New leaders for research & technology, and HR

Prof Chen (left) will be appointed Deputy President (Research and Technology) and Distinguished Professor at NUS on 1 June while Ms Tan will join NUS as Vice President (Human Resources) on 19 April

NUS will be welcoming Professor Chen Tsuhan as Deputy President (Research and Technology) and Distinguished Professor on 1 June, and Ms Tan Yee Deng as Vice President (Human Resources) on 19 April.

Prof Chen is a celebrated expert in computer vision, machine learning and pattern recognition. He has published more than 300 technical papers and holds close to 30 US patents. Prof Chen is the David E. Burr Professor of Engineering at Cornell University, US, a position he has held since 2009. From 2009 to 2013, when he served as Director, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell, he promoted the School to top ranking positions and launched several initiatives to boost innovation as well as foster research and teaching excellence. He also directed the Advanced Multimedia Processing Laboratory, which conducts research in areas including computer vision and pattern recognition; multimedia coding and retrieval; as well as biometric authentication.

Prof Chen is Chief Scientist at AI Singapore (AI.SG), a national programme to enhance Singapore’s artificial intelligence competencies to drive the digital economy. He holds a PhD degree in electrical engineering from the California Institute of Technology, US.

Said NUS’ next Deputy President (Research and Technology), “NUS, as the leading higher education institution in Singapore, has the responsibility to conduct world-class research and develop advanced technology for Singapore as well as for the world. I am honoured to be part of this endeavour. As Deputy President (Research and Technology), I feel extremely humbled by the privilege of both leadership and stewardship. I see my new role in serving the NUS community, and championing NUS research and technology as an integral part of NUS’ mission in higher education.”

Prof Chen believes strongly in collaborative research. As the Cheng Tsang Man Chair Professor and Dean of the College of Engineering at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore from 2015 to 2017, he pioneered several support schemes to encourage inter-school multidisciplinary programmes in line with the domain areas spelled out in the national Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2020 Plan. These initiatives included the Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Centre, the Data Science & Artificial Intelligence Research Centre and the Innovative Centre for Flexible Devices.

“Together with NUS leadership, we will brainstorm to identify strategic areas for the future, that is, the ‘next big things’. In these areas, we will strive to provide appropriate platforms and resources, recruit and nurture future leaders, and create partnerships between research institutes and schools across the University,” said Prof Chen, who will report to Senior Deputy President and Provost, Professor Ho Teck Hua.

Ms Tan will be joining NUS as Vice President (Human Resources) on 19 April. She has extensive experience across large-scale HR projects, ranging from merger integration to organisational change, as well as in defining workforce strategies and implementing HR initiatives focused on excellence and aligned to corporate goals.

A firm believer in optimising company performance through human capital excellence, Ms Tan has held senior leadership positions at consulting and technology companies and has partnered business leaders and clients across global markets in various industries, including IT and software, financial services and professional services companies. She has managed and led transformation activities, including organisation structure design, performance scorecards and Key Performance Indicator implementation as well as compensation and competencies modelling.

Prior to NUS, she was Senior Director of US technology company BMC Software where she spent six years managing a diverse HR leadership portfolio spanning Latin America, Asia Pacific and Global Marketing.

Ms Tan, who will report to Acting Deputy President (Administration) Professor Yong Kwet Yew, is looking forward to working closely with the NUS leadership team on people strategy across the University. “Transformation spans and impacts all levels — from engagement and cultural thought leadership at the institutional level, through to effective and innovative ways of working when partnering with HR,” she said.

Ms Tan holds a Bachelor of Science Psychology (Honours) from the University of New South Wales, Australia, and Master of Business Administration degrees from NUS, and the University of California, Los Angeles.