contents of research areas.pdf · natural hazards (earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes) ......

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Contents College of Engineering ................................................................................................................ 2

SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL AND BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING ....................................................... 2

SCHOOL OF CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING ................................................................ 3

SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING ............................................................. 4

SCHOOL OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING ...................................................... 5

SCHOOL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING ............................................................. 6

SCHOOL OF MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE ENGINEERING .................................................... 7

College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences ......................................................................... 8

WEE KIM WEE SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION ....................................... 8

College of Science ....................................................................................................................... 9

ASIAN SCHOOL OF THE ENVIRONMENT .................................................................................. 9

SCHOOL OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES ....................................................................................... 10

SCHOOL OF PHYSICAL AND MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES ........................................................ 11

Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine .......................................................................................... 12

Research Centres ...................................................................................................................... 13

COMPLEXITY INSTITUTE (CI) ................................................................................................. 13

EARTH OBSERVATORY OF SINGAPORE (EOS) ........................................................................ 15

ENERGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE @ NTU (ERI@N) .................................................................... 17

INSTITUTE OF CATASTROPHE RISK MANAGEMENT (ICRM) ................................................... 18

INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION (IMI) ........................................................................... 20

NTU-UBC RESEARCH CENTER OF EXCELLENCE IN ACTIVE LIVING FOR THE ELDERLY (LILY) .... 25

NANYANG ENVIRONMENT & WATER RESEARCH INSTITUTE (NEWRI) .................................. 26

RAPID-RICH OBJECT SEARCH (ROSE) LAB .............................................................................. 28

SINGAPORE CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL LIFE SCIENCES ENGINEERING (SCELSE) ............. 30

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College of Engineering

SCHOOL OF CHEMICAL AND BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

Food Science & Technology

Translational Medicine

Translational Healthcare Technology/Bioinstrumentation

Pharmaceutical Engineering

Biotechnology & Synthetic Biology

Energy & Chemical Technologies

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SCHOOL OF CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

Construction Technology and Management

Construction Technology and Management

Building Information Modeling (BIM) for built environment and infrastructure engineering

IT Applications for Construction Industry

Construction Productivity and Safety Studies Geotechnical Engineering

Foundations of High-Rise Buildings

Land Reclamation

Underground Space Development

Rock Mechanics and Engineering Geology

Space creation via intensification of land use

Climate Change Impact on Urban environment Maritime Studies

Maritime Logistics

Strategic and Quality Management in Shipping

Supply Chain Management

Sustainable Maritime Operations

Data Analytics for Maritime Applications Structures and Mechanics

Structural Dynamics

Protective Technology

Concrete and Steel Technology

Sustainable Timber Technology Environmental Engineering

Membrane science and technology

Environmental microbiology and biotechnology

Environmental chemistry and materials

Environmental toxicology and public health

Simulation and modelling of environmental processes

Solid waste management Water Resources Engineering

Water Resources and Flood Management Transportation Engineering

Urban mobility and inclusive society Civil Engineering

Impact of Climate Change on Urban Liveability

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SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Artificial Intelligence

Audio, Speech and Signal Processing

Biomedical Informatics

Blockchain / Fintech

Cloud Computing

Cognitive Modelling

Computational Neuroscience

Computer Graphics and Interactive Visual Computing

Computer Networks and Communication

Computer Vision and Multimedia

Custom / Re-configurable Computing

Cyber Physical Systems

Cybersecurity

Data Management and Analytics

Hardware and Embedded systems

High Performance Computing

Human Computer Interaction

Image Processing

Information Retrieval

Internet of Things

Machine Learning

Modeling and Simulation

Natural Language Processing

Parallel and Distributed Systems

Robotics

Software Engineering

Wireless and Smart Sensor Systems

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SCHOOL OF ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC ENGINEERING

Renewable Power and Energy Systems

Smart Power Grids

Electric cars and vehicles

Autonomous vehicles

Intelligent Transportation

Power Electronics

Energy Efficient Buildings and Transportation

RF, Analog/Mixed-signal and Low-power Digital ICs

Edge Computing

Neuromorphic computing

System-on-Chip/System-in-Package and Testing

Terahertz and Si Millimeter Wave ICs

Digital Media Processing and Applications

Signal Processing Theory and Systems

Intelligent Computing, Information Security and Biometrics

Computer Vision, Image and Video Processing

Big Data Analytics

Artificial Intelligence, Machine/Deep Learning

Modeling and Control of Complex Systems

Intelligent Systems and Advanced Robotic Systems

5G communications

Advanced Coding and Signal Processing for Communication, Storage and Security

Sensor Networks, Network Design, Network Security and Network Performance

Nanoelectronics: Semiconductor Materials, Devices, Systems

Bioelectronics, Biophotonics , Bio-Sensors

Internet of Things

Future and Smart Mobility

Satellite Engineering and Space Technology

Photonics and Nanophotonics

Specialty fiber and fiber technology

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SCHOOL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Biomaterials and Biomedical Devices

