STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS & STUDENT LIFE
Wolfram has turned four!
On 2 April, the CDE community came together to celebrate the birthday of our beloved mascot, Wolfram. The festivities included a cake-cutting ceremony and an exciting Kahoot challenge, where students tested their knowledge about Wolfram. Those who knew him best were rewarded with adorable Wolfram plushies!
Wolfram is more than just a mascot. He symbolises the vibrant community spirit at CDE. By promoting awareness of student life services, Wolfram helps engage students, alumni, staff, and faculty, fostering a warm and inclusive environment.
Here’s to many more joyful years ahead! We’re eager to share happiness and laughter with Wolfram and all of you at future CDE events!
In the cake-cutting photo
From left to right: Assoc Prof Darren Chian, Vice Dean (Student Life); Ng Zing Hng, CDE Club Vice President (External), Year 1 Engineering Science Programme; Ms Shireen Lian, Senior Director of Administration and A/Prof Martin Buist, Deputy Dean (Education)
Wellness through candle-making
On 2 April 2025, CDE’s Peer Student Support Group (PSSG) hosted a candle-making workshop at the CDE To-gather Space to encourage students to unwind and relax as the semester hit its peak. Nineteen students, together with the Peer Student Supporters, enjoyed a fun hands-on experience melting, mixing and designing their candles.
From lemon to lavender, white lily to rose, everyone had the freedom to choose the scents they liked to craft their very own unique candle. The students enjoyed the conversations and experience, with one participant remarking that they can now bring the knowledge of how to make candles home to ‘save’ disused candles instead of tossing them out!
Stay tuned for more workshops organised by CDE PSSG!
CDE students' visit to Kingsmen Exhibits
A group of CDE students embarked on an enriching visit to Kingsmen Exhibits on 26 March 2025. Kingsmen is an events and experience company with a global presence in 18 cities. The students gained insight into how Kingsmen utilises technology, project management and contracts to achieve success in their design and build projects. A highlight of the visit included an alumnus sharing his Kingsmen journey. The visit ended with an immersive tour of the Kingsmen office, where the students had an close-up look at various fabrications, installations and interior mock-ups.
CDE Art Fest 2025
The CDE Wellness Ambassadors brought back the much-loved Arts Fest on Wednesday, 26 March 2025, welcoming over 60 students to a refreshing midweek creative escape. Building on last semester's success, this edition offered engaging hands-on activities designed for stress relief and artistic expression.
The Arts Fest kicked off at the CDE PitStop with a cosy Chenille Stem Crafting session. Students dropped by in the morning to twist, bend, and shape fuzzy stems into flowers, animals, and unique designs. This hands-on activity provided a relaxing and freely expressive start.
Back by popular demand, Fuse Bead Making made its comeback in the afternoon session at the CDE To-Gather Space. Students arranged colourful plastic beads into pixelated designs, which were then fused with a hot iron. From their favourite cartoon characters to K-pop lightstick keychains, the possibilities were endless, and the activity sparked both creativity and camaraderie among attendees.
The Arts Fest concluded with the Wood Theatre Art session, where students constructed miniature scenes using wooden materials. Participants used acrylic markers to colour in their creations to add life and vibrancy to their pieces. This activity allowed for creativity and relaxation, as participants focused on crafting their wooden pieces.
Department of Architecture PhD Candidate Freyaan Jahangir Anklesaria receives Young CAADRIA Award (YCA) at CAADRIA 2025
Architecture PhD candidate Freyaan Jahangir Anklesaria, who is also a PhD researcher at Singapore-ETH Centre (SEC-ETH) under the Future Cities Laboratory Global programme, has been honoured with the Young CAADRIA Award (YCA) 2025. The award ceremony took place at the University of Tokyo from 26 to 28 March 2025.
The Association for Computer-Aided Architectural Design Research (CAADRIA) promotes teaching and research in CAAD in Asia. At CAADRIA, Freyaan presented a co-authored paper titled "Cognitive Complexity in Architectural Layouts: Integrating Eye Tracking, Surveys, and Spatial Analysis." Learn more by clicking here.
