The Council
President
Professor Loh Xian Jun
Professor Loh completed his basic and postgraduate studies at the National University of Singapore. A polymer chemist by training, he is currently the Executive Director of the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), A*STAR. As a pioneer in the area of biodegradable thermogels, he is highly knowledgeable in developing these materials for various applications spanning biomedical, engineering, cosmetics, personal care and food. His scientific contributions have earned him the position of Fellowship in Fitzwiliam College in the University of Cambridge. He holds multiple Fellowships in the Royal Society of Chemistry, Singapore National Institute of Chemistry, Institution of Engineering and Technology and The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining. With his extensive experience in authoring >250 journal papers, 38 patents and know-hows, >30 book chapters and 7 books, he currently sits on several editorial boards of international journals as an expert in his area. He is a multiple Highly Cited Researcher awardee by Clarivate Analytics. He has also successfully helped in the commercialization of 8 different products and is always interested in the translation of science to products. He is also a co-founder of a spin-off, Vitreogel Innovations, a company which looks at developing thermogels for retinal detachment treatment. |
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Vice President
Professor Lu Yixin
Professor LU Yixin studied chemistry and received his B.Sc. from Fudan University and continued his graduate studies in Canada and obtained his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry under the supervision of George Just from McGill University in 2000. He then carried out his postdoctoral research with Peter W. Schiller at Clinical Research Institute of Montreal, and subsequently worked as an RCMS fellow with Ryoji Noyori at Nagoya University. In September 2003, He started his independent career and joined the National University of Singapore (NUS) where he is now a Professor. Currently, he is Head of Department of Chemistry. His research focuses on asymmetric catalysis and synthesis. His group has developed a wide range of organocatalysts that can be readily derived from natural amino acids, which have been commercialized by Tokyo Chemical Industry (TCI) Co. Ltd. and Daicel Chiral Technologies Co. Ltd. He is currently an Editorial Advisory Board member for Accounts of Chemical Research, a flagship journal published by the American Chemical Society. He also won numerous awards, including an NRF Investigatorship Award in 20118, among others. |
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Hon Secretary
Professor Chen Xiaodong
Professor Chen holds the prestigious President's Chair Professorship in Materials Science and Engineering at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, with courtesy appointments in Chemistry and Medicine. His research interests span mechanomaterials science and engineering, flexible electronics technology, sense digitalization, cyber-human interfaces and systems, and carbon-negative technology. Professor Chen has been recently inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), earning one of the highest professional distinctions accorded to researchers in the field. He is a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the Singapore National Academy of Science and the Academy of Engineering Singapore and a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Chinese Chemical Society. |
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Hon Treasurer
Dr Xu Jianwei
Dr Jianwei Xu currently holds the position of Senior Principal Scientist III at the Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy, and Environment (ISCE2), A*STAR. Additionally, he serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Dr. Xu's educational background includes a B.S. and an M.S. in Chemistry from Nanjing University in China, which he obtained in 1988 and 1991 respectively. He later earned his Ph.D. degree from the National University of Singapore in 2002. Dr. Xu joined IMRE in 2000 and assumed the role of Head of the Synthesis and Integration Capability Group from 2011 to 2016. He also served as a Strategic Research Councillor at IMRE, A*STAR, from 2016 to 2020. Moreover, he played a pivotal role as the program co-manager of A*STAR's Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) hybrid thermoelectric program from 2015 to 2021. In 2022, Dr. Xu transitioned to ISCE2 and was appointed as Deputy Executive Director (Research). To date, Dr Xu’s research interest lies in the areas of conjugated polymers, aggregation-induced emission materials and hybrid materials for various applications including electrochromics, thermochromics and chemosensors. He has published around three hundred peer-reviewed articles and filed more than 40 US and Singapore patents. |
