Dear students and colleagues
It was great to start the new semester with two events involving our CDE alums.
Alums Mr Tan Szue Hann, Head of Sustainability, Keppel Land (Architecture alum) and Mr Tan Chee Yong, Associate Director of Sustainability, Incendium Consulting (Environmental Engineering alum), joined Ms Heng Li Lang, Senior Director of Temasek Foundation, as panellists for the forum “How can we build a sustainable future?” held on 11th January. They swapped stories of how their experiences as students inspired them to embark on careers in sustainability. Even as they acknowledged the challenges they faced bringing together professionals from diverse fields towards a common goal, their passion for their chosen work was evident. Seeing alums making their mark inspired many in the audience. Davis Roy, a 4th year ME student, Co-Founder of Student Energy NUS, shared that he had “learned about the vast opportunities students have to change the world”.
On CDE Day, held on the second Wednesday of the semester (18th January), alums joined guests for the sustainability-themed carnival organised by the Student Life Office and the CDE student clubs. They also toured the award-winning SDE4 building and enthusiastically snapped photos of the exhibits of ‘CDE’s Awesome Projects’. It was heartening to see them, a few with their families, queuing for popcorn, trying their hand at the game stalls, and questioning students about their exhibits.
It is through such interactions that we strengthen our ties as a community. I hope that we all continue to reach out and make connections that matter.
Cheers!
Aaron
Dean, College of Design and Engineering
HIGHLIGHTS
EVENTS
RESEARCH UPDATES, ACHIEVEMENTS & COLLABORATIONS
A research team led by Assistant Professor Cheow Lih Feng (Department of Biomedical Engineering) has discovered a novel low-cost method of testing for cancers, providing a promising non-invasive alternative to tissue biopsies. Called the Heatrich-BS assay, the new test sequences clinical samples that have been heated in order to isolate cancer-specific signatures found in a patient’s blood. https://cde.nus.edu.sg/new-cancer-test-method-makes-regular-monitoring-affordable/
The Centre of Excellence in Modelling and Simulation for Next Generation Ports (C4NGP) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Haulio, Singapore’s largest digital haulier, to develop and commercialise a haulage scheduling algorithm aimed at enhancing productivity in Singapore’s logistics sector. https://cde.nus.edu.sg/mou-with-haulio-to-develop-smart-haulage-scheduler/
NUS Hosted the Asian Conference on Electrochemical Power Sources (ACEPS 11)
ACEPS is a series of scientific conferences focusing on electrochemical power sources held in East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia at different locations each time. Professor Zempachi Ogumi initiated the series in Japan in 2006, and since then, ten conferences have been hosted, including one hosted by the then-NUS Faculty of Engineering in 2010. Twelve years on, NUS again hosted the event in December 2022 in partnership with other local educational and research institutions, including the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore University of Technology and Design, and the Institutes of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), High-Performance Computing (IHPC) and InfoComm Research. ACEPS 11 was chaired by Associate Professor Palani Balaya from CDE’s Department of Mechanical Engineering.
ACEPS 11 provided a forum for presentation and discussion of recent developments related to power sources using electrochemical concepts, including Basic Electrochemistry, Batteries, Capacitors & Fast Charging Devices, Fuel Cells, and Photo-electrochemistry (Solar Cells). ACEPS 11 drew about 400 participants and featured four Plenary Speakers, 30 Keynote Speakers and 74 Invited Speakers. ACEPS 11 also aimed to encourage both the younger and women professionals to participate and present their work. The event drew 73 Oral Presentations and 154 Poster Presentations, with 12 Best Poster Awards presented.
ACEPS 11 was successful only due to the vast support of everyone, including the members of the International Advisory Committee, International Scientific Committee, the Local Organising Committee, conference volunteers, and Jury members. Sponsorship from the Committee of Battery Technology of the Electrochemical Society, Japan, the MDPI journal, and the Exhibitors are acknowledged with thanks.
Congratulations to our colleagues on winning the following major grant awards (total project value >$1M) with project start date in December 2022 & January 2023.
| Hosting Unit | Project Title | Source of Funding | Funding Programme (Sourse of Funding) |
Principal Investigator | Co-Investigator |
| ME | INNOVATING MULTI-BIOINSPIRED COMPOSITES VIA NOVEL CENTRIFUGAL FREEZE CASTING | Ministry of Education (MOE) | ACRF TIER 2 GRANT (MOE) |
ZHAI WEI; | TAN BENG CHYE, VINCENT; |
| MSE | ENGINEERING PLASMONS IN ATOMICALLY-THIN METALS | Ministry of Education (MOE) | ACRF TIER 2 GRANT (MOE) |
MICHEL BOSMAN; | LOH KIAN PING (CHEMISTRY); |
| ISEM | CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN MODELLING AND SIMULATION FOR NEXT GENERATION PORTS PHASE 2 (C4NGP PHASE 2) | Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) | SINGAPORE MARITIME INSTITUTE (SMI) AD-HOC PROPOSAL (SMI) |
CHEW EK PENG; | LI HAOBIN; |
| CEE | DEVELOPMENT OF A SKILLFUL AND SEAMLESS DROUGHT FORECAST SYSTEM TO SUPPORT ADAPTIVE WATER MANAGEMENT IN SINGAPORE UNDER CLIMATE CHANGE | National Research Foundation (NRF) | PUB COMPETITIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMME (WATER): PROJECTING THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON SINGAPORE'S WATER SYSTEM (NRF) |
HE XIAOGANG; | GIN YEW-HOONG, KARINA; |
| CEE | CLIMATE AND LAND-USE CHANGES: EFFECTS ON NUTRIENTS INPUTS OF SINGAPORE RESERVOIRS (CLUE) | National Research Foundation (NRF) | PUB COMPETITIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMME (WATER): PROJECTING THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON SINGAPORE'S WATER SYSTEM (NRF) |
SIMONE FATICHI; | VLADAN BABOVIC; GIN YEW-HOONG, KARINA; |
| ChBE | ABIOTIC-BIOTIC COMPOSITES FOR BIOELECTROSYNTHESIS | National Research Foundation (NRF) | NRF OPEN/GENERAL COMPETITIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM (NRF-CRP) (NRF) |
LIU BIN; WONG ANDREW BARNABAS; WANG LEI; GUILLERMO CARLOS BAZAN (CHEMISTRY); CHANG WOOK, MATTHEW (BIOCHEMISTRY); | |
| ECE | VAN DER WAALS JOSEPHSON DIODES | National Research Foundation (NRF) | QUANTUM ENGINEERING PROGRAMME (QEP) (NRF) |
YANG HYUNSOO; | |
| ECE | DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE ELECTRIC TRACTION MODULE (HIPE E-TRAM) | Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) | A*STAR MANUFACTURING, TRADE AND CONNECTIVITY (MTC) INDUSTRY ALIGNMENT FUND - PRE POSITIONING (IAF-PP) (A*STAR) |
PRAHLAD VADAKKEPAT; | SANJIB K PANDA; WEI ZHAI; |