Peter Schwartz

Co-founder and Chairman, Global Business Network
Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council (RIEC) Member

Peter Schwartz is cofounder and chairman of Global Business Network, a Monitor Group company, and a partner of the Monitor Group, a family of professional services firms devoted to enhancing client competitiveness. An internationally renowned futurist and business strategist, Peter specializes in scenario planning, working with corporations, governments, and institutions to create alternative perspectives of the future and develop robust strategies for a changing and uncertain world. His current research and scenario work is particularly focused on climate change and national security issues, and also encompasses energy resources and the environment, technology, telecommunications and aerospace.

Peter is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council, the World Affairs Council and, in Singapore, the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council. He also sits on the boards of The Long Now Foundation, The Center for New American Security, and the Center for Strategic Studies.

From 1982 to 1986, Peter headed scenario planning for the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies in London. His team conducted comprehensive analyses of the global business and political environment and worked with senior management to create successful strategies. Before joining Royal Dutch/Shell, Peter directed the Strategic Environment Center at SRI International. The Center researched the business milieu, lifestyles, and consumer values, and conducted scenario planning for corporate and government clients.

Peter has authored and co-authored several books including Inevitable Surprises (Gotham, 2003), The Long Boom (Perseus, 1999), and China's Futures (Jossey-Bass, 2001). His first book, The Art of the Long View (Doubleday Currency, 1991; audio tape, 1995; paperback, 1996), is considered a seminal publication on scenario planning and has been translated into multiple languages. Peter received a B.S. in aeronautical engineering and astronautics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Professor Peter Newman

Professor of Sustainability, Curtin University of Technology




Peter Newman is the Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University, a Visiting Professor at NUS and was recently appointed as a Lead Author for Transport on the next IPCC Report. He is a Visiting Professor in the School of Architecture at the National University of Singapore. He is on the Board of Infrastructure Australia that is funding infrastructure for the long term sustainability of Australian cities. His two books in 2009 ‘Resilient Cities: Responding to Peak Oil and Climate Change’ and ‘Green Urbanism Down Under’, were both written with Tim Beatley. In 2001-3 Peter directed the production of Western Australia’s Sustainability Strategy in the Department of the Premier and Cabinet. It was the first state sustainability strategy in the world. In 2004-5 he was a Sustainability Commissioner in Sydney advising the government on planning issues. In 2006/7 he was a Fulbright Senior Scholar at the University of Virginia Charlottesville. In Perth, Peter is best known for his work in saving, reviving and extending the city’s rail system. Peter invented the term ‘automobile dependence’ which is now part of most planning practice and theory. For 30 years since he attended Stanford University during the first oil crisis he has been warning cities about preparing for peak oil. Peter’s book with Jeff Kenworthy 'Sustainability and Cities: Overcoming Automobile Dependence' was launched in the White House in 1999. He was a Local Government Councillor in the City of Fremantle from 1976-80 where he still lives. In 2011 he did a lecture tour of Indian cities for the Australia-India Council.

Professor Geoffrey West

Distinguished Professor and Past President, Sante Fe Institute




Geoffrey West is Distinguished Professor and former President of the Santa Fe Institute (SFI). He is also an Associate Fellow of the Said Business School, Oxford University, and a Visiting Professor of Mathematics at Imperial College, London. Prior to joining SFI in 2003, he was leader and founder of the high energy physics group at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he remains a Senior Fellow. He received his BA from Cambridge University in 1961 and his PhD in physics from Stanford University in 1966, where he returned in 1970 to join the faculty. He was President of SFI from 2005 - 2009.

West is a theoretical physicist whose primary interests have been in fundamental questions in physics and biology, ranging from the elementary particles, their interactions and cosmological implications to the origins of universal scaling laws and a unifying quantitative framework of biology. His research areas in biology have included metabolic rate, growth, aging & death, sleep, cancer, and ecosystem dynamics.

His recent work has focused on developing an underlying quantitative theory for the structure and dynamics of cities, companies and long-term global sustainability; problems include rates of growth and innovation, the accelerating pace of life, and why companies die, yet cities survive. He is the author of several books and a Fellow of the American Physical Society. He has given many colloquia and public lectures world-wide. Among recent awards are the Mercer Prize from the Ecological Society of America; the Weldon Prize for Mathematical Biology and the Glenn Award for Aging research. His work on cities and companies was selected as a breakthrough idea of 2007 by Harvard Business Review and, in 2006, he was selected for Time magazine's list of "100 Most Influential People in the World".

Dr. Beate Schlageter

Project Director Strategic Marketing, Corporate Technology, Siemens AG




Dr Schlageter is an international business and technology consultant, with cross-sectional business units/divisions experiences especially in strategic marketing, international new business development, technology evaluation and R&D-portfolio-management.

In Siemens AG, Dr Schlageter leads strategy and innovation projects to enhance and build-up product, business and R&D portfolios for the Siemens Operative Divisions and Corporate Technology, to understand and address future market, business needs and technology requirements.

Her current focus is in the area of smart sustainable cities in general and related city infrastructure issues e.g. energy, water, lighting, buildings for different regions. She developed a comprehensive scenario of a city in 2050 to understand the main city challenges and to derive potential innovative solutions for the future. The results of this “Picture of the Future” scenario will be part of the Siemens City Centre in London

Dr. Schlageter graduated with a Diploma in Chemistry and with a Dr. Ing. in Engineering at the University of Karlsruhe, Germany.

Adrian Cheong

Deputy Director, Mechanical & Electrical Services, Land Transport Authority




Mr Adrian Cheong has been with the Land Transport Authority of Singapore (LTA) since 1996. Currently, he is holding the appointment of a Deputy Director in LTA and Senior Consultant in MSI Global Pte Ltd with more than 15 years work experience. Mr Cheong is responsible for the delivery of the Mechanical and Electrical Services inclusive of Power Supply Systems and Tunnel Ventilation Systems for the railway network in Singapore. He is also involved in areas of consultancy works for overseas jobs under MSI Global. He is instrumental in the development of several in-house design works undertaken within LTA.

Holding a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from the National University of Singapore, Mr Cheong is involved in several Research and Development projects in the division to further sustainability in rapid transit projects. He is also one of the key drivers behind the recently launched BCA-LTA Green Mark for RTS in 2010 which is used as a benchmark for sustainability practices within the LTA. Presently Mr Cheong is also driving the development of the Green Framework for Roads which will be used as a benchmark for sustainability practices for roads and commuter facilities development within the LTA.

Alan Tan

Deputy Managing Director, Centre of Excellence on Environmental Sustainability Research, HDB Building Research Institute



Mr Alan Tan graduated with a BA of Architecture from the National University of Singapore and joined the Housing & Development Board (HDB) in 1991. He has been involved in the design and construction supervision of several new major HDB housing and upgrading projects, including the upgrading of markets. He was attached to the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 1998 with the Urban Renewal Authority to facilitate students in the masterplan development of Marina Downtown. He was seconded to the Ministry of Education (1999 - 2000) as a Senior Manager to set up and establish the provisions and designs of schools. He was also seconded to the Ministry of Home Affairs (2002 - 2006) to design and supervise the Civil Defence Divisional HQs / Fire Stations and SCDF Training Camp.

Mr Alan Tan is currently heading developments and R&D in the field of Environmental Sustainability which involved collaborations with both academic institutions and HDB’s business partners. Some key projects are HDB’s demo Eco-Precinct (Treelodge@Punggol) - HDB's holistic approach in creating a green and sustainable development -  and the Punggol Waterway Masterplan Landscape Design - a 4.2km waterway meandering through Punggol Town. He has also led a team to publish 'The Green Housing Book - HDB's Approach to Sustainable Development', which contains HDB’s years of experience and knowledge in designing towards environmentally sustainable development.

Mr Alan Tan sits in key committees which promote sustainable developments, e.g. Board member in Singapore Green Building Council (2011 - 2013), Advisory Committee member in BCA Green Mark Initiatives, Member in Committee on Environmental Sustainability, Panel Judge for Greenwave Projects, and Evaluation Panel member for MNDRF projects. His projects have also garnered recognition and awards, such as the HDB’s Design Excellence Award for the upgrading project at Holland Vista, 1st Green Mark Platinum Award for Treelodge@Punggol, PUB’s ABC Waters Certification for Punggol Waterway, and HDB’s Top Innovation Award 2009 for Recyclable Chute system. He also led in the submission on HDB’s efforts in water management and won PUB’s Watermark Award 2009. His efforts and dedication in his work was also recognized with the conferment of 2009 National Day Award - Public Administration Medal (Bronze).

Dr. Alexander Erath

Senior Researcher, Singapore-ETH Centre for Global Environmental Sustainability (SEC)




Dr Alexander Erath is a Senior Researcher in Singapore-ETH Center for Global Environmental Sustainability (SEC). He obtained his PhD from Eidgenössische Technische Hoschule Zürich (ETH Zurich) where he studied the vulnerability of transport infrastructure. He is currently the Deputy Module Leader of the Future Cities Laboratory (FCL) Mobility and Transportation Planning programme.  The programme titled "Daily Flows: (M)edium & (L)ong Term"  will implement and expand the large-scale, multi-agent and activity-based transport demand simulation platform MATSim for Singapore.

Dr. Allan Lim

Group Manager, Food Science and Innovation Partnerships, Nestlé R&D Center Pte Ltd




Dr Allan Lim graduated from the National University of Singapore (NUS) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry in 1989, and later received his PhD from the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology at NUS. In 1995, Dr Lim embarked on a career in industrial research at Nestlé R&D Center in Singapore to support food product development. In 2004 - 2008, Dr Lim served as Research Manager, Acting-R&D Director and Senior Scientist at Kemin Industries, a US-based agrifood company, to manage the development of enzymes, toxin binders, probiotics and emulsifiers for the animal feed industry in the Asia-Pacific region.  Dr Lim returned to Nestlé in 2008 for a new role in managing innovation partnerships in the Asia-Pacific region to accelerate product innovation. In 2011, his responsibility was expanded with the creation of a new department to strengthen food science and nutrition through internal and external partnerships, and to manage intellectual property and competitive intelligence.

At the national level, Dr Lim supports SPRING Singapore by serving as the Chairman of the Technical Committee on Edible Fats and Oil and as a member of the Singapore Food Standards Committee since 2007.  Dr Lim is also a grant reviewer for the Ministry of Education and National Research Foundation.

Dr Lim speaks regularly at local and international conferences on food science and contributes to scientific and trade publications.  He is currently the inventor of two patents.

Ang Kian Seng

Director, Research Division, Building and Construction Authority




After graduation with a Diplome D’Ingenieur in Mechanical Engineering from the École Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique, Nantes (on a French Government Scholarship), Mr Ang joined Singapore’s Public Works Department in 1990 as a project engineer involved in projects such as the CTE tunnels, the National Dental Centre and the new Woodlands Checkpoint.

