Koh Lian Pin
Academic Qualifications
Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University
B.Sc. (1st Class Honours) and M.Sc. in Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore
Research areas
Conservation science, technology and policy; nature-based climate solutions; applied ecology; sustainability science
Research interests
My research focuses on developing policy-relevant science and science-based decision support tools to help reconcile humanity’s needs with environmental protection. I am particularly interested in environmental issues in the developing tropics, a region where population growth is most rapid, yet the people are poorest, and where biodiversity is the richest, yet most threatened globally.
Biography
Professor Koh Lian Pin is Dean, Faculty of Science, Vice President (Sustainability and Resilience), Chief Sustainability Scientist, and Director of the Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions at NUS.
Prof Koh is passionate about promoting societal understanding of the world we live in both locally and globally, amplifying the University’s and Singapore’s contributions to global sustainability efforts. He brings a range of stakeholders together to enhance the climate resilience and sustainability of Singapore through system-level mitigation and adaptation solutions. He champions sustainability-related research at the University, tackling the twin planetary crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, through a whole-of-university strategy that bridges academia with policy makers, industry and civil society
An internationally renowned name in the field of sustainability and environmental science, he is one of the most highly cited conservation scientists in the world, with over 20 years of international research experience under his belt. His previous stints include Swiss National Science Foundation Professor at ETH Zurich, Chair of Applied Ecology and Conservation at the University of Adelaide, Vice President of Science Partnerships and Innovation at Conservation International Foundation, and Technical Director of the Marine Climate Change Science Programme at the National Research Foundation Singapore.
An NUS alumnus, Prof Koh joined the NUS Department of Biological Sciences in 2020, having returned to Singapore under the National Research Foundation’s Returning Singapore Scientists scheme. His research is centred on developing policy-relevant science, as well as science-based decision support tools, to reconcile humanity’s needs with environmental protection. This is complemented by his rich work in advocacy, which has seen him drive global sustainability efforts in his roles as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and Founding Director of ConservationDrones.org, as well as offer a science-based perspective to socioeconomic and environmental issues on both local and global platforms, including the UN COP sessions, TEDGlobal and TEDx and, locally, the 14th Parliament of Singapore as Nominated Member of Parliament (2021 – 2023), among others.
Prof Koh received a BSc (First Class Honours) and MSc in Biological Sciences from the National University of Singapore and a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University.