PROFESSOR Philip Liu Li-Fan, Vice President for Research and Technology, as well as a distinguished professor from NUS Civil & Environmental Engineering, was recently presented the inaugural 'Hamaguchi Award' for his outstanding achievement and contribution to tsunami and coastal disaster resilience technology. The award presentation took place on 1 November 2017 in Japan.
Among his significant contributions, Prof Liu's numeric model, COMCOT, has been employed in many countries developing tsunami warning system and inundation maps, as well as assessing tsunami damage. He has also taken leadership role in organising several post-tsunami field studies, including the 1992 Flores Island (Indonesia) tsunami and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. In recent years, Prof Liu has been promoting tsunami research by organising annual South China Sea Tsunami Workshops, providing a forum for researchers in the South China Sea region to exchange knowledge and experience, and develop the tsunami hazard mitigation programme. In 2015, Prof Liu was elected as a Member of National Academy of Engineering (USA) for "coastal engineering research, education, computer modelling, and leadership for tsunami and wave damage".