In 1988 - 1990, he was seconded to the Ministry of National Development (MND) to handle policies for the construction industry. Among his key contributions, he was one of the key staff members for the first Inter-Agency Committee on Energy Efficiency whose recommendations set the stage for Singapore’s current policies on energy efficiency and climate change mitigation.

Mr Ang joined BCA on 1st Apr 1999 and has since managed various portfolios such as procurement, quality control and assessment, and innovation development, playing a key role in the Technology Development Division which introduced BCA Green Mark Scheme in 2005 and regulations to control the thermal performance of residential buildings.

He is currently heading the Research Division in BCA. Besides overseeing BCA’s dedicated research unit, the Centre for Sustainable Buildings and Construction (CSBC), he is also responsible for the development and administration of various schemes to promote green buildings – Bonus Floor Area for Green Buildings, S$20million Green Mark Incentive Scheme for new buildings (fully committed already), S$100million Green Mark Scheme for Existing Buildings, and $50million MND Research Fund.

One key research project was the S$11million Zero Energy Building@BCA Academy – BCA’s flagship R&D project to demonstrate how we can retrofit an existing building into a super-efficient building powered by clean solar energy.  As a member of the Sustainable Buildings (SB) Index Steering Committee since its formation in 2010, Mr Ang has been actively involved in and committed to the development and refinement of the SB Index and its framework.

Professor Arnoud De Meyer

President, Singapore Management University




Professor Arnoud De Meyer is President of Singapore Management University (SMU). Prior to his appointment at SMU in September 2010, he was Director of Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge. He was associated with INSEAD for 23 years where he held various senior academic/administrative positions including Founding Dean of INSEAD’s Asia Campus in Singapore.

Professor De Meyer has an MSc in Electrical Engineering, an MSc in Business Administration and a PhD in Management, all from the State University of Ghent in Belgium.

He is an external director of Dassault Systèmes S.A. (France), as well as a Board member of the National Research Foundation, Singapore International Chamber of Commerce and Temasek Management Services.

Associate Professor Ashwin M. Khambadkone

Programme Director, Experimental Power Grid Centre, A*STAR




Dr Ashwin M. Khambadkone (SM’04) received a Dr.-Ing. degree from the University of Wuppertal, Germany, in 1995.

He joined the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 1998, where he is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Since April 2010, he also holds the Programme Director position at Experimental Power Grid Centre (EPGC), A*STAR. His current research areas are distributed-energy-resource networks, renewable energy sources, control of power-electronics-based energy systems, and digital control of power factor correction and multilevel inverters. From 1987 to 2001, his research was in the areas of pulsewidth modulation methods, field-oriented control, parameter identification, and sensor-less vector control. He was with the University of Wuppertal; the University of Queensland, Australia; and the Indian Institute of Science, India.

Dr Khambadkone was the recipient of the Outstanding Paper Award in 1991 and the Best Paper Award in 2002 from the IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, the Prize Paper Award from the IEEE Industry Applications Society Industrial Power Converter Committee in 2005, and the Outstanding Educator Award in 2008 from the National University of Singapore.

Cheng Hsing Yao

Deputy Executive Director, Centre for Liveable Cities




Mr Cheng Hsing Yao is the Deputy Executive Director of the Centre for Liveable Cities, a practice-based knowledge centre for urban solutions set up by the Singapore Government. Before his current appointment, he was with the Urban Redevelopment Authority for 13 years, overseeing major planning, urban design and development projects in Singapore. He was also involved in the planning of the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City and setting up of the Development Agency that place manages Marina Bay. He holds a Master in Design Studies from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Architecture from Newcastle University, United Kingdom. 

Cheong Lock Lai

Director (Environment Technology Office), National Environment Agency




Mr Cheong Hock Lai is Director of the Environment Technology Office, National Environment Agency (NEA). The National Environment Agency is the leading public organisation responsible for improving and sustaining a clean and green environment in Singapore. The NEA develops and spearheads environmental initiatives and programmes through its partnership with the People, Public and Private sectors. The mission of the Environment Technology Office is to promote the development of environmental technology competencies and capabilities in Singapore, and support the building up of a vibrant ecosystem in the environment industry.

Mr Cheong obtained his BEng (Mech) in 1980 and his MSc (Industrial Eng) in 1984 from the National University of Singapore. He currently manages the Environment Technology Research Programme (ETRP) which is a S$15m seed fund to build up technological competencies and develop sustainable waste management solutions for Singapore. Mr Cheong also manages the S$20m Innovation for Environment Sustainability (IES) Fund which assists companies to develop environmental products as well as to encourage them to bring new ideas that will build environmental capabilities and meet long-term environmental sustainability goals to the market.

Dr. Cheong-Chua Koon Hean

Chief Executive Officer, Housing & Development Board




Dr Cheong-Chua Koon Hean is currently the CEO of the Housing and Development Board (HDB), Singapore’s public housing authority which has successfully housed 82 % of Singapore’s population in 1 million flats.  She is also the Deputy Secretary (Special Duties) in the Ministry of National Development.

Dr Cheong was formerly the CEO of the Urban Redevelopment Authority from 2004 to 2010. She was in charge of the strategic land use planning of Singapore, urban design, conservation of built heritage and the real estate market. She played a significant role in the urban transformation of Singapore, in particular, key development areas such as the Marina Bay and the Jurong Lake District.  Having led the joint master planning efforts for the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco City, Dr Cheong has recently been appointed eco adviser to the Tianjin-Binhai New Area in China. She is also on the World Business Council on Sustainable Development’s expert Assurance Panel for the Asian Infrastructure Project.

Dr Cheong was a Colombo Plan scholar, graduating with a first class degree in architecture (University of Newcastle, Australia), a post-graduate degree in urban development planning (University College London, United Kingdom) and subsequently conferred a Doctor of Architecture honoris causa (Newcastle) as well as the Convocation Medal for Professional Excellence. She has also completed the Harvard Advanced Management Programme. Dr Cheong has been conferred several national honours in public administration, the latest being the Meritorious Service medal for outstanding public service in 2010.  She is currently on the boards of HDB, National Heritage Board and Jurong Port and is also a Board trustee of the international Urban Land Institute.

Dr. Chew Siang Thai

Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore




Dr Chew Siang Thai is the Deputy CEO of the Regulatory Programmes and Operations Group of the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) and, concurrently, Director-General of the Agri-Food & Veterinary Services. He graduated with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the Universiti Pertanian Malaysia and later obtained a Master of Science in Veterinary Public Health from the Texas A&M University under a post-graduate scholarship. 

He joined AVA (then known as the Primary Production Department) in 1983 and has been actively involved in the key areas of food safety and veterinary public health. He served as Head of AVA’s Veterinary Public Health Laboratory as well as Director of Food & Veterinary Administration. He also served as Director of Infrastructure Division at the Ministry of National Development.

Professor Chou Siaw Kiang

Department of Mechanical Engineering; Head, Energy and Bio-Thermal Systems Group, National University of Singapore



Professor Chou Siaw Kiang obtained his BEng, Mechanical Engineering, from the University of Singapore, and his Doctorate in Engineering from ENSAM, Paris, under a French Government Scholarship. He joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore as a lecturer in 1980, and is currently Professor and Head of the Energy and Bio-Thermal Systems Group. From 1992 to 2000, he was Director of the NUS Industry and Technology Relations Office (INTRO), and from 1995 to 2001 he was Managing Director of NUS Technology Holdings Pte Ltd (NUSH), a wholly-owned NUS company responsible for seeding new technology start-ups from university research and inventions.

He is formerly Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, NUS, from 1998 to 2003, and Vice-Dean (External and Industry Relations) of the Faculty of Engineering from 2003 to 2008. He is concurrently Executive Director of the NUS Energy Studies Institute. He is a Fellow and Vice-President of the Institution of Engineers, Singapore, and a Fellow of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. He is Chairman of the Management Board of IES Academy. He is Associate Editor of the international journal, Applied Energy, and Chairman of the International Editorial Board of the Asian Journal on Energy and Environment. He serves on the editorial boards of the International Journal of Energy Research and a number of other journals. He is a member of the International Advisory Board of the APEC Technology Foresight Center. He chairs the Advisory Committee of the School of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering and is a member of the Board of Governors of Singapore Polytechnic. His current research interests are in energy performance of buildings and thermal performance of building envelopes, microscale combustion, micro thermophotovoltaics, micro thrusters, heat-driven and hybrid refrigeration and cooling systems, internal combustion engines burning biofuels, and cryosurgical thermal processes.

David Tan

Assistant Chief Executive Officer, JTC Corporation




Mr David Tan is the Assistant Chief Executive Officer (Technical & Professional Services Group) of JTC Corporation, spearheading JTC's efforts to plan, promote and develop a dynamic industrial landscape, in support of Singapore's economic advancement.

Prior to his new appointment, he spent 3 years with the Energy Market Authority as the Deputy Chief Executive (Energy Planning and Development) to plan, promote and develop a dynamic energy sector in Singapore; and held a concurrent appointment as the Deputy Executive Director of the Energy Studies Institute to carry out energy policy oriented research.

Mr Tan began his career as a Civil and Structural Engineer in the JTC Corporation, designing and managing reclamation, marine, infrastructure and building projects. During his career, he was appointed the Deputy Director of the Jurong Island Development Department and the Director of Specialised Parks Development Group.

Mr Tan graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) – 1st Class Honours from the University of Adelaide, Australia and a Master of Science (Civil Engineering) from the National University of Singapore.

Dr. Dennis Wang Zheng Ming

Assistant Director (Molecular Biology), Veterinary Public Health Laboratory, Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore



Dr Dennis Wang Zheng Ming received his PhD training in molecular biology and mammalian genetics from Melbourne University, Australia in 1998. He joined Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) in 2005 as lead scientist, and was appointed as Assistant Director (Molecular Biology), Veterinary Public Health Laboratory in 2010.

Before joining AVA, Dr Wang was a research scientist in the Institute of Mollecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) from 1998 to 2002) and National University of Singapore (NUS) from 2002 to2005). In IMCB, his research interests were in using in vivo biological system (transgenic animal model) to analyze signal transduction pathway. During his time in NUS, he focused on regenerative medicine and stem cell biology research.

Dr Wang’s current research interest is to apply advanced biological technologies in food analysis.

Associate Professor Dodo J. Thampapillai

Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy , National University of Singapore




Associate Professor Dodo J. Thampapillai is an economist at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. He also holds a Personal Chair in Environmental Economics at Macquarie University, Australia. He held an Adjunct Professorship in the same field at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences at Uppsala until 2009. In 2005, he was included in the list of Eminent Environmental Economists by UNESCAP and was previously a member of the UNEP Expert Group in Environmental Economics. He has over 100 publications including seven books and nine refereed monographs.

He was also awarded the DFG Professorship (University of Kiel, Germany; 1999 - 2000) and SLU visiting Professorship (Sweden; 1999 - 2000). He has also consulted with World Bank, Asian Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations and International Labour Organization, and the Australian Government. His current research focus is on Macroeconomics and the Environment and the revised edition of his text, “Environmental Economics: Concepts Methods and Policies” (Oxford University Press 2002, 2006).