Graduate students from the Department of Biomedical Engineering showcase their AI-based exergaming apps at the ExcerAI Project Showcase
Explore the world of exergaming, where fun meets fitness! A group of graduate students from the Department of Biomedical Engineering showcased their AI-based exergaming apps at the ExcerAI Project Showcase on 14 April 2025. The seven student teams developed these exergaming apps to cater to various users, including stroke patients, the elderly, and teenagers who enjoy arcade-style games.
Check out some of the projects here:
1. Project BeatFlow is an interactive rhythm-based exergame that uses real-time pose tracking with MediaPipe to promote upper body movements. Designed for casual exercisers and rhythm game enthusiasts, it combines dynamic audio-visual cues with responsive motion detection to make exercise more enjoyable and accessible. Team members: Zhao Muhua, Qin Shiyue, Michael Panganiban, Zheng Yidi, and Li Jiani
2. Project Rehab Champion is a gamified tool that aids upper limb recovery in stroke patients. It includes three interactive modules that focus on specific movements: shoulder abduction/adduction, shoulder flexion/extension, and elbow flexion/extension, which are key rehabilitation positions targeted at stroke patients. Team members: Shi Minghai, Yan Jiansen, Chen Lu, Hao Zhao, Liu Xinyue, and Venkatesh Ram
3. Project Street Fighter is an arcade-style game that uses AI motion recognition to track a player's limbs during combat. It challenges players' agility and dodging skills. After this project, the team hopes to polish the game by creating a progressive experience, with opponents becoming stronger after each stage to keep players engaged. Team members: Qiu Jiayu, Shen Daiyun, Zhang Erli, Zhang Xin, and Tang Junbo
4. Project Tai Chi supports rehabilitation and enhances balance for the elderly. It utilises demonstration videos and AI motion recognition, enabling players to compare their movements with those in the videos via the device’s built-in camera. Players receive similarity scores and a report on their joint mobility, promoting active participation in therapy and providing insights into their physical condition. Team members: Peng Xinyi, Xu Shiyu, Dou Zheng, Ma Yulin, and Zhou Junming
NUS CEE team (Traffic Doctor) wins 2nd Prize (Student Category) in the Intelligent Transportation Society (Singapore) ITSS-LTA Hackathon 2025
NUS CEE team (Traffic Doctor) led by Assistant Professor Yang Kaidi, PhD students Wang Qiqing, Zhou Jingyuan, CEE MEng student Liu Pan and CEE Visiting PhD student Shi Yuqi, clinched the 2nd Prize (Student Category) at the Intelligent Transportation Society (Singapore) ITSS-LTA Hackathon 2025: "Making Roads Safer". This year's hackathon saw nearly 100 registrations and close to 50 submissions.
Our students proposed Traffic CT, an AI-powered solution that proactively identifies road safety risks before accidents occur. Inspired by how medical CT scans detect early signs of illness, Traffic CT integrates multiple AI methods to spot risky driving behaviours from vehicle trajectory data and generate spatial “CT scans” highlighting safety-critical zones in the infrastructure that can be improved.
CEE PhD student Luo Rui's research awarded third place at the 27th Young Researchers Conference
CEE PhD student Luo Rui, supervised by Senior Lecturer Dr Du Hong Jian, was awarded third place at the 27th Young Researchers Conference organised by The Institution of Structural Engineers. His winning research presentation was titled “Performance and Finite Element Analysis of 3D-Printed Concrete Benches”.
The conference was held online, with a judging panel made up of leading academics and industry experts. It attracted over 100 participants from around the world. The event showcased the best research selected from an international shortlist of ground-breaking projects in structural engineering.
More details about the event and Luo Rui’s presentation can be found here.
SUCCEED (Singapore Universities Combined Civil Engineering Engagement Day)
The NUS Civil Engineering Club proudly organised and hosted the very first SUCCEED (Singapore Universities Combined Civil Engineering Engagement Day) — a vibrant collaboration with the NTU Civil and Environmental Engineering Club and the SIT Civil Engineering Club.
The event brought students from all three universities together for an exciting day packed with competitions, networking opportunities, and valuable industry insights. It was truly inspiring to see the many creative and innovative design solutions showcased during the competition, along with the thoughtful and engaging questions raised during the panel discussions.
The event was made possible through the generous support of the sponsors — Bachy Soletanche Singapore, KTC Group of Companies, Lum Chang Building Contractors Pte Ltd, Teambuild Construction Group, Woh Hup (Private) Limited, and Obayashi Singapore Private Limited — as well as the backing of the Building and Construction Authority (BCA). The event was honoured with Ms Grace Mui, Group Director of the Manpower Strategy and Planning Group, as the Guest of Honour to mark this special occasion.
