| Name | Research Interests |
| Asst Prof Aravind Babu Dasari | Dr Dasari’s major research emphasis is on the development of in-depth understanding of the various facets of processing-structure-property relations in hybrid polymer nanocomposites to achieve synergistic properties for different end applications. These facets include:
1. Thermal stability and flame retardancy (with eco-benign agents)
2. Functional properties (electrical/thermal conductivities, biodegradability and UV shielding)
3. Electrospinning techniques
4. Wear/scratch damage at different scales (macro/micro/nano)
5. Deformation and Fracture mechanisms
6. Active food packaging |
| Asst Prof Bae Tae-Hyun | 1. Chemistry of materials
- nanoporous materials including zeolites, mesoporous materials and metal-organic frameworks
- thin films and nanocomposite membranes
2. Environmental technology
- CO2 capture
- water treatment
3. Molecular separaitons in chemical processes
- hydrocarbon separations
- gas separations |
| Prof Ben Alvin Shedd | Ben received a 1989 summer long Residential Creativity Fellowship from the Alden B. Dow Creativity Center, Northwood University where he began his EXPLODING THE FRAME research comparing small screen and giant screen imagery and creating a new filmic language for effective giant screen production. This research began for producing IMAX giant screen films and continues today with ever larger high-resolution digital screens and full dome immersive presentations where the edges of the screen frame are outside our field of vision. His research also concerns creating effective science and technology media about very large and very small phenomena seen on displays from handheld size to multi-story high screens. |
| Assoc Prof Cai Wenjian | Prof Cai's areas of expertise are system modelling, control and optimization, multivariable system identification and control, sensor and instrumentation, mechanical system simulation and design, and intelligent systems. His current research works focus on industry applications in building HVAC processes, renewable energy processes and environmental processes. |
| Asst Prof Cao Bin | Microbial biofilms in natural and engineered systems
Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS)
Interactions of biofilms and EPS with environmental contaminants
Biological treatment of waste/wastewater
Biodegradation, bioremediation, waste-to-energy (or value-added products) bioconversion |
| Asst Prof Chang Youngho | Economics of Global Warming and Climate Change;
Economics of Renewable Resources;
Energy Efficiency and Conservation of Energy;
Efficiency and Equity in Electricity Market Deregulation;
Economics of Energy Security;
Energy and Economic Growth in China |
| Prof Chen Charng Ning | His current research interests include: development of integrated simulation models for catastrophe flood risk assessments and management; Low Impact Development (LID) in storm-water management of urban watersheds; stream corridor restoration for watersheds affected by urbanization and other natural & man-made disturbances; and advancement of the method for estimating reservoir trap efficiency, incorporating sediment gradation and runoff magnitudes into the formulation. |
| Prof Chen Wei Ning, William | 1. Biomolecular Engineering for Environment-Host Interactions; 2. Proteomics Platform for Clinical Biomarkers; 3. Metabolic and Microbial Engineering for Valuable Chemicals; 4. Environmental Engineering for Resource Recovery; 5. Sustainable Production of Food Ingredients |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| Asst Prof Chong Tzyy Haur | Membrane science and technology:
- Water and wastewater treatment, seawater desalination and water reclamation, food application
- Membrane fouling and cleaning; sensors for membrane processes
- Module design and hydrodynamics
- Energy related to membrane processes |
| Assoc Prof Claus-Dieter Ohl | My general research interest is Experimental Fluid Dynamics which is focused on cavitation phenomena and gas bubble dynamics. In particular I'm interested in and have been studying:
* air entrainment and rising bubbles,
* laser generated bubbles,
* bubble shock-wave interaction,
* cavitation nucleation on surfaces and particles,
* bubble cell interaction including drug delivery,
* bubble dynamics in confined geometries and in microfluidics,
* digital holography, and
* magnetic-nanoparticle coated bubbles.