Dr. Forrest Meggers

Eidgenössische Technische Hoschule Zürich




Dr Forrest Meggers is the coordinator of the Low Exergy Module of the Future Cities Laboratory, a project of the Singapore-ETH Centre (SEC). He is working alongside Professor Hansjürg Leibundgut and Professor Arno Schlueter from the Eidgenössische Technische Hoschule (ETH) to setup this research module. Starting in September 2011, he will be in Singapore doing research and managing the work of four new PhD students in an effort to evaluate the potential of high performance low exergy building systems for the tropical climate of Singapore. It will be initiated by the transport of a LowEx systems container to the NUS campus in September, which is currently being prepared at the ETH in Zurich, Switzerland. Dr Forrest received his PhD in May 2011 under Professor Leibundgut in the Building Systems Group of the Institute for Technology in Architecture at the ETH Zurich. He researched integrated low exergy building systems and is the author of several papers on the subject. He received a Master of Science degree in Environmental Engineering, researching sustainable buildings and he received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering with High Distinction in Mechanical Engineering, both from the University of Iowa in the United States. He is also a LEED accredited professional and has served on several committees from the USGBC. He is committed to reducing the significant contribution to global CO2 emissions from the building sector which he researched under Dr James Hansen at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) before coming to Switzerland where he began his work on new low exergy technologies to address the energy and CO2 problem of buildings.

Professor Franz Oswald

Programme Leader of Future Cities Laboratory, Singapore-ETH Centre for Global Environmental Sustainability




Professor Franz Oswald is a Swiss Architect with a Master of Architecture, Urban Design; Professor of Architectural Design at ETH Zurich (1972-1993); Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at ETH Zurich (1993-2003) and Guest Professor at numerous universities in Africa, Europe, Israel, and the United States of America.

Since 1974, he heads the Office for Architecture and Urban Studies (AUS) in Bern, Switzerland, managing projects, building construction, participatory workshops and studies in urban planning, especially in the area of urban housing and city development. He has won various awards such as the Deutscher Betonpreis für Wohnen der Zukunft.

Professor Oswald is a well-known lecturer and international expert; a jury member of competitions in Architecture and Urbanism and a member of academic and scientific commissions. He is the former Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at ETH Zurich; the former Director of Institute for Local, Regional and National Planning (ORL) at ETHZurich and the former president of SCUPAD (Salzburg Congress of Urban Planning and Development). He is also an adviser for University Reform in Ethiopia and is presently the Programme Leader of Future Cities Laboratory (Singapore) at SEC.

He has numerous publications on architecture, design and teaching, urban design and urban planning such as “NETZSTADT – Designing the Urban” by Franz Oswald and Peter Baccini, (Basel, Berlin, Boston, 2003).

Gerard Ee

Chairman, National Kidney Foundation & Council for the Third Age




A Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), and a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) of Singapore, Mr Gerard Ee started his career as an accountant in 1974 and became a public accountant in 1978 until his retirement as a Partner of Ernst & Young in June 2005.

Mr Ee has a passion for community service and throughout his career he found time to serve on various committees in the social service sector. Mr Ee was formerly the President of the National Council of Social Services, President of the Automobile Association of Singapore and has chaired an extensive range of social service organisations and programmes which include juvenile rehabilitative centres, grassroots organisations, schools, and various programmes for the elderly and youth.

Today, Mr Ee is Chairman of Singapore’s largest charity, the National Kidney Foundation. He also chairs the Public Transport Council, Medifund Advisory Council, Council for the Third Age, Singapore Institute of Management Governing Council, Tiger Airways Holdings and Changi General Hospital. He chairs the Audit Committee of Great Eastern Life Assurance Co. Ltd, which is a large Singapore insurance company, and the Audit Committee of MOH Holdings which provides oversight on the Group Internal Audit function covering all the restructured hospitals in Singapore.

Bridging the two sectors of commercial and social service, Mr Ee accepted appointment as a member of the Singapore Accounting Standards Council in 2008 and serves on the main Council as well as in its sub-committee on Accounting Standards for Charities and Accounting Standards for Societies. He is Council Member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore.

Professor Harry E. Hoster

Scientific Director , Principal Investigator, Electrochemistry & New Materials, TUM-CREATE




Harry Hoster is Professor at the Institute of Technical Electrochemistry at TUM. Since 2011, he is permanently based in Singapore, being responsible for the TUM CREATE project as Scientific Director. Prior to his professorship, Professor Hoster led a research group at the Institute of Surface Chemistry and Catalysis of Ulm University, Germany.

Having  received a diploma in physics at  the University of Bonn,Germany in 1996, Professor Hoster was awarded a full fellowship by the German "Fonds der Chemischen Industrie" to work on a PhD project on model studies for bimetallic anode materials in methanol fuel cells (with T. Iwasita and W. Vielstich). Afterwards, he performed post-doctoral research at Ulm University (2001) and in Sao Paulo/Brazil (2001-2002, FAPESP fellowship) on the structural and (electro-)chemical properties of bimetallic surfaces.

He re-joined the Institute of Surface Chemistry and Catalysis of Professor R.J. Behm in Ulm in 2002 and became group leader in 2004. His main tasks were (i) a project in the DFG research unit FOR 1376, "Elementary Steps in Electrocatalysis: Theory Meets Experiment" and (ii) a project in the Collaborative Research Centre 569, "Hierarchic Structure Formation and Function of Organic-Inorganic Nanosystems". Related to these topics, he published 35 papers in refereed journals and five book chapters, and he gave more than 20 invited talks at international conferences and at other research institutes. He received the venia legendi (Habilitation) for Physical Chemistry in 2010.

Professor Heng Chye Kiang

Dean, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore




Professor Heng Chye Kiang is the Dean, School of Design and Environment (SDE) at the National University of Singapore (NUS). In 2009, he set up at SDE the Centre for Sustainable Asian Cities of which he is currently the advisor. He studied architecture at the Ecole Spéciale d’Architecture, and urban design at the Ecole Nationale des Travaux Publics de I’Etat. He did his PhD at the University of California at Berkeley.

Professor Heng has been a visiting scholar at the Tsinghua University and the Kyoto University. He was also Visiting Professor at Hanyang University (Korea) and Keo University (Japan) and the Huaying Visiting Professor at the Southeast University in Nanjing. He has served as a jury member in a number of international design competitions and on several editorial boards of international journals.

He is a Board member of the Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority and Centre for Liveable Cities. Professor Heng’s research covers areas of sustainable cities, urban design, heritage and history of Chinese cities.

He publishes widely in these areas and was awarded the NUS Outstanding Researcher Award in 1997. His book, “Cities of Aristocrats and Bureaucrats” is being used as the textbook in leading universities in the US and UK. In 2006, China’s Architecture and Building Press published his digital reconstruction of Chang’an during the Tang period, both in the form of a book and interactive software package. The software is currently a permanent exhibit at the Xi’an City Museum.

Assistant Professor Huang Yi Chun

Department of Architecture, National University of Singapore




Assistant Professor Huang Yi Chun teaches architecture design and design simulation in NUS Department of Architecture. He is engaged in performance simulation and design support tools research and is currently developing an automatic carbon calculator by automating lighting and energy simulations. He is also a green building and lighting consultant.

Ms Hwang Yu-Ning

Group Director (Physical Planning), Urban Redevelopment Authority




Since 2009, Ms Hwang Yu-Ning has been the Group Director for Physical Planning at the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Singapore’s national land use planning agency. She currently oversees the preparation of the Master Plan and facilitates realisation of various planning proposals. The Master Plan is Singapore’s statutory land use plan which guides development in the medium term. Her team also spearheads the development of key growth areas such as the Jurong Lake District, Kallang Riverside and Paya Lebar. Together with partner agencies, her team also endeavours to enhance Singapore’s living environment by making the most of its assets, capitalising on its unique identity and heightening the sense of greenery.

Ms Hwang has 16 years of experience in the URA and has held various appointments. She has also been seconded to the Ministry of National Development (MND) as the Deputy Director for Strategic Planning from 2006 to 2009. Her responsibilities included overseeing land use planning and development control policies, the conservation of built heritage and land sales.

Ms Hwang was trained as an architect at the National University of Singapore and also holds a Master in Public Policy & Urban Planning from Harvard University.

Jack Ng Soon Hoe

Inventor of VFS, Managing Director, Sky Greens Pte Ltd.




Mr Jack Ng, Managing Director of D.J. Engineering, has more than 27 years of experience in the construction and engineering industry, providing customised products and manufacturing solutions for his customers. Some examples of the products he has developed include an award-winning building facade, glass curtain wall, aluminium cladding systems, skylight canopy with structure and automated mechanical systems for the building industry. His innovative designs and cost-effective approach in solving various engineering challenges has enabled him to enjoy a strong reputation throughout the industry.

With a strong background in engineering-related works, Mr Ng invented and patented Singapore’s first vertical soil-based rotating planting system using a water pulley system, and established Sky Greens Pte Ltd, with the aim of being Singapore’s first commercially viable vertical farm. His current role as the Managing Director of Sky Greens includes leading the management team, developing strategy and setting the company’s direction.

Jörg Firnkorn

Research Associate, University of Ulm, Germany




Mr Jörg Firnkorn is a research associate at the University of Ulm, Germany. He studied at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Germany and the University of Oxford, United Kingdom where he wrote his master thesis on "Sustainable pro-poor growth strategies in Brazil since 2002". He then worked for a consulting company with a focus on quantitative research. Since May 2009, he works at Professor Müller's Chair for Sustainable Development at the University of Ulm doing research on the impact of new mobility systems. His central research interest is to understand how the current trend of car manufacturers selling mobility-on-demand instead of cars will change the mobility behaviour of people living in densely populated urban areas. Being based in Ulm, the first city where the new car-sharing system "car2go" was tested and offered to the public, a natural focus of his work is on analysing car2go's effects.

Associate Professor Joseph Lim Ee Man

Vice Dean, Department of Architecture, School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore




Dr Joseph Lim Ee Man is an Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture and currently Vice Dean in the School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore.

His research interests lie in kinetic spatial enclosures and in deployable structures.

He is currently developing a prototypical external kinetic screen with MND/BCA Research Funding and has a special interest in prototypical structures which challenges architectural norms and spatial conception which forms the subject of his 4th and Thesis Year Design studios.

The design studios are a platform for design research where technical inquiry and design conjecture form the basis of new capabilities in spatial enclosures. Joseph has currently completed a landscape roof structure and naturally ventilated creeper façade in glass and steel for a Community Club to enclose a multi-purpose hall of 400 square meters with minimal energy consumption.

He is the author of two experimental design books titled “Bio-structural Analogues in Architecture” and “Eccentric Structures in Architecture” both with BIS Publishers.  He co-edited “Transportable Environments 2” (SPON Press) and has an Honourable Mention for the Kenneth F. Brown Asia Pacific Award for Architecture in 2003.

