ARTC Management

An engineer and researcher by training, David leads both ARTC and SIMTech with a mission to uplift Singapore’s manufacturing competitiveness through the adoption of advanced manufacturing, sustainability, and digital solutions. 

David established the ARTC from a concept of a public-private partnership programme in 2012 to a full-fledged A*STAR Research Institute in 2017. The ARTC focuses on innovative translational advanced manufacturing and remanufacturing R&D. Today, ARTC works with 98 industry members across Aerospace, Land Transport, FMCG, Energy and MedTech pillars. 

In 2019, David rejoined SIMTech, a research institute that develops high-value manufacturing technology and human capital to enhance the competitiveness of Singapore’s manufacturing industry, in particular small and medium enterprises (SMEs). SIMTech works with over 200 SMEs annually, as well as LLEs, and covers a wide range of manufacturing technologies. 

David started his research career in the UK and subsequently at SIMTech, where he developed from a laser materials processing researcher to the Group Manager for Machining Technology. 

He received the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) Borderless Team Awards in 2007 and 2016. He also received the prestigious Sir Henry Royce Team Award for Engineering Excellence in 2012. David received the MTI Exemplary Firefly Award (Gold) and the Public Administration Medal (Silver) in 2021 and 2022, respectively. 

David has published over 50 journals, conferences, patents, and book publications. While his last publication was in 2007, his publications have attracted over 1400 citations with an H-index of 21. 

David is a member of the board of governors at Singapore Polytechnic and is currently an Adjunct Professor at the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University (NTU). He is a Fellow and Chartered Engineer of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and a Senior Member of the Institution of Engineers Singapore (IES). 

David received his PhD and Bachelor degree (First Class Honours) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Manchester Institute of Technology (UMIST), now known as The University of Manchester. He received his Executive MBA from INSEAD and Tsinghua University in 2014. He is also an alumnus of the Stanford Executive Programme (SEP). 
 

Dr. Wong Chow Cher is Assistant Chief Executive (Business Development) at the Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC),. His responsibilities in his current role include mapping out technical and business strategies, as well as delivering research outcomes for ARTC’s industry members.

Prior to this, Chow Cher was the Programme Manager at Rolls-Royce Singapore where he led and developed manufacturing capabilities in the area of surface enhancement for aero-engine components, through Rolls-Royce-funded programmes and collaborative research partnerships with local and foreign universities as well as research institutes.

In 2010, Chow Cher worked at the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech), A*STAR, where he was a Research Team Leader for metal forming technology, focusing on the area of R&D of modelling and simulation in different metal forming processes.

Throughout his research career, Chow Cher has published over 30 journals and patents in the fields of metal forming and surface enhancement.

Chow Cher received his PhD and Honours degree (First Class) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Birmingham, UK. He is a Fellow Engineer and a Lean Six-Sigma Black Belt practitioner. He also received his MBA (Merit) from the University of Bradford, UK.

Dr. Beng Cheah oversees the management of strategic operations for ARTC as well as organisation development, talent management, and staff engagement for SIMTech & ARTC. 

He is skilled in navigating business, technical, and operational challenges. Prior to joining A*STAR, he successfully repositioned a unit into a profitable business at a SingTel subsidiary. Through his tours of duty at A*STAR research institutes, Beng contributed greatly to corporate and business strategy formulation, industry development, corporate services, and project management at DSI, IME, NMC, and I²R. He was a key implementer of FusionWorld, an A*STAR technology showcase featured by CNN and visited by dignitaries from around the world. 

He has managed large-scale projects involving advanced communications technologies and completed many successful projects with MNCs. He enjoyed designing and implementing software for projects such as New Zealand’s North Island Main Trunk Electrification, a control system for a multi-fuel pipeline in Indonesia, traffic signal gantry controllers for Auckland Harbour Bridge, sailing data capture for Steinlager 2, a communications network for SCADA systems for power companies in Rotorua, Wairkei, Westpower, and other parts of NZ. 

