| Name | Research Interests |
| Assoc Prof Adam Douglas Switzer | Adam Switzers main research interest lies in using coastal stratigraphy to define the recurrence interval of catastrophic marine inundation events (tsunami or large storms).
His most significant contributions to the field include:
* the first study of modern storm deposits from the Australian southeast coast;
* the recognition that immature heavy mineral suites in coastal sandsheets may indicate tsunami deposition rather than storm deposition in coastal settings;
* the recognition of an erosional signature of large scale washover of coastal dunes using Ground Penetrating Radar;
* initial evaluation of the sedimentary processes associated with the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami on the southeast coast of India
a definitive review and re-analysis of large boulder accumulations in coastal settings on the southeast Australian coast. |
| Asst Prof Amal Chandran | • Small Satellite Development.
• Satellite Instrumentation for Atmospheric remote sensing.
• Optical and Infrared remote sensing on cubesat platforms
• Cubesat instrumentation for Ionospheric plasma measurements.
• Climate Modeling: Stratospheric Sudden Warmings, Atmospheric Coupling, Stratosphere-Mesosphere dynamics
I have PhD student positions open for suitable candidates to work on instrumentation and atmospheric modeling.
In addition to their research, the PhD students will be expected to work as student project managers/system engineers on ongoing cubesat projects, learning all aspects of cubesat development and engineering. Students with prior experience in working with satellite hardware and background in electrical/mechanical engineering and coding experience will be preferred. |
| Dr Anna Lagerstroem | Research interests
Forest ecolgy. Plant species functional trait variation. Plant traits and soil property links. Nitrogen fixation.
Selected publications
Lagerström, A., Nilsson, M.-C., Wardle, D.A. (2013) Decoupled responses of tree and shrub leaf and litter trait values to ecosystem retrogression across an island area gradient. Plant and Soil, 367: 183–197.
Lagerström, A., Esberg, C., Wardle, D.A., Giesler, R. (2009) Soil phosphorus and microbial response to a long-term wildfire chronosequence in northern Sweden. Biogeochemistry, 95: 199–2013.
Lagerström, A., Bellingham, P.J., Bonner, K.I., Wardle, D.A. (2011) The effect of simulated herbivory on growth and nutrient status of focal and neighbouring early successional woody plant species. Oikos, 120: 1380–1392.
Lagerström, A., Nilsson, M.C., Zackrisson, O., Wardle, D.A. (2007) Ecosystem input of nitrogen through biological fixation in feather mosses during ecosystem retrogression. Functional Ecology, 21: 1027–1033. |
| Asst Prof Aron Jeffrey Meltzner | • neotectonics, paleoseismology, paleogeodesy, and tectonic geomorphology
• earthquake recurrence, rupture repeatability, fault segmentation, and fault interactions
• temporal variability in interseismic deformation and strain accumulation
• Holocene relative sea-level change and glacial isostatic adjustment |
| Prof Benjamin P. Horton | 200 million people worldwide live along coastlines less than 5 meters above sea level. By the end of the 21st century this figure is estimated to increase to 400 to 500 million. These low-lying coastal regions vulnerable to changes in sea level brought about by climate change, storms or earthquakes. My research uncovers fundamental knowledge about how sea level has changed in the past and how it may change in the future. My findings therefore impact upon important ethical, social, economic and political problems specifically facing such coastal regions.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) re-emphasized the importance of sea level as a barometer of climate and drew attention to the potentially devastating consequences of future climate change. The IPCC highlighted the uncertainty with which the driving mechanisms of recent sea-level change are understood and the disconnect between long-term geological and recent observational trends. My research directly addresses the rates and geographic variability of sea-level change, which was highlighted at the top of the list of the eight priority science questions in the “Sea Change: 2015-2025 Decadal Survey of Ocean Sciences” report. The study of sea-level change was subsequently recommended as Strategic Research Priority I in “A Strategic Vision for NSF Investments in Antarctic and Southern Ocean Research”.
An incomplete understanding of the earthquake and tsunami hazards associated with the Sunda and Japan subduction zones contributed to the devastating societal impacts of the 2004 Indian Ocean and 2011 Tohoku events. Instrumental records of previous earthquakes and tsunamis proved too short to estimate the potential magnitude and recurrence interval of such great events that recur centuries to millennia apart. My earthquake and tsunami records on centennial and millennial temporal scales are necessary to understanding long-term subduction zone behavior and the occurrences of large, but infrequent events.
Tropical Cyclones and their associated storm surges are among the most destructive natural disasters to impact coastal regions. The severity and frequency of coastal floods is increasing (and will worsen in most locations over the 21st century. But the short timescale and narrow range of 20th century forcing captured by the instrumental record may not address important mechanisms underlying the dramatic changes expected in the late 21st century. My reconstructions of paleo storms reveal spatial and temporal variability of tropical cyclone activity and provided insight into their relationship with global climatic changes.