Julian Goh

Head of Urban Planning & Smart City, Siemens




Mr Julian Goh has extensive experience in urban development across public sector (policy formulation and strategic planning) and private sector (consulting and research & development). He is currently Head of Urban Planning & Smart City at Siemens where he combines his extensive knowledge of issues relating to urbanisation with technological expertise within Siemens to identify innovative solutions for cities.

Prior to Siemens, he worked for the Urban Redevelopment Authority Singapore (URA), the national land use planning agency in Singapore as the Head of Physical Planning (East Region). In this role, he was responsible for delivering Master Plan 2008, a strategic blueprint for the development of Singapore. He graduated from Imperial College London with a Master in Civil Engineering on a Singapore Government scholarship.

Kelvin Wong

Programme Director (Urban Solutions), Economic Development Board




Mr Kelvin Wong was appointed Executive Director, Logistics, Professional Services and Urban Solutions in April 2011. In this position, he spearheads the Singapore Economic Development Board’s (EDB) efforts as the lead government agency in developing both the logistics and professional services industries in Singapore. He also leads the EDB’s efforts in championing Urban Solutions as a new growth theme.

Mr Wong joined the EDB as a Senior Officer and served in various EDB divisions including Semiconductor and Precision Engineering Clusters from 1997 – 1999. He was posted to the United States in April 1999 as Director of the EDB’s New York office. He returned to Singapore as Head of the EDB’s Logistics group in April 2002. Prior to his current appointment, Mr Wong was based in EDB’s Chicago office since April 2007 as Regional Director where he oversaw EDB’s investment promotion operations across 22 states in central USA. He returned to Singapore as Director of Logistics and Urban Solutions in October 2008.

Mr Wong was educated at the Imperial College, University of London. He graduated with a Master in Communications and Signal Processing and a First Class Honours (and a Medal Winner) in Electronics and Electrical Engineering in 1996.

Koh Chwee

Director, Engineering Planning Division, JTC Corporation




Mr Koh Chwee is Director of Engineering Planning Division, JTC Corporation, Singapore’s leading industrial infrastructure specialist spearheading the planning, promotion and development of a dynamic industrial landscape. He is responsible for the provision of critical engineering support to its business units. Key functions of the division includes infrastructure planning and design, reclamation planning, design and construction, development of energy-efficient & environmentally sustainable development and provision of mechanical & electrical advice, consultancy and diagnostic support.

Currently, Mr Koh oversees the engineering planning division in land reclamation, innovation and research as well as infrastructure planning for all industrial and business park development in JTC.

Mr Koh holds a First Class Honours, Bachelor of Engineering (Civil Engineering) Degree and Master of Science (Civil Engineering) Degree from the National University of Singapore. Although he started his career with JTC as an Engineer, he had a diversified career which has taken him to MRTC as the pioneer group of engineers involved in the first phase of developing a mass rapid transit system for Singapore. On his return to JTC, he was posted to Contracts Department and subsequently moved to the Business Group responsible for the business development and marketing of high rise industrial facilities before returning to the engineering function. He also had stints in corporate functions in organisation development and human resources development and management.

Mr Koh is heavily involved in the development of the CleanTech Park and CleanTech One to which he pushed the boundaries of the green and sustainable development. With his enthusiasm and excellent management, he has successfully led the team in planning and execution of the first eco-business park in Singapore.

Koh Soo Keong

Chairman, Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore




Mr Koh Soo Keong joined the AVA board in 2000 and has been the Chairman for the last 3 years.

Mr Koh Soo Keong has over 20 years of experience in the logistics industry. He was the President and Chief Executive Officer of SembCorp Logistics and the President of ST Logistics until he retired from the company in April 2007. Through his leadership, he has successfully guided the transformation and growth of SembCorp Logistics into Asia’s leading integrated logistics company. He is currently the Chief Executive Officer of KS Distribution Pte Ltd, Director of ECS Holdings, Noel Gifts International Ltd, Ascendas Funds Management (S) Ltd and KS Energy Limited.

Mr Koh holds two patents including the National Library system. He also has a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), a Master of Business Administration and a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Law.

Lam Siew Wah

Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Building and Construction Authority




Mr Lam Siew Wah is the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA), in charge of industry development. He oversees BCA’s development efforts in three key strategic thrusts – environmental sustainability and quality of the built environment, and construction productivity.

Under Mr Lam’s leadership, BCA started promoting environmental sustainability in buildings with the launch of the Green Mark in 2005. He then led the development of the 1st Green Building Masterplan which was launched in 2006, and the 2nd Green Building Masterplan which was launched in 2009. Both masterplans include a combination of financial, regulatory, capability building and engagement measures to move the building industry towards meeting the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development (IMCSD) target of 80% of the building stock achieving green mark by 2030. As at April 2011, more than 600 buildings comprising close to 10% of total gross floor area in Singapore have been rated by the Green Mark.

Mr Lam also initiated R&D for BCA’s first applied research project in green buildings – BCA’s own Zero Energy Building - which was completed in 2009 and has achieved net positive energy since. He chairs the Ministry of National Development Green Building R&D Workgroup.

Er Lau Joo Ming

Managing Director, HDB Building Research Institute, Housing & Development Board, FIStructE, FICE, FIES, PEng, Chartered Eng, AC, PPA(G), PPA(P)



Er Lau Joo Ming is the Managing Director of the HDB Building Research Institute (BRI). The HDB BRI is the research arm of HDB and it is envisioned to be the leader in research, innovations and solutions for better living and greater sustainability. The division is also committed to actively share and promote best practices in sustainable development, environmentally friendly building design andconstruction productivity, and facilitate continuous learning by the industry professionals.

In driving sustainable construction in public housing, Er Lau is credited for the development and implementation of prefabrication and building technologies that played a key role in ensuring the overall success of Singapore’s public housing programme. He also spearheaded the push to upgrade the local construction industry through the extensive use of these innovative prefabrication and precast design and construction methods for the development of high-rise buildings.

Under his dynamic leadership, HDB won many prestigious awards e.g. American Concrete Institute Award for Concrete Excellence in 1994, ASEAN Engineering Award in 1994 and 2001, IES Prestigious Engineering Achievement Award 2008 and the Platinum Green Award from BCA. In his professional fraternity, Er Lau is a Registered Professional Engineer, a Chartered Engineer as well as an Accredited Checker. He is currently the President of the Professional Engineers Board (PEB), Fellow of the Institute of Engineers (Singapore), Fellow of the Institute of Civil Engineers (UK) and Fellow of the Institute of Structural Engineers (UK).

Professor Laszlo Orban

Director of Reproductive Genomics, Strategic Research Program, Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, Singapore



Professor Laszlo Orban is an adjunct Professor of the University of Pannonia, Keszthely, Hungary, and an adjunct Associate Professor of the National University of Singapore (NUS).  Professor Orban has been educated in Hungary and spent his post-doctorate years in Hungary and the United States. Throughout his career of 30 years, he has been studying various aspects of fish biology, biochemistry and culture. He has published 75 papers in peer-reviewed, international journals, most of them on fishes. His current research interests are focused on reproductive biology, application of large-scale, genome-wide approaches for better understanding of fish genomes and improvement of current aquaculture practices.

Professor Orban has been working in Singapore for 13 years. He was a Principal Investigator at the Institute of Molecular Agrobiology between 1998 and 2002.  Since then, he has been at Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory.

He has also been an Academic Editor for PLoS ONE since 2008.

Associate Professor Lee Der-Horng

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore

Professor Lee Der Horng is an Associate Professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore. He graduated with a PhD from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), USA. His expertise includes Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), transportation planning, transportation policy, sustainable urban mobility, container port operations, aviation management, and mobility simulation. Professor Lee has published more than 240 referred journal papers, book chapters, books and conference papers detailing his research activities. He was an Honoree of 2002 TR100 Award (now known as TR35) by MIT's Technology Review. He is the Editor for EURO Journal of Transportation and Logistics (Springer) and associate editor for two IEEE Transactions including Intelligent Transportation Systems and Automation Sciences and Engineering. He also sits in the editorial board for six other international referred SCI-indexed journals. 

Dr. Lena Chan

Deputy Director, National Biodiversity Centre, National Parks Board




Dr Lena Chan is the Deputy Director of the National Biodiversity Centre (NBC), National Parks Board (NParks) of Singapore.  She leads a team of 30 officers who are responsible for a diverse range of expertise relevant to biodiversity conservation. NBC is a one-stop biodiversity hub that (a) formulates policies on biodiversity, (b) documents Singapore’s native biodiversity through surveys and in partnership with tertiary institutions, non-governmental organisations, and amateur naturalists, (c) maintains a biodiversity database (BIOME), (d) safeguards Singapore’s native biodiversity through species conservation, recovery and enhancement programmes, (e) provides biodiversity considerations to development projects, (f) enhances education and public awareness through outreach activities and working with non-governmental organisations, schools, tertiary institutions, amateur naturalists, etc., and (g) partakes in regional and international biodiversity fora.

Some of the initiatives that Dr Chan has been working on include (a) the development of the City Biodiversity Index, also known as the Singapore Index on Cities’ Bio-diversity, and (b) the project on Coastal Protection and Restoration of Mangrove Biodiversity at Pulau Tekong.

Dr Chan spent her undergraduate vacation observing the behaviour of the black-handed gibbon, Hylobates agilis, at Kuala Dal, Perak in Malaysia. She researched on parasitology at the Institute of Parasitology, McGill University, for her MSc. Her work on the design of cost-effective chemotherapeutic soil-transmitted parasite control strategies for an urban slum community in Kampung Pandan, Kuala Lumpur, earned her a PhD from Imperial College, London.

Dr Chan collaborated with State Governments to develop Conservation Strategies for Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Terengganu, Kedah, Perlis, Sarawak, Selangor and Federal Territory. The project was co-funded by Worldwide Fund for Nature (Malaysia) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

Prior to joining NParks, Dr Chan lectured Biology, Zoology, Conservation of Nature Resources, Environmental Science, Chemistry and Music Appreciation for the Associate of Arts programme at American College, Singapore.

Professor Leo Tan Wee Hin

Director (Special Projects), Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore




A marine biologist, Professor Leo Tan Wee Hin began his career in the University of Singapore as a Senior Tutor in 1973. He became a Lecturer in Zoology and Physiology in 1974.

He was seconded to the Singapore Science Centre as CEO in 1982, concurrently holding his position as Senior Lecturer in NUS. By the time he left the Science Centre, it was hailed as one of the top science museums in the world by the International Council of Museums. In 1991, he was appointed Associate Professor and Foundation Dean of Science in NTU, tasked to help build the new National Institute of Education (NIE) for teacher education. A full professorship came a year later, and in 1994 he was appointed the Director of NIE. Under his leadership, NIE grew to become a teacher education institution of distinction, regarded by many of its peers in countries such as the UK, USA and Australia as one of the top institutions in the world.

