The sleeve displays images and video, responds to finger presses and connects wirelessly to other devices, yet stays as washable, breathable and flexible as ordinary clothing. The team’s invention enables the creation of garments that act as a direct interface to a wearer’s health data and their digital devices, with no rigid screen involved.

The screens that we are familiar with, such as those on phones and laptops, typically present graphical user interfaces (GUIs) on flat, rigid panels that display information and enable interaction. Textiles, woven from one-dimensional fibres, have never matched this capability. A full-colour, touch-sensitive display that can be threaded like yarn was, until now, out of reach.

“What made this possible was our ability to construct the GUI system from electronic building blocks in fibre form — similar to traditional yarn, but with the sophisticated electronic functionality built directly into the fibres,” said Asst Prof Khudiyev.

The team, led by Assistant Professor Tural Khudiyev from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at CDE, published their findings in Nature on 21 October 2026.

Interconnecting thousands of chips along a thread

To build a fibre-enabled garment display, the NUS team developed a programmable method that creates connection points along tiny, insulated wires exactly where each microchip needs them. A laser exposes these locations, while controlled surface wetting guides molten solder to bond only at the programmed points. This enabled the team to integrate more than 5,000 chips through over 20,000 electrical connections.

The strip of interconnected digital LEDs was then integrated into a multilayer fibre using a thermal drawing approach, which allows precise formation of the touch-sensitive and pixel layers within a thread just a millimetre thick and 10 metres long. A layer beneath the LEDs senses touch — pressing the fibre completes a circuit, and the signal reveals exactly where your finger landed so the nearest pixel lights up.

“A fibre has a one-dimensional, axially symmetric geometry, which makes it difficult to build complex circuitry using approaches developed for conventional two-dimensional electronics,” added Asst Prof Khudiyev. “We overcame this limitation through a new interconnection architecture, which enables thousands of microelectronic devices to be integrated and interconnected along a fibre.”

Beyond the touchscreen: Wear your apps on your sleeve

In the team’s prototype, 54 pixel fibres, each carrying 96 LEDs, were threaded into the forearm of a sleeve to form a 96 by 54-pixel display measuring 168 mm by 105 mm, refreshing 30 frames per second with 8-bit colour depth. Each fibre has its own control channel, so a fault in one line leaves its neighbours working normally, and the system can register several touches at once. Alongside the pixel fibres, the team integrated peripheral fibres made the same way, carrying a microphone, a speaker and sensors that track movement, find magnetic north, measure temperature and gauge how bright the surroundings are.

Together, the fibres support the functions early generations of smartphones could perform: run a calculator, show a photo gallery, play a video at 30 frames per second (25 frames per second with synchronised audio), work as a compass, respond to voice commands, and receive images over Bluetooth. They can even rotate the screen and adjust brightness automatically. When positioned under the arm, the temperature-sensing fibre lets the sleeve read and display body temperature.

Importantly, the garment still behaves like fabric. Light output and touch response were nearly unchanged after 50 detergent washes in a typical washing machine, and after 1,000 bends around a 5 mm radius. In addition, the built display is as breathable as cotton, polyester and denim, and stays within established safety limits for skin contact.

Clothing as an interface

Smaller microchips and thinner fibres, both compatible with the team’s method, offer a route to sharper and larger displays. Furthermore, as the display and sensing elements sit along the length of the fibre, the thinner fibres can be knitted, weaved and embroidered using standard industrial machines. The same technology could one day perform other functions such as tracking health signs and delivering touch-based feedback.

“Healthcare is one particularly promising application,” said Asst Prof Khudiyev. “A garment could continuously collect physiological information through fibre-based sensors and allow the wearer to access and interact with that information directly through their clothing. Combined with artificial intelligence (AI), this could enable personalised health monitoring, feedback and assistance. Just as smartphones enabled applications that were difficult to imagine when they first appeared, garment GUIs could ultimately enable entirely new applications that do not yet exist.”

What’s next

The research team’s next step is to push the textile touchscreen further—towards higher resolution, integrated sensing and on-device AI, bringing display, touch, sensing and intelligence together within the same textile platform. This convergence could take the technology far beyond a wearable screen, towards clothing that understands both the wearer and their surroundings, providing information or interaction when and where needed.

The researchers are now developing a new interface between people and digital intelligence—one that extends beyond a device users carry to become a natural part of what they wear.

Established in partnership with Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Institute of Technology, Temasek Polytechnic, Nanyang Polytechnic, and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, NCEB enables new research discoveries, drives technological advancement and develops the talent needed to design and engineer living systems predictively. This whole-of-nation platform strongly positions Singapore in the field internationally. Supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 (RIE2025) plan, the Centre was established through the NRF Mid-sized Grant of close to S$50 million awarded over seven years from 2023.

“NCEB builds on engineering biology capabilities developed over more than a decade, anchored by initiatives such as the NUS Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI) and the Singapore Consortium for Synthetic Biology (SINERGY), and reinforced by strong industry partnerships and interdisciplinary expertise across science, engineering, medicine and computing,” said Professor Matthew Chang, who leads NCEB as Executive Director. He is also the Director of NUS SynCTI and SINERGY, and holds an appointment in the Department of Biochemistry at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine.

“Through NCEB, we will bring these strengths together, working closely with academic, government and industry partners to create an impactful shared research ecosystem. Our goal is to enable more sustainable ways of making products that society depends on, using renewable feedstocks and cleaner manufacturing processes,” Prof Chang added.

NCEB aims to move engineering biology from largely empirical approaches towards predictive biological design where the relationship between genetic composition and cell function can be understood and modelled to engineer cells that perform reliably. Its work is organised around three research thrusts: machine learning for predictive biodesign, engineering biology for specialty chemical production, and advanced biofoundry capabilities.

Boosting capabilities for predictive design, testing and scaling up

A key research outcome for NCEB is to establish design rules and models that allow researchers to predict how engineered biological systems will behave before they are built. This addresses a central challenge in synthetic biology: living systems are powerful, but difficult to design because they are dynamic and adaptive.

To support this, NCEB is developing shared data foundations and automated experimental platforms that generate large, standardised datasets. These datasets allow results from different laboratories to be compared, combined and used to train AI models.

NCEB’s flagship project, led by NUS, focuses on AI-guided Engineering Biology for Sustainable Specialty Chemicals. Specialty chemicals are a diverse class of high-value molecules, including biosurfactants, specialty lipids, flavour and fragrance compounds, bioactive compounds, and building blocks for advanced materials. Many are difficult to make by conventional chemistry and rely on energy-intensive, fossil-derived processes.

The project aims to engineer microbes and enzymes that convert renewable feedstocks into specialty chemicals using predictively designed biological systems. Its first targets are functional fatty acids, an important class of specialty chemicals used across multiple industrial sectors.

The approach is AI-guided throughout. AI-synthetic biology platforms developed at NCEB propose improved enzyme and pathway designs, which the Advanced BioFoundry – a highly automated research facility at NUS – builds and tests in large numbers rather than one at a time. Results are captured using common data standards and fed back into the models, so each experimental cycle improves the next round of design.

Another highlight of NCEB is the Bioprocessing Innovation Platform (BIP) established in partnership with the Singapore Institute of Technology. The BIP addresses the challenge of translating scientific breakthroughs in the laboratory into industrial-scale production, through pilot-scale fermentation and downstream processing capability. The platform houses an integrated fermentation and downstream bioprocessing system supporting process optimisation, scale-up studies and technology demonstration.