I have forged very strong international collaborations with developed and developing countries (e.g., Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Philippines, Vanuatu and Thailand). My research involves partnerships between fellows, graduate and undergraduate students of geology, archaeology, geophysics, oceanography, fluvial hydrology, statistics and atmospheric science. My research portfolio extends beyond the collection and interpretation of sea-level data to include topics as diverse as: development of Gaussian process models for the statistical analyses of paleoclimate data; the socio-economic impact of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami; the application of diatom analysis in forensic science; 20th century inter-decadal variability in temperature and precipitation; and the timing and location of emerging civilizations in relation to the productivity of coastal margins. I have thus assembled multinational, interdisciplinary research teams. This has enriched my own thinking and that of my postdoctoral scientists and graduate and undergraduate students. I am/have been supervisor to 22 students to the degree of PhD and 11 postdoctoral scientists. |
| Asst Prof Benoit Taisne | Benoit Taisne’s current research focuses on the early anticipation of the style and size of volcanic eruptions. He uses new tomographic methods (muon telescopes) to shed light on two crucial parts of the volcanic system that have so far remained elusive for volcanologists and hazard managers, and which are key inputs for ash dispersal models:
- The structure (i.e. density distribution) and geometry of the volcanic conduit,
- The characteristics of ash columns.
Results from the muon tomography experiments will be complemented by more traditional data and methods from different disciplines like geophysics (seismologic studies), geodesy (GPS studies), and geochemistry (petrology and gas chemistry). All these data will be jointly inverted in near real-time with physics-based models of magma migration to get quantitative values for key physical parameters controlling the eruption style, and hence anticipate the style and size of eruptions to come.
His main research interests are:
- Magma migration
- Eruption dynamic
- Development of realtime monitoring technics
- Numerical simulation
- Laboratory experiments in fluids dynamics |
| Asst Prof Caroline Bouvet De Maisonneuve | The development of increasingly precise geophysical monitoring tools has led to progress in the field of eruption forecasting, but predicting the size and vigor of an eruption remains a major challenge in the assessment of risks. The vast majority of active volcanoes display wide ranges in eruption styles over long and short time scales, from effusive lava flows or dome growth to explosive Strombolian, Vulcanian, or Plinian eruptions. My long term goals are to shed light on the combinations of processes and physical parameters that govern the magnitudes and styles of eruptions, and to enhance our ability to interpret geophysical and geodetic monitoring signals in terms of magmatic processes.
My main research interests, therefore, focus on:
What processes control the magnitude and style of a given eruption?
How and why do these controlling factors change from one eruptive center to the next?
Why does the magnitude and style vary from eruption to eruption at a same volcano?
In addition, the fact of addressing these questions may also bring elements of response to more petrology-based problems such as: How to reconcile the plutonic and volcanic record? How and where do magmas differentiate (e.g. assimilation vs. fractional crystallization)? How do the transport, accumulation, and differentiation of magma affect the formation of continental crust? |
| Assoc Prof Cheng Niansheng | Prof Cheng Nian-Sheng's areas of expertise are hydraulics, sediment transport and turbulence. His current research works focus on open channel flows with vegetation, turbulent flows over dune-covered bed, and simultaneous measurements of two-phase flows. |
| Asst Prof Cheung Sai Hung | -Catastrophe risk modeling, analysis, mitigation and management due to natural disasters and man-made hazards
-Reliability, Risk engineering and science
-Stochastic dynamics
-Complexity science
-Earthquake engineering, Performance-based engineering
-Sustainable urban planning and development
-Climate Change Impact Studies
-Optimal decision making, design and control under uncertainty
-Uncertainty quantification, System identification
-Structural health monitoring |
| Prof Chiew Yee Meng | He has had more than 25 years of research experience in many aspects of fluvial, hydraulic, coastal and offshore engineering. His particular research interest is in the area of erosion, sediment transport and turbulence. In addition to his research activities, Dr Chiew provides extensive consulting services to the engineering industries, both internationally and in Singapore. He was the Chairman of the 2nd International Conference on Scour and Erosion (ICSE-2) that was held in Singapore in November 2004.
SELECTED PUBLICATION LIST
1. Chiew, Y. M. "Mechanics of Local Scour Around Submarine Pipelines" Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE, vol. 116, no. 4, 515-529, 1990.
2. Chiew, Y. M. "Scour Protection at Bridge Piers" Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE, vol. 118, no. 9, 1260-1269, 1992.
3. Chiew, Y. M. and Parker, G. "Incipient Sediment Transport on Non-Horizontal Slopes" Journal of Hydraulic Research, IAHR, vol. 32, no. 5, 649-660, 1994.
4. Chiew, Y. M. "Mechanics of Riprap Failure at Bridge Piers" Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE, vol. 121, no. 9, 635-643, 1995.
5. Song, T. and Chiew, Y. M. and Chin, C. O. "Effect of Bedload Movement on Flow Friction Factor" Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE, vol. 124, no. 2, 165-175, 1998.
6. Cheng, N. S. and Chiew, Y. M. "Turbulent Open-Channel Flow with Upward Seepage" Journal of Hydraulic Research, IAHR, vol. 36, no. 3, 415-431, 1998.
7. Melville, B. W. and Chiew, Y. M. "Time Scale for Local Scour at Bridge Piers" Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE, vol. 125, no. 1, 59-65, 1999.
8. Cheng, N. S. and Chiew, Y. M. "Incipient Sediment Motion with Upward Seepage" Journal of Hydraulic Research, IAHR, vol. 37, no. 5, 665-681, 1999.
