Leadership Team at ISCE²

Prof King Kuok (Mimi) Hii
Scientific Director

Professor Mimi Hii is a chemist specialising in catalysis and organic synthesis.

She is currently the Director of the Centre for Rapid Online Analysis of Reactions (ROAR) and the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Next Generation Synthesis & Reaction Technology (rEaCt) at Imperial College London. Mimi is also an associate editor for ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. Her research focuses on continuous flow processes, mechanistic studies of catalytic reactions, and developing new reaction technologies, particularly in situ tools for analysis.

Mimi earned her BSc and PhD from The University of Leeds, where she investigated multidentate ligand metal complexes. After postdoctoral work at Oxford University, she held research positions at the University of Leeds, King's College London, and Imperial College London. In 2016, she was appointed a Professor in Catalysis and became Director of ROAR in 2018.

Her extensive body of work includes more than 150 articles, book chapters, reviews, and patents, particularly in sustainable chemistry methods. She has been recognized as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and was shortlisted for an Asian Women of Achievement Award in 2019.

Research links:-

Mr Ng Jun Wei
Division Director
Lab and Facilities Management

Mr. Ng Jun Wei is the Director of Lab and Facilities Management, responsible for sustainable laboratory operations and services for the research community.

He began his career at the Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES) in 2006 as a Laboratory Officer after completing national service. After earning his Bachelor of Technology (Hons) degree in 2012, he transitioned into a research engineer role but returned to lab operations in 2018, driven by his passion for building a strong team to support research activities. Over the years, he was appointed Team Leader and later Division Director. In 2022, he initiated efforts to green lab operations and aims to continue expanding this area.

Dr Gavin Chua
Coordinating Director

Dr Gavin Chua is the Coordinating Director (Strategy & Ops) in ISCE2, and oversees the Project Management Office, Strategy, and Administration Divisions.

Prior to his appointment in ISCE2, he held various roles in A*STAR headquarters, in Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) and the Joint Council Office (JCO).

While in SERC, he was the Director for the Advanced Manufacturing (AM) Cluster, that works with SERC Research Institutes (SIMTech, ARTC, NMC), Singapore Aerospace Programme Office to develop strategies in areas such as Additive Manufacturing, Robotics, Digital Manufacturing, Aerospace Manufacturing, Metrology. AM Cluster also supported the transition of the National Additive Manufacturing - Innovation Cluster (NAMIC) Singapore, and National Robotics Programme (NRP) to be A*STAR National Platforms. Gavin is also part of the founding team that started the Pharma Innovation Programme Singapore (PIPS), a consortium programme that seeks to co-innovate and develop solutions in partnership with key companies such as GSK, Pfizer, MSD, Syngenta. He has also supported the engagement of key strategic accounts and projects for SERC Research Institutes (IHPC, I2R, IME, IMRE) with companies such as Applied Materials and Fujitsu.

While in JCO, Gavin supported the initiatives to foster the pursuit of inter- and multi-disciplinary sciences. This included overseeing and administering the Visiting Investigatorship, Strategic and Development Programmes, and championing efforts to catalyze inter-organizational, inter-disciplinary collaborations through A*STAR Scientific Conferences, and A*STAR Research publications.

Gavin graduated with a joint PhD in Chemical Engineering from University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign / National University of Singapore, and Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) First Class Honors from the National University of Singapore.

Dr Chen Luwei
Division Director
Carbon Conversion and Future Energy Carriers

Luwei CHEN is a senior principal scientist at the Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment. She finished her PhD in 2000 from the Department of Physics, National University of Singapore. She is currently leading the division of Carbon Conversion and Future Energy Carriers (CCFEC). She is also an adjunct associated professor at the department of materials science and engineering, National University of Singapore. Her research interests include the development of catalysts/materials for carbon dioxide capture/utilizations, renewable/alternative energy and biomass valorization.