NCEB has also developed a digital backbone comprising the AI-Augmented Synthetic Biology Database (SynBioDB), a platform for standardising biological and experimental data; the Synthetic Biology AI Designer (SynDe), an AI platform for biological design; and Enzyme Function Initiative Tools@NCEB (EFI@NCEB), a secure enzyme informatics platform. Please refer to the Annexe for more information on these digital platforms.

Closing the loop between AI design and the laboratory

NCEB’s new facility at NUS is laid out to follow the Design–Build–Test–Learn cycle, with four connected zones: a computational and data zone where AI models propose new designs and learn from the results; a main laboratory for hands-on experimental work; the Advanced BioFoundry where designs are built and tested automatically; and a bioproduction area where the best performers are grown and assessed. This “one floor, one workflow” layout places computational and experimental researchers side by side, shortening the feedback loop between AI prediction and laboratory result — one of the strongest determinants of how quickly the Centre improves.

At the heart of the facility is the Advanced BioFoundry, the experimental engine of the Centre’s Design–Build–Test–Learn cycle, where AI-proposed designs are turned into engineered cells and tested at a scale that manual laboratory work cannot reach.

Key features of NCEB’s new facility include:

• Automated build and test: robotic liquid handlers, an automated colony picker, automated incubators and microplate readers run as a single workflow, so large numbers of biological designs are built and screened in parallel rather than one at a time;
• Ultra-high-throughput screening: single cells are encapsulated in tiny droplets, each acting as a miniature reaction vessel, and sorted by performance to narrow very large populations down to the best producers in a fraction of the time that conventional screening requires;
• High-throughput analytics: liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry systems, together with high-throughput mass spectrometry workflows, measure what each engineered cell actually produces across thousands of samples;
• Integrated bioproduction: laboratory-scale bioreactors and an integrated fermentation and downstream bioprocessing system confirm that promising designs hold up under production conditions, and prepare them for scaleup at the Bioprocessing Innovation Platform; and
• Computing and data: dedicated computing infrastructure hosts the Centre’s AI design models and shared data platforms, capturing results from every experiment in a common format so they can be used across partner laboratories.

A national centre bringing together leading talent

As a distributed national centre, more than 150 researchers, students and professional staff contribute to the Centre’s work across partner institutions, with recruitment ongoing for about 50 more positions. These include principal investigators, postdoctoral researchers and graduate students, as well as technical, engineering, laboratory support and centre management staff.

The Centre will also provide research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students.

Strengthening Singapore’s leadership in engineering biology

NCEB’s current goals include bringing the Advanced BioFoundry and BIP into routine use, delivering milestones for its specialty chemicals flagship project, extending the AI-ready synthetic biology data platform SynBioDB to partners and industry collaborators, and growing its industry and international partnerships.

Over the longer term, NCEB aims to establish a fully operational AI-enabled Design–Build–Test–Learn platform, demonstrate scalable production of high-value specialty chemicals from renewable feedstocks, build a federated national data ecosystem, contribute to international standards, and train the next generation of engineering biology talent.

Through these efforts, NCEB will provide Singapore with an end-to-end engineering biology capability — from AI-guided design and automated experimentation to pilot-scale production — supporting cleaner manufacturing, industry translation and the future bioeconomy.

Singapore Engineering Biology Week

The launch of NCEB marks the start of the inaugural Singapore Engineering Biology Week, organised by the Centre. Held from 5 to 8 October 2026, this national-level event will bring together about 300 researchers, innovators, students and industry partners from Singapore and around the world. The programme will cover topics in engineering biology including research, translation, industry and talent. Singapore Engineering Biology Week will be held annually going forward.

That experience shifted my priorities. I grew less concerned with finding the right disciplinary label and more concerned with what would go unexplained if the question were left unasked. In a recent commentary in The Straits Times, I argued that recovering geometric structure could help us interrogate medical AI. Here I want to describe how that question took shape, because how research questions form matters as much as how they are answered.

When geometry becomes the question

In analysing complex data, geometry usually plays a supporting role: it helps us organise observations, reduce dimensions or separate groups. The question that came to drive my work inverts that role. What if geometric structure is itself something we should recover from the data — geometry as signal rather than scaffolding? Manifold fitting, which seeks to recover a lower-dimensional structure from noisy observations in high-dimensional space, gives this idea a concrete statistical form.

This changes what counts as an answer. A method can classify observations accurately without recovering the structure we set out to understand. So the test is no longer only whether a method works, but whether the task captures what we actually want to know.

Before a project has a name

This conviction shapes how I work with students. On Saturdays, those who wish to join meet with me for open-ended conversations about problems we find important. We ask why a problem deserves attention and whether any part of it is ready to be explored. An idea need not arrive with a method or a clear route to a solution, and I share in that uncertainty. Some problems lie beyond what I currently know how to tackle yet still seem worth thinking about. My own experience has made me wary of forcing a familiar formulation too early.

Applications keep these conversations grounded. An observation a method cannot explain may expose a weakness in the method or reveal something important about the phenomenon, sometimes changing the question itself. Many ideas never become projects; some lose their appeal after further reading, others stay out of reach. But there is a quieter form of progress worth valuing: when a vague concern sharpens into a question precise enough to show where to begin. The aim is for students to find questions they have their own reasons to pursue, including ones that lead beyond where I first pointed.

Staying with a question

Talk of using AI to generate research questions tends to skip the harder part. Finding a question is one thing and deciding it is worth staying with is another. That judgment rarely arrives all at once. It develops through reading, discussion and attempts that expose what one has misunderstood. A question can remain worth pursuing even when no route to an answer is visible and, equally, familiarity can supply good reasons to let it go.

When near-term results looked unlikely, I was sometimes advised to move on. It was genuinely hard to tell whether slow progress signalled a flawed direction or simply how much I still had to understand; the absence of quick results settled nothing. As I prepare to speak on “Geometry as Signal” in Germany this winter, I keep returning to the question that started this work, and to how much my understanding of it has changed.

That is what I bring to our Saturday conversations. Where an unfamiliar question will lead is often impossible to see in advance. Learning not to dismiss it too quickly, and learning when it is worth staying with, is a part of research I am still navigating myself.

Yao Zhigang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Statistics and Data Science at the National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Science, with a joint appointment in the Department of Mathematics

Electronic skin systems are increasingly used in healthcare, robotics and wearables, but most rely on arrays of sensors connected to external electronics for signal processing and display. These designs often face limitations such as low spatial resolution, wiring complexity and inefficient signal interpretation, making intuitive real-time feedback difficult.

To address these challenges, a team led by Professor Lim Chwee Teck from the NUS Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Institute for Health Innovation & Technology (iHealthtech) developed a soft, ultrathin device called the “eLuminator”. The findings were published in Nature Communications on May 2026.

A new paradigm beyond conventional electronic skin

Unlike traditional electronic skins that rely on discrete sensing pixels and typically achieving less than 100 dpi (where dpi indicates how finely pressure details can be resolved within a given area), the eLuminator uses a continuous, pixel-free design. With a spatial resolution of approximately 30 µm (847 dpi), it can detect much finer pressure details, enabling high-precision tactile sensing for advanced applications.

At the core of the technology is a mechano-electroluminescent response, where applied pressure directly changes the device’s light emission. When pressure is applied, the device generates visible light patterns that map both the magnitude and shape of contact. This enables immediate and intuitive visualisation without the need for separate processing or display systems.

The high-resolution luminescent response allows fine surface features such as the ridges and valleys of fingerprintsto be clearly captured in real time, demonstrating its capability for detailed tactile imaging and potential use in biometric applications.

