Auditorium
Listen to Exciting, Cutting-Edge Research Talks by World-Class NUS Professors From Diverse Disciplines and Interact With Them Through Q&As!
Vice Provost’s Welcome
Professor Shen Zuowei
Vice Provost (Graduate Education & Special Duties)
Dean, NUS Graduate School
Professor Shen Zuowei is Vice Provost (Graduate Education & Special Duties) at the National University of Singapore (NUS).
Prof Shen was Deputy Head of the NUS Department of Mathematics from 2006 to 2012, Head from 2012 to 2014, and Dean of the Faculty of Science from 2014 to 2020.Prof Shen received his PhD in 1991 from the University of Alberta, Canada and completed his postdoctoral training at University of Wisconsin-Madison. He joined NUS in 1993, was promoted to full professor in 2002, and Distinguished Professor in 2009. Since 2013, Prof Shen has been Tan Chin Tuan Centennial Professor.
A renowned mathematician, Professor Shen is well-known for his fundamental contributions in mathematical foundations of data science, especially in the areas of approximation and wavelet theory, image processing and compressed sensing, computer vision and machine learning. Together with his collaborators, he has several signature theorems and algorithms that include developing a duality analysis that leads to three mathematical principles: the duality principle, the unitary extension principle and the oblique extension principle in approximation and wavelet theory; sparsity based balanced model and algorithms by using redundant systems in image processing; and the singular value thresholding algorithm in compressed sensing. His recent research interests focus on approximation theory of deep neural networks.
Prof Shen is a prominent researcher in his various fields of research. He sits on several editorial boards of top journals and has been invited to speak at many international conferences and congresses, including the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) in 2010 and the International Congress of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ICIAM) in 2015. Both ICM and ICIAM, which are held every four years, are the most reputable congresses in mathematics and applied mathematics, and being an invited speaker at these events is testament to his expertise and leadership in these fields.
Prof Shen has received numerous awards and honours, including the NUS Outstanding University Researcher Award (2008 and 1997), Wavelet Pioneer Award from the Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers, US (2012), and the National Science Award of Singapore (1998). He has been elected as Fellow of the World Academy of Sciences (2020), Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, US (2019), Fellow of the American Mathematical Society, US (2017), and inaugural Fellow of the Singapore National Academy of Science (2011).
Keynote – When Mathematics meet Management – Stories of OR and Analytics
Professor Teo Chung Piaw
Executive Director
Provost’s Chair
Department of Analytics and Operations,
NUS Business School
“The purpose of teaching is not to convey information but to excite and inspire!”
Prof Chung Piaw TEO is Provost’s Chair Professor and Executive Director of the Institute of Operations Research and Analytics (IORA) in the National University of Singapore. Prior to the current appointments, he was a Head of Department, Acting Deputy Dean, Vice-Dean of the Research and Ph.D Program as well as Chair of the Ph.D Committee in the NUS Business School.
He was a fellow in the Singapore-MIT Alliance Program, an Eschbach Scholar in Northwestern University (US), Professor in Sungkyunkwan Graduate School of Business (Korea), and a Distinguished Visiting Professor in YuanZe University (Taiwan). He is currently spearheading an effort to develop the IORA, as part of the University’s strategic initiatives in the Smart Nation Research Program, as well as a department editor for MS (Optimization), and a former area editor for OR (Operations and Supply Chains).
He studied issues in service and manufacturing operations, supply chain management, discrete optimization, and machine learning. He has also served on several international committees such as the Chair of the Nicholson Paper Competition (INFORMS, US), member of the LANCHESTER and IMPACT Prize Committee (INFORMS, US), Fudan Prize Committee on Outstanding Contribution to Management (China).