9. Ming, D. H. and Chiew, Y. M. "Experimental study for shoreline changes behind a detached breakwater" Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal, and Ocean Engineering, ASCE, vol. 126, no. 2, 63-70, 2000.
10. Chiew, Y. M. and Lim F. H. "Failure behavior of riprap layer at bridge piers under live-bed conditions" Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE, vol. 126, no. 1, 43-55, 2000.
11. Song, T. and Chiew, Y. M. "Turbulence Measurement in Non-Uniform Open Channel Flow Using an Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV)". Journal of Engineering Mechanics, ASCE, vol. 127, no. 3, 219-232, 2001.
12. Chiew, Y.M. "Failure Mechanisms of Riprap Layer around Bridge Piers". Invited Paper (Plenary Section) in Proc. of First Int. Conf. on Scour of Foundations (ICSF-1), Vol. 1, 70-91, 2002.
13. Chen, X. W. and Chiew, Y. M. "Response of Velocity and Reynolds Stress Profiles to Sudden Change of Bed Roughness in Open-Channel Flow". Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE, vol. 129, no. 1, 35-43, 2003.
14. Chen, X. W. and Chiew, Y. M. "Velocity Distribution of Turbulent Open Channel Flow with Bed Suction". Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE, vol. 130, no. 2, 140-148, 2004.
15. Chiew, Y. M. "Local Scour and Riprap Stability at Bridge Piers in a Degrading Channel". Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE, vol. 130, no. 3, 218-226, 2004.
16. Lu, Y., Chiew, Y.M. and Cheng, N. S. "Review of seepage effects on turbulent open-channel flow and sediment entrainment". Journal of Hydraulic Research, IAHR, 46(4), 476-488, 2008. |
| Prof Chu Jian | Dr Chu's area of expertise includes labotrory and in-situ testing, soil properties, ground improvement, land reclamation, and waste utilisation. My research focus areas at the present are: (1) Instability behaviour of granular soil; (2) Innovative ground improvement methods including the use of microbial technologies; (2) Waste utilisation; and (4) Disaster mitigations. |
| Assoc Prof Danne Ojeda Hernandez | Her current research is devoted to the disciplinary redefinitions of Graphic Design and its implications in contemporary visual culture. It analyses antithetical aspects within the evolution of graphic design, like its communicative and allegoric nature, autonomy and social commitment, and expressivity and new media standards. The theoretical basis of this research includes binary concepts like natural/artificial, original/copy, public/private, and physical/virtual. The research is methodologically structured upon close readings of a variety of visual objects from the perspective of graphic design. These objects are discusses in connection with different sorts of conceptual platforms, like manifestos, (un)realized projects, curatorial proposals and critical reviews among others sources within today's dominant orientations in graphic design.
Moreover, her areas of interest can be summarized as follow: Issues in Visual Communication/Contemporary Design, Design Theory, Design and Science and Art and Design relations. Her areas of specializations regarding professional practice are mainly editorial and exhibition design.
At NTU, Prof. Ojeda is engaged (or has been engaged) with the following projects:
TIER1 [2013] by Ministry of Education (MOE) › D-SIGN-LAB. Research Experiments on Art, Design and Science with a focus on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Analysis.
TIER0 [2010] Asian-Pacific Mega-exhibitions: A Critical Perspective
RCC [2009] For the Sake of a Second Life: Approaches to Sustainable Design
—
Selection of Danne Ojeda’s works:
http://www.d-file.com
https://www.paperbrains.net/
— |
| Asst Prof David Lallemant | - Disaster risk modeling
- Engineering risk and reliability analysis
- Remote sensing and earth observation technology
- Geostatistics/spatial statistics
- Predictive modeling
- Humanitarian and development sciences
- Design thinking as a research tool |
| Prof Edgardo Manuel Latrubesse | Prof. Latrubesse main research interest includes Quaternary, geomorphology, hydrology of large rivers, impacts of human activities on large fluvial systems and tropical biomes, paleogeography of large rivers and plains, and hydro-geo-scientific contributions to multidisciplinary environmental research and global change. At UT Austin he is the head (PI) of the international research program “Large Rivers: long term basin evolution, morphodynamics and global change” which emphasizes the study of large rivers throughout the world. Of the ten largest rivers of the world in water discharge, Dr. Latrubesse is currently studying five (Amazon, Madeira, Negro, Parana and Mississippi), and many others that are among the largest rivers of the planet. He is focused on tropical geomorphology and developed field expeditions in some of the most remote and wild areas of the planet such as the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, Peru, Bolivia and Guyana (he lived in the Brazilian Amazon for eight years), the Chaco, the Brazilian Cerrado, the Orinoco llanos, the Pampas, the Bolivian Altiplano, and others tropical areas of the world. Currently he is also conducting research on the Caribbean Sea and the Mississippi River in the USA. His scientific activities have also taken him to field trips in the Yangtze River, the Mekong River and the Ganges River in Asia, and the Congo River in Africa.