Luwei is active in both academia and industrial related R&D. She has published more than ninety papers with more than 6500 citations and H index of forty-two. Some of her papers have been highlighted in prestigious catalysis journals and as research highlights on newspapers and A*Star’s website. She started to work with several famous engineering and chemical industries such as ABB Lummus, Rolls Royce, Degussa, Lanxess and IHI since 2000. Eight patents have been awarded. And two of them have been commercialized. In particular, she has led the catalyst development of CO2/CO methanation project in collaboration with IHI to the demonstration stage.

Dr Ken Lee
Division Director
Digital Chemistry

Ken heads the DIGITAL Chemistry Division at A*STAR’s Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment (ISCE2). Using synthetic chemistry as motivation, his Team pushes the boundaries of digital chemistry with other A*STAR’s Research Institutes to deliver solutions in Digital-AI-Automation Chemistry. His research expertise is on High-throughput experimentation @ microscale.

Additionally, Ken is currently a member of the Technical Committee for Chemicals and Processes, under Standards Development Organization (SDO), Singapore Chemical Industry Council Limited (SCIC). He is also a Technical Assessor with Singapore Accreditation Council (SAC-Singlas).

Ken’s more than 20 years of research, project management and academic experience spans across interdisciplinary fields of organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry, biochemistry, biomedical and health sciences, food chemistry and nutrition. His previous affiliations with organizations like S*BIO Pte Ltd, Singapore Polytechnic, and Nanyang Technological University suggest a diverse and extensive career in academia and industry. His experience in both academic and private sector roles indicate a well-rounded background in research and project management.

Ken received his B.Sc. (Hons) in Chemistry from National University of Singapore. As a recipient of the inaugural A*Star Graduate Scholarship, he was trained in synthetic organic chemistry and received his Ph.D. from the same university.

Ms Leong Wan Bin
Division Director
Administration

Ms. Leong Wan Bin is the Director of Corporate Services and Division Director of Administration at ISCE2. A Chartered Accountant by profession, she brings a wealth of experience from both the public and private sectors, with deep expertise in finance business partnering, management accounting, and financial accounting.

Her professional journey started as an external auditor with one of the Big Four accounting firms.

Wan Bin then joined the Civil Service College as an Assistant Manager for Finance before moving to Ngee Ann Polytechnic as a Senior Accountant.

Prior to joining ISCE2, Wan Bin served as a Senior Manager at the Government Technology Agency of Singapore, where she collaborated closely with various business units on budgeting, forecasting, and financial analysis.

Wan Bin holds an Honours Degree in Accountancy from Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

Dr Koh Chen Ning
Division Director
Process Engineering and Safety

Dr Koh Chen Ning is the Division Director at Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment (ISCE2) A*STAR, overseeing the activities in process engineering and safety of the institute as well as the Low Carbon Technology Translation Testbed (LCT3) which is a national infrastructure for local and international partnership.

He did his Diplom Ingenieur from the RWTH Aachen University in Germany under the Singapore Government Scholarship. Upon graduation, he joined the civil service and held diverse appointments in the Transport and Finance Ministries. He left the civil service to pursue a PhD degree in Chemical Engineering at his alma mater under the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) scholarship.

Prior to joining ISCE2, he has worked many years for a German specialty chemical company as well as a Singaporean Agri and food processing company where he was involved in process development, safety, construction as well as optimisation of the production plants globally.

He is a Chartered Engineer and is an adjunct Associate Professor at the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT).

Dr Daniel Cheong
Division Director
Project Management Office

Dr. Daniel Cheong is currently the Division Director of the Project Management Office at the Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment (ISCE2), A*STAR. Together with a team of Project Managers, he works closely with ISCE2 researchers to ensure successful project delivery and outcomes.

