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 Wang Wei is currently the Coordinating Director for R&D Divisions at A*STAR Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech). Before joining SIMTech and ARTC, Wang Wei held his position as Research Scientist with A*STAR's Institute of Materials Research & Engineering for nearly seven years. He then progressed and spent seven years on secondment with Rolls Royce as an Advanced Technologist.

Wang Wei holds a Bachelor in Materials Sciences and Engineering and also a Masters Degree in Engineering, Materials Science with Zhejiang University, China. Wang Wei also received his PhD in Materials Engineering with the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.

Dr. Stephen Wong is currently the Deputy Executive Director for Research Divisions & Knowledge Transfer Office. He is responsible for charting the strategic research directions across the research divisions.  He oversees thematic research initiatives and is responsible for delivering aligned research outcomes to industry and the public sectors.

Since joining SIMTech, Stephen has held several progressive roles. In his previous role as Division Director for Manufacturing Process, he spearheaded the Lightweight Manufacturing initiative, nurtured several research collaborations to develop lightweight aircraft interior parts, and established Production Organisation Approval (POA) for Polymer Processing facilities to support the SIA/SIAEC – SIMTech joint lab R&D. During his stint as Director for Industry Development, Stephen led several SIMTech and A*STAR initiatives, including the formation of the SERC Aerospace Programme and the setup of the Precision Engineering Centre of Innovation (PECOI). In recognition of his cross-agency contributions, he received the MTI Borderless awards for the SERC Aerospace Programme in 2007 and Upgrading PE Suppliers Serving the Semiconductor Industry in 2009.

Prior to joining SIMTech, Stephen spent several years in the electronics industry developing sustainable manufacturing solutions such as CFC-free cleaning for disk drives, a no-clean soldering process, and lead-free soldering for electronics packaging.

Stephen received his PhD and MSc in Mechanical Engineering, from the Nanyang Technological University and National University of Singapore, respectively. He has an MBA from the University of Western Australia and received his BEng from the University of Nottingham, 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.

Eng Wah is the Deputy Executive Director (Strategic Operations Management). It involves setting objectives, analysing the competitive environment and the internal organisation, evaluating strategies, and ensuring that management rolls out the strategies across the organisation, creating good science, long-term impact, and greater operational efficiency in a R&D organisation.

Prior to joining SIMTech, Eng Wah was a Defence Engineer with the Defence Science Organisation, Singapore.

Since joining SIMTech, Eng Wah has set up the Manufacturing Systems Division (MSD) in 2005 in areas of operations research in planning and scheduling, supply chain management, multi-objective optimisation, and factory dynamics. He led the National RFID Centre from 2008 to 2011 and set up the Manufacturing Productivity Technology Centre (MPTC) in 2011 to promote the use of technologies for productivity improvements. Since then, more than 2000 companies have adopted various technologies to improve productivity through various productivity initiatives. In 2018, MSD and MPTC launched the Industry 4.0 Model Factory@ SIMTech to create awareness of digital transformation and encourage the adoption of digital technologies.

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

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

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

Dr John Yong is the Deputy Executive Director, Industry at A*STAR SIMTech. He oversees the Precision Engineering Centre of Innovation (PE COI), Manufacturing Productive Technology Centre (MPTC), Sustainability Manufacturing Centre (SMC) and Innovation Factory at the institute to support the manufacturing companies in Singapore.

Dr Zeng Xianting is Senior Director of the Knowledge Transfer Office (KTO) of Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech), of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).  He established the KTO at SIMTech in 2009 to transfer knowledge and capability to industry through case-studies and hands-on practical training to meet the technology and skills gap in productivity improvement, skills and capabilities upgrading and business transformation. Under his leadership, the KTO grew from a training partner under the former Workforce Development Agency (WDA) of Singapore to a WDA certified Continuing Educating and Training Centre (CETC) under the Workforce Skills Qualification (WSQ) framework. Xianting established the long-term partnership between SIMTech and the SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) and Workforce Singapore (WSG) with a broad portfolio of industrial training programmes launched ranging from the WSQ Graduate Diploma in six specialisations and WSQ Specialist Diploma in three specialisations under the Skills Framework of SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG), more than 30 Advanced Manufacturing training programmes, and a variety of Master Classes and short courses, that benefited more than 1600 local companies, including both MNCs and SMEs, with more than 5000 PMETs trained.    

Prior to his role with KTO, Xianting was the Group Manager of the Surface Technology Group of SIMTech for about nine years, leading the group in research and development of advanced surface engineering technologies and the establishment of core competencies and capabilities. He has been an active research scientist in the field of nanocomposite coating materials and plasma enhanced PVD thin film processes and published extensively with research outcomes and achievements recognised internationally.  

Xianting received his PhD degree in Thin Film Physics from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1995, and his MSc and BSc degrees from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China in 1987 and 1982, respectively.  He joined SIMTech in 1995, specialising in thin films functional materials and advanced coating processes for various industrial applications. He established wide research collaboration in the field, with the appointment of Visiting/Guest/Adjunct professorship with both local and overseas universities and research institutions.

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.