1. What inspired you to pursue research in your field and how has it evolved over time?
My career has been a journey following one continuous methodological theme: leveraging computational algorithms to design, model, and understand complex engineering systems. I began in civil engineering, developing computational models for the design of buildings and bridges. Over time, my focus shifted toward aerospace engineering, where I investigated the design of vehicles made from advanced composite materials. More recently, my interests have expanded to unmanned aerial systems and robotic platforms, including robot arms, quadruped robots, and humanoid systems.
What truly inspired me to pursue research is the profound joy of discovery, specifically, the challenge of taking a complex physical problem and translating it into a computational framework that I can understand. What unifies this diverse work is the realization that all these systems ultimately adhere to the same underlying physical principles, like Newton’s laws of motion and consequent mechanics principles.
Most recently, I have become increasingly fascinated by the potential to extend this computational methodology beyond engineering domains — for instance, applying similar modeling and simulation principles to explore dynamic behaviors in societal systems within the social sciences. I believe the intersection between computational science and human systems represents a truly exciting and impactful frontier for future research.
2. What is the focus of your research?
Although the specific application areas of my work have evolved over time, the central focus of my research has always been the development and application of computational algorithms. These algorithms form the foundation for modeling, analyzing, and optimizing complex engineering systems.
My work encompasses a range of algorithmic approaches where I aim to understand how engineering systems behave under complex conditions involving nonlinearity, dynamics, and environmental uncertainties, while ensuring stability, safety, and optimal performance.
More recently, my research has expanded to include algorithms in computer vision, deep learning, and deep reinforcement learning. These methods enable advanced capabilities such as vision-based perception and autonomous control for unmanned aerial vehicles, robotic systems, and other intelligent machines.
3. What excites you about your research?
For me, the excitement comes from moving beyond programming and toward creating systems that can perceive, reason, and act — that moment when an algorithm leaps off the computer screen and begins to take intelligent action in the physical world.
In my recent project, “Micro Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Innovations for Urban Environments,” I have been developing artificial intelligence (AI)–based algorithms for autonomous control and navigation of drones that can operate safely and efficiently within Singapore’s dense and dynamic urban landscape.
I am also fascinated by the emerging field of Embodied AI, which lies at the core of another ongoing project — the “Development of a Companion Robot for Social Well-Being.” This work explores how intelligence can be physically realized in robotic systems capable of interacting naturally with humans.
4. How do you see the practical implications of your research affecting your field or society at large?
Take my research on the numerical simulation of composite aircraft structures as an example. In this work, I studied the failure mechanisms of aircraft components under various loading conditions and developed design strategies to ensure compliance with airworthiness requirements.
Advanced composite materials are increasingly being adopted in next-generation aircraft to enhance flight performance and support aviation sustainability through reduced weight and fuel consumption. However, the complex failure behavior of composite materials has posed long-standing challenges in practical applications.
My research helps address these challenges by improving the understanding of how composite structures behave under realistic operational and extreme conditions. This contributes to safer, lighter, and more efficient aircraft designs, thereby facilitating wider adoption of advanced materials and supporting the aerospace industry’s transition toward more sustainable and resilient technologies.
5. How does your research reflect SUSS’ mission in achieving social good?
It is a privilege to conduct research that contributes directly to social good.
For instance, my project on micro unmanned aerial vehicles for urban environments addresses the complex challenge of enabling small aerial systems to operate safely and autonomously in dense urban settings like Singapore. Such systems have the potential to transform urban logistics, enhance environmental monitoring, and support public safety, which are all essential components of a sustainable and smart city.
Similarly, in my project on companion robots for social well-being, we are designing AI algorithms that allow robots to live with and meaningfully assist humans — particularly the elderly and individuals with special needs. This research is not just about robotics; it is about empowering technology to foster inclusion, care, and dignity in human life.
Through these projects, I hope to demonstrate how advanced engineering and AI research can serve humanity by creating technologies that are not only intelligent but also compassionate and socially responsible.
6. What are your future plans in your research?
In the long run, I plan to continue advancing my research by developing intelligent, adaptive, and human-aware autonomous technologies that can address some of society’s complex challenges through computational algorithms.
In particular, I am interested in applying deep reinforcement learning to bridge behavioral modeling, decision theory, and artificial intelligence in a unified framework. This approach would allow me to model adaptive agents interacting within dynamic, partially observable, and uncertain social environments, which is a powerful way to study how complex collective behaviors emerge. Through this line of research, I hope to contribute to a deeper understanding of phenomena such as the emergence of social norms, polarization dynamics, adaptive governance, economic stratification, and even the alignment of AI systems within human societies.