Biomimetic Materials

Combinatorial Materials and Materials Simulation

Computational Materials Science

Defence Materials

Functional Materials and Composites

Materials for Sustainability

Materials Characterization

Nanoelectronics, Nanomaterials and Multiferroics

Nanomedicine

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SCHOOL OF MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

Aerospace Engineering (Aerodynamics, Flight dynamics & control, Propulsion & UAV,

Smart materials, Aircraft Design, Aero-elasticity & aircraft structure)

Air Traffic Management (Human Factors, Operation Research, Environment and

Weather, Information management systems)

Future mobility (Advanced power systems and drivetrains, electric mobility,

autonomous vehicles, driver-automation collaboration)

Biomedical Engineering (Bio-design and bio-manufacturing of tools/devices,

Biomechanics, Medical simulation, Bio-sensors/biomedical devices)

Clean Energy & Sustainable Environment (Fuel Cells, Wind/Tidal energy, Clean

technology & environment, Advanced cooling technologies, Waste heat recovery,

Alternative energy, Environmental acoustics)

Micro/nanofabrication and Micro Systems (Thin films & coatings, MEMS & BioMEMS,

Data storage, Sensors & actuators)

Naval architecture and marine engineering (Fluid-marine structure interactions, Ship

structure design, Marine engine emissions, LNG ships, Hull-propulsor design)

Optical and laser engineering (Computational Optics, Nanoscale Optical Engineering,

Precision Optics, Laser Structuring and Processing)

Robotics and Intelligent Systems (Industrial robots, Surgical robots & remote diagnosis,

Rehabilitation robots, Cobots, Soft robots, Virtual reality, Intelligent systems)

Sports Research (Footwear design and materials, Advanced materials for apparels,

Wearable electronics, Human and athlete performance)

Systems Engineering and Management (Human Factors Engineering, Operations

Research, Systems Engineering, Design Studies)

Additive Manufacturing (Selective Laser Melting, Selective Laser Sintering, Electron

Beam Melting, Laser Additive Manufacturing, Bioprinting, Modelling and Simulation)

Precision Machining (Laser-material interactions, surface modifications, non-traditional

machining, ultra-precision machining)

Advanced & Sustainable Manufacturing (Factory of the Future, Industry 4.0, Smart

manufacturing, Industrial Internet of Things, Cyber-physical manufacturing system

optimization, Non-destructive testing and evaluation)

Mechanics of materials (Fracture mechanics, Material fatigue, Micromechanics, Soft

matters, Computational mechanics)

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College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

WEE KIM WEE SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION

Big Data & Analytics Social Media Media Effects Fake News & Rumours Journalism Risk and Sustainability Communication Consumer & Marketing Communication Visual Communication Health Communication Environmental Communication Medical & Health Informatics Human-Computer Interaction Digital & Serious Games Virtual & Augmented Reality Knowledge Management Digital Libraries & Information Retrieval Information & Media Literacy Internet Governance Film & Cinema

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College of Science

ASIAN SCHOOL OF THE ENVIRONMENT

The Asian School of the Environment (ASE) is an interdisciplinary school in the College of

Science that focuses on Asian environmental challenges. By integrating earth sciences,

ecosystems ecology, natural hazards and coupled human-natural systems, the school will to

address key issues of climate change, environmental science and sustainability. The school

aims to fill a significant gap in our understanding of the tropical landscapes and Asian urban

environments.

Our fields of research include:

Climate change (sea-level rise, storms) Coupled human-natural systems

Ecosystems and ecology

Environmental systems science

Environmental genomics

Natural hazards (earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes) Marine sciences (ocean chemistry and biogeochemistry)

Microbial ecology

Megacities and urban risk

Paleoclimate

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SCHOOL OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES

The School of Biological Sciences (SBS), which belongs to the College of Science, was established

in 2002 with a mission to make a strong contribution to biological and biomedical sciences. Since

then, many talented individuals from around the world and Singapore have joined us, from

scientific leaders, researchers, postgraduate students, working across our various fields of

research.

SBS collaborates with local and international research institutes, universities and hospitals,

sharing a common goal to advance basic knowledge and translational application in the biological

and biomedical sciences.