Currently , as a visiting Professor at the Earth Observatory of Singapore-EOS and the Asian School of the Environment-ASE, Nanyang Technological University, he is setting up a research program on tropical rivers of Southeast Asia. |
| Assoc Prof Emma Mary Hill | Research interests involve the application of space geodesy to understanding climate change and natural hazards, including measuring sea-level rise, tectonic deformation and melting glaciers using the Global Positioning System (GPS), GRACE gravity satellites and the global tide-gauge network. Future research will particularly focus on the regions of South and Southeast Asia. A particular focus is the development of techniques to combine different geodetic data sets for the purpose of separating the effects of the many different geophysical processes occurring in the Earth system. |
| Assoc Prof Federico Lauro | Dr Lauro has an aptitude matched with a passion, to discover the ways in which microorganisms evolve, adapt and function to drive the ecological processes that are critical for sustaining the health of global marine environments. He has purposefully developed skills in both experimental and computational sciences – in particular, deep-sea microbiology, and the latest “omic” technologies that are essential for deriving a clear and thorough understanding of microbial communities and ecosystem function. Importantly, Lauro has also gained an expert level of proficiency in microbial genomics – this has been achieved through the pursuit of creating bioinformatic tools for analyzing and modelling large datasets, involving a broad range of PERL-programming and implementation of open-source software. Along with his pursuit of marine microbial environments, Lauro is extending his exploration of microbial environments to that of the air microbiome. |
| Assoc Prof Fidel Costa Rodriguez | I'm interested in understanding the formation, transport, and eruption of magmas
(silicate melt, gas and crystals) on the Earth's surface. Main focus are the conditions
(pressure, temperature, volatile contents) at which magmas are stored prior to
eruption, the processes that lead to the erupted magma compositions
(magma mixing, crystallization), the rates and time scales at which these
processes occur, and, finally how all this information relate to volcanic monitoring
data and unrest phenomena. I have expertise and use a large variety of geochemical
(SEM, electron microprobe, SIMS, FTIR, LA-ICP-MS, XRF, INAA), experimental
(high pressure and temperature apparatus for phase equilibria),
and modeling (finite differences for kinetics in solid state) approaches. |
| Dr Grahame John Henderson Oliver | Past Research
After graduating from Sheffield University (1970), I worked in mineral exploration for a year in New Zealand and then undertook PhD research at Otago University on the lower crustal rocks exposed adjacent to the Alpine Fault in Fiordland (1976). There then followed two years of post-doctoral research: Rb-Sr dating Fiordland rocks (Cambridge, UK) and basement geology of the Navan Pb-Zn mine (University College Dublin, Ireland) before taking a Lectureship at St Andrews (1978). During 30 years at St Andrews I researched the sub-greenschist (prehnite-pumpellyite) metamorphism of the British Caledonides, zircon geochronology of the Polish Caledonides (with a sabbatical year of zircon dating in Canada), geodynamics of the Main Central Thrust and Lesser Himalayas; metamorphic core complexes and regional detachments in the Damara Belt, Namibia; the Outer Isles Fault Zone, Outer Hebrides; the Ballantrae Ophiolite, and the geodynamics of Scottish Caledonian granites (including a sabbatical year of zircon dating in Australia with Prof S Wilde). I have been collaborating with Dr J Najman (University of Lancaster) and Dr Ruth Robinson (University of St Andrews) on the type and age of detrital minerals in the Ganges and Irrawaddy river systems and the timing of the Himlayan Orogeny and river capture.
Developing research interests
1. Feasibility of geothermal power in Singapore (in collaboration with Prof A Palmer, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, NUS)
2. Siting of nuclear power plants in metropolitan areas (collaboration with Prof. A Palmer and A. Prof G.Rethinaraj, NUS).
3. A new integrated coal prospecting tool for SE Asia, an integrated remote sensing and geophysical approach (collaboration with Prof D Higgit (Univ Nottingham), and A Prof S Lieu, A Prof Chen-Chieh Feng, (NUS).
4. Evolution of the Malaysian Tin Belt (collaboration with Prof M Searle (Oxford University) and Prof A Ghani (University of Malaya).
5. Groundwater studies in Singapore (collaboration with A. Prof V Babovik, NUS).
6. Holocene sea levels and large storm events (collsboration with Prof J Terry, Univ Dubai) |
| Prof Isaac V Kerlow | Animation Theory and Research, Computer-Aided Printmaking, Computer Animation, Digital Art, Digital Interfaces, History of Computer Animation, Interdisciplinary Studies, New Media Theory and Practice, Popular Art, Storytelling, Visual Arts, Typography, Visualization, Visual Literacy |
| Prof Kerry Edward Sieh | My principal research interest is earthquake geology, which uses geological layers and landforms to understand the geometries of active faults, the earthquakes they generate, and the crustal structure their movements produce. My early work on the San Andreas fault led to the discovery of how often and how regularly it produces large earthquakes in southern California.
More recently, my students and colleagues and I investigated Taiwan's multitude of active faults and figured out how their earthquakes are creating that mountainous island. We are currently exploring the earthquake geology of Myanmar (Burma). Our principal current research interest is the subductionmegathrust that produced the devastating giant Sumatran earthquakes and Indian Ocean tsunamis of 2004 and 2005. That research suggests that the megathrust is poised to produce yet another giant earthquake in western Sumatra.