Cutting-Edge Research Talks by Faculty Professors
Professor Dean Ho
Provost’s Chair Professor
Director, Institute for Digital Medicine (WisDM)
Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
Director, N.1 Institute for Health (N.1)
Head, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Optimizing health to healthcare: This is the vision of the Department of Biomedical Engineering in partnership with the Institute for Digital Medicine (WisDM) and the N.1 Institute for Health (N.1). Using powerful AI-based approaches from our team, we have achieved life-saving outcomes in oncology, all the way to optimizing food security, nutrition, and physical performance. We will discuss our latest technology programmes and clinical trials that have accelerated our pathway towards the personalized and optimized healthcare of tomorrow.
These include:
- PRECISE CURATE: Harnessing only a patient’s own data to optimize their care, dynamically.
- IDentif.AI: Achieving global health security through AI-optimized pandemic preparedness.
- WisDM Green: Food security, nutrition, and performance optimization.
Professor Dean Ho is currently Provost’s Chair Professor, Director of The Institute for Digital Medicine (WisDM) at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine; Director of The N.1 Institute for Health (N.1), and Head of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the National University of Singapore.
Prof Ho and collaborators successfully developed and validated CURATE.AI, a powerful artificial intelligence platform that personalizes human treatment for a broad spectrum of indications ranging from oncology, to digital therapeutics and infectious diseases, among others. His team also developed IDentif.AI to optimize combination therapy design against SARS-CoV-2 and to address antimicrobial resistance. Recently, his team unveiled WisDM Green, a technology platform to sustainably address food security and optimize yield while preserving nutritional content.
Prof. Ho is an elected Fellow of the US National Academy of Inventors (NAI), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), and the Royal Society of Chemistry. He was also recently named to the HIMSS Future50 Class of 2021 for his internationally-recognized leadership in digital health. Prof. Ho is also a Subgroup Lead in the World Health Organization (WHO) Working Group for the regulation of AI for Health. Prof Ho has appeared on the National Geographic Channel Program “Known Universe,” and Channel News Asia’s “The Hidden Layer: Healthcare Trailblazers”. His discoveries have been featured on CNN, The Economist, National Geographic, Forbes, Washington Post, NPR and other international news outlets.
Prof. Ho is a recipient of the Tech Heroes from Crisis Pathfinder Award from the Singapore Computer Society, NSF CAREER Award, Wallace H. Coulter Foundation Translational Research Award, and V Foundation for Cancer Research Scholar Award, among others. He has also served as the President of the Board of Directors of the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS), a leading global drug development organization.
Professor Liu Bin
Senior Vice Provost (Faculty & Institutional Development)
Distinguished Professor
Materials Innovations for Biomedical Applications
Dr. Bin Liu is currently a Professor and Senior Vice Provost of the National University of Singapore. She is a foreign member of the US National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the Singapore National Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Engineering Singapore, the Asia-Pacific Academy of Materials, and the Royal Society of Chemistry. She received her B.S. degree from Nanjing University and a Ph.D. degree from the National University of Singapore (NUS), before her postdoctoral training at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She joined NUS in late 2005 and was promoted to Dean’s Chair Professor in 2014, Provost’s Chair Professor in 2017, and Distinguished Professor in 2022.
Liu’s research is focused on organic nanomaterials for energy and biomedical applications. She is among the World’s Most Influential Minds and the Top 1% Highly Cited Researchers in Materials Science and Chemistry 2014-2021. Liu has received many prestigious awards, and the recent ones include ACS Nano Lectureship Award 2019 and the RSC Centenary Prize and Medal 2021. Liu is passionate about nurturing the next generation of research leaders and encouraging more women to pursue careers in science, engineering, and nanotechnology.
Associate Professor Low Boon Chuan
Deputy Head, Department of Biological Sciences
Principal Investigator, Mechanobiology Institute (MBI)
Understanding how our body functions require dissecting, re-constructing and integrating various physical and chemical processes across multiple levels of precision and organization. In this talk, I will explore how the use of genetic, physical, biochemical, and engineering principles and tools have allowed us to unravel the mystery of life (and diseases) underpinned by cells’ capabilities versus malfunctions in communicating with one another and with the tissue microenvironment. Some of the latest advancements in the field of mechanobiology and the prospects of offering new avenues to treatment will be discussed.