More information can be found on my homepage:
http://www1.spms.ntu.edu.sg/~cdohl/home.html |
| Assoc Prof Dong Zhili | Dr. Dong has more than twenty years experience in transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction of materials. His research interests include open-framework materials, nanostructured functional materials, advanced coatings and materials synthesis. |
| Assoc Prof Du Hejun | His research interests mainly include three areas: 1) numerical and computational methods for engineering applications; 2) MEMS sensors and actuators and micro-fluidics; 3) smart materials and their engineering applications. |
| 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. |
| Asst 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. |
| Vg Assoc Prof Frank Alexis | Dr. Frank Alexis is a Tenured Assiciate Professor of Bioengineering at Clemson University where he directs the Nanomedicine Laboratory. Frank completed his B.Sc. in Chemistry and M.S. in Materials Science and Interfaces at the Technological University of Montpellier (France). He then received his Ph.D. in Material Science (2005) from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He then completed his Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore. In 2006 he worked as a Postdoctoral Associate in Prof. Robert Langer’s laboratory at the Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence at MIT and in Dr Omid Farokhzad’s laboratory at Brigham’s Women’s Hospital in Boston. In 2009 Dr. Alexis started the Nanomedicine Lab at Clemson University where he leads his team in the treatment of biomaterials for imaging, drug delivery, and remediation applications. He is currently managing two study abroad programs focusing on research at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and the Chulalongkorn University in Thailand.
Dr. Alexis has published 51 archival scientific papers (2200 citations, h-factor = 14), 7 book or proceedings chapters, holds 6 US and foreign patents licensed to industry, and has given in excess of 20 invited lectures/colloquia. Dr. Alexis has been a principal investigator on over $600,000 funding of sponsored programs, gifts, and contracts including an American Heart Association and International Association for Dental Research-GSK Innovation in Oral Care awards. Dr. Alexis honors and awards include: Most cited article in ChemMedChem (2007); Most accessed article in Molecular Pharmaceutics (2008-2015), Cover Art in Particles and Particle Systems Characterization, Frontispiece in Advanced Functional Materials, and Listed in a Nature Biotechnology article as Top Translational Junior Faculty in 2013. Dr. Alexis is a member of the Society for Biomaterials (SFB) and the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES). At Clemson University Dr. Alexis teaches two courses including the Introduction to Biomedical Engineering (BIOE201) and Drug Delivery Technologies (BIOE449).
His research interests include biodegradable imaging agents for diagnosis, gas molecule remediation for environmental and sustainability, and food science and technology. |
| Assoc Prof Gong Haiqing, Thomas | Prof. Gong ?s areas of expertise are BioMEMS, genetic testing instrument, microfluidics and microfabrication processes. His current research works focus on bioMEMS for genetic testing of waterborne and airborne pathogens, bioMEMS for gene expression of cancers, new methods for DNA melting curve analysis and genetic testing instrument. |
| Asst Prof Grzegorz Lisak | Environmental chemistry with focus of novel analytical protocols for determination of pollutants in environment.
Analytical chemistry with focus on electroanalysis.
Electrochemistry with focus on conducting materials, e.g. conducting polymers.
Novel materials for the use in sensor technology.
Electro stimulated transport of species across membranes.
On-line determination of toxic metals bioavailability in various samples, e.g. soil. |
| Prof Hans-Curt Flemming | Biofilms
Water
Pathogens in biofilms
Art meets Science |
| Prof Hu Xiao | Composites and Nanocomposites
Functional Polymers: Synthesis and Assembly
Nanocrystals Synthesis and Modification (including rods, dots and tubes)
Organic-inorganic Hybrid Materials |
| Asst Prof Jason Xu Zhichuan | • Electrocatalysis
• Electrochemical energy storage
• Electrochemical interfaces
• Electrochemical sensors
• Magnetic nanomaterials
• Chemistry for materials recycle |
| Mr Jeffrey Hong Yan Jack | Transportation Vehicle Design
Wearable Technology
Interaction Design - interactive objects, environments, and experiences.
Form exploration using Generative Modeling techniques.
3D Laser scanning and reverse engineering.
Human perception, spatial cognition, and interaction within Virtual Environments.