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Hon Asst Secretary
Dr Zong Yun
Dr Zong Yun was an Organometallic Chemist by training from Wuhan University and completed his PhD in Materials Science at Max-Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Germany. He had been in various management posts and committees over a decade at the Institute of Materials and Engineering (IMRE), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) to drive research and innovation, develop industry and enterprise, optimize resources, and nurture talents. His key research achievement includes the invention of Optics-integrated Quartz Crystal Microbalance, low-temperature method to producing white-light emitting nanocrystals, facile method for high quality ternary and quaternary quantum dots to be produced in bulk cost-effectively, highly effective low-cost UV-blocking materials system, and a few more on advanced battery materials and devices. He published over 100 research papers (mostly on energy conversion and storage) which have attracted over 11,500 citations and given him an h-index of 58. In service, Yun was founding member of A*STAR Chemistry Club (2008), Technical Advisor of Int-Mat Technologies Pte. Ltd. (2008), Vice President of Singapore National Institute of Chemistry (2016-2018), Program Manager of Advanced Energy Storage Research at Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) (2013-2017), Adjunct Associate Professor at the Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore (2018-2020), Singapore Covering Focal Point of the ASEAN COSTI (Committee on Science, Technology & Innovation) Sub-Committee on Science & Technology Infrastructure (SCIRD) (2020-2023), and is currently a Managing Editor of Journal of Molecular and Engineering Materials (JMEM) @ World Scientific Publishing (2012-present), Primary Focal Point of Subcommittee on Material Science and Technology (SCMST, 2023-present), Council Committee Member of Singapore Accreditation Council under Enterprise Singapore (ESG, 2020-present), Editorial Board member of A*STAR Research (2020-present), and Director at A*STAR Research Office with a focus on research strategy development to deliver quality and impact. Yun co-led the organizing committees of international scientific conferences, including The 2nd (2012), 3rd (2013), 4th (2014), 5th (2015) Molecular Materials Meeting (M3) @ Singapore, The 15th Asian Chemical Congress (15ACC, 2013), The 41st International Conference on Coordination Chemistry (ICCC-41, 2014), The Golden Jubilee Chemistry Conference (2015), The 3rd International Conference on Molecular and Functional Catalysis (ICMFC-3, 2016), The 11th International Symposium for Chinese Inorganic Chemists (ISCIC-11, 2016), The 8th Singapore International Chemistry Conference (SICC-8, 2016), and The 7th Asia-Oceania Conference on Green and Sustainable Chemistry (AOC-GSC-7, 2018). |
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Hon Asst Treasurer
Professor Alex Yan
Prof Qingyu Yan is currently a professor in School of Materials Science and Engineering in Nanyang Technology University. He obtained his BS in Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing University. He finished his PhD from Materials Science and Engineering Department of State University of New York at Stony Brook. After that, He joined the Materials Science and Engineering Department of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as a postdoctoral research associate. He joined School of Materials Science and Engineering of Nanyang Technological University as an assistant professor in early 2008 and became a Professor in 2018. His research is mainly focsed on the area: (1) battery development; (2) electronic waste recycling, (3) thermoelectric materials and (3) electrocatalytic process for energy conversion. He has been led a team to won the Royal Society of Chemistry Materials Horizon Prize of 2023 on the work of converting CO2 and Nitrate into Urea for sustainable agri-technology development. He is Web-of-science highly cited researcher since 2018. |
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Council Member
Dr Zhu Qiang
