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– An Alumni Story of Dr. Ray Runyang Zhong

In the farmlands of Jiangxi province, mainland China, far from the giant townships of Beijing or Shanghai, the countryside awakens quietly. In the early morning sunshine, a very naughty boy creeps stealthily through a vegetable field looking for something tasty to snack on before school. He finds cucumbers and then chilli plants, but is soon spotted by an irate neighbour who marches him back to his parents. They are very upset indeed.

This scene is typical of the early childhood of Dr. Ray Runyang Zhong, who confesses that, at that age, he had no interest in studying. He was more interested in playing games of ‘stones’ with his friends, fishing in the local river, or generally getting into mischief on the neighbouring farms.

Fortunately, a well-educated acquaintance of his father saw potential in the growing lad. Recognising that computers were the future, he suggested that Ray should take a college entrance exam to study computer science, technology, and mathematics. Young Ray passed, graduated from Gannan Normal University, and then became a teacher at a vocational institute. 

Whilst studying for his master’s degree at Guangdong University of Technology, Ray entered industrial companies with a pioneering research topic in manufacturing execution systems of digital processing with microchips for advanced data transmission, such as today’s 5G. Through the different factories of various manufacturing companies, he gained invaluable insight into how the workforce – the frontline of industry – is supported by the underlying technology and IT systems. For half of his three years of study, he lived and worked alongside the factory workers, giving him practical knowledge of how a shop floor functions. 

Based on the recommendation from Ray’s master’s supervisor, Professor Qingyun Dai, Professor George Q. Huang of HKU enlisted Ray as a research assistant. After proving his worth, Ray was recruited as a PhD student in to the research group.

Ray recognises Professor Huang as one of his significant mentors: “He helped me summarise all my practical experience, which greatly benefitted my research.” Acknowledging that he was a ‘headache’ for the professor for the first two years, as his English was so poor, and not wishing to let his mentor down, Ray rose early every morning to spend an hour reading English newspapers and magazines to improve his command of the language. “I'm fine with English now, but it was very hard – but no pain, no gain!" 

With over 160 publications now under his belt, it’s not easy for Dr. Zhong to single one out; however, he is very proud of his paper on “Big Data Analytics for Physical Internet-based Intelligent Manufacturing” published in the International Journal of Production Research, and awarded Best Paper of 2018. He also highlights his New Zealand Chinese Youth Scientist Award 2017 that he received when lecturing at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. 

Today, Dr. Zhong enjoys his job as an assistant professor in the Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering department. As part of teaching new young researchers, he passes on the philosophies developed during his time at HKU. He emphasises how important it is to face challenges, turn them into motivation, and always share experiences with family and friends. “Get rid of problems quickly”, he says.

Dr. Zhong is keen to move technology forward and is now closely involved in researching and finding solutions for smart prefabrication construction supply chain management. This will support the government initiative to construct new housing in Hong Kong. He is also collaborating with Jinan University for e-commerce cross-border logistics. 

With this busy schedule, Dr. Zhong has little time to look ahead, but says that “my aim for the future is always to be a good researcher and contribute to society”.

Dr. Ray Zhong has travelled a long way: from chilli plants to microchips!