In 2008, his career turned a complete cycle when he returned to NUS as Professor and Director (Special Projects) in the Faculty of Science Dean’s Office where he is working on interdisciplinary programmes, promoting environmental, biodiversity and conservation education and research; and participating in a survey of the marine life of the Semakau Landfill.

Professor Tan contributed to several national and international organizations. His interest in youth development stretches almost four decades with leadership appointments such as Chairman of both the National Youth Achievement Award Council and the Singapore Technologies Endowment Programme. He is also the immediate Past Chairman of the National Parks Board and Immediate Past President of the Federation of Asian Scientific Academies and Societies.

His present leadership roles include Chair of the Garden City Fund, Vice Chair of the Singapore Environmental Council and Chair of the Science Sub Commission of the Singapore National Commission for UNESCO. He also represents Singapore as Governor on the Asia Europe Foundation.

For his work and contributions, Professor Tan is a recipient of several prestigious awards including four Singapore National Day Awards (the Public Service Medal and Star; the Gold and Gold Bar Public Administration Medals), the French Government National Order of Merit (Officer), the President’s Award for the Environment, the National Science & Technology Medal, the Honourary Doctor of Science from Loughborough University, United Kingdom, and the NUS Distinguished Science Alumni Award.

Dr. Leong Chee Chiew

Deputy CEO, Professional Development and Services Cluster, National Parks Board




Dr Leong Chee Chiew obtained his PhD from the University of Malaya in 1983 after which he joined the Parks and Recreation Department.  He is currently the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation and Deputy CEO of the National Parks Board’s Professional Development and Services Cluster, responsible for Industry Development (Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology), Streetscape (Arboriculture), Conservation, Horticulture and Community Gardening, Singapore Botanic Gardens and Singapore Garden Festival.

Dr Leong chairs the Singapore Landscape Industry Council, the Heritage Trees Panel, the Workforce Safety and Health (WSH) Landscaping Sub-committee and Co-chairs the inter-ministry Technical Committee on Coastal and Marine Environment.  He is also a Board Member of the Singapore Environment Council, the Singapore Garden City Pte Ltd, and the Garden City Fund.

Professor Leslie Keith Norford

Professor of Building Technology, Department of Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lead Investigator, Center for Environmental Sensing and Modeling, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology


Professor Leslie Keith is Professor of Building Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Associate Head of the Department of Architecture. He is also the lead investigator of the Center for Environmental Sensing and Modeling (CENSAM), an interdisciplinary research group in the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART). A member of the MIT faculty since 1988, he has taught and conducted research in the areas of HVAC system controls, non-intrusive electrical load monitoring, fault detection and diagnosis, utility-load management and natural ventilation of buildings. He has extensive experience in field measurements of building performance and the simulation of whole-building energy consumption and building control systems.

Professor Norford has worked in Russia, China, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and Norway.  His ongoing work in Singapore, in conjunction with colleagues at Nanyang Technological University, National University of Singapore and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, includes development of airflow sensors, measurements and models of urban temperatures and airflows, and estimations of the impact of the urban environment on natural ventilation of buildings and building cooling requirements.

At MIT, he teaches engineers and architects in both undergraduate and graduate courses, including HVAC systems, building ventilation, sustainable-building design, and laboratory studies of buildings in developing countries. He is an MIT MacVicar Faculty Fellow, awarded in recognition of excellence in undergraduate teaching.

He is a member of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), for which he has chaired three technical committees, and has served as the president of the USA affiliate of the International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA).

He holds a BS in Engineering Science from Cornell University and a PhD in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University. Prior to his graduate work, Professor Norford served in the U.S. Navy and Department of Energy as a nuclear power engineer.

Lew Yii Der

Group Director Corporate Planning & Research, Land Transport Authority

Mr Lew Yii Der is the Group Director of the Corporate Planning and Research Group in the Land Transport Authority (LTA), Singapore. His current portfolio includes spearheading the corporate development and strategic research and expanding the research and training capacity of the LTA Academy. Mr Lew has been with the LTA since its formation in 1995, holding various management positions. He holds a First Class Honours degree in Civil Engineering from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and a Master in Public Management from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

Lim Eng Hwee

Chief Planner and Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Urban Redevelopment Authority




Mr Lim Eng Hwee is the Chief Planner & Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in Singapore. As an urban planner, Mr Lim has extensive experience in strategic and local planning, implementation of land use policies and development initiatives. He has also served in the Ministry of National Development and Ministry of Trade and Industry, overseeing urban development and economic development policies and initiatives.

Mr Lim graduated with a Bachelor of Planning from the University of Auckland, Australia in 1989 and a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University in 1997.

Lim Kew Leong

Director, Systems Integration, Strategic Planning and Transformation Office, National Environment Agency




Prior to his appointment as Director, Systems Integration of the Strategic Planning and Transformation Office in the National Environment Agency in Apr 2011, Mr Lim Kew Leong was the Director, Research and Project Development in the Environmental Protection Division of the agency. Prior to this, he spent 6 years in the Meteorological Services Division as its Head of the Business and Technical Services Department (2004 - 2010) where he overseen the development and implementation of major meteorological sensors networks, the supporting IT, communication and physical infrastructure, the development of new services, research, outreach programmes and corporate services for the division. From 1998 to 2004, he took on various tasks in environmental industry & manpower development, environmental planning, development of environmental legislation and enforcement programmes as Chief Engineer (Industry & Manpower Department), Chief Engineer (Central Building Plan Unit) and Chief Engineer (Enforcement) respectively.

He has extensive experience in handling and managing environmental and technical projects at various levels in roles such as ASEAN representative in the UNEP Expert Group on Best Available Techniques and Best Environmental Practices for managing persistent organic pollutants (2003-2005) under the Stockholm Convention. He is a member of UNEP regional team of UNEP/Global Environment Facility Project on Regionally Based Assessment of Persistent and Toxic Substances (2001-2002) and a Deputy Project Director of an Asia Development Bank’s consultancy project on management of hazardous chemicals and wastes in the HuangPu River Basin, China (1993-1994).

Lim Teck Sin

Director, iGATES BioInnovation Pte Ltd




Mr Lim Teck Sin has passion in two seemingly incompatible domains:life sciences and computing sciences.  Having won the Raffles/British Airways Scholarship in 1994, Mr Lim proceeded to complete his MSc in Computation at Oxford University.  Mr Lim subsequently joined a drug discovery centre and successfully innovated computing technologies to satisfydiverse pharmaceutical needs.

Mr Lim eventually founded KOOPrime in 2000, one of the first companies that focuses on life science informatics. Since then, Mr Lim has set up a unit to provide pharmaceutical Validation and Compliance services, a bioinformatics centre that focuses on herbal genomics research in Hong Kong, a sales office in Malaysia, and a joint venture, iGATES BioInnovation, with Eu Yan Sang International to focus on food safety and traceability. A recent development is the launching of Robotic Medical Team initiative with SPRING Singapore to innovate new automation for the healthcare industry.

In recognition for the growth of KOOPrime, Mr Lim was awarded the Best Entrepreneur, Science & SOC, and Centennial Entrepreneurship Awards by the National University of Singapore in 2005.

Presently, Mr Lim also serves on the advisory committees of companies like SingTel and PharmaLogical Research so as to share his experience and interests.

Dr. Liu Thai Ker

Director, RSP Architects Planners & Engineers (Pte) Ltd




Dr Liu Thai Ker is an Architect-Planner. Since 1992, he has been Director of RSP Architects Planners & Engineers Pte Ltd, a consulting firm with projects in Singapore and a dozen other countries.

Dr Liu has served as the Adjunct Professor of the School of Design and Environment and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. He is also the Adjunct Professor in the College of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University. He is a member of several governmental bodies in Singapore and planning advisor to over 20 cities in China.

As architect-planner and Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore Housing & Development Board from 1969 to1989, Dr Liu saw the completion of over half a million dwelling units. In 1989, he became the Chief Executive Officer & Chief Planner of Urban Redevelopment Authority for which he spearheaded the major revision of the Singapore Concept Plan 1991. 
In the cultural arena, he served as Chairman of the National Arts Council from 1996 to 2005 and Singapore Tyler Print Institute from 2000 to 2009.

He is also a recipient of several awards including the Gold Medal of the Singapore Institute of Architects in 2001 and the Medal of the City of Paris, France in 2001.

Associate Professor Lu Wen Feng

Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore




Professor Lu Wen Feng is currently the Associate Professor of Department of Mechanical Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He had been a faculty at the University of Missouri, United States for ten years after receiving his PhD degree from the University of Minnesota, United States.  He later worked as the group manager and senior scientist in the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology, Singapore for six years before joining NUS in July 2005. He was the advisor for Society of Automotive Engineers at the University of Missouri for five years. He was the deputy director of Design Technology Institute, an organization promoting design technology funded by the Economic Development Board from 2005 to 2007.  He has been the advisors for NUS Eco-car project since 2007 and has led NUS Eco-car team building four eco-friendly urban concept cars that have competed well in Europe and Asia. His research interests include Electric vehicles, renewable energy for automotives, design methodologies, sustainable manufacturing, and intelligent manufacturing. He is the recipient of Society of Automotive Engineers Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award in 1997.

Dr. Malone-Lee Lai Choo

Director of Centre for Sustainable Asian Cities, National University of Singapore




Dr Lai Choo Malone-Lee is Director of the Centre for Sustainable Asian Cities, School of Design and Environment at National University of Singapore. Dr Malone-Lee obtained her Master in Urban Planning from the University of Sydney, Australia, and read her PhD at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, under a Fellowship awarded by the Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS). She was a Colombo Plan Scholar and a JSPS gold medallist.

Her current research interest is in the areas of urban planning policies and strategies for sustainable cities, focusing on the issues of densification, liveability and resource optimisation. She is co-principal investigator of two major funded research projects on city benchmarking and density thresholds.

Prior to joining NUS, Dr Malone-Lee has a distinguished civil service career, working professionally in the areas of strategic planning, planning policies and heritage conservation. She is actively involved in various government committees, focus groups and policy think tanks, and has consulted with private and public sector organisations, and international agencies such as UNESCAP. She is also a Board Member of Singapore’s National Parks Board.

Dr. Mark Richards

Lecturer, School of Chemical & Life Sciences, Nanyang Polytechnic




Dr Mark Richards is a Lecturer at the School of Chemical Sciences, Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP).  He obtained his PhD from Singapore stem cell pioneer Professor Ariff Bonsgo’s laboratory in 2005.

His applied research focus at NYP is centred on developing new assays using stem cells for toxicology screens and the discovery of small molecules which possess the ability to influence stem cell fate decisions. He is also a Tan Kah Kee Young Inventor’s competition award winner and recipient of two MOE Innovation Fund research grants.

Markus Zachmeier

Senior Vice President of Siemens Mobility Singapore, and Division Cluster Lead ASEAN




Mr Markus Zachmeier is the Senior Vice President of Siemens Mobility Singapore as well as the Division Cluster Lead for the ASEAN region.

