Two prominent Singaporean researchers returning home to join NUS Engineering
These experts in logistics and supply chain management and advanced electronics will help to drive industry collaboration and translational research at NUS
The National University of Singapore (NUS) has successfully recruited two outstanding Singaporean researchers who have made their mark internationally to return and contribute to NUS' vibrant research community. Professor Andrew Lim Leong Chye, a leading authority in computational management science, joins the NUS Faculty of Engineering on 8 January 2016 as the new head of its Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. Dr Aaron Thean Voon Yew, a prolific inventor with more than 50 US patents in advanced electronics, will be joining NUS Engineering as a Professor of Electrical Engineering in May 2016.
Professor Lim is an eminent scholar in the field of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research. His work draws on knowledge in computing, engineering and business to evolve new ideas that fuel the design and development of new processes and tools that organisations can implement to achieve high levels of competitiveness critical to their ongoing success. A boutique high-tech company founded by him has been instrumental in leading numerous industry-based research projects that culminated in multi-million dollars in savings for his clients. In recognition of his outstanding achievements, Prof Lim has received a myriad of organisational, national and international awards and innovation prizes.
Dr Thean is currently the Vice President of Process Technologies and the Director of the Logic Devices Research at IMEC, a premier nanoelectronic research institute based in Belgium. As part of an international consortium of major industrial technology companies such as Samsung, TSMC, Intel, SKHynix, Sony, GlobalFoundries, and Qualcomm, Dr Thean directs the advanced logic devices technology pathfinding research. Under his leadership, IMEC’s logic device research consortium made significant contributions in translating nanoelectronic technology into positive societal and economic impact, and forged extensive partnerships for interdisciplinary projects.
Prof Lim and Dr Thean have been awarded research grants from the National Research Foundation Singapore, under the Returning Singaporean Scientists Scheme (RSSS). The scheme seeks to attract established overseas-based Singaporean scientific leaders back home to lead research in areas important to the growth of Singapore.
Prof Lim will look into developing innovative solutions to address problems in healthcare???transport and education, while Dr Thean will conduct cutting edge research on embedding electronic intelligence into new form factors ranging from materials to systems.
NUS Deputy President (Research & Technology) Professor Ho Teck Hua, who was the first overseas-based Singaporean researcher recruited under the RSS Scheme, said, “NUS is excited to welcome Prof Lim and Dr Thean home to contribute towards growing research capabilities that are strategic to Singapore’s long-term progress. Prof Lim, who is both an outstanding scholar and a successful entrepreneur, will play a key role in energising the entrepreneurship ecosystem in NUS and Singapore. Dr Thean brings with him very strong industrial experience in advanced semiconductor R&D and one of his key responsibilities will be to capture the value of NUS’ research by working closely with industry in Singapore, the region and beyond. Both Prof Lim and Dr Thean will play major roles as NUS scales up the translational impact of its research.”
Prof Lim will play a lead role in a number of initiatives including the upcoming data analytics cluster and the Operations Research Centre at NUS. For these initiatives, Prof Lim will work on demand generation and supply management problems in the domains of healthcare, logistics and transportation. At the same time, he will lend his experience as a “technopreneur” to further foster the entrepreneurial spirit among NUS faculty and students.
Prof Lim said, “I have been based overseas for over a decade. During this time, I have been conducting research into solving large scale problems in transportation, logistics and supply chains. When NUS proposed the opportunity for me to contribute towards transforming and redefining the role of systems engineering in Singapore, I readily accepted the offer. All in all, I am delighted to be back home and thrilled by this incredible opportunity to work alongside fellow world-class colleagues and to nurture our highly talented students.”
Dr Thean will be spearheading nanoelectronic and spintronic device research at NUS’ upcoming Data Science Institute which aims to bring together and augment the university’s expertise in data analytics and optimisation.
Dr Thean will work with interdisciplinary research groups across NUS to conduct new research into heterogeneous integration of advanced device technologies and systems. Dr Thean’s work is expected to augment NUS’ expertise in data analytics, advanced materials, as well as communication and computation system research. This will enable NUS’ research to address emerging applications in areas of Internet of Things, Intelligent Technologies for Health Care, and Big Data infrastructure to realise the national vision of building a Smart Nation.
“I have been away from Singapore for more than 20 years, and the time is right for me and my family to return home. I am excited about the opportunities in Singapore and in NUS – Singapore’s Smart Nation vision, for instance, really inspires me. I can identify with the motivation behind this vision, and I believe that Singapore’s unique demographics, geography and economic considerations place us in an excellent position to realise a pervasive technology fabric for improving our work and lives. I believe that Singapore’s commitment to cutting-edge research and innovation sets us apart from other economies. And I am very keen to contribute towards realising this vision at the national level,” said Dr Thean.
Annex – Biographies of Prof Andrew Lim and Dr Aaron Thean.