Associate Professor Boon Chuan Low is a Principal Investigator at the Mechanobiology Institute (MBI) and Deputy Head of the Department of Biological Sciences, NUS. He discovered the novel BCH protein domains in 2000 and leads an interdisciplinary research team that elucidate their versatile functions in scaffolding key signalling proteins such as GTPases, kinases and metabolic enzymes to control cell and tissue growth, differentiation, and cell dynamics. Their work is paving the ways for better understanding of cancer, neurological disorders, and cardiac ageing. A/P Low was a founding member of MBI and now also serving as Associate Dean at the NUS College to promote interdisciplinary education.
More info: https://www.mbi.nus.edu.sg/low-boon-chuan/
Associate Professor Yang Hong Shun
Associate Professor
Department of Food Science & Technology
Foodomics: A Bridge Connects Food Science and Nutrition
Dr. YANG Hongshun is an Associate Professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He obtained his Ph.D. in Refrigeration and Cryogenics Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China in 2005 and worked as a research fellow at Auburn University, USA from 2006 to 2008. He obtained his second Ph.D. in Food Science from the University of Minnesota, USA in 2012 and was a faculty research assistant at the University of Maryland, USA before joining NUS in 2013. Dr. Yang’s research interests include food processing, safety engineering, and foodomics, especially in seafood, fruit and vegetables, and cereal products.
Associate Professor Hahn Jungpil
Associate Professor
Deputy Director (AI Governance), AI Singapore
Deputy Director, Centre for Technology, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence & the Law
Director, NUS Fintech Lab
Making the Crowd Wiser: (Re)combination through Teaming in Crowdsourcing
Jungpil Hahn is an Associate Professor in the Department of Information Systems and Analytics at the School of Computing at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He served as the Head of the Department of Information Systems and Analytics from July 2015 to June 2021. Prior to joining NUS, he was an Assistant Professor of Management at the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University in West Lafayette (IN) and a Visiting Assistant Professor of Information Systems at the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh (PA). He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Business Administration from Yonsei University in Seoul Korea and he earned his Ph.D. in Information and Decision Sciences from the Carlson School of Management at The University of Minnesota. Professor Hahn’s research focuses on open innovation, organizational learning and knowledge management, software development processes, software project management and human-computer interaction. His research has been published in Management Science, MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, Organization Science, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, Journal of Management Information Systems, Information Systems Frontiers, International Journal of Business and Globalization, Theoretical Issues in Ergonomic Science, the ACM Transactions on Human-Computer Interaction and the Korean Management Science Review as well as in proceedings of major conferences such as the International Conference on Information Systems, the Annual Workshop on HCI Research in MIS, the International Conference on Electronic Commerce, the International Conference on Open Source Systems, the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences and the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. His research has also been presented at major conferences such as the INFORMS Annual Meeting, the INFORMS Conference on Information Systems and Technology, the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management, the Association of Consumer Research Pre-Conference on Consumer Behavior Online, the Workshop on Information Systems and Economics, the Workshop on Information Technology and Systems and the Annual Meeting of the Productions and Operations Management Society. Professor Hahn has also contributed essays to multiple edited volumes including Economics, Information Systems and Electronic Commerce: Empirical Advances (R. J. Kauffman and P. P. Tallon, eds.), IT-enabled Strategic Management: Increasing Returns for the Organization (B. A. Walters and A. Tang, eds.) and E-Business Management: Integration of Web Technologies with Business Models (M. Shaw, ed.). Professor Hahn has received numerous awards and accolades for his research, teaching and service. He is a recipient of three “Best Paper in Track” Awards for the Sharing Economy, Platforms and Crowd, Advances in Research Methods and the IS Development and Project Management Tracks at the International Conference in Information Systems (2021 and 2022), the “Best Paper Award” at the Workshop on Information Technology and Systems (WITS) in 2016, and the “Best 2013 Published Paper Award” from the Organizational Communication and Information Systems (OCIS) Division of the Academy of Management. He was nominated for the “Best Paper Award” at the International Conference on Electronic Commerce in 2007 and for the “Best Division Paper Award” at the Academy of Management in 2011 (Organization and Management Theory Division) and 2017 (Entrepreneurship Division) . Professor Hahn was named “Krannert Distinguished Teacher” numerous times in the MBA program at the Krannert Graduate School of Management and received the Faculty Teaching Excellence Award (FTEA) at NUS School of Computing in 2014. Professor Hahn’s service to the academic community was also recognized by being named “Outstanding Reviewer” for IEEE Internet Computing in 2002 and was awarded the “Best Reviewer Award” in 2009 by the INFORMS Information Systems Society for his outstanding service for Information Systems Research.
