RESEARCH NEWS

From plastic waste to ultralight PET aerogel with wide-ranging applications

November 2, 2018

The NUS Mechanical Engineering researchers have made another significant contribution towards resolving the global issue of plastic waste. The research team led by Associate Professor Hai Minh Duong and Professor Nhan Phan-Tien, in collaboration with Dr Xiwen Zhang from the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), […]

CoolestSG sets to develop and deploy efficient cooling technology!

October 31, 2018

Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr Chan Chun Sing, at the Opening Ceremony of the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) on 30 October 2018, announced the formation of the Cooling Energy Science and Technology Singapore (CoolestSG) Consortium. CoolestSG, which is hosted in NUS, will develop and accelerate the deployment and commercialisation of cooling technologies, which […]

Newly launched SgEC to address future energy challenges

October 31, 2018

The Singapore Energy Centre (SgEC) was launched on 31 October 2018, in conjunction with the Singapore International Energy Week 2018 (SIEW). The SgEC, a joint research centre between NUS and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), aims to develop sustainable energy solutions to overcome the global energy challenges of the future. It is a consortium funded […]

A sustainable approach to producing amino acids

September 13, 2018

Amino acids are essential to life and are produced through microbial cultivation processes such as fermentation, which are costly, time consuming and require extensive separation processes. A new research breakthrough by Assoc Prof Yan Ning from NUS Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and his team is capable of producing a series of amino acids from woody […]

NUS Engineers’ novel water-absorbing gel puts air moisture to good use

June 7, 2018

THE water-absorbing gel developed by Asst Prof Tan Swee Ching and his team from NUS Materials Science & Engineering could prevent mouldy walls and make waiting at the bus stops during hot days more comfortable.

Novel Wireless light switch for targeted cancer therapy

January 31, 2018

PROFESSOR Zhang Yong and Assistant Professor John Ho, who are respectively from NUS Biomedical Engineering and NUS Electrical and Computer Engineering have developed a way to wirelessly deliver light into deep regions of the body to activate light-sensitive drugs for photodynamic therapy (PDT), a powerful light-induced cancer treatment. PDT is often limited to surface cancers […]

Turning old clothes into multifunctional cotton aerogels

January 26, 2018

A team of researchers from NUS Mechanical Engineering have found new use for old clothes. Led by Assoc Prof Hai Minh Duong and Prof Nhan Phan-Thien, the research team has successfully turned disused cotton fabrics into highly compressible and ultralight weight cotton aerogels that are multifunctional. The cotton aerogels can be used to keep military […]

A new approach to recycle industrial wastewater

December 8, 2017

A team of researchers from NUS Engineering has developed a new, low energy and cost-effective approach to wastewater purification. The system, which operates on low electrical power, does not generate secondary waste, such as sludge that typically requires costly residual waste processing, and can remove up to 99 percent recalcitrant impurities from wastewater. Led by […]

NUS-developed manta ray robot swims faster and operates up to 10 hours

November 8, 2017

The nature-inspired robot could one day substitute traditional autonomous underwater vehicles Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have created MantaDroid, an aquatic robot that emulates the swimming locomotion of manta rays. The robotic manta ray, which swims at the speed of twice its body length per second and can operate for up to […]

Robust barrier protection against chemical solvents and fires

November 3, 2017

Assistant Professor Chen Po-Yen from NUS Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and his team developed a new technology that can be used to make smart protective clothing material. By integrating elastomer, a natural or synthetic polymer that is highly elastic, with structured two dimensional (2D) material films like graphene oxide, the team’s innovation – a bilayer […]

Turning waste into energy

November 3, 2017

After five years of research, Professor Wang Chi-Hwa and his team from NUS Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering found a way to turn animal waste into synthesis gas (syngas), a mixture of hydrogen and carbon monoxide to produce electricity, and biochar to treat water.