Prof. Cheng has won international acclaims in research on scheduling science
According to an independent survey on the worldwide research productivity in production and operations management over half a century, Prof. Edwin Cheng of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)'s Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies has emerged as the most productive author in the field, with a distinguished record of 182 highly cited papers.
In this study, research productivity of scholars was evaluated based on the number of papers they published in 20 core journals in the field of production and operations management over the past five decades (from 1959 to 2008). The survey findings were published in the authoritative International Journal of Production Economics (Issue 120, August 2009).
The study also showed that PolyU, with its strong faculty in the field, has achieved superior performance not only in research productivity but also in research impact as reflected by the h-index - an internationally accepted measure that quantifies the research impact of individual researchers. In terms of h-index, Prof. Cheng at 13th was among the top 20 most cited researchers in the world over the past 50 years. Overall, Hong Kong ranked ninth on the list of top 20 countries/places in terms of total number of papers published in the 20 core journals of the field.
Among his many highly cited papers, Prof. Cheng has won international acclaims in research on scheduling science in particular. Scheduling deals with the optimal allocation of limited resources to a set of activities over time for maximizing the return or minimizing the consumption of the resources. Research findings are useful to decision making concerning resources utilization, for instance, setting priorities for executing tasks in the context of management. In recognition of his research accomplishment, he was awarded the coveted Doctor of Science degree by his alma mater University of Cambridge in 2007.
Prof. Cheng earned his PhD degree in Operations Research from the University of Cambridge in 1984. In 1992, he was bestowed the Outstanding Young Engineer of the Year Award by the Institute of Industrial Engineers, U.S. In 2001, he was honoured with the prestigious Croucher Senior Research Fellowship in Hong Kong – the first PolyU academic to receive this honour. He was conferred the Siyuan Chair Professorship at Nanjing University in 2008. This year, he has just been awarded the Changjiang Scholar Chair Professorship at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications.
