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. |
![]() |
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. |
![]() |
Hon Secretary
Assoc Professor Zhao Yu
Assoc Professor Zhao Yu obtained his B.S. in Chemistry at Peking University in 2002 where he carried out his undergraduate research with Prof Limin Qi on Surface Chemistry. In the same year, he went abroad to Boston College and obtained his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry in 2008 under the guidance of Prof. Marc L.Snapper and Prof. Amir H. Hoveyda. After that he had the honor of working with Nobel laureate Prof. Richard R. Schrock at MIT as a postdoctoral associate in the field of organometallic chemistry. In 2011 he was awarded the prestigious NRF fellowship from singapore and joined Department of Chemistry at NUS as an assistant professor. In July 2017 he was promoted to associate professor of chemistry. |
![]() |
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. |
Hon Asst Secretary
Dr Zong Yun
Dr Zong Yun is the Head of the Department of Molecular Materials at the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore. He was an Organometallic Chemist by training from Wuhan University and completed his PhD in Materials Science at the Max-Planck Institute of Polymer Research, Germany. He has been in various management positions and sits at in a number of committees which helped to manage research and innovation, industry and enterprise, space and procurement, as well as nurturing and development of talents. His major scientific achievements include a number of inventions, e.g. Optics-integrated Quartz Crystal Microbalance; A low-temperature method to producing white-light emitting nanocrystals; An approach for high-quality ternary and quaternary quantum dots to be produced in bulk cost-effectively; A low-cost UV-blocking materials system. In service, he was a founding member of A*STAR Chemistry Club, a Technical Advisor of Int-Mat Technologies Pte Ltd., and is the Vice President of Singapore National Institute of Chemistry (SNIC), an Associate Editor of Journal of Molecular and Engineering Materials (World Scientific Publishing), and an Editorial Board member of Translational Materials Research under IOP Publishing, United Kingdom. He has co-led the organising committees of a number of international conferences, represented by The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Molecular Materials Meeting (M3)@Singapore, The 15th Asian Chemical Congress, and The 41st International Conference on Coordination Chemistry. As a Senior Scientist at IMRE, he concurrently heads the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC)'s Advanced Energy Storage Research Programme, and his research mainly focuses on the development of new materials and systems for rechargeable Zinc-air and Lithium-Sulfur batteries. |
|
![]() |
Hon Asst Treasurer
Assoc Professor Lu Jiong
Dr LU Jiong is an associate professor at Department of Chemistry and Institute for Functional Intelligent Materials at NUS. Dr. Lu received his bachelor degree from Fudan University (China) in 2007 and Ph.D. degree from National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2011. After that, he worked as a postdoc fellow in Graphene Research Centre at NUS, and then move to Department of Physics, UC Berkeley. His current research interests include atomic-scale materials design and investigation of atomic-scale nanoscience in low-dimensional electronic/magnetic materials and quantum materials towards next-generation solid-state devices and atomically precise catalysis. His group has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers in top-tier journals including Nature Materials, Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Electronics, Nature Communications and Science Advances. His publications were highlighted in several Nature series journal, numerous media reports, and also selected as JACS Early Career Investigator 2021 virtual collection. Dr. Lu is a recipient of JMCA Emerging Investigators 2019 and NUS Faculty of Science Young Scientist Award (2021). |
![]() |
Council Member
Asst Professor Mihaiela Stuparu
Asst Prof Mihaiela Stuparu is an Assistant Professor in Chemistry at NTU. She obtained her doctoral degree in the group of Prof. A. D. Schlüter from ETH-Zürich, Switzerland. In 2009, she received the Ambizione fellowship from the Swiss National Science Foundation. Her research focus is on the preparation of corannulene-based polymers differing in their chemical composition and architecture together with studying their properties. |
![]() |
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). |
![]() |
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). |
![]() |
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. |
![]() |
Co-op Council Member
Professor Shunsuke Chiba
Professor Shunsuke Chiba is a Professor at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He has been at NTU since April 2007 and was awarded tenure in 2012. Prof. Chiba received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from The University of Tokyo. His research interests include synthetic organic chemistry - the development of new synthetic reactions and synthesis of natural and unnatural products. He has received many awards such as the Thieme Chemistry Journal Award, Asian Core Program Lectureship Award, GSK-SNIC Award in Organic Chemistry, and the Chemical Society of Japan Award for Young Chemists. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and an Advisory Board Member of the Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry journal by RSC. |
![]() |
Co-op Council Member
Dr Xu Jianwei
Dr Xu Jianwei is currently a Principal Scientist I at the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) , Agency for Science, Research and Technology (A*STAR), and he is also an Adjunct Research Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Dr Xu received his B.S. and his M.S. in Chemistry from Department of Chemistry, Nanjing University in China in 1988 and 1991, respectively. He graduated from NUS with a Ph.D. degree in 2000. Dr Xu joined IMRE in 2000. From 2011 to 2016, he was appointed as the Head of Synthesis and Integration Capability Group that is the largest research capability group in IMRE. Currently, he is a Strategic Research Councilor of IMRE, A*STAR. He is also program manager of A*STAR, Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) hybrid thermoelectric program. In IMRE, his major research work is focusing on the development of functional polymer materials, hybrid materials, high-temperature lubrication materials, and liquid crystalline materials for various applications. In particular, he has been leading/participating numerous industry-funded projects since he joined IMRE. He has collaborated with many multinational companies including Seagate International Technology, Boeing Company, Procter & Gamble, Rolls Royce, SIA Engineering Company, Honeywell, Symrise, Sumitomo Bakelite, etc. He has published more than one hundred papers in refereed journals, filed more twenty patents and company know-hows, some of them have been licensed to the Singapore and US companies for commercialization. Since 2012, he has been elected as one of the SNIC council members. |
![]() |
Co-op Council Member
Professor JJ Vittal
Professor JJ Vittal received his BSc from the University of Madras, MSc from Madurai University and PhD from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. While working as a postdoctoral fellow and a research associate at the University of Western Ontario, Canada, he was trained in X-ray crystallography by Prof. Nicholas C Payne. Later he managed the X-ray facility in the Department of Chemistry until he left for Singapore. JJ accepted a faculty position as a Senior Lecturer at the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 1997 and established Service Crystallography Laboratory in the Department of Chemistry for their central instrumentation facility. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Chemistry. He held a World Class University Chair Professorship at the Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, South Korea (2009-2013). JJ is interested in the design & synthesis of coordination polymers & metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), crystal engineering, solid-state chemistry, materials and reactivity. He co-authored ‘Crystal Engineering – A Textbook’ with G.R. Desiraju (IISc) and A. Ramanan (IIT-Delhi). He also co-edited two books on crystal engineering with E.R.T. Tiekink. He is a Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry and Singapore National Institute of Chemistry. He holds editorial board membership in several journals including ACS Crystal Growth & Design and Nature Scientific Reports. He won several awards including Chemical Research Society of India, CRSI Medal (2020), Outstanding Chemist Award (2014), CRISP Award (2013), Outstanding Research Award (2011) and Best Scientist Award (2007). JJ was highlighted in Angewandte Author Profile (2014). He is the founder and an Organizing Committee member of Singapore National Crystal Growing Challenge (1997-2016). He is an international committee member of Worldwide IUCr Crystal Growing Competition for School Children since 2014. He extensively published over 500 original research papers, authoritative reviews and book chapters and over 250 opening, plenary, keynote and invited talks at national and international conferences. According to the recent Google Scholar his publications has been cited ~22,300 times with an h-index of 74. ORCID: 0000-0001-8302-0733 and Researcher ID: B-2541-2010 |
![]() |
Co-op 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. |
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|