“This technology transforms how we interact with tactile information,” said Prof Lim. “Instead of relying on complex electronics, users can immediately see force distribution as it happens, making the process far more intuitive.”

Applications in healthcare and intelligent systems

The eLuminator shows strong potential in surgical training and healthcare monitoring, where precise force control is critical but difficult to achieve due to the lack of tactile feedback. When integrated into surgical tools, it provides real-time visual feedback on applied force, improving precision and reducing the risk of tissue damage. It can also map pressure distribution on the foot, supporting early detection of areas with high risk of foot ulcers in diabetic patients.

Beyond healthcare, the device enables more responsive human–machine interface. It supports both static and dynamic sensing, with optical feedback of around 15 milliseconds and digital readout of around 110 milliseconds, allowing force interactions to be visualised and quantified in near real-time. Its high sensitivity also enables the detection of gentle touches, which is important for robotics and prosthetics.

Soft, durable and versatile platform

The eLuminator is ultrathin, approximately 70 µm thick, and made of flexible, non-toxic materials designed to mimic the mechanical properties of human skin. It can stretch beyond 100 per cent strain and conform to curved surfaces such as the body or medical devices.

The device remains stable under repeated mechanical stress, with consistent performance demonstrated over more than 1,000 to 4,000 cycles. It also operates across a broad pressure range, from light touch to approximately 180 kPa (similar to the pressure felt when balancing a heavy textbook on a fingertip), making it suitable for diverse applications.

By combining visual and digital sensing in a single system, the eLuminator simplifies device design and enables easier integration into next-generation wearable and biomedical technologies.

Future directions

The research team is working to further improve the device’s sensitivity and reduce its power requirements, while advancing deployment in high-impact healthcare applications.

“Our focus moving forward is not just to improve the technology, but to apply it where it can make a real difference to patient care,” said Prof Lim. “By working closely with clinicians, we aim to develop solutions that improve outcomes and support better decision-making.”

• The Straits Times, 26 September 2026, Opinion, pB3

The researchers base their claim on measurements showing that their atomic clock, built from the element lutetium, outperforms previous record holders built from different elements.

More accurate clocks hold promise to probe unknowns in fundamental physics and monitor gravitational changes across the Earth – and they are vying to redefine the second.

Pushing the limits of timekeeping

Atomic clocks keep time with reference to an atomic transition, when one of the atom’s electrons swaps energy levels. The frequency of this transition is a fixed property of the atom. A laser is matched to this ‘clock transition’, and the light oscillations act like a pendulum to count time.

The basic method has been in place for decades. Caesium atoms have set the global standard for time since the 1960, and caesium atomic clocks already support the Global Positioning System (GPS) and synchronise communication and transport networks.

But scientists have been pushing the limits of timekeeping with other elements.

Elements such as recent record-holders ytterbium, strontium and aluminium oscillate much faster than caesium, helping them to keep time more accurately. The international body responsible for time standards is considering data from such new optical atomic clocks towards a redefinition of the second expected in or after 2030.

The CQT team started working with lutetium over a decade ago on the hunch that it had the right properties to join the set of top-performing clocks. The team, to its knowledge, is the only group working with this element for timekeeping so far.

Now, the team has measured the frequency of their lutetium clock to 19 decimal places, reporting an uncertainty of 1 x 10^-19 which is the lowest reported for any optical atomic clock to date. They also built two clocks and compared their ticking to each other. The clocks agreed to an uncertainty of 5.7 x 10^-19, which is the most precise clock comparison ever made. More measurements could reduce that uncertainty further.

Lutetium’s advantage

Lutetium’s strong performance comes from properties of the atom: its clock transition hardly feels changes in temperature or magnetic field. In other elements, these environmental factors can gently vary the frequency of the clock transition.

“In the future, I just don’t see how this clock can be beat,” says Associate Professor Barrett. His team has done over a decade of precision engineering on their atomic clock setup, testing different properties of the atom. That work included inventing a scheme called ‘hyperfine averaging’ to define the clock transition.

“The good properties mean that high accuracy can be achieved even in a wide range of environments,” says Associate Professor Barrett. “The lutetium clock would be stable even if you went from the hottest place recorded on Earth in Death Valley to the coldest place in the Antarctic plateau.”

Two is better than one

The team’s confidence is bolstered by their clock comparison, carried out using a technique known as correlation spectroscopy over 200 hours of measurement.

Each lutetium clock consists of a single charged ¹⁷⁶Lu+ ion having a clock transition matched to a laser with wavelength of 848 nanometers.

“There is a humorous saying that ‘A man with a watch knows what time it is. A man with two watches is never sure,’” says Dr Kyle Arnold, a Senior Research Scientist from CQT at NUS and joint first author on the paper. “It basically tells you that the only way to test the accuracy of a standard is to compare clocks and demonstrate reproducibility.”

Ideally, the team would also compare their lutetium clock to the world’s other best atomic clocks, but there’s a challenge. Optical atomic clocks at the 10^-19 level are so precise they can feel the slowing down of time by gravity over height differences of millimetres. The CQT team’s comparison measurement could resolve a 5mm height difference between their clocks on the same table. To ensure that this did not limit their measurement, they independently measured the height difference of the Lu+ ions below the millimetre level. Differences in gravity between different places on Earth are not yet known well enough to compare clocks at this level.

To enable new comparisons and explore future applications, the clock should come out of the lab. “The next step is to take the lab-scale clock and miniaturise it into a transportable system,” says Mr Michael Lee, joint first author on the paper and a PhD student on the NUS team. The researchers expect they can make their clock smaller without compromising the accuracy.

NIMOS is established by NParks and hosted at NUS, with Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) as a partner institution, and St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory as a key national facility. It brings together expertise across universities, research institutes and public agencies to address how Singapore can develop management and conservation strategies for marine ecosystems, advance Singapore’s blue economy, build local talent, and establish Singapore as a regional thought leader in marine science.

“As marine environmental challenges in Singapore and the region become increasingly complex – crossing disciplines, sectors, geographies and national boundaries – research and innovation must keep pace to deliver the knowledge and solutions needed to address them. NIMOS, hosted at NUS, brings together universities, research institutes, government agencies and partners across the region to align our research priorities, deepen Singapore’s marine science capabilities, and develop practical solutions that support both environmental resilience and sustainable growth,” said Associate Professor Huang Danwei, Director of NIMOS and Deputy Head of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum at NUS.

NIMOS builds on earlier and existing national marine science efforts, including the Marine Science Research and Development Programme (MSRDP) managed by NUS and the Marine Climate Change Science Programme (MCCS) led by NParks. These programmes established important scientific baselines and research capabilities; NIMOS will consolidate and expand this foundation into a coordinated national platform with a stronger focus on interdisciplinary solutions, talent development and regional leadership.

The launch was also part of NUS Sustainability CONNECT, the University’s flagship sustainability festival.

A whole-of-coast approach to conservation

NIMOS will take a whole-of-coast approach, which involves studying and managing an entire coastal sea space as an interconnected system, to address complex marine challenges with research projects expected to be inter- and trans-disciplinary, bringing together academic and non-academic experts, and across various marine ecosystems.

NIMOS will focus on research areas comprising biodiversity and nature, environment and climate, and ecosystem resilience, with technology being harnessed across research projects. NIMOS’ key strategic priorities include:

1. Developing targeted and effective management and conservation strategies

NIMOS will develop adaptive management tools and science-based approaches that enable marine ecosystems to withstand multiple stressors while continuing to provide essential ecosystem services. This includes developing predictive models for ecosystem tipping points, enhancing habitat resilience with restoration guidelines tailored for the local environment, and creating monitoring frameworks that can detect early warning signals of ecosystem degradation.