I am also now involved in creation of the Earth Observatory of Singapore, which aims to conduct basic and applied research related to earthquake, tsunami, volcanic, and climate hazards. |
| Assoc Prof Law Wing-Keung, Adrian | Research in environmental fluid mechanics with special emphasis on wastewater disposal and impact, environmental hydraulics in wastewater treatment processes, pollutant transport in coastal environment, and advanced laser imaging techniques for measurements. |
| Asst Prof Lee Ser Huay Janice Teresa | After having worked on a range of topics in conservation (wildlife trade, invertebrate ecology, habitat fragmentation), I now focus on the conservation and development challenges faced in the context of commercial and small-scale agricultural expansion in the tropics. I am interested to pursue more research in the areas of conservation and development in the rural tropics, food security, sustainable certification of agro-commodities, as well as understanding how to curb the haze in Southeast Asia. |
| Assoc Prof Leong Eng Choon | Unsaturated soils, soil dynamics, field and laboratory tests, foundation engineering and numerical modelling.
Current research projects include:
1. Dynamic properties of Singapore soils
2. Instrumentation for the Study of Rainfall - Induced Slope Failures in Singapore
3. Soil Improvement for Tree Stability and Tree Root Systems
4. Slope Repair Technology in Singapore
5. Development of specialised container technology for growing trees in Singapore |
| Assoc Prof Lim Teik Thye | Prof Lim's scope of research projects encompasses both practical application of environmental technologies for pollution control and investigation of the process fundamentals. His core areas of research interest focus on application of advanced oxidation processes for water and wastewater treatment, developing novel functional materials for water purification, and developing innovative subsurface remediation technologies. He has over the years developed a range of nanomaterials for treating organic and inorganic micropollutants in surface waters, industrial wastewaters, and groundwater. He has also worked on projects exploring innovative use of industrial wastes for various applications, such as construction, earthwork, and environmental preservation.
His current research projects are as follows:
Novel photocatalysts
This research engineers a novel photocatalyst for enhancing photocatalytic redox processes under solar radiation to remove emerging contaminants in water. It leverages off the complementary strengths among environmental process engineering, materials engineering and advanced materials characterization to develop a new-generation photocatalyst system. The advanced photocatalyst is a composite of nitrogen-doped titania (N-TiO2) supported on the powdered activated carbon (AC), or N-TiO2/AC. The composite have dual functionality, exhibiting high adsorptive properties for a variety of organics and photoactivity under visible light. The synergistic properties of the N-TiO2/AC composite enables its on-site regeneration, producing zero waste stream.
Selective nanoporous adsorbents
The goal is to develop various functional nano-structured materials such as layered double hydroxides (LDHs), zeolites, calcium aluminosilicates and nanoporous carbons to selectively adsorb trace inorganic contaminants, organic contaminants, and biomolecules that are difficult to be sequestrated using conventional adsorbents. The materials, such as LDHs and zeolites, can also function as catalysts to remove recalcitrant contaminants in water and air. Several types of LDHs have been synthesized in our laboratory. The LDHs have been evaluated for sorption of Cr(VI), As(III), As(V), Se(VI), and other oxyanions found in groundwater, surface waters and industrial wastewaters. Removals of up to 99% of certain oxyanions are possible.
Bimetallic zerovalent metal particles
The research group has synthesized nano-scale, bimetallic particles such as Ni/Fe and Pd/Fe for catalytic reductive transformation of halogenated alkanes and haloaromatics. The transformation pathways for these contaminants have been established for different types of synthesized bimetallic particles, through kinetic and mechanistic examinations of the experimental findings. The effects of catalyst content and particle ageing on their reactivities are investigated. Aqueous matrix effect on the transformation kinetics has been also examined in order to understand the possible performance of these reactive particles in industrial wastewater and contaminated groundwater. |
| Assoc Prof Low Bak Kong | Reliability analysis in geotechnical engineering, soil and rock slope stability, ground improvement, rock engineering, and engineering analysis accounting for uncertainty. Current research works focus on probabilistic approach in connection with stability and ground-support interactions in underground construction in rocks, and research on the links and complementary roles between reliability-based design and Eurocode 7. |
| Asst Prof Marek Mutwil | Dr. Marek Mutwil and his research group combine computational and experimental biology to obtain a genome-wide understanding of gene function in plants. Despite decades of intensive research, only ~15% of genes of the most popular model plant Arabidopsis thaliana have been functionally characterized. To remedy this paucity of functional information, which prevents us from tailoring plants to our needs, the group produces large-scale transcriptomic (in form of RNA sequencing) and protein-protein interaction (PPI) data with the aim to build gene co-function networks. These networks can reveal genes that operate together in the same metabolic pathway, protein complex or regulatory circuit which makes them powerful tools to understand how gene products work together in the cell. The group uses gene co-function networks to answer three questions:
1) What are the functions of plant genes? To generate cutting edge gene function predictions we utilize our own and publicly available large-scale biological data, together with state-of-the-art ensemble prediction algorithms. We make these predictions publicly available with our popular online databases, such as GeneCAT and PlaNet.
