About Me
I was born in a small town in
Putian City,
Fujian Province in
China and came to study in Singapore when I was about 12-13 years old. I
then completed my GCE
O Level
and
A Level
in Singapore and was offered first Permanent Residency and then
Citizenship in Singapore. Under the
Singapore Enlistment Act 1970, I then served the
National Service
full time for two years in the Singapore Armed Forces after completing
my A levels examinations.
I was then fortunate enough to land on the prestigious
A*STAR National Science Scholarships
to persue my tertiary education. I went to the University of Cambridge
aspiring to become a biologist but became more fascinated with chemistry
during my first year thanks to the high quality of teaching by the
chemistry department. I decided chemistry would offer me more training
in thinking and problem-solving skills and took advantage of the
flexibility of the
Natural Sciences structure at Cambridge, switching to chemistry (and mathematics in my second year). After
obtaining my Bachelor of Arts, I spent one year working full-time on
polymer synthesis in
Dr. Yugen Zhang's lab
at the
Institute of Bioengineering and Bioimaging (IBB)
in Singapore.
I joined the Theory and Modelling in Chemical Sciences (TMCS) CDT
programme at the University of Oxford for my graduate studies. During my
first year of TMCS CDT programme, I obtained MSc in Theoretical and
Computational Chemistry with Distinction. As part of the first
year programme, I have worked under
Prof. Adrian Mulholand
and Prof. Fredrick Manby on
projector-based embedding calculations of citrate synthase enzyme. This
eventually culminated in a publication in RSOS journal. For a second
project, I worked under
Prof. Robert Paton on
the computational studies of C-H oxidation of hydrocarbons by
metheyl(trifluoromethyl)dioxirane (TFDO) using DFT calculations. On Nov
2019, I successfully defended my
Ph.D. thesis. I was a postdoctoral scholar in the
Miller Group in Caltech
for a year before returning to Singapore and joining the
Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC), A*STAR as a research scientist.
Qualifications
Doctor of Philosophy, University of Oxford (2019)
Master of Arts (cantab.), University of Cambridge (2018)
MSc in Theoretical and Computational Chemistry
(Distinction), University of Oxford (2016)
Bachelor of Arts (Incorporation), University of Oxford (2015)
Bachelor of Arts (Hons), First class in all subjects, University
of Cambridge (2014)
IA Biology of Cells;
IA Physiology of Organisms;
IA Chemistry (top student);
IA Maths (course B)
IB Chemistry A
(top student);
IB Chemistry B;
IB Maths; (IB Materials Science course F)
II Chemistry
(6th in cohort (out of >115 students))
Career break: Fulltime National Service, Singapore Armed Forces
(Jan 2009 - Nov 2010)
Cambridge GCE A Level, National Junior College, Singapore (2008)
Cambridge GCE O Level, Yishun Town Secondary School, Singapore (2006)
Other Qualifications
All of the following were done with a single attempt:
GRE subject test in Chemistry:
910/990 (97%) (2014)
GRE Revised General Test -- Verbal Reasoning 161/170 (87%), Quantitative
Reasoning 170/170 (98%), Analytical Writing 4.5/6.0 (80%) (2014)
IELTS (Academic) Overall Band 8.0/9.0 (2010)
SAT I: 2110/2400 -- Reading 650/800, Maths 800/800, Writing 660/800
(2009)
SAT II: 2400/2400 -- Biology M 800/800, Chemistry 800/800, Maths (Level
2) 800/800 (2009)
Professional Organisation Memberships
Member, International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), Jan
2024 - present
Member, American Chemical Society (ACS), Mar 2022 - present
Member, World Association of Theoretical and Computational Chemists
(WATOC), Aug 2017 - present
Member, Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), Dec 2017 - present
Honours and Awards (Academic)
National Science Scholarship (PhD), A*STAR, Singapore (2015)
BP Prize in recognition of the most outstanding performance in
Part IB Chemistry A (Physical and Theoretical Chemistry), University of Cambridge (2013)
(ranked 1/118 in the whole univeristy)
BP Prize in recognition of an outstanding performance in
Part IA Chemistry, University of Cambridge (2012)
(ranked 1/466 in the whole university)
National Science Scholarship (BS), A*STAR, Singapore (2009)
Academic Award for H1 Physics (top student 2009), National Junior
College
Academic Award for H1 Geography (top student 2009), National Junior
College
Nanyang Concept Test in Chemistry Advanced Level High Distinction
(2008), Nanyang Technological University
Singapore Mathematical Olympiad (Open) Honourable Mention (2007),
Singapore Mathematical Society
8th Singapore Biology Olympiad Bronze Medal (2007), Singapore Institute
of Biology
Academic Excellence Award (top student 2006), Yishun Town Secondary
School
Honours and Awards (Non-Academic)
Singapore Cancer Syndicate Scholars-in-Training Programme (2007)
Home Affairs Uniformed Services Associate Programme, Ministry of Home
Affairs, Singapore (2007)
North-Zone Inter-School Volleyball Championships (B Div) 2nd; National
Top 8 (2006) [Coach:Shen Ke Qin,
China's Olympic volleyball team in the 1984 Los Angeles Games]
Senior Camp Leader Award (2005)
North-Zone Inter-School Volleyball Championships (B Div) 4th; National
4th (2005) [Coach:Shen Ke Qin]
Invited for National Team selection (unsuccessful) (2005)
North Zone Schools Colours Award (Team), Singapore (2005)
Volleyball Association of Singapore (VAS) Junior Volleyball
Championships, Team Captain (2005)
Sports Leader’s Camp at Singapore Sports School (2005)
North-Zone Inter-School Volleyball Championships (B Div) 2nd; National
Top 8 (2004) [Coach: Shen Ke Qin]
North-Zone Inter-School Volleyball Championships (C Div) 2nd; National
Top 8 (2003) [Coach: Shen Ke Qin]
Skills
Mathematics; Quantum Chemistry; Organic Chemistry
LaTex; Microsoft Office; Unix; Python; Problem-solving; Teamwork
Interests
While at Oxford, I have played for New College basketball club and the
Oxford University Volleyball Club
Men's second team. I also took on amateur boxing with
Oxford University Amateur Boxing Club
for a while.
Other interests: Chess (
FIDE profile), Chinese Chess, Table Tennis, Badminton
