Congratulations to Assoc Prof Benjamin Tee and his team for winning the IES Sustainability Award 2025 from The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES)!
Their SHINE (Scalable Hydrogel-clad Ionotronic Nickel-core Electroluminescent) fibre project was recognised by IES as “an outstanding engineering project that has made significant contributions to Singapore’s sustainability.”
SHINE is a self-healing, actuatable electroluminescent fibre that advances sustainable and interactive light-emitting soft electronics. Its compact coaxial design delivers record-breaking bright light at low fields, rapid magnetic actuation, and autonomous repair across all layers.
The fibre recovers function after complete severing, maintains performance for over ten months, and can be produced meters-long for scalable deployment. By reducing device failure and assembly overhead, SHINE lowers electronic waste while enabling new, integration-free soft-robotic and display applications. This work demonstrates how materials intelligence and design for longevity can translate into real environmental impact.
“As an engineer at heart who cares about sustainably technological advancements, I am delighted to receive this IES award on behalf of my team who has worked tirelessly to push the frontiers of materials science and device engineering,” said Assoc Prof Benjamin Tee, “our breakthrough light emitting fibre aims to shine a positive light on how creative ideas and innovations could change the world since Edison’s invention of the light bulb.”
The project was previously published on Nature Communications and co-authored by Fu Xuemei, Wan Guanxiang, Guo Hongchen, Kim Han-Joon, Yang Zijie, Asst Prof Tan Yu Jun and Assoc Professor John Ho from NUS and the Institute for Health Innovation & Technology (iHealthtech).
Article from College of Design and Engineering, NUS