2. Deliver inter- and trans-disciplinary solutions to advance Singapore’s blue economy

NIMOS will undertake marine science research that can guide the optimisation and management of Singapore’s sea space. This includes studying how much activity, such as aquaculture and recreation, Singapore’s waters can sustainably support. NIMOS aims to develop inter- and transdisciplinary solutions to balance economic productivity with ecological resilience, ensuring that marine and coastal resources can scale and sustain Singapore’s blue economy – the sustainable use of marine resources for economic growth.

3. Building local talent and capabilities

NIMOS will focus on developing a robust pipeline of local talent that can help build capabilities across academia, industry, and government, ensuring Singapore has the capabilities needed to address complex marine environmental challenges.

4. Establishing Singapore as a regional thought leader in marine science

NIMOS aims to establish Singapore as a regional thought leader in marine science, by consolidating capabilities from key regional institutions and fostering partnerships across Southeast Asia. Building these meaningful regional partnerships can also enable data sharing and comparative assessments of marine health, across Southeast Asia. This would strengthen Singapore’s resilience against complex global marine challenges

Boosting resources for research and talent development

The S$60 million funding for NIMOS under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2030 Plan (RIE2030) will support research, training and capability building.

Over the next 10 years, the institute will offer up to 12 PhD Research Scholarships for Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents, supporting the growth of local expertise for academia, government and industry. NUS has also committed 10 additional PhD Research Scholarships for NIMOS projects.

NIMOS’ research projects will also create internship and training attachment opportunities for undergraduate and polytechnic students in marine science laboratories across institutes of higher learning.

Bringing the research community together to accelerate discovery

NIMOS will begin operating as a virtual institute, enabling research collaborations to start immediately while longer-term facilities are being developed. The future space will house the NIMOS staff, NUS researchers and collaborators working on NIMOS projects. Its permanent home on NUS campus is expected to include wet science laboratory facilities and collaborative office space for project teams.

To strengthen coordination across the marine science community, NIMOS will also convene the inaugural Singapore Annual Symposium for Marine and Ocean Sciences in 2027. The symposium will serve as a national platform for researchers, policymakers, industry partners and public agencies to share findings, identify emerging priorities and accelerate the translation of marine science into coastal planning, ecosystem management and climate resilience.

Strengthening Singapore’s regional role in marine science

NIMOS will also deepen Singapore’s regional and international marine science partnerships. These collaborations will support data sharing, comparative assessments of marine health and joint research on transboundary issues such as ecosystem connectivity, marine pollution, ocean warming and biodiversity loss. The Institute will build on existing research ties with various institutions worldwide, including those in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, and engage a regional network of institutions in Southeast Asia.

Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) on 14 September 2026, the study was led by Associate Professor L. Roman Carrasco from the Department of Biological Sciences, and conducted in partnership with Research Fellow Ms Yingtong Zhu, and Professor Johan Sulaeman from the NUS Sustainable and Green Finance Institute. The team investigated whether major ESG rating systems reflect companies’ actual deforestation exposure.

Many investors today seek to direct their money towards companies that are responsible stewards of the environment and society. Companies are therefore given ESG ratings, which are meant to indicate whether a business is environmentally and socially responsible. These ratings increasingly influence investment decisions worldwide, but it remains unclear whether they accurately capture one of the biggest environmental impacts of businesses: deforestation.

A multi-source approach to measuring deforestation exposure

The researchers combined satellite-derived forest loss maps, company asset locations, forest-risk commodity supply-chain information, media coverage, and commercial ESG and financial characterises databases to examine the relationship between corporate deforestation and ESG scores. In total, they examined 18 overall ESG scores and 12 deforestation-related sub-scores from five major international providers alongside two independent measures of company-level deforestation.

The analyses included forest loss surrounding the assets of 13,841 companies worldwide between 2013 and 2024 and deforestation exposure of 210 companies through global supply chains for deforestation-risk commodities such as palm oil, soy, beef, pork, chicken and wood products between 2013 and 2020. The team also assessed whether deforestation-related media coverage, rather than actual deforestation, influenced ESG scores.

Ratings track public image, not forest loss

The study found no evidence that ESG ratings consistently capture companies’ actual exposure to deforestation. Instead, ESG scores responded more strongly to media attention related to deforestation, whether positive coverage of companies’ management actions, or negative coverage of deforestation scandals.

The researchers also found that companies involved in palm oil production were more likely to receive lower ESG scores for deforestation than companies associated with soy, pork, or chicken supply chains, suggesting potential commodity biases.

“This is the first study to evaluate multiple commercial ESG rating systems against independently measured corporate deforestation at the global scale. There is a need for ESG providers to integrate objective, spatially explicit deforestation information derived from satellite observations into future assessments, allowing investors to better contribute to reducing deforestation,” said Ms Zhu.

“Our study does not imply that ESG ratings are not useful as a tool to move capital away from companies behind deforestation. In fact, ESG ratings have high potential given their wide coverage of companies. The main problem is that ESG analyses do not incorporate geospatial data. If these data were to be included, ESG investing could be a gamechanger in halting deforestation globally,” added Assoc Prof Carrasco.

The study, led by Associate Professor Alfredo Franco-Obregón from the Department of Surgery at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and the NUS Institute for Health Innovation & Technology, was published in the journal Smart Medicine on 4 June 2026. This discovery builds on their previous work, where they showed that brief PEMF exposure enhances uptake of doxorubicin (DOX), a chemotherapy drug, by breast cancer cells.

PEMF therapy applies intermittent, low-intensity magnetic pulses to targeted regions of the body over a short period of time. Assoc Prof Franco-Obregón has previously explored the effect of PEMFs on muscle development and oncology. In their latest study, the NUS team demonstrated that even without chemotherapy, PEMFs completely eradicated tumours in 75 per cent of tested preclinical models after just four 30-minute sessions.

“Our study represents a major advancement in breast cancer treatment by demonstrating the potential of PEMFs as a stand-alone, drug-free therapy, offering a possible future where patients could avoid chemotherapy and its debilitating side effects,” said Assoc Prof Franco-Obregón.

Breast cancer cases are projected to rise by a third, from 2.3 million in 2023 to more than 3.5 million by 2050, while annual deaths may nearly double from 764,000 to nearly 1.4 million. Cancer treatment faces challenges such as tumour heterogeneity, drug resistance, and treatment-related toxicities. Approaches targeting TAMs also faced difficulties such as off-target effects. The growing burden underscores the urgent need for innovative therapies to improve patient outcomes and save lives.

From cancer’s friends to foes

Breast cancer occurs when cells in the breast mutate and grow uncontrollably, forming a solid tumour. These cancer cells recruit and hijack nearby immune cells, corrupting them to protect the tumour, accelerate tumour growth, and encourage the spread of cancer (metastasis). Prominent among these recruited immune cells are TAMs, which are abundant in nearly all solid tumours.

There are two primary types of macrophages, M1 and M2. M1 macrophages are pro-inflammatory – the “soldiers” that eliminate threats like bacteria and viruses. M2 macrophages are anti-inflammatory – the “medics” that orchestrate wound healing and tissue repair once threats are cleared. Cancer cells corrupt most TAMs into adopting the M2 “medic” state, suppressing immune attacks against the tumour while facilitating tumour growth and metastasis.

