IHPC Wins Prestigious President's Technology Award 2019

18 Oct 2019

The Integrated Environmental Modeller (IEM) developed by a team consisting of Dr Poh Hee Joo (IHPC, A*STAR), Dr Koh Wee Shing (IHPC, A*STAR), Mr Fachmin Folianto (I²R, A*STAR), and Mr Tan Sze Tiong (HDB) looks set to play an important role in urban planning for greater environmental sustainability. 

The IEM is an advanced modelling tool which uses high-resolution 3D city models to simulate the interaction of environmental factors such as solar irradiance, wind flow, air temperatures and noise levels, as well as their combined effects on an urban setting. Other modellers currently available in the market typically only assess one to two environmental factors.

With the IEM, urban planners can visualise environmental factors “virtually” to optimise the design of urban spaces. This platform is based on the latest high performance computing technologies from A*STAR's IHPC, in collaboration with HDB.

The IEM was adopted in the urban design plan for Tengah town. HDB's planners, architects and engineers will be able to use the IEM as one of the smart planning tools to analyse key wind channels and the solar heat gained by different urban features, such as concrete, vegetation, or water bodies. This will help them to design open spaces, as well as optimise the building layouts and orientation to enhance the intensity of wind flow and promote natural ventilation within the town.

The team received the President's Technology Award 2019 from President Halimah Yacob at the Istana on 17 October 2019.

Watch the team's profile video - President Technology Award 2019 - IHPC.