Graduated in 2014, Guo Jiaxin is an alumnus of UIC's Environmental Science Programme. He then obtained a master's degree in Chemistry and Biomolecular Engineering from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and a doctorate in Environmental Energy from City University of Hong Kong.
Guo Jiaxin
After graduating with a PhD, Jiaxin was selected into the Research Talents Programme of the Innovation and Technology Commission of Hong Kong. He is currently engaged in postdoctoral research at City University of Hong Kong and is responsible for two industrialisation projects. Jiaxin has made remarkable achievements in the membrane water purifying process.
Born in Chifeng, in the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia, Jiaxin has been worried about the water pollution and soil degradation problems in his hometown. During middle school, he had the idea of devoting himself to the field of environmental governance.
Guo Jiaxin sharing his experience with UIC students
At UIC, Jiaxin studied environmental science systematically and constantly explored the path of better solving ecological problems. He said that UIC's Liberal Arts Education has helped improve his team workability and developed some interests that cultivate his sentiment. From his junior year, Jiaxin entered the laboratory to learn basic experimental skills. In his senior year, he started an independent experiment on converting banana peel to bioethanol, which laid a solid foundation for his future research.
During his postgraduate study, Jiaxin carried out a series of research on dyeing sewage adsorption and published papers in top journals, setting the tone for his doctoral research on membrane distillation technology. He has won the Best Poster Award of the 11th International Conference on Membrane and Membrane Process, as well as scholarships for outstanding researchers.
During his PhD period, Jiaxin carried out detailed research in this field, and finally published his original research results in the top journal Water Research. At the 2018 graduation ceremony of City University of Hong Kong, Jiaxin was selected as the representative of outstanding graduates and delivered a speech.
Guo Jiaxin delivering a speech at the graduation ceremony of City University of Hong Kong
Currently, he has published more than 20 SCI papers in top international journals such as Environmental Science & Technology, Journal of Membrane Science, and Desalination.
Guo also emphasises the practical transformation of his research results. His research team installed the membrane distillation equipment at a jeans factory in Yuen Long in Hong Kong. The equipment turned the production sewage into high-quality recycled water, which can process 10 tons of water per day. Simultaneously, Jiaxin's team provided consulting services to construct the first desalination plant in Hong Kong, contributing to solving water supply problems in Hong Kong.
Guo Jiaxin (first from right) with other UIC alumni
Guo Jiaxin said that his goal is to promote the most advanced membrane technology and produce membranes with better performance. As a result, the people would then be able to drink the desalinated seawater produced with these membranes.
From MPRO
Reporter: Xia Meng
Editors: Samuel Burgess, Deen He, Zhang Fan