2) How are biological networks evolving? Biological features (e.g. secondary metabolites or disease resistance) are encoded by polygenic gene modules, which often cannot be identified by genomics. To uncover them, we use a massively multiplexed protein-protein interaction assay which allows rapid elucidation of genome-wide PPI networks. By constructing and comparing networks of green algae, mosses, vascular-, seed- and flowering plants, we will gain a systems-level, kingdom-wide understanding of when these modules appear and how they change in plant evolution.
3) Which gene modules biosynthesize high-value compounds found in plants? Co-function networks based on RNA sequencing data are a proven tool to identify genes involved in biosynthesis of plant secondary metabolites. The group will focus on elucidating module-metabolite relationships with a special focus on plants of importance to Singapore and the bioprospecting of the rainforest. The functions of the elucidated modules, i.e. production of the secondary metabolites, will be tested by expression in heterologous systems, such as bacteria and/or yeast. |
| Asst Prof Martin Skote | Prof Skote's areas of expertise are Direct Numerical Simulation, Turbulent Boundary Layer Flow, Separation, Atmospheric Flow, Urban Air Quality, Turbulence Modeling, Plasma Actuator Modeling. His current research works focus on fundamental studies of turbulence aiming at the control of turbulent boundary layers. |
| Assoc Prof Massimo Pica Ciamarra | We are interested in understanding the physics of disordered many-particle systems via statistical mechanics tools and numerical simulations, which is arguably one of the most pressing needs in material science. Such an understanding is crucial to 1) design atomic or polymeric disordered materials with specific mechanical and rheological properties; 2) rationalize natural catastrophic events, such as earthquakes and avalanches; 3) improve the many industrial products and processes handling particulate media, from the food to the pharmaceutical and the electronic industry. The main difficulty is the developing of a theoretical framework connecting the macroscopic and the microscopic scales in the presence of disorder. Some topics of specific interest are:
1. glass transition
2. suspensions of soft deformable particles, e.g. microgels
3. liquid with density anomalies
4. rheological properties of disordered particulate systems, with applications to earthquakes
5. pattern formation in driven particulate systems, e.g. segregation
6. transport properties in disordered media |
| Asst Prof Mikinori Kuwata | His research goal is to understand chemical processes in the atmosphere, those are important for both global and regional environments.
His specific research interests include:
(1) Haze originated from forest burning
Including Singapore, many countries in Southeast Asia are experiencing haze originated from forest burning. Those haze plumes have significant adverse effects on regional environments such as human health and visibility. Chemical reactions in the atmosphere form compounds responsible for those phenomena. He is trying to understand emission and formation mechanisms of those compounds by atmospheric observation and laboratory experiments.
(2) Atmospheric chemistry in tropical region
Tropical rainforest is a globally important source of atmospheric trace gas species. Chemical reactions of those species form some key materials for the global climate such as nuclei of cloud droplets. Human activities in tropical areas, including Southeast Asia, are changing those naturally occurring chemistry. For instance, emission of trace gas species from plantation is significantly different from original tropical rainforests, altering chemistry in the atmosphere. Enhanced human activity in the tropical region provide a higher chance for anthropogenic species to react with biogenic origin compounds, perturbing original chemistry in the atmosphere. He is interested in quantifying how interaction between human activities and tropical environment changes chemistry in the atmosphere, and how the perturbation affects the global climate. |
| Dr Natasha Bhatia | Dr Bhatia's research interests are centered around understanding the interactions between environmental economics and the marine environment. Through the identification and valuation of ecosystem services, policy and management decisions can be made in a way which promotes the sustainable use of the environment, something which impacts us all. Specific projects have previously included socio-economic valuation of Special Areas of Conservation along the east coast of England; Non-market modelling of the changing value of coastal ecosystem services in the wake of the 2013 UK storm surge; the FP7 project ‘VECTORS’ which investigated the drivers, pressures and vectors of change in marine life and its impact on marine economic sectors; and the EU project ‘DEVOTES’ which aimed to develop innovative tools for understanding marine biodiversity and the assessment of good environmental status, as well as creating conceptual models for the effects these pressures have on society. |
| Prof Pan Tso-Chien | Damage Assessment of buildings subjected to dynamic loading
Structural design for blast loading and missile impacts
Vibration isolation for structures and equipment
Seismic hazard, vulnerability and risk assessments |
| Asst Prof Patrick Martin | My research interest focus on the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in the marine environment. The cycling of these elements is an essential part of the global climate system, and is also critical in supporting healthy marine ecosystems. My research concentrates on biogeochemical processes in plankton communities (microscopic algae, bacteria, zooplankton), but spans a range of temporal and spatial scales, with work ranging from laboratory cultures to ocean basin-scale transects.
Specific topics concern how plankton communities sequester carbon from the atmosphere in the ocean, how physiological responses by marine plankton to nutrient starvation affect the cycling of phosphorus in the sea (which is critical for supporting continued productivity of marine ecosystems), and how land-derived dissolved organic matter is processed in coastal waters. |
| Prof Paul Tapponnier | 1. Continental Dynamics and Tectonics, with particular emphasis on collision zones, plateaux and mountain belts,
particularly in Asian-Mediterranean regions.
2. Active faulting and seismotectonics, earthquake hazard assessment.
3.Quantitative Geomorphology, state-of-the-art determination of current rates of active deformation processes.
