NUS honoured its best in education, research and service at the University Awards 2018 held on 14 May 2018. Among them was Asst Prof Zhao Dan, from NUS Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, who received the Young Researcher Award in recognition of his work in the field of advanced porous materials and membranes.
Asst Prof Zhao's investigations into metal-organic frameworks as adsorbent and membrane materials uncovered their huge potential in separation processes. He has established a very impressive independent research programme on advanced porous materials with a number of impactful applications.
By integrating material chemistry and engineering applications, Asst Prof Zhao made a conscious effort to bring the best of both worlds to the field of advanced porous materials to address several challenges in clean energy and environmental sustainability, including natural gas storage, carbon dioxide capture, smell sensing, and water treatment.
Asst Prof Zhao is leading a project to commercialise his lab's gas sensing technology, which could be very useful in building Singapore towards a smart nation.