With more than 15 years of experience in the railway business, Mr Zachmeier is widely recognized as a leading expert in the rail industry. He was involved in various functions in the major rail projects awarded to Siemens in the Asia region. These projects included the implementation of the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) and Mass Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (MRTA), Express Rail Link, Kuala Lumpur, Metro Kaohsiung, Airport Rail Link, Bangkok, High Speed Line Beijing – Tianjin and the Delhi Airport Link.

Michael Teh

Chairman, Landscape Industry Association of Singapore




Mr Michael Teh has over 30 years of experience in the landscape industry. He is the founder and Managing Director of Nature Landscapes Pte Ltd which has implemented many award-winning landscape projects such as The Raffles Hotel, Changi International Airport - VIP Complex, Terminals 1, 2, and 3, and Siloso Beach, Sentosa.  He has founded a number of landscape and lifestyle establishments. Amongst the many, he conceptualised and founded Garden Spas Pte Ltd that owns Aramsa – the Garden Spa in Bishan Park 2 which is the first garden spa in Singapore. Aramsa has won the Best Spa Experience Award (2006) by Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Island Innovation Award (2008) by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
 
Mr Teh is currently the Chairman of Landscape Industry Association Singapore (LIAS). The mission of LIAS is to develop and promote professionalism and quality in landscape products and services to fulfil Singapore’s vision of being a City in a Garden. He is also serving as a member of the Workplace Safety and Health Council (WSHC) Construction and Landscape Subcommittee. He has previously served as a member of the Economic Review Committee (ERC) Sub Committee (Construction and Environmental Services) in 2002 and Horticulture and Landscape Management Advisory Committee for Ngee Ann Polytechnic School of Life Sciences and Chemical Technology from 2003-2009.

Professor Michel Morvan

Vice President, Strategic Intelligence and Innovation and Scientific Director, Veolia Environment, External Professor, Santa Fe Institute and Eisenhower Fellow



Professor Michel Morvan joined Veolia Environment in January 2009 as its Vice-President for Strategic Intelligence and Innovation and Scientific Director. He is also an External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute (Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA). He was formerly Professor of Computer Science at École Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Research Director Directeur d'études) at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (School of High Studies in Social Sciences) in Paris and former member of the Institut universitaire de France. His research originally took place in the context of theoretical computer science and discrete mathematics. Since the late 1990s, he has oriented his research in the direction of modelling and study of complex systems. He has created the "Institut des Systèmes Complexes - Complex Systems Institute (IXXI)", an interdisciplinary research institute devoted to the study of complex systems and was strongly involved in the process of structuration of research in complex system at the French, European and international levels. In Veolia, he is currently leading the research activity on the domain of city modelling.

Dr. Min Wanli

Research Scientist , IBM Global Business Services, Singapore




Dr Min Wanli received his PhD in Statistics from the University of Chicago in 2004. He later joined IBM T. J. Watson Research Center as a Research Staff Member in the Mathematical Science Department. In March 2010, he moved to IBM Singapore as a Research Scientist at Global Business Services. His research area is in stochastic processes theory, time series analysis, network analytics and pattern recognition.  His paper, "Inference  on  Linear  Processes with Dependent Innovations" is the top-ten most cited paper in the journal, “Stochastic Processes and Their Applications”. He has developed a theoretical framework for statistical inference on network flow via identification of compact subset support. And the results were adopted in several application areas including road traffic analytics.

Dr Min holds 3 US patents with 6 patents pending. He also graduated one PhD student at Rutgers University in 2011.

Ng Lang

Chief Executive Officer, Urban Redevelopment Authority




Mr Ng Lang was appointed the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore (URA) in August 2010.

Before this, Mr Ng was CEO of the National Parks Board (NParks) of Singapore for 5 years where he has played a key role in implementing major green infrastructural programmes to achieve the “City in a Garden” vision.  He also championed community outreach efforts to enhance public appreciation and participation in Singapore's greening and biodiversity conservation programmes as well as strengthened the capability of the Singapore landscape and horticulture industry.  He was awarded the NTUC May Day Medal of Commendation Award in 2009.

Prior to his appointment in NParks, Mr Ng has served in various capacities in the Singapore public service including the Singapore Foreign Service and the public healthcare sector.

He is currently on the boards of Public Utilities Board, the Water Agency and the Civil Service College.
    
Mr Ng graduated from the National School of Chemistry of Montpellier in 1990 in Chemical Engineering on a Singapore Public Service Commission's French scholarship.

Professor Ong Choon Nam

Director of NUS Environmental Research Institute, Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health & Department of Decision Sciences, National University of Singapore




Professor Ong Choon Nam is the Director for the NUS Environmental Research Institute (NERI) and a Professor at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and NUS Business School’s Department of Decision Sciences. Professor Ong has published more than 270 papers in international peer-reviewed journals and is a founding member of Don Quixote International Foundation. He was the recipient of Astra-Zeneca American Toxicology Society Award for 2002.

His main research interest is Environmental Health Sciences. Since 1985, he has served as a consultant to the World Health Organization (WHO) on many occasions and was involved in 12 of its Health Criteria publications. He is an editorial board member of several international journals on environment and sustainability. Currently, he is a Visiting Professor to several prominent universities in China and serves as a Scientific Advisor to the China Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He chaired the International Expert Panel which advised the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources of Singapore on NEWater study.  He is also an advisor to the US National Water Research Institute and has been consulted often by international health agencies on issues related to environmental health.  He is a member of the WHO Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality Expert Panel.

Assistant Professor Paul Barter

Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore




Professor Paul Barter is an Assistant Professor in the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore (NUS) where he teaches infrastructure, urban and transport policy. He has degrees from the University of Adelaide and Murdoch, Australia. His earlier research focused mainly on international comparisons of urban transport policy and its interactions with urban policy with a geographical emphasis on eastern Asia, especially Malaysia and Singapore.  His recent and current  research interests are innovation in transport demand management policy, parking policy, public transport regulation and the contested fundamental priorities of urban transport policy. He recently completed a 14-city study of parking policy and outcomes in Asian cities for the Asian Development Bank.

Dr. Paul Chiew

Director, Laboratories Department, Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore




Dr Paul Chiew is currently Director of Laboratory Department at the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA).

Prior to his current appointment, Dr Chiew has been closely involved in the regulatory framework of AVA as the national food safety agency covering science-based approaches to food safety and hygiene, inspection, laboratory analyses and veterinary public health.

As Director of Laboratory Department, he oversees AVA's Analytical Laboratories, namely: Veterinary Public Health Laboratory which is the National Food Safety Testing Laboratory, and Plant Health Laboratory and Animal Health Laboratory which is responsible for animal and plant health analyses in Singapore.

Associate Professor Peh Li-Shiuan

Resident Principal Investigator, Singapore MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART)




Professor Peh Li Shiuan is Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She is currently the resident Principal Investigator in the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) Future Urban Mobility Inter-disciplinary Research Group (FM-IRG). She graduated with a PhD in Computer Science from Stanford University in 2001, and a BS in Computer Science from the National University of Singapore in 1995. Her research focuses on network-driven transportation and computing. Dr Peh was awarded the CRA Anita Borg Early Career Award in 2007, Sloan Research Fellowship in 2006, and the NSF CAREER award in 2003.

Professor Peter K. L. Ng

Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore (NUS), Director of the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, NUS, Director of the Tropical Marine Science Institute, NUS



Professor Ng's work is on biodiversity and ecology of Southeast Asia and the Indo-West Pacific, and he has established himself as an authority in this field. His systematic studies on the biodiversity of crustaceans (mainly crabs) and fish are important as they form the baseline for more research challenges involving environmental management, conservation biology and even bioprospecting for bio-active compounds.  He has also been active in conducting and managing a variety of national and regional multidisciplinary  projects in the mitigation, conservation and biodiversity of varied ecosystems like freshwaters, rainforests, mangroves, reefs and deep-sea. He has since published more than 750 technical papers, mostly in international journals, and serves on the editorial board of over a dozen international journals as well as being a member of numerous international biological organizations, notably the International Commission for Zoological Nomenclature. In recent years, has also become more involved in environmental education, and has helped develop new modules in this domain. He is an executive member of NUS Environmental Research Institute, NUS Cluster for Sustainable Research, and various curriculum committees. He also sits on the advisory and scientific committees of various major NUS and government agencies and organisations.

Dr. Philip Chew Hong

Director, Technology & Industry Development Department, Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore




Dr Philip Chew Hong is a veterinarian by profession. He is a Colombo Plan Scholar and graduated with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science with Distinction from Massey University, New Zealand in 1985. He subsequently pursued a Master in Preventive Veterinary Epidemiology (MPVM) from University of California, Davis, USA from 1994 to 1995.

Dr Chew currently holds the position of Director, Technology and Industry Development Department in the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA).

Following his undergraduate studies, Dr Chew served in several capacities in AVA.  From 1995 to 2002, his duties include overseeing veterinary regulations policy and administration particularly on animal health and nutrition for AVA.
His current duties include technology and industry development to try and boost local farming to ensure a degree of food self-sufficiency as well as to try and increase overseas food supply sources for Singapore.

Dr Chew concurrently holds the post of General Manager, Agrifood Technologies Pte Ltd (ATP), the strategic commercial arm of AVA, and has been actively involved in commercial consultancy projects including the establishment of overseas food zones for the supply of key food items to Singapore.

Associate Professor Raymond Wong Yew Wah

Division of Thermal and Fluids Engineering, School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering, Nanyang Technological University



Professor Raymond Wong Yew Wah is Associate Professor in School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU). He obtained his BEng (Hons) from the then University of Singapore in 1976 and MSc in Mechanical Engineering from the National University of Singapore in 1985. He worked in the building industry designing mechanical and electrical services for buildings prior to joining NTU in 1986. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Singapore, Senior Member in Institution of Engineers, Singapore and Fellow of American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). He was a Board member of ASHRAE from 2001 – 2004 and also Chair of ASHRAE Region 13 covering the Asia Pacific region during the same period. He has served as International Member on ASHRAE TC9.6 and later TC7.6 Systems energy utilization.

He is active in the development of energy standards and codes in Singapore, and is on the advisory panel to Building and Construction Authority’s Greenmark programme. He conducted surveys on building energy consumption to develop an index for offices under the ASEAN-US Energy Co-operation programme in the late 1980s and also in a later project under the BCA’s sponsorship. He was the resource person serving ASEAN countries for the DOE-2 energy simulation software. His current research is in the application of desiccant cooling for the Singapore climate and in district cooling systems, and he has also done work in the development of miniature blood pumps. He has contributed over 40 articles in refereed journals and over 50 conference papers and technical reports.

Richard Hassell

Founding Director, WOHA Architects Pte Ltd




Mr Richard Hassell is the co-founding director of the Singapore-based WOHA Architects Pte Ltd, one of Southeast Asia’s best known and most awarded architectural practices. WOHA’s projects are located throughout Asia and range from private houses to apartment towers, luxury resorts, mass-transit stations, and large-scale public buildings.

