Prof. Christopher Leung received the 2015 State Natural Science Award (Second Class)

Prof. Christopher Leung and his collaborators from Zhejiang University and Shantou University received the 2015 State Natural Science Award (Second Class) from the State Council of the People's Republic of China, for a project entitled "Double-K Fracture Criterion for Crack Propagation in Concrete Structures and Fundamental Research on the Improvement of Crack-Control Performance".  The award is among the most prestigious in science and technology in China. Only five State Science and Technology Awards in total were presented to Hong Kong researchers in 2015.

Prof. Leung led the part on the development of pseudo-ductile cementitious materials for crack control, while Prof. Shilang Xu of Zhejiang University led the effort on the characterization and analysis of fracture in concrete structures. Starting out as fundamental research studies, the research results have been employed in the safety assessment of concrete dams as well as the design of crack-resistant building and bridge components.