Simulation and presentation of real-life phenomena through the use of computer graphics software. |
| Prof John Stephen Lansing | Lansing's recent research has to do with the long-term dynamics of coupled social-ecological systems, focusing on two topics. The first has to do with emergent properties of Balinese water temple networks. Currently he is assisting the Government of Indonesia to create a new UNESCO World Heritage site to help preserve the temple networks. The second project is a comparative study of social structure, ecology, kinship, language change and the evolution of disease resistance in 69 villages on 14 Indonesian islands. Recent books include Perfect Order: Recognizing Complexity in Bali (2006) and Priests & Programmers: Technologies of Power in the Engineered Landscape of Bali (2007). Documentary films include The Goddess and the Computer (1988), a segment of The Sacred Balance (2003), Perfect Order (2006) and Voyagers on the Ring of Fire (2011). |
| Asst Prof Judith Walls | * Corporate sustainability
* Corporate governance (shareholders, board of directors, top management teams, CEOs)
* Neo-institutional theory
* Behavioral strategy
* Cognition, values, and emotions |
| Assoc Prof Lam Siu Lee | Management, strategy and modelling for supply chains, shipping, ports and other related areas;
Development of integrated intelligent systems/ decision support systems;
Port competition and cooperation;
Risk management;
Sustainable development;
Supply chain management;
Econometrics;
Maritime and port policy;
Trade and maritime developments, especially for Asia. |
| 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 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. |
| Asst Prof Liu Bin | Architected nanomaterials for solar-to-fuel and solar-to-electric conversion.
Photocatalysis for air and water treatment.
Nanocomposites.
Electrocatalysis. |
| Assoc Prof Liu Erjia | Thin films and coatings; Carbon based materials; Nanocomposites; Nanotribology; Electrochemistry. |
| Prof Liu Yu | Dr. Liu has about 20 years of experience in environmental biotechnology, and has the interests in biological nutrient removal, biogranulation and biofilm technology, molecular mechanism and cellular signaling of biogranulation, granular sludge membrane bioreactor, enhanced anaerobic process for low-strength organic wastewater treatment and integrated approach for water reclamation. |
| Assoc Prof Lo Yat-Man, Edmond | Application of hydrodynamics to coastal and inland water flows with emphasis on wave mechanics, transport processes and implications on water quality. |
| Prof Lua Aik Chong | Professor Lua's areas of expertise are the development of activated carbons for adsorbing gaseous and aqueous pollutants and measurement of flow rates. His current research activities are the preparation and characterization of activated carbons, adsorption technology for air pollution and water filtration, development of polymeric membranes for gas separation, measurement of flow rates using fluidic flowmeters and measurements of particulates and gas emissions from diesel engines. |
| Assoc Prof (Adj) Matthew Tan | Completed Projects :
1. Principal Investigator : MND Research Fund Grant on “Ecological Land Based Aquaculture - Farming of food fish in Urban environment”. Multi million dollar MND grant to fully develop a high intensity & high yield aquaculture farming system using minimum space and labour through the integration of people, technology and business system.
2. Co-Principal Investigator (with Surbana Technologies) : Development of Multiple storey land based food-fish breeding system with Surbana Technologies. This project leverage off high intensity vertical fish farming as an "engineering" solution to solve this issue. Critical to the success of this project is the need to develop an Integrated Environmental Fisheries Asset Management System (IEFAMS), which will help automate the environmental monitoring and critical operations process related to high intensity vertical fish farming, which will also help drastically increase the productivity of the operations.
3. Principal Investigator : River Bioremediation Project (Sungei Peng Siang) with PUB. Joint project with PUB to develop a chemical free treatment process to treat and clean Sungei Peng Siang river (behind Warren Golf and Country club). This river suffers from regular massive algae bloom which leads to unbearable stench for members of the public.
4. Principal Investigator : Increasing Agricultural Crops yield and extension of vegetable shelf life with Hydrocavitation technology – In collaboration with Kok Fah Technology Farm. Key objective of this project is to mitigate post harvest loss due to pre-mature post harvest crop withering. Crop yields can be significantly enhanced using hydrocavitation water treatment and method of quantification is by hydration retention through the leaf’s withering effect.
5. Principal Investigator : Effects of hydrocavitation technology on Hydroponics crop yield – In collaboration with Oh Chin Huat Hydroponic Farms Pte Ltd
6. Project Director : Development of a Fully automated and online monitoring of water conditions for aquaculture farms – Horiba Instruments & Bio X Pte Ltd
7. Principal Investigator - Development of live support system for shipping containers for the shipping of live sea food (sea to land) with APL (part of NOL Shipping Group) one of the world’s top shipping company. The project successfully research, designed and developed an enclosed automated recirculation water filtration and treatment system for incorporation into APL’s Live reefer container.
8. Project Director – Technical farm audit completed for the world’s largest Abalone farm (China) spanning more than 300 km.