Our Fields of Research includes:

Cancer

Cell biology

Chemical biology

Gene regulation

Immunology

Infectious disease and microbiology

Metabolism and diseases

Neuroscience

Plant Biology

Stem cells and ageing

Structural biology

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SCHOOL OF PHYSICAL AND MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES

Mathematical Sciences

Probability and Statistics

Number Theory, Algebra and Combinatorics

Analysis and Topology

Coding Theory & Cryptography

Mathematical Logic

Scientific Computing and Computational Mathematics

Theoretical Computer Science and Algorithms

Financial Mathematics

Optimization

Applied Geometry Chemistry & Biological Chemistry

Analytical Chemistry

Bioinorganic, Bioorganic and Biophysical Chemistry

Green Chemistry

Inorganic and Organic Chemistry

Medicinal Chemistry

Nanotechnology, Nanomaterials and Nanobiotechnology

Physical, Theoretical and Computational Chemistry

Synthesis, Methodology and Catalysis

Total Synthesis of Natural Products and Drugs

Physics & Applied Physics

Condensed Matter, Semiconductor Physics and Spintronics

Photonics and Quantum Electronics

Quantum Technology and Quantum Information Science

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Surface and Interface Science

Biophysics, Bioimaging and Soft Condensed Matter

Nonlinear and Complex Systems

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Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine LKCMedicine is a young, thriving medical school dedicated to transforming healthcare and

advancing the science and practice of medicine. We champion the best in research and education,

built on a foundation of synergistic partnerships and organisational excellence.

Fundamental to LKCMedicine’s research strategy is an emphasis on Ageing and Population Health,

underpinned by our growing expertise in the key areas: Metabolic Disorders, Neuroscience and

Mental Health, Infection and Immunity, Dermatology and Skin Biology, Developmental Biology

and Regenerative Medicine, as well as clinical and other interdisciplinary research – themes that

directly address Singapore’s healthcare challenges of tomorrow and caring for its rapidly ageing

population.

LKCMedicine’s researchers have access to state-of-the art platforms and facilities, and work at the

centre of international and national networks, delivering world-class science and medicine via

collaborative initiatives and Research Centres.

By investing in people, creating the best research environment, and approaching healthcare’s

most complex translational challenges through focused interdisciplinary research between clinical

and engineering sciences, we do transformative science, provide innovative education, and

ultimately, change lives for the better.

List of Research Programmes:

Neuroscience and Mental Health

Population Health

Respiratory and Infectious Diseases

Vascular/Metabolic Diseases

Skin Diseases and Wound Repair

Developmental Biology & Regenerative Medicine

Health Technologies

Microbiome Medicine

Medical Education Research

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Research Centres

COMPLEXITY INSTITUTE (CI)

Complexity Institute (CI) was established in April 2014. It aims to become the Asian center for

transdisciplinary research and teaching on complexity and complex adaptive systems. It studies

how interactions within a system and its environment generate its dynamical patterns of

behaviour. It will leverage on the close relationships already established with international & local

institutions, government agencies, research organisations and funding agencies to build a strong

R&D programs and attract external funding.

Key Research Areas

Critical Transitions in Man-Made and Natural Systems

Many complex systems, man-made or naturally occurring, exhibit critical transitions and tipping

points. Understanding the tell tales of these transitions is crucial. We study these critical

transitions in coupled human and natural systems, in epidemics and in socio economic systems.

Foundations of Complex Adaptive Systems

There is no theory of complex systems. Many interesting results have been obtained using

concepts from thermodynamics but no full theory that can support predictive modelling exists. In

this research we focus on an Information Theoretical approach to describing the non-linear

interactions in deeply connected systems. Using novel information metrics such as Tsallis Entropy

and Natural Information as well as Geometrical Information we explore the fundamentals of the

dynamics of complex systems. The goal is a comprehensive, testable theory of Complex Adaptive

Systems.

Urban Adaptive Dynamics

Since about 2007 the majority of the world population is living in an urban environment. Yet we

hardly understand the concept of a ‘city’. We do know however that cities are pretty stable

constructs that show remarkable scaling behavior. In addition to being an environment in which

new opportunities are abundant, a city also is a source of increased crime, pollution and diseases.

Using open data we build Agent Based models to better understand the interplay between the

social and physical infrastructure of cities.

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Health Systems Complexity

Demographic challenges such as ever increasing population density or an aging population require

novel models to measure, predict, and mitigate the devastating effects these challenges pose.

Using novel machine learning techniques and modelling methods such as complex networks,

cellular automata and agent based models, we build predictive models to run what if scenarios

that can result in decision support for medical doctors and health care policy. The Virtual Physical

Human is a good example.

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EARTH OBSERVATORY OF SINGAPORE (EOS)

Climate

Climate research at EOS aims to fill a gap of much-needed information on climatic forces in Southeast Asia, which will allow for a more accurate projection of regional consequences that can expected from global climate change. Several major drivers of global climate, including the Western Pacific Warm Pool and the Indian Ocean Dipole, are active in this tropical region, yet scientific knowledge about them has been relatively scarce.

