Academic Qualifications
– BEng (Mechanical Engineering) (Hons) (1982), National University of Singapore
– MSc (Building Science) (1985), University of Sydney, Australia
– PhD (Architectural Science) (1992), University of Sydney, Australia
Employment Records
– Fellow (March 1991); Lecturer (1991-1995); Senior Lecturer (1995-2000); Assoc. Prof (2000- present)
National University of Singapore
– Lecturer, Ngee Ann Polytechnic (1983) Associate Professor, NUS (1983)
– Administrative Officer, Singapore International Airlines Ltd (1982)
Administrative Leadership
– Co-Director, Building Energy Efficiency Hub@NUS, 2013 – present
– Head, Department of Building, NUS, 2007 – 2013
– Deputy Head (Research), Department of Building, NUS, 2002 – 2007
– Deputy Director, Centre for Total Building Performance (2000-2007), NUS
– Indoor Air Quality Research Group leader (1992-present), Department of Building, NUS
Professional/ Consulting Avtivities
– President (June 2006 – Sep 2009), Trustee (June 2012 – 2016), International Society of Indoor Air Quality
and Climate (ISIAQ)
– Chairman, PSB TC Environmental Standard Testing (Singapore) (2002 to present)
– Chairman, Technical Expert Panel for Biological Terrain Decontamination (National Environmental
Agency, MEWR) (2015 – present)
– Fellow, International Society for Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ) Academy of Fellows (since 2005)
– Advisor, World Health Organisation, Indoor Air Quality Guidelines (2006)
– Visiting Professor (Technical U of Denmark, 2015 and 2016; Czech Technical U 2008 to present)
– Editorial Board Member (Indoor Air; Building and Environment; Energy and Buildings; Building
Performance Simulation; Energies; Future Cities and Environment)
– President, Healthy Buildings (2003)
(Updated August 2018)
Awards/Honours
– Uichi Inouye Memorial Asia-International Award (2017)
– ASEAN Energy Award (2011)
– Zero Energy Building – Minister for Nat Dev R&D Award 2011 (Distinguished Award) – Team prize
– The Enterprise Challenge (TEC) Awards – Public Service Division, PMO, Singapore. (2004)
– Commonwealth Fellowship, 1998 – 1999 in the field of Indoor Air Quality
– NUS Overseas Scholarship Award (1984 – 1990)
– Singapore International Airlines Scholarship (1978 – 1982)
Patents/ Companies
– Single-Coil Twin Fan Variable-Air-Volume (VAV) System for Energy Efficient Conditioning of Independent
Fresh and return Air Streams
– Energy Efficient Variable-Air-Volume (VAV) System with Zonal Ventilation Control
– Dual Compartment Ventilation and Air-conditioning System having a Shared Heating Coil
– Water Tank Storage System to Harvest Solar Energy (US patent granted (2010)
– A Building Façade System
– Dynamically Responsive Fan Filter Unit For Occupied Premises
– Enhanced Air Quality Pte Limited (Singapore, 2004) – Founding Director
Keynote Addresses
– Healthy Buildings 2003; RoomVent 2004; RoomVent 2009; CLIMA 2013; 36th AIVC 2015; Healthy
Buildings Asia 2017
Undergraduate Teaching
– PF1104 Environmental Science for Buildings
– PF4103 Total Building Performance
– PF3501 Intelligent facilities
Graduate Teaching
– BPS5111 Integrated Building Design
– BPS5222 Indoor Environmental Quality
– BPS5226 Smart Building and Facilities
Research Interests
– Indoor Air Quality and Human Effects
– Building Performance and Energy Efficiency
Selected Publications
– Tham KW (2016). Indoor air quality and its effects on humans – a review of challenges and developments
in the last 30 years, Energy and Buildings, 130: 637-650.
– Tham KW and MO Fadeyi (2015). Towards whom should indoor environmental quality control be
sympathetic towards – asthmatics or non-asthmatics? Building and Environment, 88:55-64.
– Pantelic J, Sze-To GN, Tham K W, Chao CYH and Khoo MYC. (2009). Personalized ventilation as a
control measure for airborne transmissible disease spread. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 6, no. 6
(Supplementary) (2009): 715-726, (United Kingdom).
– Tham KW (2004). Effects of temperature and outdoor air supply rate on the performance of call center
operators in the tropics. Indoor Air, 14 (S7): 119 125. (Denmark).
– Tham KW (1993). Conserving energy without sacrificing thermal comfort. Building and Environment 28(3):
287 299.