Past Projects

Principal Investigator : Dr. Yan Hong
Team members : Dr Gu Hai Wen, Feng Yang

Project description: A series of fluorine-free, solvent and water based hydrophobic coating materials have been developed. These high performance coatings exhibit robust properties such as contamination-resistant, anti-graffiti, water-repellent, anti-bacterial and are thus inherently self-cleaning. It also demonstrates excellent stability and durability in harsh conditions of strong acid, strong alkali, and mechanical abrasion.

Principal Investigators: Assoc. Prof. Li Zhi
Entrepreneurial Leads: Harine Kanagaraj, Tian Kaiyuan

Project description: We have developed a technological solution which can convert waste grease into biodiesel. Our technology utilises a recyclable biocatalyst process, which does not have any restriction on FFA content in the feedstock, thus allowing waste grease to be turned into a valuable energy source.

Principal Investigators: Asst. Prof Lefebvre Olivier
Entrepreneurial Leads: Dr. Nguyen Dinh Tam, Vivek Narayanan
Team members: Wang Zuxin, Xu Jianxiong

Project description: An electro-Fenton (EF) system generates the hydroxyl radical (•OH), a non-selective oxidant that can react very quickly with many biorecalcitrant industrial pollutants.  EF is the most potent of all advanced oxidation processes. It is a promising technology to treat nonbiodegradable wastewater.

Principal Investigators: Asst. Prof. Chew Jia Wei, Prof. Anthony Gordon Fane
Team members: Andy Cahyadi, Henry Tanudjaja, Aditya Anantharaman

Project description: Our novel Evapo-porometry instrument has several advantages over the Liquid Displacement Porometer, currently the leading lab instrument for pore size distribution measurement of membranes – (i) operation at ambient conditions (ii) applicability for membrane autopsies, and (iii) measurement of a wider range of pore sizes, which extends the applicability to more membrane-based processes.

Founder/CEO: David Pong
Entrepreneurial Leads: Jean Pierre Nshimyimana
Team members: Vincent Loka, Lim Chong Tee, Tan Zhi Yang

Project description: Fieldtrate Plus is a water filtration system that is specifically designed to cater to the lack of clean water in developing countries with a rising number of global disasters. It incorporates four main concepts – simplicity, portability, durability and affordability. Fieldtrate Plus’ core filtration technology is selected due to its proven durability in industrial settings.

Principal Investigators: Asst. Prof. Chew Jia Wei, Prof. William Kantz
Entrepreneurial Leads: Dr. Farhad Zamani, Dr. Amin Booshehri

Project description: Submerged hollow fibre and flat sheet membranes are used in a variety of applications such as membrane bioreactors. This invention exploits the inexpensive buoyant particles and foams, by a judicious manipulation of the module geometry, to scour the membrane surface repetitively thereby replacing aeration. Our innovative technology offers a hefty 75 % reduction in the cost (energy consumption) relative to the conventional aeration.

Principal Investigators: Dr. Su Jincai
Entrepreneurial Leads: Mao Lu
Team members: Ong Rui Chin, Lin Shuning Corliss, Mohd Abid Dhamiri Bin Atan, Wang Fan

Project description: The technology is a multi-bore hollow fiber membrane contactor for water deoxygenation. This novel membrane contactor is developed using a background IP from Prof. Chung Tai-Shung, NUS, ChBE, FOE. It offers larger contact area, faster deoxygenation rate, and better mechanical robustness compared with traditional single-bore hollow fiber membrane contactor.

Principal Investigators: Prof. Sam Lee
Team members: Chen Baisheng, Chen Jiaxin, Liu Junyi

Project description: Our invention provides a variable optical pathlength for industrial process monitoring. The variation adjustment is automatic without any manual interference. It also provides a flow through cell for spectroscopic measurements that is able to provide continuous measurements for on-line monitoring requiring minimal sample fluid volume.

Principal Investigators: Prof Lee Pooi See
Entrepreneurial Lead 1: Vipin Kumar, PhD student
Entrepreneurial Lead 2: Kenneth Ong, Vishnu Kumar
Team members: Li Tao

Project description: Miniaturized pump powered by piezoelectric effect that enables an efficient delivery of fluid transportation at a low power consumption. The pump size can be as small as a dollar coin with thin profile. The fluid delivery is stable and controlled flow rate can be achievable.

Principal Investigators: Tan Toon Cheng, Lisa Ribeiro
Team members: Laurene Kwek

Project description: The portable shower recycles the water and so extends the life span of a fixed amount of water, enabling a small amount of water to go a long way. As it is portable, the components will be light weight, and will be manually operated.

Principal Investigators: Francois Chin Po Shin
Entrepreneurial Leads: Albert Chai
Team members: Eric Toh

Project description: Our technology is designed to fulfill the increasing demand for bigger data pipes due to rich media contents and cloud computing. In addition, this technology has also been widely touted for wireless backhaul in small cell deployment for next generation cellular network.

Principal Investigators: Asst Prof Goh Yang Miang
Entrepreneurial Leads: Zhou Zhipeng, Research Fellow
Team members: Hoe Yee Pin, Wang Qiao, Mohamed Jawad Askar Ali

Project description: A web-based design support system to facilitate selection and design of fall arrest and travel restraint systems for building construction activities.

Principal Investigators: Prof Neal Chung
Entrepreneurial Lead 1: Dr Fu Feng Jiang (Research Fellow)
Entrepreneurial Lead 2: Divya Jain

Project description: Good drinking water quality is something that many of us take for granted. Low pressure RO membrane household device can help to protect the quality of your drinking water supply and remove the health risks.