WOHA’s architecture is notable for its constant evolution since no two buildings adopt the same ‘style’ as each project constitutes a specific response to the potential of the program and the site. The architecture demonstrates a profound awareness of local context and tradition as well as an ongoing exploration of contemporary architectural forms and ideas, thus creating a unique fusion of practicality and invention. Environmental principles have always been fundamental to WOHA’s designs.

WOHA began as a partnership in 1994. Together with Wong Mun Summ, the ever-expanding practice has won a large number of local awards and an unprecedented amount (for Southeast Asian architects) of international awards. WOHA won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2007, was the only practice to win two categories at the World Architecture Festival in 2009, and collected two awards in the RIBA International Awards of 2010. In 2006, an exhibition featuring WOHA’s work – entitled ‘More on Less – was held at the Aedes Gallery in Berlin. A comprehensive monograph on WOHA’s architecture was published (by Pesaro Publishing) in 2009.

Mr Hassell was born in 1966 and graduated from the University of Western Australia in 1989. He was awarded a Master of Architecture degree from the RMIT University, Melbourne, in 2002. He is currently a Board member of both the DesignSingapore Council and the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore, and has also served on committees for the Urban Redevelopment Authority, Singapore International Airlines and Board of Architects (BOA) in Singapore. He has lectured at universities in Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, the USA, and the United Kingdom, and was an adjunct professor at the University of Technology, Sydney, from 2006 to 2009.

Richard Hoo

Group Director (Strategic Planning), Urban Redevelopment Authority




Mr Richard Hoo graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Building from National University of Singapore. He also holds a Master in Public Administration degree from Harvard University.

Mr Hoo started his career with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in 1993 and was involved in implementation of development plans for various commercial, residential and industrial projects through the Singapore Government Land Sale Programme. He was seconded to the Ministry of National Development (MND) as Assistant Director, Strategic Planning Division in 1999 where he was involved in land use policy development and review and subsequently appointed as Deputy Director (Strategic Planning) in 2002.

Upon his return to URA, Mr Hoo took on various appointments in the Land Administration Division (from 2003) and Physical Planning Division (from 2006) where he was involved in URA’s land sale operations and regulation of housing developers as well as in the review of the Singapore Master Plan and Concept Plan. Within the Physical Planning Division, Richard leads his team in handling matters related to optimising land use and enhancing Singapore’s living environment.

He is currently Group Director (Strategic Planning) of the Physical Planning Group and oversees URA’s strategic land use planning, research and policy work.

Scott Dunn

Regional Leader for Planning, Design and Development, AECOM




Mr Scott Dunn is the Regional Leader for Planning, Design and Development at AECOM in Southeast Asia. Focused on promoting collaborative work across regions, he directs multi-disciplinary teams of projects ranging from large-scale resort developments to mixed used new communities and high-density mixed use master plan developments across Asia.

Mr Dunn is also an advocate of sustainable land development and believes that in order to create great places one should be both sensitive to the environment and responsible for the society. His papers on sustainability issues have been published in several local and international design magazines and he is highly regarded as a thought leader in the planning community. He actively lectures on land development and has given speeches at conferences and events throughout South East Asia, India, Korea and Hong Kong.

Currently Mr Dunn is leading a team of Urban Designers, Planners and Environmentalists in customising a sustainability assessment framework tool that analyses the optimum master plan for Jurong Lake District and the Marina Bay – Greater Southern Waterfront district - both development projects lead by Urban Redevelopment Authority of Singapore. He is also advising and designing on several large scale developments in Malaysia, Indonesia, Bahrain and Korea.

Sean Oh Thiam Leng

Production Engineer, Sky Greens Pte Ltd




Mr Sean Oh Thiam Leng is a Production Engineer at Sky Greens Pte Ltd, Singapore’s first vertical farm producing various types of leafy vegetable. In a public private partnership collaborative research project between Sky Greens and Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) on the vertical farming system for leafy vegetable production, Mr Oh is actively involved in the re-designing of the Vertical Farming System (VFS) as well as the re-engineering of the farm processes.

He coordinates the research planning between Sky Greens and AVA in the implementation of experimental crop trials. As a Production Engineer, he is responsible for the planning and coordination of production activities, as well as implementing various farm management programs such as Good Agriculture Practice and Integrated Pest Management.

Prior to joining Sky Greens, Mr Oh has 5 years of experience in Panasonic Electric Works as a senior sales executive and laser marking product specialist, developing automation and printing solutions for the manufacturing industry. Mr Oh has a BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Western Australia.

Siew Man Kok

Director, MKPL Architects Pte Ltd




A graduate of National University of Singapore (NUS) in 1989, Mr Siew Man Kok set up MKPL Architects with his partner, Ms Cheng Pai Ling, in 1995.  Starting with small dwellings, their high quality design saw their body of works grow to high rise residential apartments, institutional, conservation, interior design, landscape design and master planning. Besides garnering both local & international awards for their works, MKPL's design is also appreciated by clients from Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, India, Dubai and Canada.  Some of their notable works are Glentrees condominium, a shophouse at Cuff Road and the Visitors' Centre at Horticulture Park. Their high-rise school design for the Singapore International School in Hong Kong is also attracting the attention of the Ministry of Education and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) who are looking into the future models of education facilities in the context.

Mr Siew also found time to teach in NUS as a part-time tutor from 1994 to 2010 as well as an examiner from 2002 to 2004. He is also contributing his time as a member of the Architectural Design Panel of the Housing Development Board (HDB), a member of the Design Advisory Committee of URA and a member of the Preservation of Monument Board.

Sing Mong Kee

Vice President, Commercial Business and Head Mobility & Telematics, ST Electronics (Info-Comm Systems)




Mr Sing Mong Kee joined ST Electronics (Info-Comm Systems) Pte Ltd in 2004 as Vice President to grow the Intelligent Transport Systems business. He heads the Business Unit of Mobility and Telematics as well as Commercial Business Directorate.

He has over 25 years of working experience in the area of transportation engineering. He spent about 18 years in the Land Transport Authority and the defunct Public Works Department of Singapore involved in the planning, design and implementation of major transport infrastructures such as expressways, Light Rail Transit (LRT) and intelligent transport systems.

He graduated in Civil Engineering from the Ecole Nationale des Travaux Publics de l’Etat, Lyon, France. He later obtained his Master of Science degree in Transport Planning and Engineering from Leeds University, United Kingdom. He is a Professional Engineer in Civil Engineering.

He is the President of the Intelligent Transportation Society of Singapore since 2004. He is a member of Board of Directors of ITS Asia Pacific.

Steven Kang

General Manager, Natflow Pte Ltd




Mr Steven Kang joined Natflow Pte Ltd as General Manager in January 2011. He graduated from the National University of Singapore with an Honours Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1994. He also holds a Graduate Diploma in Marketing from the Marketing Institute of Singapore. Upon graduation from the National University of Singapore, Mr Kang worked as a Mechanical Engineer in Singapore’s Public Works Department for more than a year before joining Trane in 1996. A year later, he completed Trane’s 6-month Graduate Training Program at Trane’s Headquarters in the United States. Mr Kang has varied experience in Trane ranging from Sales, Business Development, Six Sigma Black Belt and Design and Applications of high efficiency HVAC systems.

Before joining Natflow, Mr Kang worked as the Sales and Business Development Director for Trane Asia Energy Solution Business Unit. He travelled extensively throughout Asia to help design and implement high efficiency HVAC systems. He also conducts in-depth training on HVAC design and optimization to ESCOs, consultants, and building owners throughout Asia. He is a frequent user and trainer for energy modelling program TRACE700. Mr Kang is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt (American Standard), a certified Energy Manager (USA Association of Energy Engineers), a certified Green Mark Professional and a LEED Accredited Professional (USGBC). He is a member of the American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineering (ASHRAE) and a member of American Energy Engineers (AEE).

Mr Kang is a member of Singapore’s design for energy efficiency committee and is a member of the technical review committee of Vietnam Green Building Council’s Sustainable Building Assessment System. He is also a designated trainer for Singapore’s Green Mark Professional course and Singapore’s Certified Energy Manager Course. He has been involved in the design of hyper efficient HVAC system for Platinum rated Green Buildings and has been invited to sit in the advisory committee of Platinum rated green buildings. He has spoken at various forums on such topics as HVAC design, energy optimization and green buildings.

Professor Subodh Mhaisalkar

School of Materials Science & Engineering, Executive-Director, Energy Research Institute@NTU (ERI@N), Singapore



Professor Subodh Mhaisalkar is a Professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. At NTU, he also holds the post of Executive-Director, Energy Research Institute@NTU (ERI@N). Prior to joining NTU in 2001, Professor Subodh has over 10 years of research and engineering experience in the microelectronics industry where he held senior managerial positions in STATS Singapore, National Semiconductor, and SIMTech.

Professor Subodh’s main areas of research comprise printed electronics, sensors, photovoltaics, and supercapacitors and batteries.  Common to all these projects are methods of solution processing of semiconductors (organic, carbon nanotubes, or inorganic nanowires), fundamental device physics studies, and device integration. For his work in Organic Thin Film Transistors, Professor Subodh and his team recently won the IEEE 2008 George E. Smith Award. Major research projects include Competitive Research Program Funding from the National Research Foundation on “Nanonets: New Materials & Devices for Integrated Energy Harnessing & Storage” Polymer & Molecular Electronics with A*STAR, and a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) funded program on printed charge storage devices.

Professor Subodh has graduated 11 Master and PhD students and is currently supervising a group of 11 PhD students and research fellows. He has published more than 175 research papers and has active collaborations with University of California, Los Angeles, Northwestern University, CEA/CNRS France, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-Bombay), National University of Singapore, and local research institutes. He received his Bachelor’s degree from IIT-Bombay and his MS and PhD degrees from the Ohio State University.

Dr Tan Jiak Kwang

Director, Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC), Science and Engineering Research Council,  A*STAR



Dr Tan Jiak Kwang is the Director for Fluid Dynamics Department in IHPC and also holds an adjunct appointment in NUS Mechanical Engineering Department as Associate Professor.

Dr Tan graduated from NUS Mechanical Engineering Department and obtained his PhD from Purdue University in Aeronautical Engineering. He served in the Republic of Singapore Air Force and DSO National Laboratories after obtaining his PhD, and moved on to ST Aerospace as the Chief Engineer before joining IHPC.

His background is in Computational Fluid Dynamics for building and environmental air flow simulation, and his other research interests include Aerodynamics and Fluid Structure Interaction.

Tan Phay Ping

Co-Founder and Managing Director, Building System and Diagnostics Pte Ltd




Mr Tan Phay Ping is the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Building System and Diagnostics Pte Ltd (BSD). BSD is a spin-off company of the National University of Singapore providing consultancy services that integrate environmental, asset management, sustainability, building performance simulations, research and development, knowledge transfer and creative disciplines. He led the Company to become one of the leading consulting firms in its field with offices in Singapore and Malaysia and projects in Singapore, China, Malaysia and India.

