Faculty/Staff Achievements


2020 Nokia Visiting Professor

Image credit: nokiafoundation.com
 
Professor Tony Quek, Head of Pillar (Information Systems Technology and Design), has been awarded the 2020 Nokia Visiting Professor grant.

Awarded by Nokia Foundation, the grants are given to distinguished foreign professors to visit Finland to work with local universities such as Aalto University, by participating in research work and giving lectures; and to collaborate with Finnish companies.

Prof Quek is the only awardee this year, and his research focus include small cell networks and beyond 5G future communications.



Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researcher - Fifth Consecutive Year


For the fifth year running, Professor Tony Quek (Head of Pillar, ISTD), has been named Clarivate Analytics' Highly Cited Researcher in the field of Computer Science.

The highly anticipated annual list identifies researchers who demonstrated significant influence in their chosen field or fields through the publication of multiple highly cited papers during the last decade. Their names are drawn from the publications that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and publication year in the Web of Science™ citation index.

“It is my honour to be listed as a Highly Cited Researcher for the fifth consecutive year. This is only possible with the continuous support from SUTD, MOE, and NRF. With 5G being deployed, the world starts to research in 6G and I hope to make an impact together with my team in SUTD and Singapore,” said Professor Tony Quek.

Professor Quek focuses in the research domain of small cell networks and beyond 5G future communications. He is currently leading an indoor network testbed of 5G small cells at SUTD. This is in partnership with M1, one of the major telecommunications service providers and is the first indoor 5G system to be deployed in Singapore.

See also: SUTD Professor Lists as Highly Cited Researcher for the Fifth Consecutive Year



The Optical Society (OSA) 2021 Fellows Class


Associate Professor Dawn Tan, with the Engineering Product Development (EPD) pillar, has been elected as a member of The Optical Society’s (OSA) 2021 Fellows Class for her pioneering and significant contributions to CMOS-compatible nonlinear optics and integrated photonics, as well as sustained outreach to advance diversity and inclusion in optics.

The OSA announced the 118 members of the 2021 Fellows Class on 7 October 2020, and Associate Prof Tan is one of four elected Fellows from Singapore. She is also one of 23 female members of the 2021 Class, which is the largest number of women ever elected in one year.

Founded in 1916, OSA is the leading professional association in optics and photonics. OSA Fellows make up not more than ten percent of the total OSA membership, and are honoured for having served with distinction in the advancement of optics and photonics.



Outstanding Contribution Award at the European Symposium on Research in Computer Security

Image credit: ESORICS

Professor Zhou Jianying received the Outstanding Contribution Award at the 25th European Symposium on Research in Computer Security (ESORICS). The Award was presented during the virtual event by Sokratis Katsikas, Chair of the ESORICS Steering Committee, and gives recognition to Prof Zhou’s research and contributions to the community in cybersecurity.

Prof Zhou is a faculty with the Information Systems Technology and Design pillar and also the co-Centre Director of iTrust (Centre for Research in Cyber Security). He was the programme chair of the ESORICS in 2018 and had also received the Best Paper Award in 2015.

ESORICS 2020 was hosted in Guildford, United Kingdom from 14 to 18 September. The Symposium is recognised as the premiere European research event in computer security, and has been hosted in various European countries since 1990.



Advance HE Fellowships and First Principal Fellow from Singapore


Dr Nachamma Sockalingam has been awarded the Advance Higher Education (HE) Principal Fellowship, making her the first from Singapore to receive this recognition. She is the Programme Director for the Learning Sciences Lab at SUTD.

Four other SUTD faculty have also been recognised as Fellows:


Advance HE is dedicated to helping higher education shape its future and focuses on supporting ‘transformative leadership and management, teaching and learning, equality, diversity and inclusion, and effective governance’.

The four categories of fellowships: Associate Fellow, Fellow, Senior Fellow and Principal Fellow, provide individuals with recognition of their practice, impact and leadership of teaching and learning.
 


Singapore 100 Women in Tech


Professor Lim Sun Sun, Head of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, has been selected for the inaugural Singapore 100 Women in Tech (SG100WIT) list.

Prof Lim is also a founding member of the Singapore Computer Science (SCS) Special Interest Group (SIG) on Women in Tech.

The SG100WIT list celebrates women role models in tech who have made significant contributions to the industry. A total of 850 nominations were received from the public and the list was shortlisted by a selection committee of 14 members, chaired by Mr Lim Swee Cheang, Senior Advisor and former CEO of Institute of Systems Science, National University of Singapore.

Full citation:
Sun Sun is a founding member of the SCS SIG on Women in Tech that seeks to increase gender diversity in the technology sector through mentoring and peer support of female technology professionals. She has actively researched the social impact of technology, an issue of growing importance as work, life, home and leisure are digitally intertwined.

As Nominated MP from 2018 to 2020, she advocated for clear guidelines governing the responsible use of AI and data sharing to promote societally-relevant research, championed the recognition of digital rights for children and cautioned against dangers in addressing online falsehoods through legislation. 

Most recently she published her latest book ‘Transcendent Parenting: Raising Children in the Digital Age’, a culmination of 17 years of research on technology and the family, capturing how mobile communication has intensified the parenting burden and complicated family relationships. 
 


