University Awards

Young Researcher Award

To explore the promise of emptiness: engineering applications of advanced porous materials. ” Asst Prof ZHAO Dan
PhD (Texas A&M University)
MSc, BEng (Zhejiang University)
Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
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Research Interests

  • Advanced porous materials
  • Membrane science and technologies
  • Clean energy and environmental sustainability

Research Achievements

  • Opened up new possibilities in the design, synthesis and scaled-up production of advanced porous materials including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks
  • Pioneered the preparation of smart two-dimensional (2D) MOF membranes for gas separation. The finding was published in Nature Communications in February 2017
  • Pioneered the introduction of molecular rotors into organic 2D materials for enhanced chemical sensing. The finding was published in Nature Communications in October 2017
  • Raised research grants of $23.2 million from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Ministry of Education and NUS
  • Discoveries have led to 13 patents and patent applications filed, with one licensed to industry on the development of gas sensing technologies

Publication Credits

  • Published more than 80 peer-reviewed papers with 14 highly cited papers in Web of Science
  • Obtained over 6,000 total citations with a Hirsch index of 31

International Standing

  • Keynote speaker in international conferences including Euromat2017 and 1st International Symposium on Porous Organic Polymers 2017
  • Reviewer for more than 50 leading chemical engineering and energy journals including Energy & Environmental Science, Advanced Materials and Nature Communications
  • Editorial advisory board member of Inorganic Chemistry and Early Career board member of ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering

Awards and Accolades

  • Young Researcher Award, NUS Engineering (2017)
  • Outstanding Youth Award, 2017 Global Chinese Chemical Engineers Symposium
  • Outstanding Young Faculty Award, American lnstitute of Chemical Engineers’ Singapore Land Section (2017)
  • Commendation List for Teaching, NUS Engineering (2016)
 Honour Roll Recipients