9. Principal Investigator and Project Director – Development of World first Chemical free rain water harvesting system jointly with Surbana Technologies and HDB. Technology was implemented in Singapore first ECO Precinct – Treelodge@Punggol - 2010. A Property development project by HDB which won the first Platinum Green Mark rating for a public housing project in Singapore.
10. Principal Investigator and project Director – Development and setup of Asia first Aquahub (live seafood holding logistic hub) in Jurong Cold Hub One, Singapore. A joint development with CWT Fresh (Part of CWT Group) |
| Asst Prof Michelle Lim | Contemporary Art
History of Exhibitions
Contemporary Curating
Sustainability and Communities in Urban Ecologies
Art History (East Asia) |
| Asst Prof Miles Alexander Powell | My areas of expertise and interest include environmental history, world history, indigenous history, the history of the North American West, and U.S. history. |
| Prof Ng Wun Jern | NG WUN JERN's research interests are largely in the area of water and wastewater management. The focus of his efforts has been on investigations into water quality, treatment science, and development of treatment technologies. These investigations span the water quality spectrum - ranging from ultra-pure water to high strength and potentially inhibitory wastewaters.
His research output may be found in some 400 publications. These include journal papers, conference presentations, book chapters and monographs, reports, and patents. His latest book publications are titled "Industrial Wastewater Treatment" (Imperial College Press) and "Wetlands for Tropical Applications" (Imperial College Press).
Current R&D interests revolve around effluent treatment and include dehalogenation under bioreductive conditions. Of particular interest are the chloro-compounds and dehalogenation under acidic conditions with biomass sculptured into granules.
The interest in bioreductive (instead of bio-oxidative) processes stems from concern over energy costs and carbon footprints of treatment processes. Anaerobic processes are therefore of interest when used to manage strong wastewaters from industrial and agro-industrial sources. Current R&D interest focuses on thermophilic anaerobic processes and gas productivities and quality. Conceptually there is a shift from viewing the anaerobic process as a wastewater pretreatment device to one which is intended to recover energy from the wastewater.
Extending this interest is the work on biosorption where sorption is used to concentrate carbonaceous material from low strength wastewaters prior to anaerobic degradation of the sorbent with gas recovery. This approach deviates from the conventional approach of using anaerobic processes such as the UASB or anaerobic filter to address low strength wastewaters. Laboratory studies typically use the cyclic process configuration although larger scale studies can be with the cyclic or continuous flow configuration.
In aerobic treatment, there is interest in the MBR applied with granulated biomass. The interest is on biofouling mitigation using this modified biomass morphology. There is also interest in using the MBR and the concept of "back seeding" to achieve better nutrients removal and degradation of resistant organics (eg textile dyes). |
| Asst Prof Oh Seungdae | Biotransformation of emerging contaminants
Bioenergy and biofuel production from organic waste streams
Biological treatment and microbial quality of drinking water
Metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, and metabolomics
Microbial ecology in natural and engineered biological systems |
| Asst Prof Oliver Martin Mueller-Cajar | Photosynthetic organisms provide us with food and other materials by using light energy from the sun to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to make usable sugars. Almost all CO2 enters the biosphere via the enzyme ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase (Rubisco). In spite of the crucial importance of this process Rubisco is non-specific and slow, which has forced nature to hugely overexpress the protein, or to use tricks such as biochemical or biophysical carbon concentrating mechanisms to saturate the enzyme with substrate.
Genomic studies have uncovered that Nature possesses a great diversity of Rubiscos and associated protein machinery to perform the task of CO2 capture, much of it poorly characterized. Research in my laboratory aims to mechanistically describe the biochemistry of CO2-fixation related machinery. By increasing our understanding of the sophisticated mechanisms existing in nature we hope to provide knowledge that can later be applied to improving the photosynthetic efficiency of crop species. |
| Prof Peter David Steinberg | Marine chemical ecology
Marine diseases and climate change
The ecology of invertebrate larvae settlement
Bacterial biofilm biology and ecology
Microbial ecology
Kelp and seaweed ecology
Environmental biotechnology
Environmental bioengineering |
| Assoc Prof Qin Xiaosheng | Research interests:
- Water resources and flood risk management
- Surface water quality modeling and control
- Climate change impact assessment and adaptation planning
- Groundwater modeling, risk assessment and site remediation
- Air quality control and solid waste management |
| Assoc Prof Rohit Bhatnagar | Dr. Bhatnagar’s research encompasses two broad areas (1) Supply Chain Planning and Design with focus on third party logistics services providers, and (2) Planning and Design of Manufacturing Systems with focus on production and inventory planning within a multi-plant context.
