University Awards

Young Researcher Award

To realise conventionally inaccessible chemical space with continuous-flow technology, and to integrate hand-crafted and specialist-dependent synthesis to a push-button automated platform that would eventually realise “3-D printing” of organic molecules. ” Assoc Prof WU Jie
PhD (Boston University)
BSc (Beijing Normal University)
Department of Chemistry
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Research Achievements

  • Invented a ‘stop-flow’ micro-tubing reactor platform for effective transformation of gaseous feedstocks into value-added fine chemicals under light-irradiation at high pressure
  • Discovered neutral eosin Y as a direct hydrogen atom transfer photocatalyst and utilised it for the development of numerous green organic transformations
  • Developed various green photocatalytic methods to incorporate gaseous feedstocks including carbon dioxide, ethane, methane, ethylene, acetylene and freon-22 into complex organic molecules
  • Developed an automated end-to-end multistep synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients by merging continuous-flow synthesis and solid-phase synthesis that could potentially shift the paradigm of drug synthesis in the pharmaceutical industry. This study was published in Nature Chemistry in April 2021
  • Raised about $12.3 million of research grants as Principal Investigator from the Ministry of Education, GSK-EDB, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Pharma Innovation Programme Singapore and National Research Foundation Singapore
  • Secured about $2 million of research grants as Co-Principal Investigator from the Pharma Innovation Programme Singapore
  • Discoveries have led to four patents

Publication Credits

  • Published over 50 peer-reviewed papers in top-tier journals such as Nature Chemistry, Chem, Journal of the American Science Society, Nature Communications and Angewandte Chemie International Edition
  • Obtained more than 2,400 citations in published papers with a Hirsch index of 30

International Standing

  • Reviewer for more than 30 peer-reviewed journals including Nature Chemistry, Nature Catalysis, Journal of the American Chemical Society and Chemical Reviews
  • Editorial board member of Green Synthesis & Catalysis
  • Keynote and invited speaker at more than 30 international conferences and symposiums

Awards and Accolades

  • Young Scientist Award, NUS Science (2020)
  • Thieme Chemistry Journal Award (2019)
  • Asian Core Program Lectureship Award (2017 to 2019)
  • Young Chemist Award, NUS Chemistry (2018)
  • 4th Green & Sustainable Manufacturing Award, The GSK-Singapore Partnership (2017)
 
 Honour Roll Recipients