Lecturer at the Architecture and Sustainable Design pillar, SUTD. My research bridges high-fidelity simulation, AI surrogates, and policy translation to deliver low-energy thermal comfort in tropical climates.
I am a Lecturer in Architecture and Sustainable Design at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), where I lead research at the intersection of building science, computational simulation, and climate adaptation. My work is driven by a single question: how do we keep people comfortable in tropical heat without depending on energy-intensive air conditioning?
My research spans high-fidelity CFD simulation, evaporative and desiccant cooling systems, AI-driven design surrogates, and pandemic-resilient ventilation — always with an eye toward real-world policy translation and community impact. I have contributed to over SGD 5 million in funded research across MND, MOE, Tote Board, and industry partners.
Beyond the lab, I advise PhD students, serve on international scientific committees, hold BCA Green Mark and WELL AP accreditations, and regularly engage the public through CNA, Straits Times, and Zaobao on Singapore's heat and sustainability challenges.
The Ministry of National Development and SUTD have launched Singapore's SGD 30M Built Environment AI Centre of Excellence — developing AI-driven solutions to tackle climate change impacts, manpower shortages, and sustainability challenges across the construction and facilities management sectors.
Read Announcement →A large-scale data initiative to construct a comprehensive, AI-ready dataset of Singapore's built environment — integrating building geometry, energy performance, material properties, and microclimate data to enable city-scale simulation, benchmarking, and policy-driven design optimisation.
Three interconnected themes anchoring a research programme on human-centred, low-energy cooling for tropical built environments — from fluid simulation to AI acceleration to real-world policy impact.
Developing and validating dry-mist, indirect evaporative, and desiccant-based systems for low-energy thermal comfort in Singapore's humid tropics — from secondary schools to HDB housing to worker dormitories.
Explore work →High-fidelity CFD simulation of wind flow, airborne transmission, and ventilation performance — applied to pandemic-resilient design, campus wind redirection, and bridging the gap between ventilation standards and practice.
Explore work →Training physics-informed neural networks, GRU Seq2Seq, and Gaussian Process Regression surrogates on CFD data for real-time parametric design support — from energy prediction to automated floorplan generation.
Explore work →Peer-reviewed work in passive cooling, airflow simulation, and AI-assisted design. Full list on Google Scholar.
Supervising a diverse cohort of doctoral researchers working at the intersection of building science, renewable energy, AI, and climate resilience — from tropical Singapore to Sub-Saharan Africa.
Research on heat, ventilation, and low-energy cooling has been featured across national broadcast and print media in Singapore.