His work in the first area – supply chain planning and design with focus on third party logistics services providers – has evolved as part of his agenda to conduct research in collaboration with the local industry. He has specifically sought collaborative tie-ups with Singapore based companies such as YCH Logistics, Hewlett-Packard, UPS, Motorola, Caterpillar Logistics, DHL and Dell Computers among others. His work in the second area – planning and design of manufacturing systems within a multi-plant context – was initially inspired by his doctoral training and later reinforced by his tie-ups with Singapore based manufacturing firms such as Apple Computers and Keppel-Fels. Since his research work has been carried out in rich real-life contexts, and in close collaboration with the local logistics and manufacturing industry, many of the research findings and insights have been shared and implemented in these firms. This is a significant impact of his research. Another important impact has been the development of robust analytical research methods with broad applications in real life settings. |
| Dr Shuy Eng Ban | Research Interests:
1. Urban hydrology, integrated urban storm water and water resource management, including quantity and quality modelling of urban storm runoff and reservoir waters
2. Open channel and closed conduit hydraulics
3. Analysis and control of water hammer in pipelines
4. Groundwater : Aquifer storage and recovery
5. Air pollutant dispersion modelling
6. Density stratified flow
7. Enhanced engineered wetland systems for stormwater management
8. Sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS) |
| Asst Prof Soo Han Sen | Innovated photosynthesis: A different way to perform artificial photosynthesis
Hybrid materials
Inorganic and organometallic chemistry
Heterogeneous catalysis
Photocatalysis
Nanoarchitecture and applications of nanomaterials in renewable energy research
Green chemistry
Environmental remediation with photocatalysis heterogeneous membranes |
| Prof Staffan Kjelleberg | Kjelleberg is internationally recognized for his studies of bacterial adaptive responses, signalling based communication between bacteria, bacterial biofilm biology, and chemically mediated interactions between bacteria and marine sessile organisms. His research approach includes molecular based studies of the mechanisms by which bacteria respond to prevailing conditions as well as environmental genomics of the biodiversity and function of natural microbial consortia. Kjelleberg has published more than 240 original papers in international refereed scientific journals and 30 books or book chapters. On the basis of strong collaborative research across microbiology, marine ecology and chemistry, and applied studies of the strategies employed by bacteria to build biofilms and communicate, substantial intellectual property has been established and utilized in biotechnology industries. Kjelleberg and his colleagues at the CMB also serve as a major research provider to several companies and organizations, including the Australian based Environmental Biotechnology Cooperative Research Centre. |
| Prof Stefan Wuertz | The basic task of an environmental engineer engaged in water quality management is the maintenance of adequate water supplies for the benefit of society. Aspects of both quality and quantity of water are very much at the forefront of today’s challenges in the face of a changing climate and diminishing resources. For example, being able to determine the origins of fecal pollution in urban waterways is becoming increasingly important as we aim to respond to natural and man-made disasters. Knowledge about the sources of microbial and other contaminants can help mitigate their impacts and facilitate risk assessment of exposure to drinking and recreational waters, Similarly, treatment of used water requires increasingly stringent and innovative technologies that build on the discovery and exploitation of microbiological processes, such as those found in the N and P cycle.
Through the development of new tools in the life sciences it has become possible to complete whole genome analyses of microorganisms in a short period of time. Bioinformatics tools, while lagging behind in the development of technical solutions to fast and” deep” sequencing technology, are being readied to accommodate the growing need of data compilation, management and interpretation. Across the developed world engineers have begun to interact with their counterparts in the natural sciences in a search for knowledge that can result in new technology for the treatment of water and used water.
As a researcher and educator steeped in both environmental engineering and life sciences disciplines, I strongly believe in studying fundamental biological and physico-chemical processes to develop new technology that is sustainable and market-ready in the long term. My vision for the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) along with the Singapore Center on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE) is to train students in practical and theoretical aspects of what can truly be called environmental life sciences engineering (a new discipline coined by the directorate of SCELSE) and provide guidance to academic colleagues and postgraduate researchers at NTU.