Electrical Engineering PhD student Xue Junyuan wins Student Best Poster Award at the Singapore Intelligence, Robotics, and Control Symposium 2025 (SIRC 2025)
Xue Junyuan, an Electrical Engineering PhD student and recipient of the NGS (ISEP) scholarship, won the Student Best Poster Award at the Singapore Intelligence, Robotics, and Control Symposium 2025 (SIRC 2025). His research is supervised by Professor Tong Heng Lee and Adjunct Assistant Professor Wenyu Liang from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
This award acknowledges the team’s contributions to the innovative research on proposing the control framework for safe and high-performance physical robotic interactions. The SIRC 2025 is a one-day conference promoting collaboration among researchers in control, artificial intelligence, and robotics in Singapore. Forty accepted journal and conference papers were shared as student posters at SIRC 2025, and three were awarded.
Junyuan’s award-winning paper, “Model Predictive Variable Impedance Control Towards Safe Robotic Interaction in Unknown Disturbance-Rich Environments,” tackles the challenge of balancing interaction safety and performance—especially when humans are involved. The study integrates tactile sensors into a robot gripper, working alongside an adaptive parameter estimator to enhance environmental perception and estimation. The research also introduces the Model Predictive Variable Impedance Controller (MPVIC), which ensures safe interactions through impedance model switching, passivity guarantees, and MPC constraints.
The proposed control framework has significant applications in robotic-assisted procedures requiring both safety and precision. One notable use case is robotic ultrasound scanning, where adaptive and robust impedance control is critical for ensuring patient safety and accurate imaging.
Read more here.
Computer Engineering student Sparsh awarded runner-up at the MIT Climate & Energy Prize 2025
“Working on this project has been an incredible journey of applying theoretical knowledge to real-world problems,” said Sparsh, Year 3 Computer Engineering with a second major in Innovation & Design Programme. “The international competitions have provided us with invaluable feedback from industry experts and connected us with a global network of innovators in the clean energy space.”
For the past four years, Sparsh, the founder of deep-tech start-up Incy Tech, has been working on his Thermal Floater invention. This innovative device converts solar energy into electricity while floating on water, showcasing its dedication to creating sustainable and affordable solutions to environmental issues. Most recently, Sparsh won the runner-up at the grand finals of the MIT Climate & Energy Prize (CEP) amongst 10 top climate/energy ventures worldwide.
The MIT Clean Energy Prize (CEP) is the largest and longest-running competition for student-led climate and energy startups. Sparsh was in the top five in the international round to qualify for the grand finals. He is the only undergraduate participant and the sole representative from Singapore, while the other competitors are mainly PhD candidates from universities such as MIT, Harvard, and Stanford.
Additionally, Incy Tech won the London Business School (LBS) CleanTech Challenge 2025, with his teammate Azann Qureshi, a Year 2 Physics student, representing at the challenge. Winning the challenge provided opportunities for the team to connect with industry partners and use the grant money of €20,000 to develop their prototype further.
Congratulations to Sparsh and team!
And a huge shoutout to his mentor, Dr Ang Yu Qian, Postdoctoral Fellow from the Department of Built Environment!
Find out more about Incy Tech
Team AeroNUS (Design Build Fly) represent NUS in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Design, Build, Fly competition
We wished Team AeroNUS (Design Build Fly) the best of luck as they headed to Tucson, Arizona, to represent NUS in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Design, Build, Fly competition from 10 to 13 April!
The Design, Build, Fly competition provides students with practical experience in aircraft design by allowing them to validate their analytical studies through unique design rules. This year’s challenge involves mounting a 'baby' glider below a larger plane, which is then autonomously flown to a target point without user input.
Team AeroNUS, supervised by the Department of Mechanical Engineering and led by Dr Jonathan Tay from Temasek Laboratories, is a group of 18 Mechanical Engineering students who compete in radio-controlled (RC) building competitions. Throughout the year, they prepared for the competition by going through stages of training and prototyping in the early phases, followed by the fabrication of their final aircraft design months before the competition.
Keep up with the Aero NUS team via their social media platforms below!