Hazards, Risk, and Society

EOS conducts research that links policy and social science inquiry with its natural science research and Education & Outreach involvement in areas affected by natural hazards. One project in Aceh aims to produce a comprehensive and integrated approach to post-disaster recovery and resilience. Another project is to assess current risk perceptions and mitigative actions related to earthquakes and tsunamis and the degree to which science communication has influenced those perceptions and actions.

https://earthobservatory.sg/research/hazards-risk-and-society

https://earthobservatory.sg/research/climate

https://earthobservatory.sg/research/hazards-risk-and-society

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Tectonics

Southeast Asia and the surrounding areas have many large active faults, as well as a number of major subduction zones that are responsible for some of the world’s most complex movements by tectonic plates. This region provides a natural laboratory to study Earth deformation processes with global relevance.

Volcano

Volcanic arcs in Southeast Asia are among the most active on Earth. The EOS Volcano Group conducts geologic, geochemical, and geophysical studies to improve understanding of volcanic activity, particularly processes related to eruptions. EOS research in this field is designed to build on knowledge and tools that will aid in the forecasting of volcanic eruptions, assessment of their environmental and societal impacts, and efforts to mitigate the hazards.

https://earthobservatory.sg/research/tectonics

https://earthobservatory.sg/research/volcano

https://earthobservatory.sg/research/tectonics

https://earthobservatory.sg/research/volcano

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ENERGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE @ NTU (ERI@N)

Established in June 2010, the Energy Research Institute @NTU (ERI@N) distinguishes itself

through excellence in basic research directed towards outcomes of high industry relevance, with

focus on systems-level research for tropical megacities.

It achieves this via seven Interdisciplinary Research Programmes (IRP) and two Flagship

Programmes that cover the energy value chain from generation, transmission to end use.

The IRPs are the core of ERI@N’s applied research focus:

i) Renewables and Low carbon generation,

ii) Energy Storage & Fuel Cells,

iii) Renewables’ Integration & Microgrids,

iv) Multi-Energy Systems and Grids,

v) Sustainable Building Technologies,

vi) Future Mobility Solutions, and

vii) Electrification of Ports

Both Flagship Programmes serve as strong “Living Lab” platforms to engage industry developed

innovation, focusing on solutions that achieves energy efficiency and renewable energy

integration into smart micro grids, respectively:

i) Renewable Energy Integration Demonstrator – Singapore (REIDS)

ii) EcoCampus

The institute also takes the initiative to provide support and galvanize entrepreneurship to bring

innovations from the lab to the real-world through its ERI@N Accelerator Programme (EAP) – the

EcoLabs Centre of Innovation for Energy.

ERI@N is determined to enable knowledge creation and technology transfer in strong alliance

with government agencies, leading industry players and SMEs and global universities to support

Singapore’s national objectives to meet Singapore’s COP21 commitments. These commitments

will be ratified in part through the development of green buildings, renewable energy deployment,

proliferation of energy efficient solutions, creation of a “car-lite” society, digitalisation of the

energy system enabling a ubiquitous smart grid architecture and establishing low carbon districts.

A large pool of researchers and staff coming from 20 nations across the world, having wide

skillsets and expertise in Science, Engineering, Technology, Policy and Social science contributes

to a vibrant, multidisciplinary and collaborative research environment at ERI@N, enabling it to

achieve its mission for distinction and contribute to national aspirations for a Smart & Sustainable

Nation.

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INSTITUTE OF CATASTROPHE RISK MANAGEMENT (ICRM)

In recent years, we have witnessed massive increase of human and economic losses due to

catastrophic events. These events are either natural or manmade. This increase of losses is due

to globalization, urbanization, and climatic change. As a result, the nature and effects of these

disasters have also changed. The high level of economic activities and the inter-relationship of

man-made systems have brought out some unique and non-traditional risk management issues.

In Asia, where the risk awareness is low and the risk is high, the situation poses special problems

and challenges. These include understanding and recognizing risk, risk quantification (monetary,

social and human) as well as risk management. NTU’s Risk Research Agenda is driven by the

principle that catastrophic risk impacts the functioning and effectiveness of the whole fabric of

society and businesses. Developing strategies for mitigating these risks will require a robust

public-private partnership amongst government agencies, academia and industry players. ICRM

is leading the charge at NTU through some of its current major research programs including:

1) Future Resilient Systems (FRS)

Through the Singapore-ETH Centre (SEC), ICRM is leading the NTU-side effort in partnering with

ETH, NUS and SMU in the CREATE program on Future Resilient Systems (FRS). Asia is undergoing

massive growth of its urban areas along with corresponding growth of its critical infrastructure

systems such as for water, transport, communications and power. The resilience of these

infrastructure systems to hazards or shocks is critical for ensuring the health and safety of the

population. Developing an understanding of the resiliency of infrastructure systems is complex,

in that the infrastructure systems are individually themselves large and inter-linked and can

exhibit totally unexpected system responses which can even result in cascading failures across the

entire system of systems. Specifically ICRM will examine the risk to a city’s critical infrastructure

and particularly power networks under present and future configurations. The goal is to address

challenges faced with interwoven infrastructure networks by developing frameworks, concepts

and tools to make interconnected infrastructure systems more robust and resilient.