In specific terms, my research program involves the following three thrusts:
a) Fundamental studies of biofilms and microbial communities in natural and engineered systems
The emphasis is on a complete spatial and temporal description of microbial aggregates involved in the removal of chemical constituents-of-concern using advanced imaging and pyrosequencing techniques.
b) Optimizing bioreactor treatment strategies
As chemical analytical techniques become more sophisticated, so does our knowledge about the occurrence of specific contaminants in the environment. The field of wastewater treatment has historically been based on general treatment goals using empirically derived methods in design. However, this system often fails to deliver specific treatment goals such as degradation of a specific contaminant without affecting general treatment performance. An ever increasing number of chemical contaminants are being detected in treated used water effluent and in biosolids. Therefore, knowledge of the removal mechanisms of specific contaminants as well as an in-depth understanding of overall microbial community dynamics and expression of functional genes in a reactor is necessary.
c) Protecting Public Health in Singapore
For several years I have been working on the quantitative detection of pathogens in natural (e.g. storm) waters and biosolids using procedures based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Much of this research is driven by the growing realization in the scientific and professional community that for a variety of reasons standard microbial indicators like E. coli, fecal coliforms and enterococci may be inadequate predictors of recent fecal contamination in recreational waters. |
| Prof Subodh Gautam Mhaisalkar | Prof Subodh’s main areas of research comprise semiconductor nanomaterials, photovoltaics, optoelectronics devices, and printed electronics. Common to these projects are methods of processing of semiconductors (perovskites, organic, nanocarbons, or oxide nanowires), fundamental device physics studies, and device integration. |
| Assoc Prof Sum Tze Chien | My current research focuses on investigating light matter interactions; energy and charge transfer mechanisms; and probing carrier and quasi-particle dynamics in a broad range of emergent nanoscale light emitting and light harvesting systems using Femtosecond time-resolved spectroscopy. These can be categorized under two main research themes: (1) nanophotonics and lasing and (2) photovoltaics. Specifically, I seek to address the following three questions in these systems:
(i) Where did the energy go? That is the interplay of carrier/quasi-particle dynamics between the host energy levels, defect energy levels and the dopant energy levels.
(ii) What are the underlying photo-physics and light-matter interactions that give this system its unique characteristics? That is the various processes such as carrier-carrier scattering, carrier-phonon scattering, radiative recombination and auger recombination etc.
(iii) How can these properties/technologies be improved for practical applications? That is how the knowledge gained be used for the development of novel optoelectronic devices; nanolasers; and photovoltaic devices.
1. Nanophotonics and Lasing: We seek to understand the interplay of carrier/quasi-particle dynamics between the host energy levels, defect energy levels and the dopant energy levels and the factors affecting amplified spontaneous emission or lasing in these II-VI nanostructures such as ZnO nanowires, CdS nanowires and even the mixed dimension CdSe dot/ CdS nanorod heterostructures and organic-inorganic halide perovskites (CH3NH3PBI3). My most outstanding research work in Nanophotonics and Lasing to date is my Nature Materials (Mar 2014) paper on the discovery of CH3NH3PbI3 as an excellent optical gain medium for lasing (80 cites - Google Scholar - 03 Apr 2014).
2. Photovoltaics: Ultrafast optical spectroscopy allows us to trace the fate of the carriers and quasi-particles in photovoltaic devices from genesis to the end with timescales spanning over ten orders of magnitude. Correlated with electrical characterization techniques, new insights into the mechanisms of charge generation, transfer, trapping, recombination and transport in novel PV materials can be gained through these studies. My most outstanding research works in photovoltaics to date are (i) the Nature Communications (June 2013) paper on uncovering the loss mechanisms in Ag-nanoparticle blended bulk heterojunction plasmonic organic solar cells using ultrafast optical spectroscopy (25 cites - Google Scholar - 03 Apr 2014); and (ii) the Science paper (Sep 2013) on discovering the long-range balanced electron and hole transport lengths in organic-inorganic CH3NH3PbI3 (456 cites - Google Scholar - 03 Apr 2014).
