About Me

I was born in a small town (梧塘镇) in Putian City (莆田市), Fujian Province (福建省) 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. From Oct 2024, I joined the Chinese University of Hong Kong as a Vice-Chancellor Assistant Professor.

 

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 Mathematics (course B)

IB Chemistry A (top student); IB Chemistry B; IB Mathematics;
     Extra course: IB Materials Science course F

II Chemistry (6^th 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