The key to this macrophage reprogramming lies in a protein called TRPC1 (Transient Receptor Potential Canonical 1), which regulates the M1 state. Crucially, TRPC1 also allows cells to sense and respond to magnetic fields. In their experiments, the NUS team confirmed that a brief 10-minute exposure to PEMFs activated TRPC1 channels on M2-like TAMs, setting off a signalling cascade that converted them to the M1 state – essentially turning TAMs from helpful “medics” to aggressive cancer-killing “soldiers”. These activated TAMs then selectively target cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue. Furthermore, the same magnetic signature disrupts cancer's ability to hijack TAMs, altering the TAM-cancer communication loop in both directions.

“We have identified a molecular “switch”, the specific cell signalling pathway that allows us to reprogram TAMs. Once reprogrammed, these immune cells actively hunt and devour cancer cells, obliterating the tumour,” said Assoc Prof Franco-Obregón. “With the non-invasive and targeted nature of PEMF therapy, we hope to provide patients an effective and safe alternative treatment, with fewer undesirable side effects.”

Pulses of hope for cancer patients

Assoc Prof Franco-Obregón shared that the same PEMF device used in this study has just successfully completed Phase 1 clinical trials, demonstrating its safety in humans. The team is now seeking partners to conduct Phase 2 efficacy trials to evaluate how well the PEMF treatment works in patients and to further advance its development towards clinical use.

“Since we previously showed that PEMFs selectively increased the uptake of DOX in breast cancer cells, we will be evaluating if our PEMF immunotherapy can work synergistically with chemotherapy for better results,” added Assoc Prof Franco-Obregón. “As the immune cells we reprogram are commonly found in most solid tumours, we are optimistic that our PEMF therapy could potentially be a complementary treatment for other cancers beyond breast cancer.”

Started in 2007 by Associate Professor Ben Leong from the Department of Computer Science at NUS Computing, CVWO gives students the opportunity to apply their computing skills to address real operational needs of local charities. Each summer, students spend three months working full-time to build, deploy and maintain computer systems for partner organisations, on a pro bono basis. They work with real users, evolving requirements and long-term maintenance needs, gaining valuable experience beyond the classroom.

Professor Tulika Mitra, Dean, NUS School of Computing, said, "For nearly two decades, CVWO has demonstrated what students can achieve when given real responsibility, for causes that truly matter. Their work has left a positive and lasting impact on the organisations and communities that they serve.”

Two decades, measured in impact

CVWO’s first project in 2007 was for the Geylang East Home for the Aged, where students developed a system to digitise resident records and daily operations. Over nearly two decades, CVWO's systems have gone on to serve partners across eldercare, family services, disability support and counselling, each maintained for as long as the partner needs it.

CVWO’s cohorts have now grown to around 20 students each summer. At its peak in 2024, its Active Ageing Centre (AAC) system, built on a shared multi-tenant platform called Cornerstone, was deployed across 13 Active Ageing Centres in four partner organisations, and was whitelisted by the Agency for Integrated Care as an approved AAC IT system in October 2024.

The programme has also contributed beyond its usual social service work when the need arose. In 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Assoc Prof Leong assembled a team of six CVWO students and alumni to build SwiftCobra, a web application which supported contact tracing operations for the Whole-of-Government Health Surveillance Task Force. The completed system, based on an initial concept developed by the Singapore Armed Forces, was a critical component of Singapore's national contact-tracing effort, and the team was recognised with the Tech Heroes From Crisis Pathfinder Team award in 2021.

Charting new ground in 2026

This year, CVWO expanded its work into new areas of social impact. One new initiative was Project UMA, a system developed for Punaravartan Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the repatriation and preservation of Cambodian and Nepalese cultural heritage. The Foundation manages more than 15,000 images, documents and records relating to artefacts, people, places, collections and investigative events. The information had previously beentoo fragmented to manage using conventional off-the-shelf software.

Project UMA is CVWO’s first project for an international client and the first to incorporate AI capabilities. The team built a system that Punaravartan Foundation uses to map relationships among records, and produce AI-assisted descriptions, transcriptions and semantic searches to help researchers locate relevant material even when their search terms differ from the original wording. Human researchers remain responsible for interpretation and judgement.

Historically, CVWO's projects were generally undertaken in partnership with larger charities, as developing a bespoke system takes a full summer to build. Signpost Collective was the first project in which CVWO tested a different approach. The volunteer-led non-profit supports more than 120 informal street sellers through around 70 active volunteers. Interactions, attendance and reporting were previously tracked using manual processes and across separate systems. Rather than building from scratch, CVWO students configured Cornerstone's existing components to fit Signpost Collective’s needs, and developed only a thin custom interface. This approach made such systems more scalable to maintain, and easier for CVWO to work with smaller organisations.

Together, the two projects capture what is distinctive about CVWO’s plans for 2026: a foray into new areas of social impact, and a shift from separate, bespoke systems towards a shared, configurable platform model.

“I joined the CVWO programme expecting to sharpen my technical skills. However, the biggest lesson I learnt was that great engineering is actually about understanding people and building solutions that truly meet their needs,” said Suvan Handa, a Year 2 Computer Science student who is part of the Project UMA team.

AI, applied deliberately

Over the next few years, CVWO will explore new areas where AI can add practical value to the workflows of its partner organisations. Potential applications include assisting with tasks such as rewriting or summarising case notes, subject to appropriate safeguards and human review.

Student training will remain central to the programme. CVWO also recognises the risk of cognitive offloading associated with the use of AI. Students in the programme will continue to write the code, understand the systems they build and develop strong engineering fundamentals, even as AI is increasingly used in the development process.

Assoc Prof Leong said, "AI gives our students powerful new capabilities. This means we can build better, more impactful systems for the organisations that need them most. As we mark CVWO’s 20th anniversary, our mission remains unchanged. AI simply gives us a new tool to work more effectively."

Marking the milestone

In conjunction with its 20th anniversary celebrations, CVWO has received a significant boost to its efforts. Mr Keith Chua, through the Mrs Lee Choon Guan Trust Fund, has pledged approximately S$1.5 million to the Centre for Computing for Social Good and Philanthropy. This is the second generous gift of S$1.5 million Mr Chua has made to the Centre. Part of the gift will support CVWO’s IT infrastructure costs.

Speaking at the awards ceremony held at the University Cultural Centre on 4 September 2026, NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye celebrated the award winners as living proof of the excellence woven into the NUS identity.

He also spoke of how the University is embedding AI deeply into both education and research to unlock new frontiers of discovery. "AI has reshaped scientific research and discovery in unprecedented and unexpected ways…Even as we embrace AI, we must celebrate human excellence. We do so this evening at the University Awards. Determination, endeavour, excellence – these are the very human traits that define the NUS spirit, qualities that will anchor the next AI-powered chapter of NUS."

Top accolade - Outstanding Service Award

This year, the prestigious Outstanding Service Award was conferred on Mr Seah Moon Ming, Chairman, Board of Governors of NUS High School of Mathematics and Science, and Professor Bernard Tan Cheng Yian, NUS Senior Vice Provost (Undergraduate Education), in recognition of their inspiring leadership and dedicated service. Both are accomplished individuals who have made sustained contributions in selflessly serving the University and society.