2) Natural Catastrophe Data Analytics Exchange (NatCatDAX) Initiative

Data necessary for catastrophe risk quantification in Asia and Southeast Asia are generally poor

in terms of availability, accessibility and quality. In an environment of low insurance penetration

and fragmented markets, this contributes to: (i) lack of modelling input for “blind” spots, (ii) lack

of data standards, and (iii) lack of robust and updated catastrophe models which depend on both

exposure data and loss data for validation. Application of innovative insurance and reinsurance

products and risk transfer instruments based on parametric triggers is thus practically impossible,

in the absence of quality underlying data. Headquartered in ICRM, the NatCatDAX Alliance will be

set up as an association of academia, government and industry group to address the above

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mentioned data and modelling gaps, through a catastrophe data and analytics platform for Asia

Pacific and starting with Southeast Asia. The Alliance has the objectives of: (i) increasing

availability of quality data through fusion of remotely sensed data and national data, (ii) enhancing

underwriting process, (iii) spurring collective market analytics and product innovation, and (iv)

underpinning needed catastrophe research.

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INSTITUTE FOR MEDIA INNOVATION (IMI)

Director: Prof. Nadia Magnenat Thalmann

(http://imi.ntu.edu.sg)

Vision

The Institute for Media Innovation (IMI) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore is

a world-class research institute in Interactive New Media. It is directed by Professor Nadia

Magnenat Thalmann, a world-renowned researcher on Virtual Reality and Social Robotics. The

Institute’s main vision is the concept and realization of a true mixed society where anybody

anywhere in the world can be connected to another individual through smart 3D glasses and have

the illusion to share the same space with people of varying geographic proximity. This mixed

society includes real people, virtual humans and autonomous social robots. The novelty is to be

able to capture different environments in real-time, merge them into one 3D scene visible through

intelligent 3D glasses and to allow distant participants, including avatars and social robots, to walk

through this space wherever they are and interact naturally with each other. Nadine social robot

is an emerging part of this research as awareness and generation of the right group attitude

should be performed. IMI collaborates with the Interdisciplinary Graduate Programme (IGP) by

educating and training PhD students in New Media research areas.

Mission

To develop cutting-edge new media research in its core research group.

To lead the research and the international collaboration of the BeingTogether Centre in

3D Telepresence.

To create synergy and interactions with NTU schools to empower New Media

interdisciplinary research through integrated projects and joint PhD supervisions.

To promote and develop industrial applications in Singapore and elsewhere in the world.

To organize or participate to local and international events such as conference,

workshops, seminars and lectures.

Overview

The Institute for Media Innovation IMI, through its core research group, is developing cutting-

edge research in 3D immersive simulations, autonomous social humanoid robots, virtual humans,

3D modelling and 3D robot fabrication. IMI has created behavior for an innovative realistic female

humanoid robot, Nadine, which has autonomous social awareness capabilities as a social

companion. IMI works also on immersive gaming with autonomous players. Other projects

http://imi.ntu.edu.sg/

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include intelligent autonomous cranes and the making of children robots. 27 collaborative

projects with the participation of NTU schools have been achieved. For example, we can cite the

Virtual Pink Dolphin project, the faces segmentation and Expression for Autonomous Avatars, the

Award winning film Unframed, and the interactive crowd. IMI core group has organized 6

international top conferences in the field of New Media and 12 workshops and 10 joint seminars

with other schools. The IMI core group has welcomed more than 279 visits so far and showed its

latest demos. IMI core group interacts with more than 42 PhD students in New Media located in

IMI and coming from different schools. Each student presents his/her latest research during the

IMI Research Seminar that is held once a month in IMI. The group, together with the PhD students,

has published more than 476 top publications so far.

The International Centre, BeingTogether, on 3D Telepresence has been established since

December 2010 at IMI with an overall total funding of 29 million Singapore Dollars. It is in

partnership with the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill in the United States. In this

project, over 15 faculties in NTU have focused their research on various aspects of the

Telepresence research and in particular, on virtual humans and social robots who can act as

substitutes or additional human resources.

IGS PhD in New Media @ IMI

By enrolling in the Interdisciplinary Graduate School at NTU and selecting the Institute for Media

Innovation (IMI) as research institute, students have the great opportunity to prepare a PhD in

New Media in the dynamic environment of IMI. Playing a crucial part in ensuring the future of

New Media in Singapore, IMI aims to educate the next generation of scientists and technologists

and encourage them to share and benefit from their knowledge of engineering, 3D fabrication,

visual computer graphics and behavioral research.

