University Awards
Recognising Excellence

Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award

Mentorship is about shaping lives beyond research. Guided by our lab’s ‘Hi, Sci!’ values—Honesty, Independency, Safety, Caring and Innovation—I help students to grow into creative and caring scientists. Seeing them thrive in academia and industry, carrying forward curiosity and integrity, is the most rewarding part of my journey. ” Professor Yan Ning
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering,
College of Design and Engineering
 Read Citation

Research Interests

  • Renewable fuels, chemicals and nutrients
  • Heterogeneous catalysis
  • Sustainable chemistry and engineering

Mentoring Achievements

  • Professor Yan has encouraged many graduate students to explore innovative research directions tailored to their strengths, interests and career goals. Guided by the philosophy of "Hi, Sci!"—an acronym that reflects the values of Honesty, Independency, Safety, Caring and Innovation—he has successfully nurtured a culture of creativity and innovation for students to flourish in, shaping their confidence, resilience and critical thinking.
  • Under Professor Yan's global and far-reaching mentorship:
    • 11 PhD and 2 MEng students from nine countries, including China, Germany, Indonesia, Turkey and the US, have graduated as young academic and industry leaders
    • Currently mentors over 15 PhD students and has hosted over 20 research fellows
    • Alumni work at prestigious universities like Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Technical University of Munich, and industry giants like Procter & Gamble and Micron Technology
  • His students consistently maintain highly productive research trajectories, with publications in leading journals such as Nature and Science. Many have received notable academic awards, including the first Schmidt Science Fellowship awarded to an NUS student, and the Peacock Program for overseas high-level talents.
  • Professor Yan has facilitated knowledge-sharing and connection opportunities for NUS graduate students, particularly in the field of catalysis. As Director of the Centre for Hydrogen Innovations, he has seeded many collaborations with international partners, resulting in increased exposure and exchange opportunities for NUS graduate students.

International Standing

  • Chair, 10th Asia-Pacific Congress on Catalysis (2025)
  • President, Singapore Catalysis Society (since 2023)
  • Editor-in-chief of Molecular Catalysis (since 2023)
  • Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry (since 2022)
  • Advisory Board, Catalysis Science & Technology (since 2018)
  • Advisory Board, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering (since 2018)

Awards and Accolades

  • Outstanding Researcher Award, Asia Pacific Association of Catalysis Societies (2025)
  • Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher (Chemistry, 2024, 2020; Cross-Field, 2023, 2022)
  • National Research Foundation of Singapore Investigatorship (2022)
  • NUS Dean's Chair Professorship (2021)
  • Asian Universities Alliance Scholars Award (2019)
  • Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering Lectureship Award, American Chemical Society (2018)
  • Environment, Sustainability and Energy Early Career Award, Royal Society of Chemistry (2017)

Education

  • PhD, BSc (Peking University)
 
 Honour Roll Recipients