Faculty of Engineering
Dean's Office: deanengg@hku.hk

Academic Excellence

HKU CivE 13th
University Ranking by Subject
13th
QS World University Ranking by Subject: Civil & Structural Engineering
HKU DASE 18th
University Ranking by Subject
18th
QS World University Ranking by Subject: Data Science & Artificial Intelligence