As the Managing Director of BSD, Mr Tan is responsible for the Company’s day-to-day operations as well as charting the Company’s directions and visions. He is also personally involved in more than 30 Green Mark projects in Singapore, of which he has successfully led a number of these to achieve the Platinum status. In particular, he was appointed the environmental consultant for Asia Square Towers 1 and 2, a SGD$1 billion (construction cost) office, retail cum hotel development in downtown Singapore. The project consists of two towers each about 46 storeys. In this project, Mr Tan led his team of sustainability leaders to provide advisory services on energy, water, indoor environmental quality and site environmental quality aspects. The project was eventually awarded Green Mark Platinum and pre-certified LEED Platinum. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System is internationally referred to for sustainable and green buildings. It was developed by the United Stated Green Building Council.

Mr Tan was also instrumental in transforming the use of high powered computational simulation tools for building applications in Singapore. BSD is currently one of Singapore’s leading firms in energy, ventilation, solar/ daylighting and thermal dynamic simulations. He also participates in applied research and development. He negotiated and clinched more than 5 research projects funded by governmental bodies and led them to successful completion. The deliverables of these projects provided the platform for industrial companies and the Government to use their product/technology development and sales to set guidelines and standards. Some of these included Cool Paints, Photocatalytic Coatings, Cool Pavements and Green roofs.

Prior to founding BSD, Mr Tan was a researcher in NUS during which he was also a tutor for “Construction Technology” and “Building Materials” modules. To date, he still participates actively in teaching in National University of Singapore, Singapore Polytechnic and BCA Academy. He is one of the professionals in Singapore who is certified Green Mark Professional, LEED Accredited Professional and Building Index facilitator. He is also a certified Thermographer with the Institute of Infrared Thermography, Canada.

He has also published a book, “Façade Staining”, and has numerous well-cited journal and conference papers

Dr. Tan Sze Wee

MBBS, MBA
Programme Director, Healthcare and Lifestyle Office, A*STAR

Dr Tan Sze Wee is currently the Director-Strategic Initiatives of Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC), A*STAR and the Programme Director of Healthcare and Lifestyle (H&L) Programme. Dr Tan provides leadership for the Council’s cross cutting programmes which include Thematic Research Programme, Joint laboratories with universities and the recently introduced Multi-disciplinary Research Programme (MRP). As Director-Strategic Initiatives, Dr Tan forges close links with other R&D performers in the public and private sectors thus fostering deeper engagements between SERC and the external community. Dr Tan also spearheads key initiatives like MedTech, Nutrition & Food Science and Personal & Consumer Care under the H&L Programme.

Dr Tan was formerly the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Rockeby Biomed Limited, a Singapore-based healthcare company specialising in research, development and marketing of rapid testing technologies for infectious disease in humans and animals and lifestyle health products. Prior to joining Rockeby, Dr Tan was the Asia-Pacific Associate Regional Medical Director for Mead Johnson Nutritionals, a division of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company from 1997 to 2001.
Dr Tan is currently a Council member of the Singapore Medical Association (“SMA”). He has been part of the SMA’s Executive Committee since 1996, and is currently the Chairman of the Singapore Medical Association Pte Ltd, the commercial entity of SMA.

Dr Tan also serves on Ministry of Health's Singapore Medical Council Committees for both Continuing Medical Education and Maintenance of Competency.

Dr Tan is currently the Chairman of the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore’s Executive Committee, he is also a member of the Broadcasting Appeals Advisory Committee, of the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. Dr Tan is elected as a Council member of the 55th Council of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry and serves on the Board of Governors of the IP Academy of Singapore. Dr Tan is also a Board member of the Young Men's Christian Association and Chairman of the Citibank YMCA Youth for Causes programme.

Dr Tan was a former Nominated Member of Parliament of Singapore.

Dr Tan graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery (“MBBS”) from the National University of Singapore, and attained his Master of Business Administration (“MBA”) from Warwick University, United Kingdom. He is an affiliate member of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, Royal College of Physicians, United Kingdom.

Ms Tang Hsiao Ling

Principal Planner, Land Planning Division, JTC Corporation




Ms Tang Hsiao Ling is a Principal Planner under the Land Planning Division of JTC Corporation.  JTC Corporation is the lead government agency in Singapore to plan, promote and develop a dynamic industrial landscape in support of Singapore’s economic advancement. JTC Corporation also plays a catalytic role introducing leading-edge real estate solutions such as Clean Technology Park, Seletar Aerospace Park and specialized research facilities at one-north development to anchor important activities critical to the growth of the economy.

Ms Tang is an Architect by training. In her role as Principal Planner, she plays a key role in the masterplanning for projects such as Seletar Aerospace Park. She handles planning from the macro and micro perspectives in developing urban solutions for sustainable development integrating green sustainable features.

Teva Raj

Director, Industry and Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology (CUGE), National Parks Board




Mr Teva Raj has over 30 years of experience with plants and greenery. He has an Honours Degree in Agriculture Science. He joined the then Parks & Recreation Department (now NParks) in 1980 in Singapore as a Curator. He was also Assistant Commissioner of Planning and Parks Development in the early 1990s.  Appointed as a Director of the National Parks Board in 1996, Mr Raj has not only been instrumental in setting contemporary directions for many aspects of NParks mandate to develop the Garden City and subsequently the City in a Garden. 

In 2004 as Director of the Industry Division within NParks, Mr Raj’s mandate was expanded from the agency to include setting the directions for the entire landscape in Singapore. His strong commitment since 1981 to personally train and develop the operational skills of the landscape workforce was further reinforced through the establishment  of the Centre for Urban Greenery and Ecology (CUGE) in 2007 under his leadership. Mr Raj’s extensive domain knowledge in turf has been exploited by both the Ministry of National Development and in particular the Singapore Sports Council.

Mr Raj is a Certified Arborist recognised by the International Society of Arborists, and a foundation Certified Practising Horticulturist recognised by the Australian Institute of Horticulture.

Associate Professor Tseng King Jet

Head, Division of Power Engineering, School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University



Professor King-Jet Tseng was born in Singapore. He received his BEng (First Class) and MEng Degrees from the National University of Singapore and his PhD degree from Cambridge University, United Kingdom. He is currently the Head of Power Engineering and the Director of Centre for Smart Energy Systems at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He oversees electrical power engineering education at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and manages a number of research initiatives in the area of electrical power and energy.

He has actively conducted courses and provided technical consultation for industries and institutions in Singapore and other nations. He has held key advisory appointments for both public and private organisations. He has published over a hundred technical papers, and actively reviews and edits papers for major international journals and conferences.

He has been appointed as a Member of Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Academy Advisory Panel, and as a Member of Energy Research Development Fund Advisory Committee in the Energy Market Authority (EMA). He oversees the Green and Smart Buildings program in the Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERIAN). He is also a Board member of Singapore Green Building Council.

Tsoi Mun Heng

Director, Energy Innovation Challenge Directorate
National Research Foundation

Mr Tsoi Mun Heng was born on 12 December 1961. He graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1986. He joined the Republic of Singapore Air Force as an Air Engineering Officer and held various positions in aircraft maintenance, specialist engineering, system management, logistics command, becoming the Head of Air Logistics in 2003. He retired from the Air Force as a Brigadier General in June 2009. In 2007, Mr Tsoi was appointed as Director, Defence Industry and Systems Office in the Ministry of Defence, responsible for developing industry capabilities to support the Singapore Armed Forces as well as formulating policies for effective logistics systems, methodologies and processes.

In 1993, Mr Tsoi graduated from Stanford University with a Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics on a Defence Technology Training Award. He also attended the Stanford-National University of Singapore Executive Programme in 2005. He was awarded the Public Administration Award (Silver, Military) in 2005, and the Long Service Award in 2010.

Mr Tsoi has served on the Board of ST Logistics Pte Ltd, the Advisory Board of The Logistics Institute Asia-Pacific, the Advisory Council of the Singapore Institute of Licensed Aircraft Engineers, the Defence Management Group Enhanced Executive Agencies Supervisory Board and the SAFRA Management Committee. He was also the Chairman of the Singapore Armed Forces Music Board from 2003 to 2010.

Mr Tsoi joined the National Research Foundation in February 2011 as Director, Energy Innovation Challenge Directorate. He is married to Yik Yun and they have two daughters and one son.

Associate Professor Wang Jing-Yuan

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU)




Dr Wang Jing-Yuan is an Associate Professor of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering in Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and Co-Director of NTU’s Residue and Resource Reclamation Centre (R3C). He is a licensed professional environmental engineer of the State of Georgia, USA and has over 20 years of environmental working experience. Dr Wang’s expertise and research interest include solid waste resource management, contaminated site assessment and remediation, and environmental management. His current research interests are focused on decentralized waste and wastewater resource recovery, co-digestion of brown water and food waste, land reclamation of closed dumping ground, and bioconversion of plastic waste into biodegradable plastic polymers.

William Wong

Director, Corporate Planning & Research, Land Transport Authority




Mr William Wong is the Director of the Corporate Development and Research Sub-group in the Land Transport Authority (LTA), Singapore. His current portfolio includes overseeing the organisational excellence and strategic research projects functions within the Corporate Planning Group. William has been with the LTA since 2000. Prior to that, he was a Senior Manager with Sony (Singapore). He holds a First Class Honours Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Newcastle, Australia.

Professor Zhou Weibiao

Food Science & Technology Programme, Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore




Dr Zhou Weibiao is a full Professor and Director of the Food Science and Technology Programme at the National University of Singapore (NUS).  He is a Board Member of the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) of Singapore, a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology (AIFST), a Council member of the Singapore Institute of Food Science and Technology (SIFST), a member of the Singapore Food Standards Committee, and a member of the editorial boards of 5 international peer-refereed journals in the area of food engineering and food processing.

Educated in China and Australia, he has held various professional positions in a number of organisations in Australia, Canada, China, France and USA. With more than 180 scientific publications, Professor Zhou's research interests and expertise are in food engineering and food processing, particularly baking processes, dairy processes, drying, functional foods, and process modelling, optimisation and control.

Dr. Zuruzi Abu Samah

Deputy Manager, School of Engineering (Manufacturing), Nanyang Polytechnic




Dr Zuruzi Abu Samah is a Senior Lecturer at Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP).  As the deputy manager responsible for nanotechnology in the School of Engineering (Manufacturing), he works with colleagues in developing applications of nanotechnology in areas such as health and wellness, renewable energy, environment-friendly materials and electronics. At NYP, he has worked on industry-supported projects such as characterisation of ceramic nanoparticles for process control, solar cell testing and demonstration prototypes for ambient responsive glass.  R&D projects in his research team are supported by competitive funding from government agencies such as Ministry of Education, National Environment Agency and the National Research Foundation.

Prior to joining Nanyang Polytechnic, Dr Zuruzi was a technical staff at Intel, United States.  He did his post-doctoral stint at Agilent Labs in scenic Palo Alto. He earned his PhD in Materials from the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB), well known for its materials department and beach life. His doctoral research in nanotechnology won him the Graduate Student Award of the Materials Research Society (USA).