Mr Seah Moon Ming

Mr Seah is a veteran leader who has devoted over four decades to strengthening Singapore's public institutions and continues to invest in the next generation through education and philanthropy. As Chairman of the Board of Governors of NUS High School of Mathematics and Science since 2021, he spearheaded the school's Strategic Plan 2025–2029 and forged partnerships with industry and social service organisations to enrich student learning. He is also Chairman of SMRT Corporation and SMRT Trains Ltd, where he led a cultural transformation anchored in the Kaizen philosophy of continuous improvement. He established the Seah Moon Ming Foundation, which contributes annually to bursaries and scholarships across NUS, NUS High School, Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), polytechnics, Institutes of Technical Education (ITEs), and charity organisations, championing access to education for the next generation of engineers and underprivileged families.

Delivering the citation, Professor Aaron Thean, NUS Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost, said, “[Mr Seah’s] contributions have been recognised nationally, including the Meritorious Service Medal in 2022 and the Public Service Star in 2014. Behind all these obvious contributions and achievements is a man with a heart for Engineering at NUS. He has gifted much of his time to the faculty as an advisory board member, fostering its growth. We are privileged to have Mr Seah as part of our community.”

Reflecting on his investment in education, Mr Seah said, “I believe an education should build character, shape values, and inspire students to serve society…With the right values, sense of purpose and gratitude, an NUS education can become a powerful force for a better future.”

Professor Bernard Tan Cheng Yian

Behind many of NUS' most significant curriculum reforms over the past 17 years is Professor Bernard Tan Cheng Yian, a champion of interdisciplinary and future-ready education. As Senior Vice Provost (Undergraduate Education), Prof Tan has been instrumental in driving curriculum reforms across virtually every college, faculty and school in the University, advancing interdisciplinary programmes, common admissions, experiential learning, student financial aid and AI integration in education. He chairs the University Committee on Educational Policy and multiple university-wide steering committees covering student information systems and graduate employment. A former President of the Association for Information Systems, he received the organisation's LEO Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2024.

In his citation, Prof Thean paid tribute to Prof Tan’s work in undergraduate education and his leadership in advancing NUS’ AI efforts. “As Senior Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Professor Tan has steered the University’s educational directions, policies and programmes, always demonstrating a deep commitment to the learning experience of our students. He exemplifies collegiality, institutional commitment and a lifelong dedication to the University.”

Sharing his hopes about the future, Prof Tan said, “Don’t be afraid of the unknown. Don’t be afraid of disruptions. All these disruptions, in fact, make us stronger. Take heart. Keep innovating, and I’m confident that future generations of NUS students and educators will do better than those who come before them.”

The honour roll

The NUS University Awards 2026 also recognised the accomplishments of seven outstanding educators and researchers.

University Research Recognition Award

Professor Abhik Roychoudhury from the Department of Computer Science, School of Computing, was lauded for extending his research from academic breakthroughs to enterprise-grade tools used by companies worldwide.

Professor Ashok Venkitaraman from the Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine; and Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, was honoured for his landmark discoveries on the BRCA2 gene, which have laid the scientific foundations for targeted cancer therapies used globally.

Young Researcher Award

Associate Professor Chen Huijun Cynthia from the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health was commended for her research on ageing and healthcare financing, which has directly shaped government policy in Singapore and on global platforms.

Assistant Professor Liu Boxiang from the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Science, recently won the 2026 Young Scientist Award at this year’s President’s Science & Technology Awards (PSTA). He was recognised for his work on genetic variation and RNA splicing which is advancing the understanding of complex and autoimmune diseases across Asian populations.

Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award

Professor Liu Xiaogang from the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, was honoured for his excellent and committed mentorship in nurturing the next generation of scholars and thought leaders. He is a dedicated mentor to over 130 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, many of whom have gone on to publish in the world's leading scientific journals.

Outstanding Educator Award

Two faculty members were acknowledged for being exemplary educators who have excelled in engaging and inspiring students in their quest for knowledge:

1) Associate Professor Robin Loon Seong Yun from the Department of English, Linguistics and Theatre Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, who has transformed how students engage with community and identity through experiential, arts-based learning.

2) Associate Professor Tay En Rong Stephen from the Department of the Built Environment, College of Design and Engineering, who has developed the Contextualised Learning via Enquiring, Answering, and Reflecting (CLEAR) pedagogical framework. This has reshaped how curiosity and critical thinking are taught across Singapore and five other countries.

Read more about the NUS University Awards recipients here and the NUS press release here.

Professor Wu Jishan, Provost's Chair Professor from the Department of Chemistry in the Faculty of Science at NUS, received the esteemed President’s Science Award (PSA) from Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, President of the Republic of Singapore.

Two outstanding young researchers were conferred with the Young Scientist Award (YSA) from Mr Heng Swee Keat, Chairman of NRF, for their potential to become future world-class leaders in their fields. They are: Assistant Professor Liu Boxiang, Presidential Young Professor from the Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in the Faculty of Science at NUS, and Assistant Professor Hou Yi, Presidential Young Professor from Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in the College of Design and Engineering at NUS, and Head of the Perovskite-based Multijunction Solar Cells Group at the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS) at NUS.

Their collective achievements underscore the University’s deep commitment to fostering a culture of research excellence and innovation at every career stage, from promising young talents to established leaders in their fields.

2026 President’s Science Award Recipient: Professor Wu Jishan

Professor Wu Jishan was presented the PSA for his contributions to molecular carbon science. His work focuses on developing open-shell and topologically complex molecules as designable systems, enabling new approaches to control their properties for future electronic, magnetic, photonic and quantum technologies.

A leading molecular scientist, Prof Wu has transformed our understanding of how electrons can be controlled in carbon-based molecules. He challenged the long-standing reliance on stable "closed-shell" molecules by demonstrating that highly reactive "open-shell" molecules can be systematically designed and controlled. This paradigm shift turned scientific curiosities into functional materials with unique magnetic, optical, and quantum properties.

One of Prof Wu’s most significant contributions is the development of stable diradicals and polyradicals – molecules containing unpaired electrons that interact with one another. His discoveries have led to new materials for spintronics, photonics and molecular quantum technologies. Prof Wu also reshaped chemistry’s core concept of aromaticity by extending it into three dimensions. He synthesised complex carbon architectures like Möbius and figure-eight molecular systems, opening new possibilities for advanced photonics, circularly polarised light technologies, spin-selective devices, and future quantum systems.

“Receiving the President’s Science Award is a tremendous honour and a deeply meaningful milestone for me. It recognises not only my own scientific journey, but also nearly two decades of work by my students, research team and collaborators at NUS,” said Prof Wu. “I am particularly grateful that our long-term effort to explore unconventional molecular systems — from open-shell molecules to three-dimensional aromatic and topological carbon structures — has grown from fundamental curiosity into new directions for advanced materials and quantum technologies.”

Collectively, Prof Wu’s discoveries provide a unified framework for controlling electron behaviour. Since joining NUS in 2007, he has built a world-leading research programme and mentored a new generation of scientists who now hold leadership positions globally. His foundational work and commitment to talent development lay the groundwork for future quantum technologies and cement Singapore’s position as a global leader in scientific innovation.

Read the full citation here.

2026 Young Scientist Award Recipient: Assistant Professor Liu Boxiang

Assistant Professor Liu Boxiang, a computational biologist and geneticist, won the YSA for his work in developing artificial intelligence (AI) and bioinformatics methods that improve the identification of causal genes for complex diseases, enabling precision medicine approaches for human health.

“This award recognises not just me but the hard work and dedication of my team and the generosity of my mentors and collaborators. It shows that the work we do is generating real-world impact, and the risk we took led to positive outcomes,” said Asst Prof Liu.