IMI offers doctoral students vibrant multidisciplinary research capabilities. In particular, they will

have an opportunity to work in the area of cutting-edge interactive 3D simulation with top

equipment as Immersive Room, real-time motion capture, and several humanoid robots in a

multidisciplinary team. Through their personal work, seminars, courses, and interaction with

research experts, PhD candidates are prepared for research positions in leading academic

institutions as well as private and public organizations.

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Key Research Areas at IMI

1. BeingTogether Centre on 3D Telepresence

An extension from BeingThere Centre, BeingTogether Centre (BTC) was continued in October

2016 and has the renewed goal of realizing a true mixed society where anybody anywhere in the

world can be connected to another individual through smart 3D glasses and have the illusion to

share the same space with people of varying geographic proximity. The Centre is composed of

groups from the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill and various schools in NTU.

Research into this technology focuses on capturing different environments in real-time, merging

them into one 3D scene visible through intelligent 3D glasses and allowing distant participants to

walk through this space wherever they are. To date, BTC research has led to 18 technical

disclosures with licensing agreements under negotiation with the start-up Lythal Pte Ltd and the

University of Central Florida. More than 190 persons including researchers and

PhD/Master/Undergraduate students have been engaged in the Centre’s research. To date, a

total of 129 papers have been published in highly recognized international journals and

conferences including IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, ACM

Transactions on Graphics, IEEE Transactions on Image Processing, etc. Members of the Centre

have received 20 international awards and have 6 patents filed provisionally. 2 spin-off companies

have been formed.

2. Virtual Humans and Social Robots

This project aims to develop and achieve the smooth integration of a mixed society in the blended

space, with four main challenges:

From any body and face, create the outer shelf of a humanoid robot through 3D virtual

modelling and 3D printing;

Each partner (real, virtual, telepresent, robot, autonomous or not) should be

characterized by affects (including personality and emotion), memory, and interactions

with gestures, facial expressions and dialogue;

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Each partner should be aware of all other partners and the environment, and able to

collaborate and interact, and;

Each partner (except virtual humans) should be able to interact physically with the

environment, especially reaching, grasping and exchanging objects.

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3. Realistic Immersion with Virtual Humans

This project has started on 01 January 2017 and is in collaboration with Institute of Software,

Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China. The Chinese team is led by Prof Wencheng Wang

as the lead Principal Investigator and the Singapore team is headed by Prof Nadia Magnenat

Thalmann as the lead Principal Investigator.

In this project, we introduce a new model of perception-attention-action process for virtual

humans in order to improve the naturalness of their behaviour. The model of perception-

attention-action includes:

Perception allows virtual humans to access knowledge of states of real users and other

virtual humans (for example position, gesture and emotion) and information of both real

and virtual environment.

Attention models the cognitive process of real human to focus on selected information

with importance or interest. The “attention” of virtual humans in existing applications is

mostly predefined. With our proposed model, virtual humans could intelligently and

dynamically distribute their attention based on personality, emotion and events in virtual

scenes.

Action is the procedure of decision-making and motion synthesis for virtual humans. We

focus on how virtual humans acts in a mixed social scenario with both real and virtual

humans.

To implement such a model, we develop novel techniques, including the techniques for efficient

perception of important visual information (like gestures and emotion), efficient attention of

salient visual features to avatars, collaborative determination based on social communication,

realistic activities of avatars, efficient refreshing of the virtual world. The developed novel

techniques is integrated into a prototype system to promote behaviour of virtual humans, and is

applied to some concrete applications, such as volleyball games in VR environments.

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NTU-UBC RESEARCH CENTER OF EXCELLENCE IN ACTIVE LIVING FOR THE ELDERLY (LILY)

Founded in 2012 with S$26 million support from the National Research Foundation (NRF),

Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and The University of British Columbia (UBC) and

industries. LILY is Singapore’s first research centre focusing on artificial intelligence (AI) research

for successful aging. At LILY, we focus on developing Humanized AI technologies. Through cutting

edge human-in-loop AI research including curious AI, persuasive AI, explainable AI and crowd AI,

LILY has developed an ecosystem of humanized AI-powered platforms to help aging societies

become “ageless”. LILY’s predictive analytics wellness game systems have extending high quality

healthcare service provision from hospitals to individual seniors’ homes; the aging-in-place

system enables seniors to lead an active, independent and dignified lifestyle at home while

encouraging inter-generational communication; and the productive aging system empowers

retirees to continue to participate in social and economic development activities at their own

pace in order to derive a sense of fulfilment while contributing their valuable wisdom and skills.