3. Miscellaneous Works: Carrier dynamics in Graphene and 2-D Materials: An earlier featured work published in Optics Express (2010) is on the study of strong light-matter interactions in graphene. Tze-Chien Sum and his co-workers developed a new optical characterization approach (based on the simple z-scan method) for the study of ultrafast carrier dynamics in graphene. Importantly, this work uncovered evidence of an ultrafast carrier-carrier scattering process of ~8 fs in atomic layer graphene and provided a deep insight into the physics of ultrafast saturable absorption of graphene that allows it to function as passive mode-lockers and pulse shapers. This article was highlighted by Optical Society of America’s Spotlight on Optics and has since garnered a total of 118 cites (Google Scholar-03 Apr 2014). |
| Assoc Prof Sun Delai, Darren | - TiO2 nanofibe/tube membrane for water and energy (H2 and solar cell) production
- Membrane fouling mechanism, control and prevention
- Multifunctional membrane module design
- Membrane bioreactor design
- Composite membranes and membrane modules for environmental applications
- Biofilms grown on liquid-permeable membranes
- Reutilization of waste into value-added product. |
| Dr Sze Chun Chau | Assistant Professor Sze Chun Chau's basic research interest lies in bacterial gene regulation and communication. Specifically, the complexity of gene regulatory circuits and inter-species communication are being investigated using biofilms, i.e. surface-associated and structured bacterial communities, as model systems. The two systems that she is currently working on includes (a) intestinal microbiota and (b) Legionella pneumophila in interaction with its amoebic host. On the second level, she is interested in the application and domestication of biofilms in medical, industrial and environmental contexts. Eradication of biofilms has been the primary force driving applied research in this field, but exploiting (rather than fighting) biofilms has great potential that awaits exploration. |
| 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 and has developed the catchment – drainage GIS map of NTU campus. The GIS map is designed to facilitate rainfall-runoff modeling as well as water quality modeling. While rainfall-runoff modelling is generally well-established, water quality modeling is not, especially in the estimate of the source concentration of the pollutants. Current research focus in the community is in the establishment of the total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorous (TP) in rainwater runoff. The difficulty lies in the fact that TN and TP varies with time, space as well as the intensity of rainfall. Dr Tan has a PhD project on TN and TP as contaminant in rainwater runoff.
Removal of water-borne contaminant, particularly trace quantity of drugs and pharmaceutical products from waste-water streams is a challenge in the management of water resources, and in particular, raw water for water supply. A viable and feasible solution is to employ wetland technology as a means to remove these contaminants. 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 since its inception in 2009.
Currently Dr Tan is leading a research team to conduct research on the various hydrodynamics considerations for a mega underwater structure, looking at the effects of flow, wave and environmental loads on a single or group of surface protruding structures. The research team comprises 10 research fellows. The challenge of the project is that the structure is to be founded on the seabed, with living space on the seabed, or supported on legs or semi-submersible, and the columns also support a deck space above the water, making full use of the 3-dimensional space. The structure has to be of mega-size to make it economically viable. As such, the environmental loads, impact of flow and waves takes on a different dimension compared to a land-based structure or oil platforms. Of particular significance is the possibility of vortex-induced-vibrations, as well as trapping or building up of waves within the group of structures. Later research work includes selection of potential site for the construction of a pilot structure as well as the effects of such structure on seabed sedimentation, ecology as well as its impact on the environment. |
| Asst Prof (Adj) Thomas Werner Hies | As a researcher and manager in Siemens he co-supervised several final year project and internships of bachelor and master students. He continued this role as a co-supervisor of Master and PhD students after his move to Singapore in cooperation with Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen, TUM-Asia, TUM-Munich and NTU with the focus on multivariate extreme value analysis, ultrasonic instrumentation for flow and sediment measurements.
Currently is co-supervising two PhD students at NTU in the field of acoustic research and flow measurement applications and conducting i joint research project with Prof Claus-Dieter Ohl in the field of simulation of acoustic pressure waves through media with different material properties.
Dr Hies main research interests are in advanced time series analysis, statistics and applied acoustics. The main acoustic research areas are in applied acoustics and audiology. The latter one is focusing on hearing aids applications. |
| Assoc Prof Tiong Lee Kong, Robert | Areas of research interests:
1. catastrophe risk assessment and management
2. alternative risk transfer mechanisms and financing
3. catastrophe micro-insurance
4. sustainable development and systems,
5. impact of climate change, carbon finance and carbon emission reductions
6. integrated risk analysis |
| Asst Prof Tran Anh Tuan | * Drop-surface interactions
* Thermal management using surface modification
* Boiling at microscales
* Microfluidics |
| Dr Tuti Mariana Lim | Dr. Lim's areas of expertise include resources recovery particularly for rare earth elements separation by solvent extraction which was her PhD research topic. She was also involved in clean energy research during her undergraduate study and her final year project was on the development of Vanadium Battery technology. She was the recipient of Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) summer vacation scholarship in 1990-1991 to investigate the effect of pressure and temperature on the solubility of natural gas in LPG.