Asst Prof Liu’s research involves developing and employing AI methods to find genes that cause complex human diseases, with a particular focus on Asian populations, which have been underrepresented in genomic research. His work lays the groundwork for precision medicine tailored to an individual’s genetic makeup.

To close the data gap, he spearheaded the creation of the first atlas that maps genetic variation in individual Asian cells. His work identified an Asian-specific gene variant linked to Graves’ disease, a common thyroid condition, with the discovery earning a coveted spot on the cover of the scientific journal Nature Genetics. Asst Prof Liu also developed powerful computational tools, including the LocusCompare2 web platform used by researchers worldwide and the DIRAC deep-learning model, which turn raw genetic signals into actionable insights about disease mechanisms and potential drug targets.

Beyond his own research, Asst Prof Liu is committed to nurturing the next generation of scientists. He directs the Genomic Data Science Laboratory and the MGI-PPS Joint Laboratory at NUS, mentors a team whose work has earned awards, and has co-created and taught new genomics courses for the University. He also leads an industry partnership to bring advanced sequencing technologies to NUS. Apart from YSA, Asst Prof Liu received two other early-career awards this year – the NUS Young Researcher Award, and the NUS Faculty of Science Young Scientist Award.

Addressing aspiring scientists, Asst Prof Liu urged, “Don't give up – most people give up way too soon and never manage to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Pace yourself and avoid burnouts. Eat well, rest well, and exercise to fight for another day.”

Read the full citation here.

2026 Young Scientist Award Recipient: Assistant Professor Hou Yi

Assistant Professor Hou Yi clinched the YSA for his contributions to the development of high-performance perovskite solar technologies, from record-breaking devices to scalable manufacturing. His work has enabled lightweight and energy-efficient power systems for AI infrastructure, wearable electronics, space platforms and sustainable energy applications.

A pioneer in next-generation solar technology, Asst Prof Hou specialises in tandem solar cells. These cells stack two light-absorbing layers, often using perovskite materials, to capture more solar energy than conventional single-layer cells. His research has produced multiple world-record performances and tackled key challenges in stability and large-scale deployment.

By expanding the understanding of how different material layers interact and the degradation mechanisms of solar cells, Asst Prof Hou has made these advanced solar technologies significantly more durable, efficient, and commercially viable. His breakthroughs are paving the way for lightweight, energy-efficient power generation, moving beyond the limitations of traditional silicon and enabling new energy solutions for a wide range of demanding applications.

“One of the biggest challenges in our research has been translating high-performance perovskite solar cells from laboratory-scale devices into technologies that are stable, scalable, and relevant to real-world applications. We have addressed this by working across disciplines and continuously connecting fundamental materials science with device engineering and manufacturing,” said Asst Prof Hou.

Outside the lab, Asst Prof Hou is deeply involved in technology commercialisation. As the founder of the NUS spin-off company Singfilm Solar, he actively translates academic research into industrial use. Through his research and entrepreneurial efforts, he is building revolutionary power sources for AI infrastructure, wearable electronics, and space systems, strengthening Singapore’s position as a global leader in next-generation solar technology.

To young researchers, his advice is “to stay curious, focus on important problems, and not be afraid of taking on challenges that may initially seem difficult or unconventional”.

Read the full citation here.

The Corporate Lab is supported under the Research, Innovation and Enterprise 2025 plan (RIE2025) and is hosted at the College of Design and Engineering and with participation from the School of Computing at NUS. The Corporate Lab brings together a multidisciplinary research ecosystem spanning AI algorithms, accelerator architectures, low-power memory systems, circuit design, silicon technologies, and application development. The programme will integrate NUS’ pioneering research with ST’s expertise in semiconductor technology, system development, and industry operations.

NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye said: “The ST–NUS HELIX Corporate Lab is a testament to the value of industry–academia partnerships in translating research into innovation. By combining NUS’ research strengths with STMicroelectronics’ industrial capabilities, we are building not only advanced, cutting-edge edge AI hardware, but also the talent and ecosystem that will help define the future of Singapore’s semiconductor and AI industries.”

Laurent Malier, Executive Vice President, Global Technology R&D at STMicroelectronics, said: “ST’s strength as an integrated device manufacturer lies in our ability to bring together advanced silicon technologies, embedded memory, circuit design, heterogeneous integration and chiplets. Through HELIX, we are creating an industrially relevant foundation to explore differentiated AI computing technologies and accelerate the translation of promising research into scalable semiconductor solutions.”

The Corporate Lab was officially launched today by Ms Low Yen Ling, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, and Ministry of Trade and Industry, as the Guest-of-Honour.

Building the future of edge AI

Edge AI processes data directly within or close to a device rather than relying exclusively on remote cloud infrastructure. This enables faster response times, stronger data privacy, improved energy efficiency, and greater resilience in environments with limited or intermittent connectivity. These capabilities are increasingly important for AI systems that must perceive, reason, and act in real time, in the real world – often described as Physical AI.

HELIX focuses on a key frontier within this space: embodied AI, where intelligence is built directly into a physical form — such as a robot, humanoid, or drone — combining multi-modal sensing, on-device computing, and real-time actuation. Delivering that intelligence efficiently, on compact and power-constrained hardware, is the challenge HELIX is built to address. Enabling these capabilities at the edge requires innovation across algorithms, software, system architecture, and hardware.

HELIX builds on ST’s long-standing journey in AI and will help us explore new system-level solutions that combine efficient computing, advanced memory architecture, and application-driven design to address the requirements of future intelligent devices. Complementing ST’s capabilities, NUS brings world-class expertise in integrated circuits, computer architecture, AI models, and system design. Under the partnership, researchers from NUS and STMicroelectronics will jointly work on research work packages, talent development, IP creation, and demonstration activities.

The research at HELIX will span the full technology stack, from AI models and system architecture to heterogeneous accelerators, on-chip memory hierarchies, circuit design, chip integration, and silicon implementation. It will focus on memory centric architecture, innovative in-memory computing, and scalable compute-and memory systems, supported by ST’s P18 18nm Fully Depleted Silicon On Insulator (FD-SOI) technology and embedded Phase Change Memory (PCM). P18 FD-SOI enables ultra-low-power operation and adaptive body-biasing, while embedded PCM provides dense, non-volatile storage on the same die alongside the on-chip SRAM hierarchy. Together, these capabilities can reduce the off-chip data movement that dominates the energy consumption of memory-bound AI workloads.

ST will make a substantial technology and engineering contribution to HELIX by providing NUS with a dedicated design chassis implemented in its proprietary P18 18nm FD-SOI technology. The platform will bring together ST’s silicon, architecture, integration, and engineering capabilities to give researchers an industrial-grade foundation for developing, integrating, and validating new AI accelerator concepts. By eliminating the need to build the underlying infrastructure from the ground up, the design chassis will enable greater focus on differentiated innovation, accelerate system-level validation, and create a more direct path from technology pathfinding to industrialisation.

By combining advances across AI algorithms, accelerator architectures, memory systems, circuits, and semiconductor technologies, HELIX aims to address the energy-efficiency, memory-bandwidth, latency, scalability, and integration challenges associated with deploying increasingly capable AI systems at the edge.

Nurturing talent to drive Singapore’s semiconductor ecosystem

The establishment of HELIX represents a strategic investment in Singapore’s future competitiveness in edge AI and advanced semiconductor systems. By fostering industry-relevant R&D, HELIX will strengthen local capabilities and nurture a new generation of talent in AI systems and chip design.

