Prof. Irene M. C. Lo is currently a Chair Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). She has been joining HKUST since 1992. Prof. Lo is an elected Academician of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA). She is the first Hong Kong scholar inducted into the EASA. She is an elected Fellow of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (FHKIE), and elected Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (FASCE). She received her Ph.D. and Master degrees in Civil (Environmental) Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. She was Visiting Professor of Technical University of Denmark and the University of Wisconsin at Madison. She was also Adjunct Professor of Tongji University, Tianjin University, Jilin University and Harbin Institute of Technology in China.

Prof. Lo was the recipient of the 2004 ASCE James Croes Medal, the 2007 ASCE Samuel Arnold Greeley Award, the 2008 EWRI Best Practice-Oriented Paper Award, the 2009 ASCE Wesley W Horner Award, and the 2012 ASCE EWRI Best Practice-Oriented Paper Award. In addition, she received the MoE Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Awards in the Natural Science/Technology Advancement. Prof. Lo has held 3 patents, edited 7 technical books, published about 400 SCI journal articles and conference papers with citation of 14200+ and H-index of 59, and given more than 30 plenary/keynote lectures at international conferences.

Other than a registered Professional Engineer, she is also a registered Carbon Auditor in USA and Hong Kong. Her research areas include magnetic nano-particles and nano-photocatalysts for environmental applications; remediation technologies for river sediment, contaminated soils and groundwater; solid waste treatment and management; and life cycle assessment of construction materials and green building.