He received a First-Class Honours degree in EEE from the University of Auckland, NZ. He researched the diffusion of innovations and earned a DBA from the University of South Australia. He completed the Programme for Global Leadership at Harvard Business School. He also serves on Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s School of Engineering Advisory Committee. 

Dr. Jonathan Low is the Coordinating Director (R&D) at ARTC. In this role, he is responsible for synergising the R&D activities across the R&D Divisions, and charting the directions for the strategic R&D themes of Net Zero Manufacturing and Resilient Value Chain. Concurrently, he is also the senior sponsor of the Land Transport Pillar, where he works closely with the team to drive the strategy for building the R&D ecosystem for the land transport sector.

Prior to the above roles, Jonathan was at SIMTech where he built a team of less than 15 researchers into a division of more than 40 researchers in the area of Sustainability and Life Cycle Engineering in a short span, before eventually taking on the Coordinating Director (Research) role in 2022. He also built a wealth of business development experience through his appointment as the Industry Initiative Lead for the Sustainable Manufacturing Centre at A*STAR SIMTech from 2015 to 2019 and a certified trainer. During this period, he worked with the industry to understand their sustainability needs, develop strategies for A*STAR SIMTech to drive the adoption of sustainable manufacturing technologies, and trained over 100 PMETs to conduct carbon footprint assessment under SSG’s Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) framework.

Jonathan still actively contributes to development of international standards in the field of sustainability through his roles as the Chairperson of the Technical Committee on Environmental Management under the Singapore's Environment and Resources Standards Committee (ESRC), and represents Singapore in various ISO standards development programmes. He also serves as an expert member on MINDEF’s Expert Advisory Panel on Environmental Sustainability.

Dr Andy Lee is currently the Director for New Business & Start-Up in the Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC) of the Agency for Science, Technology And Research (A*STAR).

Prior to this, Andy worked and managed in various industries ranging from agro-biotech, contract manufacturing, to food & beverage. Andy was trained as a nano-ceramics composite materials scientist with a Ph.D. from the University of Sydney, Australia

Mr Chang Thai Nam is currently the Business Development Director for SMEs and Public Agencies in the Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC) of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

Thai Nam has over 21 years of experience in business management, including at least 11 years in senior management. Previously the Vice President of Local Sales at ABB Group, he has led business transformation and prepared the organisation for new markets. Repositioning the business back for profitable growth was also part of his achievements during his time at ABB.

From 2010 to 2014, he drove an 18% CAGR in the business through strengthened service leadership, product packaging and channel development. His experience includes integrating newly acquired businesses and developing business managers, which are critical learnings.

Despite the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009, he delivered business growth turning around several underperforming businesses in less than 12 months. Thai Nam also has an impeccable track record as business leader, building mainly service businesses with a CAGR of 25%.

Mr. Chia Kiang Sum is the Director of the Project Management Office (PMO) in the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) and Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC). He has responsibility for the ARTC project execution & its governance processes.

Kiang Sum has taken on multiple management roles in the R&D environment with Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and Honeywell prior to joining ARTC. He manages the R&D team in those companies through their product development cycle, from concept to launch, and ensures quality designs meet product regulatory compliance requirements. In Honeywell, he manages the printer PMO team, which comprises programme managers from different continents to deliver product design across the various R&D centres and ensure execution rigours are in place across the cross-functional teams.

Kiang Sum graduated from Nanyang Technology University with a Bachelor of Engineering–Electrical.

Mr Derrick Lim is currently the Corporate Services Director of the Singapore Insitute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) and Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC) of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

Prior to his current role, Derrick was the Director for Infrastructure Engineering in Salesforce.com managed an intercultural team with members from cross-functions, providing the infrastructure design, build, deployment, automation, level 2 and 3 supports in a 24x7 environment globally and ensure the highest level of customer satisfaction. He travelled extensively when he was in Salesforce, primarily the United States.

His team in Salesforce Singapore contributed to the buildout of the new datacenters in London, Dallas, Phoenix and Frankfurt. The team had led the Infrastructure build and operations for Salesforce since 2013. The number of datacenters and pods the team built in just 2.5 years had exceeded what the company had built 15 years before.

Derrick had also held various senior management roles in companies like Hewlett Packard and OPUS IT Services.

