NRF POC Awardees - 1st Grant Call
(Sep 2008)

1. Redesign of SEMs for Parallel Energy Detection
 At present, the output signals in conventional Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) designs are formed by detecting scattered electrons emitted over a very small energy range. This project sets out to redesign the SEM so that it can detect and simultaneously capture the entire energy range of its scattered electrons, which if successful, will lead to significant improvements in the SEM’s performance, effectively transforming it into a powerful analytical tool that can quantitatively map chemical/elemental information on the nano-scale. Several commercial partners have expressed interest to invest in this technology upon successful completion of the project.

Associate Professor Anjam Khursheed is a faculty member in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is the inventor of the portable SEM column concept and innovator of several different types of SEM attachments. Khursheed graduated and carried out his PhD at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, between the years 1975-1983. He has been researching and developing novel ideas in electron beam instrumentation for the last 20 years.

motani2. DISH: Enabling Cooperative Multi-Channel Communication for Wireless Ad Hoc Networks
 This project seeks to develop technology that could enhance the performance and throughput of wireless networks. The researchers have developed the theoretical underpinnings of the technology, and now aim to verify their theoretical results in this project. The system that will be developed will provide a cost-efficient infrastructure for distributed wireless networking. Potential applications include:

  • Mesh networks: The technology can be easily integrated into mesh networks to enhance the reliability and throughput of the communication among mesh clients and routers.
  • WiMAX: The technology can be applied to extend the coverage of base stations and help achieve broadband access for subscriber stations.
  • Ad Hoc networks: This is a new market which does not require infrastructure to be present. The technology will enable low-cost, plug-and-play and fast-speed wireless connections.

Assistant Professor Mehul Motani is a faculty member in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He graduated with a PhD from Cornell University, focusing on information theory and coding for CDMA systems. Recently he has been working on research problems which sit at the boundary of information theory, communications and networking, including the design of wireless ad-hoc and sensor network systems. He participates actively in IEEE and ACM and has served as the secretary of the IEEE Information Theory Society Board of Governors.

steven_zhou3. Creating, Viewing, Publishing, and Sharing Stereoscopic Images/Videos at Anytime Anywhere
The objective of this project is to create an easy-to-use mobile stereoscopic (SS) content creation and publishing platform by which the end-user can use mobile devices or digital camera to capture; use mobile devices or PC to customize, publish, and share; and use different type of displays to share and view their own 3D stereoscopic photos/videos. In a layman’s word, the team will create a one-stop solution that makes Flickr or YouTube into stereoscopic. The potential applications include:

  • A value-added service to the existing Flickr or YouTube for publishing stereoscopic contents.
  • First of this kind solution in the world to provide an easy-to-use cheap solution for user to generate their own stereoscopic contents. Such solution may also be adopted by existing printing service provider, mobile service manufacturer, and advertising firms.
  • A social communication platform for consumer generated stereoscopic contents.

Assistant Professor Zhou Zhiying, Steven is a facilty member in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He has been named “Lifetime Fellow” of the World Technology Network and was nominated and short-listed in the World Technology Award in 2004. Dr Zhou is founder and director of MXR Corporation, which stands for MiXed Reality, an emerging, cutting-edge technology the company specialises in. Mixed reality merges physical and virtual worlds to allow users to interact with 3D objects as if they were in the real world. He is also Director of the Interactive Multimedia Lab. He is also an active interface researcher with many patents, conference and journal papers, and book chapters in Interactive Digital Media.

dieter_trau4. Ultra-Low Cost Bead-Based Microarrays for Biomolecular Diagnostics
 The project team has developed an ultra-low cost manufacturing technology for parallel biomolecular microarrays, and seek to prove its application to blood/serum testing, as well as to scale up the manufacturing process. The ability to reduce the manufacturing costs of these microarrays will enable it to displace many existing test platforms, opening it up for applications in many areas of biomedical research, clinicial and home and diagnostics, as well as for the monitoring of biological threats in air, water and food.

Assistant Professor Dieter Trau is aa faculty member in the Department of Bioengineering and Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. His research interests include in NanoBioanalytics, Biomicrodevices and Microencapsulation. In his interdisciplinary work, he combines microfabrication, surface chemistry and molecular biology to create novel devices that uses biomolecules (DNA or proteins) for analytical purpose. The final aim is the full integration of biological materials into microdevice fabrication processes, targeting mass production compatibility. Emerging applications of such devices are in medicine, medical diagnostics and environmental monitoring. Associate Professor Wen-Tso Liu (NUS and UIUC, USA) and Dr Daniel Lubrich (NUS Department of Physics and NanoCore) are co-investigators on the project.

kofidis5. Novel, Less Invasive Mitral Valve Implantation Method Involving a Bayonet Insertion and Release Mechanism
Mitral valve replacement and re-replacement is associated with a significant operation risk and is highly prevalent due to widespread mitral valve disease worldwide. For the last 40 years no significant improvements were noted in the way prosthetic mitral valves are being implanted. The project aims to provide a new type of mitral valve implantation device. This new device will lead to new surgical procedures for mitral valve replacement that can cut operation time by half, reducing the costs of the surgery and lowering the surgical trauma and risks.

Assistant Professor Kofidis graduated from the Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Germany. He accomplished a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of CT Surgery, Stanford University, Medical School. He has been working as a consultant cardiac surgeon in Hannover since 2005 before joining National University Hospital and National University of Singapore. His major areas of interest are cardiac surgery, minimal invasive cardiac surgery and heart failure surgery (transplantation and assist devices). His has co-pioneered the field of tissue engineering and stem cell technology for the heart.

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