4.Rock mechanics and rock deformation physics. |
| Prof Satish Singh | Professor Satish Singh has a very broad research interest in geophysics, covering theoretical developments, design of innovative field experiments, analysis and interpretation of a variety of geophysical and geological data using advanced techniques and has made fundamental contribution in several disciples of Earth Sciences. Some of the research achievements below highlights his research interests:
Modelling and Inversion: Singh is a world leader in modelling and inversion of seismic data and has established one of the most productive research groups in Europe. He was the first to recognise the importance of jointly inverting seismic reflection and refraction data and developed 2D and 3D tomographic inversion techniques. Long before waveform inversion became one of the main areas of research, he developed 2D full elastic inversion and applied to long offset streamer data, to ocean bottom cable data, and time lapse seismic and included electromagnetic data in a joint inversion.
Mid-Ocean Ridges. Singh started working on Mid-Ocean Ridges in late nineties when he first applied seismic full waveform inversion to seismic data from the East Pacific Rise and showed that axial magma chambers are segmented along the ridge axis between 2-4 km pure melt lenses at 15-20 km mush zones, and published his seminal paper in Nature in 1998. In 1997, in collaboration with colleagues from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, he led the world's first 3D seismic reflection-refraction seismic experiment at the northern East Pacific Rise and discovered the widest melt lens beneath 9ºN overlapping spreading centre and imaged the Moho beneath the axial magma chamber and published two papers in Nature (2000, 2006). In 2005, he led another 3D seismic experiment at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and discovered axial magma chamber at a slow spreading ridge for the first time (Nature, 2006).
Subduction Zones. After the 2004 great Sumatra Andaman earthquake, Singh launched an ambitious research program, which was not just funded by government funding agencies, but also by industry that provided their best technology to image the faults and rupture zone. Using these exceptional technologies, he was able image the subducting oceanic crust (top and Moho) down to 60 km depth. He showed that the down-going subducting plate breaks, bends and unbends as it subducts, possibly rupturing a part of the oceanic plate during great earthquakes, such as Sumatra 2004 (Nature Geoscience, 2008). He has imaged the deepest subducted seamount (30-40 km) beneath the Sumatra forearc continental mantle and suggested that subduction of seamounts can lead to a weak coupling, can act as barrier for rupture propagation, and hence reduce the maximum size of earthquakes (Nature Geoscience, 2011). Using these high-resolution seismic data, Singh suggested that large tsunamis during the 2004 and 2010 earthquakes were due to frontal rupturing, which was supposed to be aseismic; same thing happened during the 2011 Tohoku earthquake.
Gas Hydrate: Singh made a major impact on the study of gas hydrates when he inverted seismic data from the Cascadia margin and showed that bottom simulating reflections (gas hydrates) are mainly due to a small amount of free gas and the amount of hydrate above is also very small and therefore the total amount of methane present in gas hydrate stability zone along the continental margins would be an order of magnitude smaller than predicted previously and hence its effect on its energy potential and the global warming would be much small (Science, 1993).
Singh has also worked on the inner core suggesting that upper part of the inner core is partially molten (Sience, 2000). Now he wants to study the whole of the lithosphere, particularly the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary and is organising series of marine experiments across Atlantic Ocean. |
| Prof Shane Allen Snyder | • Advanced oxidation processes for water treatment
• Analytical and bioanalytical methods for emerging environmental contaminants
• Novel sensor systems and networks for water treatment
• Water treatment process engineering and optimization
• In vitro bioassay systems for evaluating environmental mixtures
• Characterization of organic matter and disinfection byproducts |
| Asst Prof Susanna Jenkins | My research interests lie in volcanic hazard, vulnerability and risk assessment for the purpose of disaster risk reduction. I achieve this through the use of numerical models, field studies and the statistical interrogation of large datasets.
Recent research has focussed on investigating techniques and frameworks for probabilistic hazard and risk assessment. This includes the development of large-scale multi-source ash dispersal models that calculate the total ash hazard at a site, rather than from a volcano (used for the 2015 UN-ISDR Global Assessment Report), and the quantification of likely hazards and physical impacts arising from volcanic eruptions, through pre- and post-eruption field studies and numerical modelling.
Research areas include Indonesia, Philippines, Italy, Iceland, Cape Verde and the Lesser Antilles. |
| Asst Prof Sylvain Barbot | The goal of my research is to develop a physics-based model of the earthquake cycle to assess the full range of seismic behavior that can be expected across a plate boundary.
I use remote sensing (synthetic aperture radar, GPS, optical photographs, gravity) and seismological data to investigate the mechanics the lithosphere and fault slip. These measurements can be used to constrain models of rupture and lithosphere dynamics, which include faulting, but also more distributed deformation, such as poroelastic and viscoelastic flow. An important goal of my research is to reconcile long-term (regional tectonics) and short-term (earthquake dynamics) observations and improve our capacity to predict some aspect of the earthquake cycle. |
| Dr Sylvain Rigaud | Micropaleontology
Carbonate Sedimentology
Macroevolution
Biostratigraphy
I am comparing fossil and sedimentological archives. Convinced that the co-evolution of life and rocks through time will help resolving major questions about life inner workings and past climatic, environmental and oceanographic changes, I intend to develop innovative scientific projects, bridging disciplines, on various aspects of paleontology and sedimentology, with a special focus on the foraminiferal evolution over the Phanerozoic. The scientific questions I would like to address are:
• When and why did major foraminiferal radiations and extinctions occur?