Assistant Professor John Chen Yu-Shen
Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology
Pathogenicity Islands co-opt virulence factors from the
Staphylococcus aureus chromosome by a novel form of Lateral Transduction
Research in the Chen lab focuses on the bacteriophages and pathogenicity islands of the bacterial pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. Recently, his laboratory has identified and characterized several novel and powerful mechanisms of gene transfer that are proposed to be the major means by which S. aureus evolves and acquires the antibiotic resistance and virulence factors that accelerate the emergence of new and progressively more pathogenic strains.
Dr. Chen received his undergraduate degree from Princeton University and his Ph.D. from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine in the New York University School of Medicine before joining the National University of Singapore faculty in 2015.
Associate Professor Polly Chen Leilei
Principal Investigator, Cancer Science Institute of Singapore
Associate Professor, Department of Anatomy,
How changes in Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) contribute to cancer
Dr Polly Leilei Chen got her Bachelor of Medicine in 2002 from Jiangsu University, China, followed by a 2-year specialized training program in Obstetrics & Genecology. In 2006-2012, she completed her PhD in Cancer Genetics in Professor Xin-Yuan Guan’s laboratory at the University of Hong Kong and had her postdoctoral training in the same laboratory. In 2014, Dr Chen joined National University of Singapore (NUS) as an Assistant professor in the Department of Anatomy and Principal Investigator at Cancer Science Institute of Singapore. She has recently been promoted to Associate Professor. Dr Chen currently places her research focus on functional and mechanistic investigation of RNA changes leading to cancer initiation, relapse post treatment, and drug resistance; and understanding how pre-neoplastic and tumor cells develop immune evasion mechanisms through impairing RNA sensing and immune activation.
Eminent Alumni Insights – The Heart of Data and AI
Tok Wee Hyong
Senior Director
Cloud and AI
Microsoft
Wee Hyong is Senior Director with the Cloud and AI organization at Microsoft. He is a seasoned Data and AI leader with a proven track record of running a multi-million dollar business, and growing it to sustained industry leadership positions. He deeply believes in building enduring and empowered teams and is responsible for managing global and multi-disciplinary teams of product managers, engineers and data scientists over his career at Microsoft. He has worn many hats -developer, product manager, data scientist, researcher, and technical advisor. In addition, he is the author of more than 10 Data and AI books. These rich career experiences have given him unique super powers to solve some of the world’s most complex technology problems.
Cutting-Edge Research Talks by Faculty Professors
Assistant Professor Selina Ho
Co-Director of Centre on Asia and Globalisation
Assistant Professor, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
Infrastructure and Chinese Power: Insights from China’s Belt and Road Initiative
Selina Ho is Assistant Professor in International Affairs and Co-Director of the Centre on Asia and Globalisation, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. She researches Chinese politics and foreign policy, with a focus on how China wields power and influence via infrastructure and water disputes in Southeast Asia and South Asia. Selina is the author of Thirsty Cities: Social Contracts and Public Goods Provision in China and India and co-author of Rivers of Iron: Railroads and Chinese Power in Southeast Asia. Her articles are published in top international relations and area studies journals.