Students, researchers, and professionals will have opportunities to participate in cutting-edge projects led by HELIX, gaining hands-on experience with the latest technologies, collaborating with industry leaders, and developing skills that meet the evolving needs of the sector. Through these initiatives, HELIX aims to build a robust talent pipeline and position Singapore as a global hub for innovation in edge AI and semiconductor technologies.

The study, led by Associate Professor Duong Hai Minh from the Department of Mechanical Engineering under College of Design and Engineering at NUS, was published in the scientific journal Waste Management on 29 June 2026.

A growing recycling challenge

Carbon fibre and epoxy composites are widely used in aerospace, wind energy, automotive and marine applications because they are light, strong and resistant to corrosion. However, the epoxy component is a thermoset polymer that, once cured, cannot be melted down and reshaped like some plastics, making these composites difficult to recycle.

Most existing recycling methods focus on recovering the carbon fibres. The epoxy resins are usually destroyed, discarded or treated as a lower-value by-product. Additionally, some methods require high temperatures, strong chemicals or large amounts of energy.

Assoc Prof Duong’s team took a different approach by using both the carbon fibre and epoxy components of the waste. The researchers mechanically processed the composite into a mixture of fine powder and short fibre fragments, combined it with carboxymethyl cellulose, a cellulose-based binder, and freeze-dried the mixture to form an aerogel.

During the freeze-drying process, the processed composite waste forms a light, sponge-like structure filled with tiny, connected pores. Much of this structure is air, which helps slow the movement of heat through the material. In laboratory tests, the aerogels showed low thermal conductivity, suggesting that they could be used as lightweight insulation materials.

“Our goal was to show that carbon fibre composite waste does not have to be treated only as a disposal problem,” said Assoc Prof Duong. “By using the whole material, including both the fibre and epoxy fractions, we can turn this waste stream into functional materials with higher value.”

From waste to useful material

Beyond thermal insulation, the aerogels also absorbed sound effectively, pointing to their potential use in sound-control materials.

The team also explored their use in environmental clean-up. After being treated to repel water, the aerogels were able to absorb large amounts of oil, suggesting that they could be useful for oil spill clean-up and oil-water separation.

Tests with fibroblast cells also found that the aerogels were non-toxic under the study conditions, supporting further investigation into potential applications involving humans or the environment.

The team is now exploring collaborations with partners in the aerospace, advanced materials, manufacturing and waste management sectors. Future work will focus on scaling up the technology and assessing its environmental and economic performance for industrial use.

“Advanced composites have enabled lighter and more efficient structures in many industries,” said Assoc Prof Duong. “The next step is to ensure that these materials can be managed sustainably at the end of their service life.”

The programme is designed to build an integrated R&D platform for sustainable specialty polymers, using lignocellulosic biomass, which refers to renewable plant dry matter typically produced as a waste by-product from agriculture and forestry, as an alternative raw material to petrochemicals. Southeast Asia produces an estimated 500 million tonnes of agricultural and forestry residues annually which could be a reliable and sustainable source of lignocellulosic biomass. The programme will focus on developing drop-in monomers for specialty polymers used in adhesives, specialty coatings and electronics.

The Energy and Chemicals sector is a critical part of Singapore’s economy, contributing 18.5 per cent of total manufacturing output. As the sector responds to the global sustainability transition, companies are increasingly exploring more sustainable product pathways while remaining competitive. SG Bio-SPRINT aims to expand the range of carbon sources available to Singapore’s specialty chemicals sector by helping shift production away from fossil-based inputs and toward more sustainable pathways. In doing so, the programme supports industry’s transition toward a circular bioeconomy while meeting growing market demand for greener products.

At the same time, specialty chemicals, including specialty polymers, remain a key growth area, with multinational companies continuing to invest in research, development, and production in Singapore. SG Bio-SPRINT will strengthen this momentum by providing targeted scientific support that complements industry R&D and unlocks new opportunities in sustainable materials.

“The NUS Department of Chemistry is proud to lead this programme, which brings together complementary expertise from NUS and A*STAR to develop high-performance, sustainable polymers from biomass feedstocks while assessing their commercial potential. The team offers deep experience and a strong track record in catalysis, green chemistry, polymer science, and materials engineering. Through three synergistic workgroups, we look forward to harnessing the team’s collective strengths and discoveries to help advance the circular bioeconomy.,” said Professor Lu Yixin, Lead Principal Investigator from the NUS Department of Chemistry.

“Ultimately, we hope that SG Bio-SPRINT will reinforce Singapore’s position as a regional hub for specialty polymers R&D and production while contributing meaningfully to the country’s broader net-zero ambitions,” added Professor Koh Ming Joo, co-Lead Principal Investigator from the NUS Department of Chemistry.

Addressing current industry challenges

Although bio-based alternatives are attracting growing interest, major gaps remain before they can be widely adopted in specialty polymer production. One challenge is that methods to convert lignocellulosic biomass into useful products are not fully developed, which limits the range of monomers and polymers that can be produced. Cost-effectiveness and scalability are also challenges, especially when moving from laboratory synthesis to commercial production.

SG Bio-SPRINT is designed to tackle these issues directly. The project focuses on creating industry-relevant drop-in monomers, which are molecules that share identical chemical structures as their fossil-fuel derived equivalents, that can be integrated into existing polymer production lines, rather than relying only on entirely new biomass-derived products. This approach should make adoption easier for manufacturers and help align chemistry design, performance requirements and supply chains.

The programme also responds to a broader global shift. Across government, research, and industry, there is growing urgency around defossilisation in the chemicals sector. While many current efforts focus on biofuels or commodity chemicals, SG Bio-SPRINT targets a more demanding area: specialty polymer applications, where materials must be carefully designed for performance and commercial use.

Developing new sustainable and high-performance polymers

SG Bio-SPRINT is structured around three closely connected workgroups comprising researchers from NUS and A*STAR.

Workgroup 1: Developing biomass-to-monomer pathways

The first workgroup will focus on converting lignocellulosic biomass into promising drop-in monomer candidates. This includes developing chemical routes, improving catalyst performance, and identifying pathways that can produce useful building blocks for specialty polymers.

Its goal is to create monomers that can be used in existing production systems, helping industry adopt greener feedstocks without needing completely new manufacturing infrastructure.

Workgroup 2: Validating performance for real applications

The second workgroup will test whether the new bio-based monomers can perform as well as conventional fossil-based materials. The team will examine purity, reactivity, and post-polymerisation properties, and compare them against industry incumbents.

The validation will focus on three application areas: adhesives, specialty coatings, and electronics. These are high-value sectors where performance is critical, so the workgroup’s findings will help determine whether the new materials are ready for real-world use.

Workgroup 3: Digital, economic, and sustainability support

The third workgroup will use artificial intelligence, molecular modelling, techno-economic analysis, and life cycle assessment to support the rest of the programme. Its role is to evaluate technical feasibility, cost, and sustainability together, helping the team prioritise the most promising routes.

This workgroup will also build a unified data framework that connects current research literature, experimental results and modelling insights. By doing so, the workgroup will help the project make better decisions earlier and accelerate the path from discovery to deployment.

Next steps

SG Bio-SPRINT’s immediate research goals include developing candidate monomers, validating them in application-relevant settings and building a data framework to identify potential polymers to focus on. The programme will also work closely with industry and innovation partners to support translation, intellectual property and future collaboration. Through the programme, the team aims to build foundational expertise and boost confidence in expanding sustainable chemical transition research to cover more applications in the chemical sector.

• The Straits Times, 14 August 2026, Opinion, pB2