2015 Award Winners
IES Prestigious Engineering Achievement Awards
Applied Research And Development
| Current Blockage in Offshore Engineering – Morison Revised on the 65th Anniversary of the Famous Equation By NUS and University of Oxford |
| Wave-current blockage predicts lower hydrodynamic forces on space-frame offshore structures in severe storms than the 65 year old industry standard practice. We have novel analytical and numerical modelling for this blockage effect which is supported by considerable experimental evidence. This better force prediction will be important for more efficient new-built compliant towers and jackets, as well as for structural integrity management of existing aged structures. |
| Innovative Hybrid Membrane Dehumidifier (MD)-Indirect Evaporative Xooling (IEC) System For All-Weather Airconditioning Without Compressors By NUS and King Abdullah University of Science & Technology |
| A game-changing air conditioning technology that improves building energy efficiency, reduces carbon emission, and produces better indoor air quality. An innovative cooling technology that reduces Singapore’s energy consumption to provide comfort air conditioning. |
| M-Kool Never Sweating Again! By Institute of Materials Research and Engineering , A*STAR and NUS |
| M-KOOL is an energy-free passive-cooling technology based on nanostructured phase change material PCM that is 3 times more thermal conductive and 30% more heat dissipative than conventional PCM materials, suitable for smart wearables and energy-efficient green building applications, such as concrete, paints and window shadings. M-KOOL combines the effect of both heat absorptive phase change material and heat conductive nanomaterials, to provide effective thermal management for cooler fabrics and buildings, by reducing solar heat gain into tropical indoor space and air-con cooling loads. |
| AGAR (Angle closure GlaucomA Risk assessment system) By Institute for Infocomm Research, A*STAR, Singapore Eye Research Institute and Singapore National Eye Centre |
| The intelligent AGAR system automatically processes and analyse anterior segment optical coherence tomography images to classify the glaucoma subtype The system was developed by an inter-disciplinary team of computer scientists and engineers from the Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R), A*STAR and clinician-scientists from the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI) and Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) AGAR will potentially enable cost-effective eye-screening for glaucoma detection. |
| Towards Better Living and Greater Sustainability through “Smart Planning ” – Urban Environmental Modelling (UEM) By Buidling Research Institute, Housing and Development Board |
| Smart Planning aims to help planners improve living comfort of residents and achieving sustainability goals set for towns. Through extensive research, HDB developed the Urban Environmental Modelling(UEM) technique to allow planners, architects and engineers better understand how urban forms interface with nature and how planning and design can be optimised to enhance the living environment. It allows planners to simulate the development plans on a “Virtual Platform”, architects and engineers to use the results to develop upstream measures to improve human comfort, enhance environmental qualities to achieve a sustainable and highly liveable residential town. |
Engineering Project
| Jurong Rock Caverns By JTC Corporation |
| Jurong Rock Caverns (JRC) is located on Jurong Island and is South-east Asia’s first commercial underground facility for the storage of liquid hydrocarbons such as crude oil and condensate. JRC is located 150 metres below the ground and 130 metres below the seabed, making it the deepest known underground public works endeavour in Singapore to date. With its successful completion, JTC and Singapore is well positioned to explore more innovative solutions to further promote Singapore’s economic growth. |
| Speak to M in My Language By Institute of Infocomm Research , A*STAR |
| Speak to Me in My Language’ aims to develop and deploy machine translation technology to break down the language barriers for the text and voice communications among Southeast Asian languages. The technology represents state-of-the-art translation performance in US National Institute of Standards and Technology international evaluation. The technology has been adopted locally and internationally by leading internet companies. |
| ABSolution: Advanced Software Package for Nanometer Spaced Head-Disk Interface Design and Simulation By Data Storage Institute, A*STAR |
| The project done by the team from Data Storage Institute, A*Star, focuses on developing simulation models and tools to unravel mechanisms of nanometer-spaced air bearing and tribological interface systems. An advanced software package, ABSolution, has been developed that integrates various simulation models including air bearing model, heat transfer model, themal-structural model, etc., and implements the high efficiency coupled-field algorithms to study the tribological issues of the nanometer spaced head-disk interfaces. The software has been licensed to hard disk drive industry for design and simulations of air bearing sliders for current perpendicular magnetic recording and future heat-assisted magnetic recording. |
| Samwoh Eco-Green Building – First Building in the Region By Samwoh Corporation Pte Ltd |
| Samwoh Eco-Green Building is the first in the region to be constructed with up to 100% recycled concrete aggregate (RCA), which is derived from the construction & demolition waste. Extensive laboratory testing has been conducted to evaluate the performance of RCA concrete and the findings have been published in two renowned journals, namely, American Society of Civil Engineers and Magazine of Concrete Research from UK. The completion of this building has marked a breakthrough in concrete technology and paved the way towards greater sustainability. |
| The Future of Audit: Predictive Analytics on Irregularities and Risks in Bank Branches By Institute of Infocomm Research , A*STAR and Group Audit, DBS Bank Ltd |
| DBS-I2R Joint Lab has developed a Data Analytics based solution for Predictive Auditing. This is a data driven and learning risk surveillance model which analyses heterogeneous data to detect and predict risk events. The solution enables 1) the Bank to establish preventive controls before these risks escalate; and 2) a laser-sharp focus on their areas of review. Consequently, this will lead to an overall up-tiering of the internal control environment of the Bank and increase customer confidence in the integrity of the financial industry. |
| National Maritime Security System – National Security and Advanced Capabilities Through Technology By Defence Science and Technology Agency |
| The National Maritime Security System is a first-of-its-kind capability that provides automated data fusion, information sharing and collaboration across government agencies to enhance the security of Singapore’s waters. |
IES Young Creators
| Design and Development of an Intelligent Quad-rotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle By School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, NTU |
| An Intelligent Quad-rotor which is capable of performing various missions such as passing through air vent, manoeuvre in tight corridor and releasing a 50g payload. It has salient features such as Automatic Throttle Control System, Chain Curtain Guiding Mechanism, First-Person View Cameras And Automatic Payload Release System to ease the workload of the pilot and increase its capabilities and performances. |
| Self-Powered Hybrid Cell with Enhanced Photocatalytic Functionalities For Hydrogen Production And Waste Water Treatment By Engineering Science Programme, NUS |
| This work demonstrates an innovative and contemporary multiple-renewable solar and vibrational energy powered catalysis system. It involves multifunctional nanomaterial innovation with water purification and hydrogen generation capabilities. The self-powered system offers a sustainable solution to both urban and rural societies in providing clean water and energy resources. |