ALUMNI NEWS
DID Alumnus presents at Milan Design Week 2026
Photos: Mark Cocksedge
Many of the Division of Industrial Design’s former students have presented their work in two separate exhibits at this year’s Milan Design Week: Prototype Island and SaloneSatellite.
Milan Design Week is a premier city-wide design festival featuring exhibitions from designers around the world. Among those is the DesignSingapore Council’s Future Impact showcase, which has highlighted Singapore’s leading & emerging designers since 2023.
We are proud to see strong representation from our alumni and faculty:
- Yuh-Hunn Wai (Class of 2005)
Lead Curator of this year’s showcase, Prototype Island, and the first Singaporean co-curator of the Future Impact series at last year’s Milan Design Week. - E Ian Siew (Class of 2023)
Assistant Curator of Prototype Island. James Dyson Award 2023 (National Winner) and iF Design Student Award 2024 Winner. - Zoey Chan (Class of 2025) — Nido
James Dyson Award 2025 (National Winner). Nido is a compact portable holder that empowers people living with diabetes to safely manage insulin injection needles. - Reynard Seah (Class of 2025) — Noda
James Dyson Award 2025 (Runner-up). Noda is a turgid joint system inspired by plant biology that allows for temporary, adaptive emergency structures. - Celeste Seah (Class of 2024) — Rememo
A toolkit supporting reminiscence therapy for people living with dementia, alongside a research paper to be presented at CHI 2026. - Yong Zhen Zhou (Class of 2022) & Assistant Professor Clement Zheng (Class of 2012) — Scan to Play
An alternative video game that critically explores barcodes as an everyday interactive material.
During the same week, more of our graduates are exhibiting at SaloneSatellite, an international showcase for young designers, as well as a distinguished alumni who is showcasing under Salone del Mobile.
- Bryce Lim (Class of 2025) – Squishy Vase Collection
This collection invites a reconsideration of PU foam’s aesthetic, value and permanence when approached with the attentiveness of craft. - Wang Yixian (Class of 2025) – Foggy
A collection that experiments with transforming crocheted fiberglass fabric into glass through kiln firing. Her collection received a Special Mention Award by SaloneSatellite Award 2026, also known as the Róng Design Award, which supports outstanding young designers through a residency programme focused on traditional Chinese craftsmanship and materials. - Gabriel Tan (Class of 2007) — Soft Stone Sofa for Classicon
A modular, asymmetrically assembled sofa system inspired by the stone terraces of Parque da Cidade in Porto, and the sculptural ambivalence of Isamu Noguchi’s work.
We thank the DesignSingapore Council for leading Singapore design on the global stage. It is especially meaningful to see our alumni consistently contribute to the international design space and shaping the future of design.
Returning to where it all began: Mechanical Engineering Class of 1975 reunites
Fifty years after graduating, alumni from the NUS Mechanical Engineering Class of 1975 returned to campus to reconnect, reflect, and celebrate friendships that have endured across five decades.
One of the reunion’s most meaningful moments was looking back at the original 1974/75 final-year class photograph, complete with handwritten signatures preserved over the years. More than an archival keepsake, the photograph captured a shared history of friendship, learning, and community that continues to resonate today.
The gathering also reflected the lasting bonds formed through the NUS experience, and the generations of engineers whose journeys have contributed to Singapore’s broader engineering story.
“The idea of holding the reunion came from Prof Lee Poh Seng (Head of Department, Mechanical Engineering) when I attended a talk on data centres and visited the Sustainable Tropical Data Centre Testbed,” said Mr Eu Hong Gay (Class of 1975). “He immediately recognised me as an old student from the Mechanical Engineering and encouraged me to organise the gathering, which came together quite naturally because our class has remained unusually well connected over the years. Coming back to NUS after almost 50 years and seeing how far the Mechanical Engineering Department has grown was truly remarkable. None of us, as students back then, could have imagined what NUS would become today.”
As the NUS College of Design and Engineering continues to foster connections across its alumni community, reunions like these reflect the enduring ties that continue well beyond graduation.