Daniel was previously the Division Director of Digital Chemistry where he worked to leverage on digitalisation and automation to accelerate and enhance the R&D in ISCE2. Prior to joining ISCE2, he was the Programme Director for A*STAR’s Industrial IoT Innovation (I3), an industry consortium aimed at driving the adoption of Industrial IoT in close collaboration with industry partners. He also worked at A*STAR’s Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC) between 2015 and 2017 and from 2006 to 2013 where he focused on molecular simulations of soft matter systems, such as surfactants, polymers, and peptides. Daniel also previously worked in Medlinx Acacia, a medical device start-up developing surgical implants where he was the Business Development Director.

Daniel graduated with a Bachelor of Science (with University Honours) in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 1997 and obtained his Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University in 2006. He also obtained his Master in Business Administration from Singapore Management University in 2014.

Mr Wang Peiyi
Division Director
Strategy

Mr Wang Peiyi is the Division Director (Strategy) and oversees the Strategic Planning and Communications roles.

Peiyi started his career with A*STAR in the Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (pre-cursor of ISCE2), where he supported national strategy efforts in Joint Industrial Sectorial Planning and Industry Transformation Mapping (Energy & Chemicals). Subsequently, he had contributed to the establishment of A*STAR’s first international partner’s centre in Suzhou Industrial Park for deep tech startups to enter the China market. He had also established multiple innovation programmes to foster Singapore’s deep tech ecosystem, such as the A*STAR-NHG-NTU biomedtech incubator co11ab, FTIC Food Tech Startup Challenge, and the A*STAR Advanced Manufacturing Startup Challenge.

Peiyi graduated with a BSc in Chemical Engineering (Cum Laude) from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on a scholarship from A*STAR.

Ms Radiana Soh
Division Director
Tech-Biz

Radiana Soh is Division Director of Business Development at ISCE2. Her role involves identifying and nurturing strategic partnerships, collaboration projects, and guiding the institute's efforts in translating research breakthroughs into real-world industry solutions.

Additionally, Radiana is also the Director of Chemicals, Materials and Sustainability at the Agency for Science, Technology & Research’s (A*STAR’s) Innovation & Enterprise Group. With more than a decade of experience in technology development and commercialisation, she leads a team that focuses on ideation, marketing, technology commercialisation, productization, business model and venture co-creation, licensing and collaboration to build ecosystems from SMEs to MNCs.

Her areas of interest include creating new innovations and start-ups and seeing through new product launches that flourish into viable businesses. She places particular importance on being able to comprehend and execute solutions for complex business and technical requirements.

Dr Lili Zhang
Division Director
Catalysis and Green Process Engineering

Assistant Prof. Lili Zhang received her B.Eng. and Ph.D. degree from Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2004 and 2011, respectively. Prior to joining A*STAR in 2012, Lili was a process engineer at Micron from 2004 to 2006, and a research fellow in Professor Ruoff’s group at The University of Texas at Austin from 2011 to 2012.

Lili's expertise is in green and sustainable catalysis, electrocatalysis, clean energy production, carbon-based materials and their applications in energy storage and catalysis. She is a Global Highly Cited Researcher, and her research works have led to over 100 publications with more than 25,000 citations (H-index: 50, by Web of Science).

Research Interests and Areas:
- Advanced materials and sustainable processes for clean energy solutions
- Fundamental materials chemistry and physics, and electrochemistry
- Reaction mechanistic study
- Waste upcycling

Dr Ng Wai Kiong
Executive Director

Dr Ng Wai Kiong is currently Acting Executive Director of ISCE². During the formative years of the Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES), Wai Kiong headed the Industry Development group. In 2005, he pursued a research track as a Senior Research Fellow and was subsequently promoted to Team Leader and Division Head. He was the founding director of Pharma Innovation Programme Singapore (PIPS). He was also seconded to the Science and Engineering Research Council and served as A*STAR’s lead for Joint Industrial Sectorial Planning and Industry Transformation Mapping (Energy & Chemicals). While he was Deputy Executive Director, ISCE², Wai Kiong steered the research directions and projects undertaken in ISCE² with his deep understanding of industry trends, technological advancements and market dynamics. He played a crucial role in pushing new frontiers on sustainability research and development and translation for Singapore through key efforts in decarbonisation. He was instrumental in industry projects for decarbonisation catalysts and processes.

