Alumnae awarded Barbour scholarship

NUS alumnae Ms Chuang (left) and Ms Feng are recipients of the prestigious Barbour Scholarship

NUS alumnae Ms Tiffany Chuang May and Ms Feng Yuanqiu were recently awarded the Barbour Scholarship by the University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School, the scholarship being one of the oldest and most prestigious awards granted by the University.

Ms Chuang, who completed her undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Sociology from NUS Arts and Social Sciences, was awarded the Barbour Scholarship for Academic Year 2017/18. A PhD candidate in sociology, Ms Chuang’s dissertation delves into the realities of life in public housing in Singapore. It examines interactions between individuals and entities in public housing neighbourhoods, ranging from government agencies and non-government organisations to grassroots groups, voluntary associations and residents.

Ms Feng was awarded the Barbour Scholarship for Academic Year 2018/19. She graduated from NUS Design and Environment with a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree and was also a Senior Tutor with the School’s Department of Architecture. Her area of research is in water — specifically how sociocultural perceptions of water can create or curb opportunities for managing stormwater. New approaches to managing drainage in urban environments such as green or smart stormwater infrastructure have the potential to serve as promising solutions but entail changes in how water behaves in this landscape. Ms Feng investigates how a deeper appreciation of cultural perception could help guide the development of urban drainage adaption strategies.

The endowment was set up by Mr Levi Lewis Barbour, former Regent at University of Michigan, to support women from Asia who studied at the University and who have demonstrated outstanding academic and professional quality. More than 700 women have been presented with the award since 1914.