• What controls the spatial and temporal distribution of foraminifers?
• How do foraminiferal tests reflect the biological and genetic complexity?
I therefore focus my research on questioning, refining and expanding our current knowledge on the taxonomy, evolution, phylogeny, ecology, biology, and geographic and stratigraphic distribution of foraminifers through time and space, with the final objective of constraining controls and mechanisms involved in life development and evolution and anticipating future impacts on life and climate. |
| Assoc Prof Tan Soon Keat | Dr Tan's research interests include application of geographical information system (GIS) in water resources, numerical simulation of flow for hydraulics and coastal engineering applications. His current research projects include hydrodynamic consideration of mega underwater structures and application of wetland technologies in the removal of pharmaceutical products from wastewater streams.
Dr Tan specilaises in urban water management, rainfall-runoff modeling as well as water quality modeling, flooding, drainage, urban response, climate change and future scenarios analysis. Managing surface water in terms of quantitative distribution, storage and transport, removal of water-borne contaminant, particularly trace quantity of drugs and pharmaceutical products from waste-water streams are challenges in the management of water resources, and in particular, supply of raw water in the face of climate change and rapid urbanisation. A viable and feasible solution is to employ wetland technology as a means to remove contaminants and management of peak runoff. Under the supervision of Dr Tan, a research team is carrying out a series of constructed wetlands experiments with raw water spiked with selected contaminants. The research work has produced meaningful results and highly cited publications since its inception in 2009.
Currently Dr Tan is leading research work on strategic development of coastal, urban scape and water resources, in response to climate change as well as developmental scenarios. |
| Assoc Prof Tan Soon Yim | Prof Soon Yim TAN's areas of expertise are electromagnetic scattering and diffraction theory, localization methodology and propagation models for wireless communication systems and sensor networks, and non-invasive cancer detection. His current research works focus on non line-of sight localization methodology for mobile communications and sensor networks, Microwave breast cancer detection and magnetic therapeutic. |
| Assoc Prof Teh Cee Ing | Application of numerical and computational methods to geotechnical engineering.
In-situ testings and interpretations.
Ground improvement. |
| Prof Timothy John White | Tim White has thirty years of experience in the design and demonstration of advanced materials for environmental, superconducting, ionic conductivity and hydrogen storage applications. His particular interests lie in tailoring ceramics at the atomic scale to develop or enhance particular properties. These studies have been supported and facilitated through the use of advanced characterization methods, including atomic resolution electron microscopy, crystal refinement using X-ray and neutron diffraction, and synchrotron-based surface analysis for the investigation of chemical states and molecular environments. He is author or co-author of over 200 publications, 4 conference proceedings, 3 patents and confidential reports to industry.
In 2006, he introduced a suite of teaching modules for materials scientists called On-line Micro- and Nano-characterisation Instruction (OMNI). These courses were extended by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council to create MyScope, a national curriculum in microscopy and imaging. For three years (2007-2009), he ran the first totally on-line course at NTU called Symmetry and Crystals. Together with a team from Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT), he is delivering the Coursera MOOC Beauty, Form and Function: An Exploration of Symmetry. |
| Asst Prof Tong Ping | Numerical methods, inverse problems, seismic imaging (migration+tomography), time-series analysis |
| Asst Prof Wang Xianfeng | Climate Science
Isotope Geochemistry
Ocean Chemistry |
| Asst Prof Wei Shengji | 1, real time seismology
2, earthquake focal mechanism inversion
3, kinematic finite fault inversion, involving joint constraints from geodetic, seismological, tsunami and field observations
4, strong ground motion simulation with 3-dimensional velocity structure and their potential application to earthquake engineering
5, crustal to upper mantle scale velocity structure study, aim to establish path calibrations for earthquake studies and image slab structure in the subduction zones |
| Prof Wen Changyun | Prof Wen's areas of expertise are Adaptive Control,Switching and Impulsive Systems,Modeling and Design of Steam Ejector Based Air-Conditioning Systems,Modeling, Monitoring, Control and Optimization of Water Distribution Networks, Iterative Learning Control,Control of Nano-Systems, Control of Biomedical Systems,Optical signal Processing,Active Vision and Its Applications,Chaos-Based Secure Communication Systems,Robust Control,2-D Systems and Image Processing. Currently his current research works focus on Adaptive Control,Modeling and Design of Steam Ejector Based Air-Conditioning Systems,Modeling, Monitoring, Control and Optimization of Water Distribution Networks, Control of Nano-Systems, Control of Biomedical Systems,Chaos-Based Secure Communication Systems. |
| Asst Prof Wu Wei | Experimental geophysics and energy geomechanics, with emphasis on mechanism of induced seismicity, unconventional energy extraction and storage. |
| Assoc Prof (Adj) Zhou Yingxin | Rock mechanics and rock engineering
Rock dynamics - explosion loading, ground shock, tunnel response, and dynamic rock support
Tunnelling and underground technology
Use of underground space |
