1. Construction and demolition (C&D) lifecycle management;

2. Circular economy strategies for C&D waste management;

3. Digital solutions for circular construction, e.g., C&D waste management;

4. Low-carbon solutions for the construction industry. 

Zhikang holds a BEng degree in Civil Engineering (First Class Honours) and a PhD degree in Construction Project Management from the University of Liverpool and The University of Hong Kong respectively. Prior to joining Heriot-Watt University as an Assistant Professor, Zhikang was a Postdoc Fellow at City University of Hong Kong. His primary research interests lie in circular construction and construction waste management, where he has developed an excellent track record of scholarly publications. Until now, Zhikang has published a total of 43 peer-reviewed articles in various internationally renowned high impact journals, including Resources, Conservation & Recycling (IF=11.2), Sustainable Production and Consumption (IF=10.9), Sustainable Cities and Society (IF=10.5), Journal of Cleaner Production (IF=9.7), Science of the Total Environment (IF=8.2), Advanced Engineering Informatics (IF=8.0), and Waste Management (IF=7.1). As of 1 June 2024, he has a Google Citation > 1,800 and a H-index > 22. He also has 6 “ESI Highly Cited Papers” that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and publication year according to Web of Science. Zhikang is an active reviewer for over 70 internationally influential journals. He also serves as the Associate Editor for Alexandria Engineering Journal (Q1, top 5%, IF= 6.2) and a Youth Editor for The Innovation (Q1, top 5%, IF=33.2).