Special Commendation

“I have developed this sixth sense of looking at coasts.
I can now see what I couldn't see 30 years ago.
This comes with experience."


Assoc Prof WONG Poh Poh

Ph D (McGill University); B A (Hons), M A (University of Singapore)
Department of Geography

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENTS
  • Eminent geographer, widely recognised as an expert in coastal tourism, with special ability to see the interaction between human activities and the physical landscape
  • Leading scholar of climate change and coastal geomorphology

NUS PORTFOLIO
  • Member of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences since 1966
  • Member of the Teaching Strategy Sub-Committee

SERVICE TO NATION AND INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
  • Only Singaporean on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which shared the Nobel Peace Prize 2007 with former US Vice President Al Gore
  • Coordinating Lead Author, IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (2004-2007)
  • Principal Investigator, NUS Staff Supported project on tsunami-impacted coasts in Aceh, southern Thailand, Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka (2005-2007)
  • Principal Investigator, NUS Research Project on Integrated Coastal Tourism Management in Dalian, China (2004-2006)
  • Lead Author, APN Asian-Pacific Coasts and their Management: State of the Environment (2004-2005)
  • Coordinating Lead Author, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2003-2005) which won the Zayed International Prize for the Environment for scientific and technological achievement in environment
  • Resource Editor, Tourism Geographies (1999-2004)
  • Lead Author, IPCC Third Assessment Report (1998-2001)
  • Expert Reviewer, IPCC Regional Impacts Special Report (1997)
  • Board Member, International Geographical Union (IGU) Commission on the Coastal Environment, renamed Coastal Systems (1992-2000)
  • Treasurer, International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG) Southeast Asia Conference (1995)
  • Member, UNE P East Asian Seas Task Team on Climatic Change Implications (1989-1990)
  • Contributor, ASEAN-US Cooperative Programme on Marine Sciences: Coastal Resources Management Project (1989-1992)
  • Co-editor, Tropical Geomorphology Newsletter (1989-1997)
  • National-Point-of-Contact, South East Asia Network of Geosciences (1981-1989)
  • Co-organiser, UNE SCO Workshop on Coastal Geomorphology in Singapore and Malaysia (1979)
  • Member, Public Utilities Board (PUB) Committee on Meteorology (1973-1977)
  • Secretary, Organising Committee for IG U/UNE SCO Conference on the Teaching of Geography (1972)

FUTURE ASPIRATION
To maintain a strong field research in climate change and coastal hazards and to develop new concepts, approaches and technologies in the adaptation to climate change.
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