By working closely with community organizations in Singapore, LILY has reached out to over

10,000 seniors. The Humanized AI research championed by LILY has attracted strong interest from

industry players such as Alibaba.

http://www.ntulily.org/

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NANYANG ENVIRONMENT & WATER RESEARCH INSTITUTE (NEWRI)

Vision

Become the pre-eminent Water and Environment Research Institute, focused on leading-edge

research, translation into world class products, and developing a highly skilled workforce.

Mission

Address Singapore’s national priorities in water and environmental needs. Perform fundamental

Research, translate through robust Engineering to innovative solutions, and work with industrial

and institutional partners, towards their Deployment to enhance Singapore’s global standing and

attract investment.

Ranked among top global organizations in the domains of environment & water technology,

NEWRI responds to national needs and global sustainability concerns in such areas as desalination,

water treatment, food waste management, solid waste management and climate change.

NEWRI’s operating ecosystem is both multi and inter-disciplinary. It encompasses the domains of

biotechnology & bioprocesses, environmental chemistry & materials, modelling and sensing,

resource recovery, and membrane technology. Specifically, there are five Centres of Excellence

(AEBC, ECMC, EPMC, R3C, and SMTC), a core analytics cluster, an engineering team, a business

development team, a philanthropic initiative, and an education unit.

Advanced

Environmental

Biotechnology Centre

(AEBC – NEWRI)

Environment Chemistry

and Materials Centre

(ECMC – NEWRI)

Environmental Process

Modelling Centre

(EPMC – NEWRI)

Residues and Resource

Reclamation Centre

(R3C – NEWRI)

Singapore Membrane

Technology Centre

(SMTC – NEWRI)

Energy & resource

recovery through

sustainable water and

biosolids management

systems

Physical and chemical

materials for

environmental

treatment applications

Translating and

applying mathematical

models and

visualization

Solid waste value capture

through waste to energy

and waste to materials

technologies

Membrane

technologies for

water, environment,

energy and cleaner

production

Research interests

include:

Energy self-sufficient

wastewater reclamation

Research interests include:

Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOP) (e.g.

Photocatalysis, Ozonation, Hybrid Combinations)


Modelling & Hydrodynamics

(e.g. Contaminant Fate

and Transport in Water,


Chemical Stabilisation (e.g. Ash/slag re-utilization, CO2

sequestration, landfill remediation)

Research interests

include:

Novel Membranes (e.g.

FO/PRO, low pressure NF, MD, biomimetic)

http://www.ntu.edu.sg/newri

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processes (e.g. Novel

treatment processes with

lower energy)

Energy and resource recovery from biosolids (e.g. Activated sludge, food waste, agriculture waste etc)

Rapid biological assays for water safety (Transgenic zebrafish, human cell cultures, etc)

Catalysis (e.g. Novel materials for disinfection, lower energy, recyclable)

Sorption (e.g. Hydrogel, Activated Carbon)

Resource recovery (e.g.

Valuable metal recovery from waste streams)

Ocean Outfalls &

Intakes)

Sensors & Networks (e.g. Water Quality

Sensors, Tree Stability

Sensors, IoT Networks)

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning (e.g. Industrial and Municipal Water System Simulation & Process Controls, Molecular Dynamics)

Gasification (e.g. Syngas upgrading, Chemical looping combustion)

Air Pollution Control (e.g. Portable analysis system, Corrosion control)

Energy & Resource recovery (e.g. Plastics to Oil & Carbon-based

materials/Nanotubes)

Enhanced Module & System Design (e.g. Multi-stage approach, 3D Printed spacer & module)

Fouling Control &

Sensors (e.g. Preventing membrane damage, optimizing performance)

Novel Membrane Bioreactors (MBRs) (e.g. AnMBR, extractive MBR, fluidized bed MBR)

Applied Research and Translation (ART)

NEWRI translates lab research to scale-up and piloting, through 3

capabilities:

● START (Separation Technology Applied Research and Translation), a national

facility separately funded by EDB and supported by NTUitive and NTU as its lead

partner, with a focus on scale-up and piloting of separating-related technologies

system

● WW-ART (Wastewater Applied Research and Translation) a demo plant for

biosolids pre-treatment and enhanced energy recovery

● WtE-ART (Waste-to-Energy Applied Research and Translation), an open

platform for innovative technologies in the waste-to-energy and waste-to-

materials domains using gasification technology.

NEWRITech

NEWRITech bridges NEWRI and industry, as a

conduit to link research to commercialisation,

developing positive business and economic

outcomes.

NEWRIComm

The Lien Environmental Fellowship (LEF)

Programme – endowed by Lien Foundation

and NTU’s Nanyang Environment and Water

Research Institute (NEWRI) - aims to

improve water, sanitation, and renewable

energy for developing communities in Asia.