Dr. Lim's current research interests include advanced oxidation technologies, hybrid membrane technologies and renewable energy technologies. She has done significant research work and published over 25 top quality international conferences and journal papers. |
| Asst Prof (Adj) Vitali Lipik | - Synthesis and Characterization of Biodegradable Polymers;
- Polymer waste treatment; Technologies of waste utilization. Pyrolisis, combustion, sorting.- Environmental friendly technologies of polymer recycling;
- PET degradation and chemical recycling, recycling of multilayer plastics;
- Environment chemistry, development of techniques and methods of harmful substances analysis;
- Wood stabilization by polymer materials;
- Optimization of technological parameters and polymer propierties;
- Analysis of emission of harmful substances from polymer;
- Metallization of polymers. |
| Assoc Prof Wang Jing-Yuan | Dr. Wang’s expertise includes solid waste resource management, contaminated site remediation, and environmental management. His current research interests are focused on decentralized waste and wastewater resource recovery, co-digestion of brown water and food waste, land reclamation of closed dumping ground, and bioconversion of plastic waste into biodegradable plastic polymers. |
| Prof Wang Peng | Power system planning and operation; Renewable energy planning; Solar/electricity convesion system; Power market; Power system reliability analysis. |
| Prof Wang Rong | Dr Wang's main research interests cover membrane science & technology, chemical & environmental engineering processes. She focuses on
(1) Development of various novel membranes such as forward osmosis (FO)/pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) hollow fiber membranes, biomimetic membranes, low pressure nanofiltration (NF) membranes, hydrophobic membrane distillation (MD) membranes, extractive membranes and mixed matrix membranes for membrane-based separation & purification processes for water and energy productions;
(2) Membrane surface modification for fouling control in water & wastewater treatments; modification of microporous membranes to enhance membrane surface hydrophobicity for MD and membrane contactor applications;
(3) Brine processing by membrane distillation crystallization and membrane distillation module design;
(4) Simulation and optimization of various membrane processes such as forward osmosis membrane process for seawater desalination; CO2 capture in membrane contactors; concentration polarization in FO/UF membrane systems and separation of mixed gases in membrane modules, etc. |
| 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. |
| Assoc Prof Xu Rong | - Photocatalysis for reduction of carbon dioxide and hydrogen production by splitting water using visible light.
- Heterogeneous catalysis for environmental applications.
- Organic-inorganic layered materials (LDHs) for pharmaceutical applications.
- Development of artificial cornea (nanoparticle/polymer composite).
- Antimicrobial membrane for water treatment (Silver in microfiltration membrane).
- Immobilization of enzymes on inorganic solid support as scalable and reusable biocatalysts. |
| Asst Prof Yang En-Hua | Strain-hardening cementitious composites (SHCC); Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC); Self-healing/smart construction material; Green building/construction material; Ultra-high performance concrete; Multi-functional high performace roof/facade coating; Building energy simulation; Waste-to-resource/energy; Life cycle assessment; Micromechanics; Corrosion; Fatigue; Impact |
| Prof Yoel Sasson | 1. Phase Transfer Catalysis: Fundamentals and Industrial Applications.
2. Multiphase Catalytic Process Development. Mainly Oxidations, Hydrogenations and Halogenations.
3. Environmental Catalysis and Photocatalysis. Water Treatment by Solar Photocatalysis.
4. Hydrogen and Energy Storage, Hydrogen Carriers.
5. Purification of Flue Gas Using Novel Ionic Liquid Scrubbers. |
| Assoc Prof (Adj) Zhong Ziyi | 1. Heterogeneous Catalysis: hydrogenation reactions, oxidation reactions, acid-base
catalyzed catalysis, novel catalysts development, and solid surface chemistry.
2. Materials chemistry.
3. Nanoscience and Nanotechnology.
4. Sonochemistry.
5. Wastewater treatment. |
| Asst Prof Zhou Yan | • Municipal and industrial wastewater treatment and reclamation
• Energy efficient biological processes development
• Biological nutrient removal and recovery
• Greenhouse gas emission control |