National Day Awards 2020

SUTD recipients of the National Day Awards 2020:

  • Public Administration Medal (Silver)Ms Giselia Giam, Vice President, Administration and Chief Financial Officer

  • Commendation Medal – Mr Anthony Keh, Deputy Director, Human Resources & Organization Development

  • Commendation Medal – Ms Joyce Lim, Deputy Director, Legal

  • Commendation Medal – Ms Evelyn Tan, Deputy Director, International Relations

  • Public Service Medal – Mr Ng Keng Boon, Deputy Director, SUTD Academy

  • Long Service Medal – Professor Yeo Kiat Seng, Associate Provost, Research & International Relations

  • Long Service Medal – Ms Aileen Koh, Senior Associate Programme Director, ESD

  • Long Service Medal – Mr Vincent Tang, Assistant Director, Fabrication Laboratory

The Singapore National Day Awards are a means of recognising various forms of merit and long service to the nation. The first national awards were established in 1962. This year, a total of 5,472 individuals received National Day Honours.
 


Winner of InnovPlus Challenge – June 2020

Dr Bina Rai, Senior Lecturer with the Science, Mathematics and Technology cluster, led the winning team at the InnovPlus Challenge June 2020. Partnering with Serious Games Asia Pte Ltd and FXMedia Internet Pte Ltd, the SUTD team was presented the Flame Award, securing a S$200,000 grant to develop an Immersive Technology in a Training & Assessment Platform (I-TAP) prototype to trial with actual learners.

Organised by iN.LAB of the Institute for Adult Learning (IAL), this half-yearly competition seeks to provide a platform for organizations, learning experts and technology partners to collaborate and present innovative, feasible and scalable solutions to real learning challenges faced by the industry.

 


World’s 50 Most Renowned Women in Robotics


Assistant Professor Malika Meghjani
, with the Information Systems Technology and Design pillar, has been named one of the world’s 50 most renowned women in robotics by Analytics Insight in its June 2020 special edition. This special edition recognises the top dynamic women in the robotics industry who are leading their way to unprecedented excellence.

Analytics Insight is an influential platform dedicated to insights, trends and opinions from the world of data-driven technologies.
 


Professor Ricky Ang Elected as Fellow of IOP


Professor Ricky Ang, Head of the Science, Mathematics and Technology Cluster, has been awarded fellowship of the Institute of Physics (IOP), recognising his position as a leading physics professional who is progressing the future of physics.
 
Founded in 1874, IOP is a United Kingdom - based learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, research and application.
 


The IEEE Communications Society Stephen O. Rice Prize 

Professor Tony Quek (Head of Pillar, ISTD) together with his PhD student, Dr Thinh Quang Dinh, were awarded the 2020 IEEE Communications Society Stephen O. Rice Prize for their excellent paper 'Offloading in Mobile Edge Computing: Task Allocation and Computational Frequency Scaling'.

Dr Thinh graduated from the SUTD PhD programme in January this year.
 


7th S R Nathan Fellow for the Study of Singapore

Professor Chan Heng Chee, Chair of the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities at Singapore University of Technology and Design, has been appointed the 7th S R Nathan Fellow for the Study of Singapore (Academic Year 2019/20). Professor Chan is also Ambassador-at-Large with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Chair of the Board of Trustees at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.

To recognise the contributions of the late Mr S R Nathan who dedicated his life to public service and the advancement of Singapore, the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) established the S R Nathan Fellowship for the Study of Singapore in 2013.

Past S R Nathan Fellows include Professor Tan Tai Yong, President and Professor of Humanities (History) at Yale-NUS College, as well as Dr Cheong Koon Hean, CEO of the Housing and Development Board.
 


Singapore Good Design (SG Mark) 2020

Three SUTD designs were awarded the Singapore Good Design (SG Mark) 2020, under the categories of Architecture, Experience Design and Interior Design. Other categories include Product, Digital Solution, Branding, and a SG Mark 2020 Special Category for Sustainable Design.

Organised by Design Business Chamber Singapore (DBCS), the SG Mark’s overarching goal is to impact businesses, improve quality of life of different communities (individuals, corporations and countries) and influence culture. In its 8th year running, a total of 66 projects were awarded this year.

Architecture

AIRMESH : 3D Printed Stainless-Steel Space
Designers:
AIRLAB SUTD (Carlos Banon and Felix Raspall)
Assistant Professor Carlos Banon, ASD
 
Client: Gardens by the Bay

Experience Design

Design Odyssey
Designers:
SUTD-MIT International Design Centre

Interior Design

Timescapes : SUTD 10th Anniversary Time Capsule
Designers:
AIRLAB SUTD (Carlos Banon and Felix Raspall)
Assistant Professor Carlos Banon, ASD

 


AIRLAB and AirMesh Shortlisted for INDE.Awards

The AIRLAB (Architectural Intelligence Research Lab) and the AirMesh have been shortlisted for the 2020 INDE.Awards, under the categories of ‘The Design Studio’ and ‘The Influencer’ respectively.


A total of 10 designs have been shortlisted for The Influencer, which celebrates truly iconic designs; while 12 design studios across the region have been shortlisted for The Design Studio.

The AirMesh, developed by AIRLAB at Singapore University of Technology and Design, is the first 3D printed structure approved for temporary occupation in Singapore by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA). Located at Gardens by the Bay, the pavilion reinterprets a traditional Chinese lantern and lights up in dynamic colour gradients.

Lead architects, Assistant Professor Carlos Banon and Felix Raspall are also the co-founders of AirLab.
 


Bronze Medal at the Axiom Business Book Awards


Sixteen Shades of Smart, a book published by the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities (LKYCIC), SUTD together with IMD Business School, was awarded the bronze medal under the Business Intelligence/Innovation category at the Axiom Business Book Awards 2020, the largest and most respected guidepost for business books in today’s new world of publishing.

The book contains case studies of sixteen cities from different regions in the world, discussing how these cities are adopting smart technologies to deal with urban challenges. The pioneering and collaborative research focused on five key areas: health & safety, mobility, activities (including environmental and cultural), opportunities (including educational and professional), and governance in a digital environment. LKYCIC undertook the research and writing on the Asia-Pacific cities in SUTD.