Professor Joseph Kwan is a seasoned administrator, educator and researcher. He completed his BA in Bacteriology and MPH in Occupational Hygiene from the University of California at Berkeley; MS in Clinical Microbiology from the University of California at San Francisco; and a Doctorate in Environmental Science and Engineering from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Prior to his current roles at HKUST GZ, He was a long serving staff at HKUST (Clear Water Bay) which he joined in 1991 as the founding director of Health, Safety and Environment; and Adjunct Professor in the Division of Environment and Sustainability, as well as in the Department of Ocean Science.  In addition to his administrative duties, he teaches courses in environment and health; supervises post-graduate students on dissertation research; and teams up with colleagues in conducting multi-disciplinary research studies on the transport and fate of infectious bioaerosols in the indoor environment. Together with his research partners, they innovated various hazards control technologies to combat infectious disease outbreaks, including SARS and COVID-19.

Prior to his assignment in Hong Kong, he worked for many years in the Hazards Control profession in the USA.  He served in leadership roles at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Rockwell International, and Northrop Aircraft Company. He was a Research Clinical Microbiologist at the University of California at San Francisco before joining the Hazards Control field.

In addition to his assignments at HKUST and HKUST GZ, he is very active in serving our community in various volunteer roles, including government advisory committees and Non-Government Organizations in the Health Care, Education and Social Service sectors.