Dr Zhu Qiang obtained his Ph.D. from the Department of Chemistry of National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2010. His Ph.D supervisor is Prof Lu Yixin at NUS. After graduation, he joined Albany Molecular Research Inc (AMRI, USA MNC) as a senior research scientist for 5 years, mainly working on contract research for various Pharm giants. In 2015, he joined The Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE, A*STAR) as a research scientist. Currently, he is the Department Head of Advanced Characterization and Instrumentation (ACI) and Head of Research Liaison Office (RLO) in IMRE, A*STAR. His research interests include phase change materials, functional polymers, and polymer nanocomposites. He has been researching chemical formulations for different industry partners in Buildings, Logistics, Machinery sectors, and others. |
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Council Member
Dr Fung Fun Man
Dr. Fung Fun Man is a Singaporean instructor of Chemistry at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He earned his post-graduate degrees from NUS and Technical University of Munich. Dr. Fung is the national representative of Singapore National Institute of Chemistry at IUPAC Committee on Chemical Education, and he serves as a member of the Editorial Advisory Board (2021—present) at the Journal of Chemical Education, ACS Publications. He was elected to serve on the International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) steering committee for two terms (2014—2018) and as elected secretary of the International Younger Chemists Network (IYCN) (2019—2021). He is a recipient of the IUPAC Periodic Table of Younger Chemists award (Fluorine). |
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Council Member
Dr Liu Xiaogang
Dr. Liu Xiaogang is an Assistant Professor at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). He obtained his Ph.D. degree from the University of Cambridge in 2014. He began his independent research with Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) as a SMART Scholar (2014—2016). After joining SUTD in 2017, he led the Fluorescence Research Group to conduct research on the structure-property relationships of organic dyes, as well as develop high-performance fluorescent products for a wide range of applications (i.e., fluorescence imaging and sensing). Xiaogang and his co-workers’ research has been voted as the #4 of Top 10 Breakthroughs in Physics for 2010 by Physics World, highlighted by ACS Noteworthy Chemistry (2014), and featured in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) of American Chemical Society (2020). |
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Council Member
Dr Wendy Leong
Wendy is an Intellectual Property (IP) Specialist at ResMed, a medical device company that helps people with sleep apnea, COPD and other chronic diseases. Prior to joining ResMed, Wendy was at a boutique IP law firm where she advised clients on their patent filing strategy, drafted patent specifications and assisted in worldwide prosecution of patent applications. She is regularly invited to speak about IP and IP-related careers, thereby promoting IP awareness. Wendy obtained her PhD in Chemistry from the Nanyang Technological University and her BSc (Honours) in Chemistry from the National University of Singapore. She has been an active SNIC member since 2017 and was the co-Chairman of the SNIC Membership Committee (which was renamed to the SNIC Industry Chapter) from 2017-2020. During her tenure as co-Chairman, she regularly organized events to (i) connect academia and industry; (ii) connect students with industry professionals; (ii) spearheaded initiatives like the SNIC mentorship programme and collaborations between SNIC and the Royal Society of Chemistry (Singapore Chapter). In recognition of her commendable contributions, she was awarded the SNICMerit Service Award in 2019. In her free time, Wendy loves to “match make” her friends for networking and dating purposes. |
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Co-op Council Member
Dr Soo Han Sen
Dr. Han Sen Soo is an Associate Professor at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. Han Sen started his independent career in the School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology at NTU in 2012. His research team has been focusing on artificial photosynthesis, with the aim of finding ways to use renewable energy to transform “waste” materials into value-added feedstocks. A recent breakthrough from his laboratory was the photocatalytic upcycling of non-biodegradable plastics with resin codes 2-7 at ambient, aerobic conditions. His team is also working on the use of lead-free metal halide perovskites for photocatalysis and device applications. |
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Co-op Council Member
Dr Zhang Lili
