HIGHLIGHTS
RESEARCH UPDATES, ACHIEVEMENTS & COLLABORATIONS
An AI-powered, paper-like sensor patch for monitoring wound recovery has been developed by a team of researchers led by Associate Professor Benjamin Tee working with research colleagues at A*STAR’s Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE). The innovative device can be easily integrated with wound dressings and provides timely information on the healing process.
MOU Signing with APACMed
A Memorandum of Understanding was inked on 27 July 2023 between NUS, working through its NUS Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Asia Pacific Medical Technology Association (APACMed) to enhance professional development programmes for medical device regulatory professionals. NUS BME has long been involved in training the next generation of professionals who are experts in various aspects of the medical device development procedure. The department has ensured that Singapore and, more comprehensively, the regional demand for such trained professionals have been met. This new partnership will bring what Acting Dean CDE Professor Teo Kie Leong said is "a new era of academic-industry collaborations" in this field.
A team of researchers, led by Associate Professor Poh Chueh Loo from the NUS Department of Biomedical Engineering and the NUS Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI), has developed a ‘biological camera’, dubbed ‘BacCam’, harnessing living cells and their inherent biological mechanisms to encode and store information.
A multidisciplinary team of researchers from NUS and National University Health System (NUHS) has developed a new form of photodynamic breast cancer treatment that promises improved outcomes and reduced side effects compared to current treatments. The research, jointly-led by Professor Zhang Yong (Biomedical Engineering) and Assistant Professor Daniel Teh (Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine) was published in June in the American Chemistry Society journal ACS Nano.
https://cde.nus.edu.sg/news-detail/tumour-selective-light-treatment-shows-promise-for-breast-cancer/
A new world record in solar cell efficiency has been set by researchers at CDE, marking a significant step forward in the technology to develop cheaper, more efficient and durable next-generation solar cells. The team behind the breakthrough is led by Assistant Professor Hou Yi (Dept of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering).
https://cde.nus.edu.sg/news-detail/researchers-set-new-record-in-perovskite-solar-cell-efficiency/
Assistant Professor Wang Lei has recently published two research papers on breakthroughs in using a process known as electrochemical reduction to simply and efficiently convert CO2 into valuable and widely-used chemicals.
https://cde.nus.edu.sg/news-detail/innovative-co2-conversion-offers-hope-for-cutting-emissions/
The Symposium on VLSI Technology and Circuits was held in Kyoto, Japan in June, 2023. This conference, together with IEDM and ISSCC, are highly reputable and are considered as the “Olympics” in the field of semiconductor devices and circuits. This year, NUS has the highest number of papers among all organisations, including academia and industry, with a total of 16. For technology, NUS shares the top spot with IMEC. Associate Professor Gong Xiao’s research group contributed nine in technology, all as the first author and corresponding author. They also won the only ‘Best Demo Paper Award’ in Technology.
Launch of CALIPSO – A New Generation of Live Imaging Microscope
The Design Incubation Centre (DIC) developed a long-term collaboration with the NUS Mechanobiology Institute (MBI) and the CNRS@Create for the integral design of a new generation of live imaging microscope dedicated to the 3D observation of live organoids over prolonged periods, a project funded by an NRF Intra-Create Grant.
From the patents developed by MBI on microfabricated chips and soSPIM technology, the DIC team imagined the ideal machine in terms of ergonomics and user experience. The first field observations conducted by the designers revealed archaic practices around an intricacy of out-of-price optical and electronic components generating visual confusion and ergonomics aberrations. The close work with the lab scientists and the Design approach developed by DIC helped to clarify the process and propose a machine architecture that simplifies the tasks, offers a visual hierarchy of functions and more ease in the manipulations, allowing the operator to better focus on the image acquisition steps.
The result of this 3-year multidisciplinary study, released on 3 July 2023, is a fully functional prototype, designed and optimised with a view to industrial production, giving an iconic identity to the project. This machine is intended to be operational within the MBI microscopy platform to test the hardware and software parts, considering the possible development of a downsized version 2.
Congratulations to our colleagues on winning the following major grant awards (total project value >$1M) with project start date in July 2023.
Project Title: Machine Learning Guided Failure Analysis & Diagnostic Capability Development for Next Generation 3D-IC Packaging (3D-IC)
Funding Programme: A*Star Manufacturing, Trade and Connectivity (MTC) Industry Alignment Fund – Pre-Positioning (IAF-PP) - 2022 – 1 (A*STAR)
Principal Investigator: Thean Voon Yew, Aaron; Lim Yeow Kheng
Hosting Unit: SHINE
Project Title: Toughening Phb And Pla Via Entropy Driven Miscibility: Toward Sustainable Plastics
Funding Programme: ACRF Tier 2 Grant - 2023 – 1 (MOE)
Principal Investigator: He Chaobin
Hosting Unit: Materials Science and Engineering
Project Title: Development of Stable Robust and Secure Intelligent Systems for Autonomous Vehicles (Stage 1a)
Funding Programme: AI Singapore Robust AI Grand Challenge - 2023 – 1 (IMDA)
Principal Investigator: Ge Shuzhi
Co-Investigator: Shou Zheng; Zhao Lin
Hosting Unit: Electrical and Computer Engineering
Project Title: The Provision of Research Consultancy Services to Conduct Ventilation Study For Healthcare Facilities
Funding Programme: (MOH Holdings Pte Ltd)
Principal Investigator: Lam Khee Poh
Hosting Unit: Built Environment