Chen Zhong

Dr. Chen obtained his PhD in 1997 from the University of Reading, under sponsorship of the Overseas Research Scholarship (ORS) by the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Principals and a European Union research grant. In April 1997, he joined the newly founded Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), a national research institute funded by the Singapore government. After spending three fruitful years in IMRE, the passion for education brought him to Nanyang Technological University (NTU) as an Assistant Professor in March 2000. He has been promoted to Associate Professor and Professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering since then. So far, Prof. Chen has graduated 35 PhD students and 6 MEng students. He has also supervised over 200 undergraduate research projects (FYP, URECA, etc.).

Prof. Chen’s research interest includes 1) Surface engineering of materials and nanostructures; 2) Mechanical & long-term behaviors of materials. In the study of thin film mechanical behavior, he was the first to discover a significant substrate compliance effect on the energy release rate of thin film delamination. He also pioneered a novel buckling-based technique to measure thin film fracture & delamination toughnesses. The work in this area provides critical insights and design guidance for the development of flexible, printable electronic devices. His team has also made substantial progress in the development of mechanically durable coatings for self-cleaning, anti-icing, anti-fogging, and anti-fingerprint applications. Several patents / technological disclosures are made in this area.

Prof. Chen has been active in applied research in recent years with a total industrial project funding exceeding 10M SGD. In the academic community, he has served as an editor / editorial board member for several academic journals and book series. He has also served as a reviewer for more than 70 journals and a number of research funding agencies including the European Research Council (ERC).

Education

• PhD University of Reading, UK (1993 — 1997)
• MEng Hefei University of Technology, China (1984 — 1987)
• BEng China University of Mining and Technology, China (1980 — 1984)

Companies

• Professor / Associate Professor / Assistant Professor Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (2000)
• Research Fellow / Research Associate Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, Singapore (1997 — 2000)
• Research Student Assistant / Visiting Researcher University of Reading, Reading, Berkshire, UK (1992 — 1997)
• Lecturer / Assistant Lecturer Hefei University of Technology (1987 — 1992)