Dr Ng has also won numerous accolades, namely the Best Paper Award from the Particle Technology Forum in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) (2008), GlaxoSmithKline-Economic Development Board (GSK-EDB) Inaugural Green and Sustainable Manufacturing Funds Awards (2010, 2011), and Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) Singapore Pharmaceutical and Specialty Chemical Award (2012). He is currently appointed by Imperial College London, to the Strategic Advisory Board for their automated high-throughput platform suite (ATLAS) and on the International Advisory Committee for Process Innovation Asia Pacific (Powered by ACHEMA). He is also a Governing Board member of the ExxonMobil-NTU-A*STAR Corporate Lab launched on 26 April 2024 and a member of the management board for the Singapore Energy Consortium (SEC). In addition, he has represented A*STAR as a spokesperson at global and local events.

Mr Norhazry Johari
Director
Special Projects

Norhazry is a Chemicals and Energy industry professional, with over 20 years’ experience in the private sector, holding various positions and leadership responsibilities in Technology Licensing, Mass Transfer Technologies and Plant Operations. He has resourcefully guided Multinational company start-ups in Singapore to successfully build regional Asia Pacific presence. This has allowed him to cultivate a unique ability to manage multi-disciplinary initiatives and projects. 

Before joining A*STAR's former Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (now known as ISCE²), Norhazry plied his expertise for equally established companies such as Honeywell UOP, Koch Glitsch, GTC Technology, Sulzer Chemtech and Shell Chemicals. Apart from his core passion for sales, Norhazry is similarly adept in the areas of Commercial Excellence, Business Development and Mass Transfer Technologies. He holds a Bachelor of Business Degree from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and majored in Economics and Finance.

Zibiao Li is the Director of the Resource Circularity Division at the Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy, and Environment (ISCE2), A*STAR. In this role, he leads a research division dedicated to sustainable materials and technologies for a circular economy.

Dr. Li has been recognized as one of the World’s Top 2% Scientists by Stanford University for the past three consecutive years. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC).

In addition to his role at ISCE2, Dr. Li holds a joint appointment at the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), A*STAR, and is an adjunct Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Dr. Li obtained his PhD in biomedical engineering from NUS, and his research interests primarily focus on materials sustainability and MedTech polymers for healthcare applications.

Currently, he leads the “Developing a Toolbox for Next-Gen Circular Plastic Materials” program, funded under the RIE2025 Manufacturing, Trade, and Connectivity (MTC) domain.

Dr Lim Yee Hwee
Division Director
Chemical Biotechnology & Biocatalysis

Dr Lim Yee Hwee heads the Chemical Biotechnology and Biocatalysis Division at ISCE². She is also the Deputy Programme Director for the A*STAR Strategic Research and Translational Thrust in Synthetic Biology, Singapore Integrative Biosystems and Engineering Research (SIBER). Beyond her role in A*STAR, she serves as the deputy director for SINERGY, the Singapore Consortium for Synthetic Biology and an adjunct Associate Professor at the Synthetic Biology Translational Research Program, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS).

Yee Hwee obtained her joint Ph.D./DPhil from The Scripps Research Institute, USA and University of Oxford, UK where she was trained in natural product total synthesis (Prof. K. C. Nicolaou) and fluorination radiochemistry (Prof. V. Gouverneur) respectively. Since starting her career in 2010 as a scientist at A*STAR, she has been working on harnessing the synergistic power of both chemical and biological systems to innovate and find solutions to problems through inter-disciplinary lens. Today, she leads a team which focuses on developing integrative technologies at the interface between chemistry, biology, informatics and engineering for sustainable chemical manufacturing.