NEWRIEdu

The NEWRI Education Unit aims to ground

students in research fundamentals whilst

preparing them for future professional

careers. Students have access to cutting-

edge laboratory facilities, and gain

valuable exposure collaborating on

industry-related projects.

Please visit http://newri.ntu.edu.sg for more information.

http://newri.ntu.edu.sg/

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RAPID-RICH OBJECT SEARCH (ROSE) LAB

In Internet searches, a picture could be worth a thousand words. The Rapid-Rich Object Search

(ROSE) Lab was conceived in view of the proliferation of mobile internet devices and the growing

need to expand search beyond text’s limited capability in describing real-world objects. The Lab

is focusing on visual object search; video analytics & deep learning; as well as multimedia forensics

& biometrics.

Since 2012, the ROSE Lab has published over 300 papers in top conferences and journals in

computer vision, pattern recognition, and machine learning. The Lab has also secured 28 industry

partners, including Tencent (one of the largest Internet companies in Asia), NVIDIA (the world’s

leading visual computing company), Accenture (one of the world’s leading management

consulting companies), OMRON (a leading Japanese industry automation company), and

Lockheed Martin (one of the world’s leading defense contractors). These include multiple

projects with Tencent’s WeChat Pattern Recognition Center and Youtu Lab, as well as with

OMRON and KLASS Engineering.

The lab’s research topics include:

– Visual Object Search

• Visual object representation and understanding

• Fast object retrieval and recognition

• Compact descriptors for visual search

• Visual indoor localisation

• Scene Text Recognition

– Video Analytics & Deep Learning

• Object detection and classification

• Visual anomaly detection

• Pedestrian detection

• Person re-identification with multiple non-overlapping cameras

• Object and human tracking

• Action detection and recognition

• Scene understanding and reconstruction

• Mining persons of interest

• Image & Video Captioning

• Compact descriptors for video analytics

• Deep Learning, transfer learning, and unsupervised learning

• Domain adaptation and generalisation

• GPU architecture design and optimization for machine learning

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– Multimedia Forensics & Biometrics

• Multimedia semantic forensics

• Face spoofing and liveness detection

• De-noising and Reflection removal

• Soft biometrics recognition

• Image and video coding

• Image Quality measures

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SINGAPORE CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL LIFE SCIENCES ENGINEERING (SCELSE)

The Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE) is a unique

interdisciplinary Research Centre of Excellence (RCE) and global leader exploring microbial

biofilms, communities and microbiomes established to discover, control, and direct their

behaviour for sustainable environmental, engineering, public health and medical applications.

SCELSE is funded by Singapore’s National Research Foundation, Singapore Ministry of Education,

Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and National University of Singapore (NUS), and is hosted

by NTU in partnership with NUS.

SCELSE research takes advantage of the universality of microbial biofilm communities and

microbiomes, employing high resolution ‘omics tools (genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics),

computational biology, state-of-the-art biofilm imaging and laboratory-to-pilot scale bioreactors

to investigate microbial biodiversity and function in complex systems, from environmental and

industrial to medical and public health.

SCELSE has strong links with biomedical, life sciences and engineering schools/departments at

NTU and NUS, together with industry, government and academic partners, and research institutes

in Singapore and abroad. This is further supported by the NRF funded Singapore National Biofilm

Consortium, which provides a platform to connect researchers and companies for translating

biofilm and microbiome research into products and technologies to meet industry needs.

These underpin SCELSE’s capacity to address cutting-edge multidisciplinary biofilm research

questions. The centre’s research model ensures all facets of biofilm research are rigorously

investigated, employing ecological theories to link processes at difference scales to evaluate and

predict microbial community biofilm behaviour under varying conditions, such key urban

sustainability challenges.

The exploratory power available to SCELSE researchers, combined with a singular level of

interdisciplinary expertise enable the delivery of a comprehensive understanding of microbial

systems. This, in turn, feeds into the development of translational approaches that will deliver

technological benefits and biofilm control applications.

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SCELSE’s key research areas and capacities include:

Experimental defined multispecies biofilm

Emergent properties of biofilms based on matrix composition

Biofilm-driven bioprocesses

Host-microbiome (holobiont) interactions

Urban water cycle: microbiomes and microbial processes in engineered waterways

Urban water cycle: wastewater engineering

Air microbiomes: Understanding & managing bioaerosols in clean and polluted environments

Air microbiomes and respiratory health

Marine host microbiomes, coastal engineering, and biotechnology

Pathogen detection and control

Population genomics and disease

Microbiomes in urban agri- and aquaculture

Antimicrobials and antibiofilm drugs

High-resolution advanced biofilm imaging

High-throughput sequencing and genomics

Integrative analysis of complex microbial systems

contents of research areas.pdf · natural hazards (earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanoes) ......

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