Assistant Professor Ong Wei Jee
Assistant Professor, NUS Business School
How Do Leaders Respond To Social Constraints? Experiments and Field Studies in Emotions and Ethics
Wei Jee Ong is an Assistant Professor of Management and Organisation at NUS Business School. He holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from the University of Washington. His research focuses on leadership, ethics, and job design. He is interested in how individuals respond to different types of constraints in these domains, such as how social norms and job characteristics constrain leaders and other organizational members. His research uses a combination of field and experimental studies, and has been published in leading management journals.
Professor Paul Simon Kench
Chair of the Graduate Studies Committee
Professor, Department of Geography
The Response of Coral Reef Islands to Sea-level Rise
Dr Kench is Professor of Tropical Coastal Dynamics in the Department of Geography, NUS. His research focusses on understanding the evolution and dynamics of coral reef islands in response to climatic variability and sea level change. His research has made a significant contribution to global discussion regarding the physical stability of atoll islands, and the future adaptation options for small island nations. Having worked extensively with agencies and communities in the Maldives and Pacific to explore responses to environmental change, he was invited to present the findings of his work at the UN General Assembly in 2018.
Assistant Professor Trevor Erik Carlson
Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science
Security in Computer Architecture Research: Protecting
Processors with Low-Overhead Methodologies
Trevor E. Carlson is an Assistant Professor at the School of Computing at the National University of Singapore. He has previously worked as a Computer Architect at IBM, Intel and IMEC, and has studied at Carnegie Mellon (BS, MS), Ghent University (PhD) worked at Uppsala University as a postdoctoral researcher. His interests lie in secure and efficient computing and accelerator design, as well as simulation and sampling methodologies. He has recently been awarded Amazon, Intel and VMWare Research Awards. His work has received six Best Paper or Best Paper Nominations in conferences such as the International Symposium on Microarchitecture (MICRO) and the International Symposium on Performance Analysis of Systems and Software (ISPASS).
Vice Dean Roundtable Forum
In the Vice Dean Roundtable Forum, hear highlights about the multitude of graduate programs in the major faculties at NUS and ask the Deans everything you’ve wanted to know about our programs, academic / research opportunities through interactive Q&As. Click their pictures to read their biographies.
Arts & Social Sciences
Associate Professor Bruce Lockhart
Vice Dean for Graduate Studies Division
Computing
Professor Dong Jin Song
Assistant Dean, Graduate Studies
Design & Engineering
Professor Wong Nyuk Hien
Vice Dean, Graduate Research Programmes
Medicine
Associate Professor Kevin Tan
Vice-Dean, Graduate Studies
Public Policy
Professor Suzaina Bte Abdul Kadir
Vice Dean,
Academic Affairs
Science
Professor Bao Weizhu
Vice Dean for Graduate Matters and Academic Affairs, Faculty of Science
Duke-NUS
Professor Silke Vogel
Discussion Forum with NUS PhD Alumni and Students
Find out if graduate studies at NUS is right for you by interacting with our alumni and graduate students during the Alumni / Graduate Student Discussion Forum through candid, interactive Q&As.
Alumni
Business
Professor Long Zhouyu Daniel
Professor, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Computing
Professor Liu Yang
Professor, Nanyang Technological University
Program Director, HP-NTU Corporate Lab
Deputy Director, National Satellite of Excellence of Singapore
Arts & Social Sciences
Dr Chen Zhuo
Assistant Professor
Peking University
Medicine
Dr Wang Yu
Chief Technology Officer
Precision Genomics Biotechnology
Graduate Students
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Free and Easy Chats with the Deanery and Admissions Officers
Missed the chance to interact with the Deanery or Admissions Officers in the Auditorium or Faculty Booths during the day? Fret not: stroll into this Free and Easy Chatroom Lounge and interact directly with available Deanery, Alumni, Graduate Students and Admissions Officers anytime from 6:00 PM to 2:00 AM (SGT). Discuss with them all matters related to whether PhD is for you, admissions, programme highlights, and much more!
Chairpersons
Professor Wong Lim Soon
Deputy Dean
NUS Graduate School
A/Prof Jessica Pan
Vice Dean
NUS Graduate School
A/Prof Caroline Lee
Vice Dean
NUS Graduate School