Dr. Lili Zhang is Division Director of the Emerging Technologies at A*STAR’s Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment (ISCE2) and an Adjunct professor in NTU. Lili received her B. Eng. and Ph.D. degree from Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2004 and 2011, respectively. Dr. Zhang expertise in carbon-based materials and functional materials for alternative feedstock to chemicals & fuels, waste upcycling, clean energy production, and energy storage and conversion. Lili is Global Highly Cited Researcher. Her research has led to more than 100 publications with more than 28,000 citations (H-index: 57). Lili received Outstanding Asian Researcher and Engineer Award, A*STAR Fellow, IES Sustainability Award. |
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2024 Council | |
President
Vice President
Hon Secretary
Hon Treasurer
Asst.Hon Secretary
Asst Hon Treasurer
Council Member
Council Member
Council Member
Council Member
Co-op Council Member
Co-op Council Member
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Prof Loh Xian Jun
Prof Lu Yixin
Prof Chen Xiaodong
Dr Xu Jianwei
Dr Zong Yun
Prof Alex Yan
Dr Zhu Qiang
Dr Fung Fun Man
Dr Liu Xiaogang
Dr Wendy Leong
Dr Soo Han Sen
Dr Zhang Lili
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2023 Council | |
President
Vice President
Hon Secretary
Hon Treasurer
Asst.Hon Secretary
Asst Hon Treasurer
Council Member
Council Member
Council Member
Council Member
Co-op Council Member
Co-op Council Member
Co-op Council Member
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Prof Loh Xian Jun
Prof Lu Yixin
Assoc Prof Zhao Yu
Dr Xu Jianwei
Dr Zong Yun
Assoc Prof Lu Jiong
Asst Prof Mihaiela Stuparu
Dr Fung Fun Man
Dr Liu Xiaogang
Dr Wendy Leong
Prof Shunsuke Chiba
Prof JJ Vittal
Dr Zhu Qiang
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2022 Council | |
President
Vice President
Hon Secretary
Hon Treasurer
Asst.Hon Secretary
Asst Hon Treasurer
Council Member
Council Member
Council Member
Council Member
Co-op Council Member
Co-op Council Member
Co-op Council Member
Co-op Council Member
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Prof Loh Xian Jun
Prof Lu Yixin
Assoc Prof Zhao Yu
Dr Ken Lee Chi Lik
Dr Zong Yun
Assoc Prof Lu Jiong
Asst Prof Mihaiela Stuparu
Dr Fung Fun Man
Dr Liu Xiaogang
Dr Wendy Leong
Prof Shunsuke Chiba
Dr Xu Jian Wei
Prof JJ Vittal
Dr Zhu Qiang
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2020 Council | |
President
Vice President
Hon Secretary
Hon Treasurer
Asst.Hon Secretary
Asst Hon Treasurer
Council Member
Council Member
Council Member
Council Member
Co-op Council Member
Co-op Council Member
Co-op Council Member
Co-op Council Member
Co-op Council Member
Co-op Council Member
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Prof Tan Choon Hong
Prof Loh Xian Jun
Assoc Prof Zhao Yu
Dr Ken Lee Chi Lik
Dr Zong Yun
Dr Dien Pandiman
Dr Liu Xiaogang
Dr Leong Lai Peng
Asst Prof Mihaiela Stuparu
Prof Hardy Chan Sze On
Prof Shunsuke Chiba
Dr Xu Jian Wei
Assoc Prof Ling Xing Yi
Prof JJ Vittal
Dr Wendy Leong
Assoc Prof Ang Wee Han
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2019 Council | |
President
Vice President
Hon Secretary
Hon Treasurer
Asst.Hon Secretary
Asst Hon Treasurer
Council Member
Council Member
Council Member
Council Member
Co-op Council Member
Co-op Council Member
Co-op Council Member
Co-op Council Member
Co-op Council Member
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Prof Tan Choon Hong
Prof Loh Xian Jun
Dr Leong Lai Peng
Dr Ken Lee Chi Lik
Dr Zong Yun
Dr Zhao Yu
Dr Liu Xiaogang
Dr Dien Pandiman
Asst Prof Mihaiela Stuparu
Prof Hardy Chan Sze On
Prof Shunsuke Chiba
Dr Xu Jian Wei
Dr James Wang Jian Min
Assoc Prof Yan Yaw Kai
Assoc Prof Ling Xing Yi
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2018 Council | |
President
Vice President
Hon Secretary
Hon Treasurer
Asst.Hon Secretary
Asst Hon Treasurer
Council Member
Council Member
Council Member
Council Member
Co-op Council Member
Co-op Council Member
Co-op Council Member
Co-op Council Member
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Prof Tan Choon Hong
Prof Loh Xian Jun
Dr Leong Lai Peng
Assoc Prof Ling Xing Yi
Dr Ken Lee Chi Lik
Dr Zhao Yu
Dr Zong Yun
Dr Dien Pandiman
Asst Prof Mihaela Stuparu
Prof Hardy Chan Sze On
Prof Shunsuke Chiba
Dr Xu Jian Wei
Dr James Wang Jian Min
Assoc Prof Yan Yaw Kai
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2017 Council | |
President
Vice President
Hon Secretary
Hon Treasurer
Asst. Hon Secretary
Asst Hon Treasurer
Council Member
Council Member
Council Member
Council Member
Co-op Council Member
Co-op Council Member
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Prof Tan Choon Hong
Dr Zong Yun
Dr Leong Lai Peng
Assoc Prof Ling Xing Yi
Dr Ken Lee Chi Lik
Dr Li Xu
Dr Ng Kai Ling
Dr Dien Pandiman
Assoc Prof Loh Xian Jun
Prof Hardy Chan Sze On
Prof Shunsuke Chiba
Dr Xu Jian Wei
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