Paul Lam Kwan-Sing

Professor Paul Lam Kwan-sing became the President of Hong Kong Metropolitan University on 1 April 2021.

Professor Paul Lam studied for his Bachelor’s and Master's degrees at the University of Hong Kong between 1979 and 1984. He was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship in 1984 to undertake his doctorate study at the University of Sheffield in the UK. He took up a Postdoctoral Fellowship at King's College, the University of London, and then returned to Hong Kong to take up a lecturing position at City Polytechnic of Hong Kong in 1988. He subsequently held positions in a number of universities, including the Chinese University of Hong Kong (1990-1992) and the Victoria University in Australia (1992-1994). He joined the Department of Chemistry (formerly the Department of Biology and Chemistry) at City University of Hong Kong in 1994.

Professor Lam is a front-runner in the higher education sector in Hong Kong and is well-versed with academic development and university administration. Prior to joining HKMU, he was the Executive Director of Special Projects, Jeanie Hu Professor of Science and Chair Professor of the Department of Chemistry at City University of Hong Kong. During his long service at City University of Hong Kong since 1994, he has assumed other management positions as Acting Vice-President (Undergraduate Education), Vice-President (Student Affairs), Chief-of-Staff and Director of State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution.

Professor Lam is a renowned scholar and expert in environmental chemistry, ecotoxicology, and environmental risk assessment. Among his academic achievements, Professor Lam’s work in ecology and environmental analysis has raised environmental awareness and defined new sensitive analytical methodology for emerging chemicals of concern. He developed techniques for trace analyses of these chemicals in key environmental matrices, contributing to the international harmonization of analytical methods to address such concerns. By providing key evidence relating to the distribution and persistence of such chemicals, his research influenced policy and legislation globally.

Professor Lam was the author or co-author of over 400 publications in international refereed journals. He has been responsible for over 35 major government consultancy projects in the environmental field, including the assessments of risks to Hong Kong cetaceans and waterbirds from toxic contaminants. He was awarded the Natural Science Award (Second Class) in 2011, 2012 and 2019 by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 2008 and was awarded the Silver Bauhinia Star in 2014 by the HKSAR Government.