Principal Investigators: Dr. Koh Sueda, Research Fellow
Entrepreneurial Leads: Thomas Wan Zilong

Project description: Sailing is not easy for beginners to learn, because controlling a sailboat is not intuitive. We propose a design direction for a sailing learning system using interactive media. SmartSail visualizes the subtle changes of the sail not only for the sailor but also for the trainer or spectators viewing from the land. In addition, SmartSail allows sailors to graduate from relying heavily on augmented feedback to attending more to other visual feedback that sailors use without altering the focus of their attention.

Principal Investigators: Assoc Prof Sibudjing Kawi
Entrepreneurial Leads: Yasotha Kathiraser
Team members: Usman Oemar, Ang Ming Li

Project description: Anti-Cokecat involves a facile preparation method for highly dispersed supported metal catalyst with anti-coking properties for CO2 reforming of natural gas/biogas to syngas and hydrogen.

Principal Investigators: Heisel Felix, Researcher
Entrepreneurial Leads: Mateusz Wielopolski, Post-doctoral Senior Researcher
Team members: Tobias Eberwein

Project description: BambooTech involves the development of a high-strength composite material, which employs renewable organic fibres such as bamboo as a resource and can be used as a reinforcement system in concrete and other structural applications. Compared to steel, BambooTech product is lighter, cheaper, renewable, CO2-binding and corrosion-free. These features make it suitable for interior and exterior structural applications.

Organisation: NTU, Dept of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
Principal Investigators: Thomas Hongyi Xu
Team members: Dang Minh Nguyen

Project description: Over 50% of electronic failures are caused by thermal problems. Meta Heat addresses these problems by designing efficient heat dissipation devices that can protect sensitive electronic components from being affected by heat flux. It is the world’s first three-dimensional thermal invisibility cloak.

Principal Investigators: Assoc. Prof. Federico Lauro
Entrepreneurial Leads: Rachelle Lauro
Team members: Trent Goldsack, Wesley Goh

Project description: Self-contained sampling devices that will take an array of measurements in aquatic (both salt and fresh water) environments. These products will send all the macro-data via wifi/3D/iridium satellite uplink for data collection and distribution to the web-based community of subscribers. Subscribers will be able to login to a socially networked website and ‘see’ the level of pollution as reported by all networked devices.

Principal Investigators: Professor Sam Li Fong Yau
Entrepreneurial Leads: Divya Jain
Team members: Du Haijun, Lin Xuanhao, Guo Rui

Project description: T-Cat aims to save over a million dollars a year per factory that recycles wastewater and in the process discard water that is high in organic contamination, due to lack of treatment facility for tough organics. T-cat uses the patent pending TiO2 photocatalyst for treatment of organic wastewater, like reverse osmosis (RO) concentrate, for water reclamation.

Principal Investigators: Prof. Robert Marks
Entrepreneurial Leads: Low Yuen Kei Adarina, Research staff
Team members: Prima Dewi Sinawang, Indra Susanto, Maria Regina Hartono

Project description: An integration of screen-printed electrodes and lateral flow strips for a quantitative electrochemical detection of targeted water viruses. The lateral flow strip carries electroactive affinity nanobeads under capillary force with captured target viral components to functionalised microelectrodes, where they are immobilised and their presence enables a quantifiable electrical signal.

Principal Investigators: Ian Gibson
Entrepreneurial Leads: Jian Huei, Mohit, Edmund, Wei Jie

Project description: The Engineering Design & Innovation Centre wishes to provide a facility that will support innovative products through technology development. Central to this is 3D Printing, which combines with other platform technologies (like microntrollers, laser cutting, CNC and assembled parts) to create numerous products and business opportunities. We need to know how to offer this within the NUS environment and outreach to potential beneficiaries and with the best chances of success.

Principal Investigators: Timothy Michael Walsh, Head, Off-Grid PV Systems, SERIS
Entrepreneurial Lead 1: Yi Jinzhou
Entrepreneurial Lead 2: Divya Jain
Team members: Chai Jing, Srinath Nalluri, Khoo Yong Sheng, Jai Prakash

Project description: This integrated framing system will provide the role of both the frame and the junction box, streamline the production process for PV modules. This approach is unique because the current state-of-the-art of PV module manufacturing requires three separate components and processes (the busses, the frame and the junction box) all of which are incorporated into the integrated framing system. The parts consolidation and improved process flow will reduce manufacturing costs for PV module manufacturers.

Principal Investigators: Assoc. Prof Sam Li Fong Yau & Dr Koh Lee Chew, Senior Manager R&D Engineer
Entrepreneurial Leads: Lin Junyu, Chee Siang

Project description: The novel sensor is based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) coupled to Goos Hanchen (GH) effect, which allows the enhancement and direct measurement of GH shift. The novel sensor system will provide a new option for rapid, sensitive chemical and biochemical analysis, with many advantages over the current methods of heavy metals measurement in liquids. The product will allow monitoring with minimal interference from environment.

Principal Investigators: Tan Cheak Khan Willy
Entrepreneurial Leads: Daryl Chew, Sum
Team members: Tong Yu, Hazel

Project description: The process subjects Bombyx Mori (B.Mori) silkworms to a patented method and was scaled up and used to produce silk with increased strength (+49%), strain (+2.2%), breaking energy (+55.1%) and elastic modulus (+39%), when  compared to normal silk. The “enhanced silk” can be spun and reeled into yarn, and then woven into fabric using a variety of weaving patterns.