Mr Christopher Mason is currently the Technical Division Director for Advanced Remanufacturing in the Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC) of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

Prior to his current role, Christopher has held a number of senior management roles for Rolls-Royce Plc. including Manufacturing Manager of Rolls-Royce’s High Pressure Turbine Blade Machining Facility and Civil Large Engine Assembly and Test. He lead the operations team that assembled and tested the first Trent XWB production engines. He has held a number of engineering management roles in Asia, the United Kingdom and Europe for Rolls-Royce PLC and managed teams of up to 60 Engineers to design and implement new products and processes. Prior to his career at Rolls-Royce Christopher worked for Alcoa and programme managed new turbine blade manufacturing technology.

Christopher is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Engineering and Technology and received is BEng(Hons) from the University of Hertfordshire and has co-authored a number of technical publications.

Dr Bertil Brandin is currently the Strategic Development Director of the Advanced Remanufacturing and Technology Centre (ARTC) of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

He spent over nine years in Asia developing the engineering and maintenance services business of ABB, a leading international OEM, holding various service related management positions. He implemented ABB’s new service strategy across the South Asia, significantly increasing its service business. In China, Bertil started-up the outsourced maintenance businesses of ABB, winning and executing the first external outsourced maintenance contract for one of the world largest pulp and paper production lines at the time.

Bertil joined ABB in 2008 from Siemens Medical Solutions, where he held various management positions, including Business Manager Clinical Chains, European Sales, and General Manager Health Services, Italy. Previously, Bertil worked at Siemens Corporate Research in Munich, successfully leading the development of a new software verification technology.

His background is in engineering and information technology across multiple sectors including industrial automation, automated manufacturing, maintenance services, healthcare and R&D. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto, Canada, a Bachelor degree from the University of New South Wales, Australia, and an MBA from IMD, Switzerland. He is a member of the Electrical Engineering Advisory Committee of Singapore’s Ngee Ann Polytechnic Council and of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He has authored over thirty-three refereed papers in international journals and conferences, and has been granted six patents.

Dr May Win Naing is the Director of the Research Liaison Office for SIMTech and ARTC. In this role, she is responsible for the governance of research quality, strategic collaborations and partnerships, as well as research administration for SIMTech and ARTC. She also leads R&D in the MedTech Manufacturing Pillar for both institutes.
 
After joining SIMTech in 2013, May founded the Biomanufacturing Programme in SIMTech in 2014, delivering  scale out and scale up manufacturing technologies for biological products such as bioreactors and systems tissue extraction for applications in regenerative medicine, cellular agriculture and consumer industries. In 2020, she assumed the role of Acting Research Division Director of FlexTech and MedTech Manufacturing Division (FMMD) overseeing the R&D of two research groups- Smart Microfluidics and Printed Intelligence Device groups, delivering R&D projects in lab-on-chip systems and wearables. In the same year, she took on a joint appointment in Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI), A*STAR as the Group Manager of Biomanufacturing Technology Group, before stepping down in 2021.
 
Passionate in cutting edge R&D and talent development, May is concurrently involved in large R&D initiatives in the MedTech and Cell Therapy space. She is the Programme Director of the A*STAR Additive Manufacturing for Biological Materials Programme (2019-2024) and a Principle Investigator in two of the National Cell Therapy Programmes – IMPACT (Integrated Manufacturing Programme for Autologous Cell Therapies) and CAMP (Critical Analytics for Manufacturing of Personalised Medicine).
 
Prior to joining A*STAR in 2013, May was a Translational Research Scientist at the EPSRC Centre for Manufacturing of Regenerative Medicine at Loughborough University, United Kingdom, and has also taken on R&D and technical marketing roles in the medical technology industry, specialising in spinal implants and instrumentation. Through these positions, she has gained experience in medical technology R&D and manufacturing as well as regulatory submission and market approval requirements for markets within the Asia Pacific region. Having worked in both academic and industry settings in Singapore and abroad, she is committed to translation of technology into the clinic and the market.
 
May received both her BEng (Hons) and PhD from the School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.