Meet & Greet

Dr Adrian Yeo, 32, has gone through fire and water – including 20-hour drives and jungle treks to remote villages – to deliver the drink of choice to the thirsty.

As the inventor of an ingeniously simple water filtration system tailored for rural needs, he has brought both life-sustaining water and life-affirming friendship to more than 100,000 people in developing communities.

An NTU alumnus, Dr Yeo heads Water Initiative for Securing Health (WISH), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) that supports his work of bringing safe drinking water to the disadvantaged. Last year, he earned the accolade of “Asian Development Bank Water Champion” for initiating and implementing water reforms in the region.

Research is a mainstay of Dr Yeo’s manifold pursuits; his full-time work straddles dual roles – that of General Manager of MINT (Membrane Instruments and Technology Pte Ltd), an NTU spin-off founded in January, and Research Fellow at the Singapore Membrane Technology Centre (SMTC), an entity in NTU’s Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI).

In 2007, Dr Yeo took up a year-long postdoctoral position at the University of Colorado at Boulder in the United States, where he developed a new method of membrane characterisation for water purification, now being patented.

This year, Dr Yeo became the first recipient of the Don Quixote Fund Award, which provides start-up venture capital for the development of “high-risk, innovative water technologies”.

@NTU learns more from this self-confessed geek, whose abiding mission is to make clean water accessible to everyone.

Awash with purpose: Dr Yeo has the honour of being the first recipient of the Don Quixote Fund Award, presented at the Singapore International Water Week in June. He will use part of the US$100,000 prize to commercialise a sensor that detects the buildup of particles on membranes used in water treatment facilities.

How did you discover your talent for research?
I don’t think I have a special aptitude for research, just a focus on turning research into useful tools for humanity.

You completed your Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering (with First Class Honours) and PhD in Membrane Technology at NTU. How did the university prepare you for a career that has spanned R&D and technopreneurship?
What makes the difference are the professors and the administrators – the people who care about your development and your future. I remain the product of a wonderful educational system, having received more than just a technical education. Of great value is the down-to-earth “can-do” attitude transmitted, which is useful in whatever industry you choose.

What was it about NTU that attracted you to launch and develop your career here?
Again, it’s the people. The place I am at, NEWRI, is wonderful. The different centres in NEWRI provide a melting pot of ideas and expertise, and I think it’s an exciting place to be at the moment.

Since 2005, you’ve provided clean drinking water to 175 villages in Indonesia, Cambodia and Myanmar, benefiting over 100,000 people. That’s quite remarkable!
It started in 2004 in the aftermath of the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami, when I invented an easy-to-use membrane-based water filtration system that makes river and well water drinkable, and took it to Aceh to help the people there.

After the tsunami, you peddled your technology to donors, none of whom were initially willing to take you seriously. You persevered, set up an NGO, and got funding for your cause. What has been a defining moment?
I will always remember the initial support that I got from my academic supervisors – Prof Cheong Hee Kiat (the former Dean of the School of Civil & Environmental Engineering), Prof Anthony Fane (now Director of SMTC), Assoc Prof Adrian Law and Prof Tay Joo Hwa.

It was just a crazy idea started by a then-third-year PhD student. When the tsunami happened, I called Prof Fane (who was in Sydney) and told him I wanted to do something. He was incredibly supportive. Prof Cheong went around looking for money for me, and Assoc Prof Law actually loaded our water treatment units into his car and drove to the pier to get them shipped out. Prof Tay came in on a Sunday (while I was trying to get everything together), slapped me on the shoulder, and told me that we would make it work together. NTU is one of the few places where professors take the time and effort to support young people, even if they are “just students”.

I’ve always believed that a PhD education is an investment by the community (in terms of time, money and opportunity) in a person, and a PhD holder has the responsibility to give back to society.

You are the CEO of MINT, an NTU spin-off company located at the Innovation Centre on campus. How did you get involved in its formation and what is the company’s core business?
Current methods of monitoring the performance of membrane plants are crude. Our technology improves membrane processes using specialised sensors and control technology. More technologies will be introduced in time to come.

I was selected to lead the commercialisation effort as SMTC wanted a technical and business-oriented person who could integrate the different sensors, with support from the inventors. We will do Proof-of-Value projects in Singapore before going international.

How will your technology benefit the man on the street?
The water utilities will save cost, and hopefully pass the cost savings on to us!

How has the transition from research to business been for you?
Researchers and business people often think differently and bridging the gap is not always an easy task. My previous company, which sold membrane-based water treatment systems to Southeast Asian countries, took losses and finally had to fold. Fortunately, MINT has the support of both NTU’s Innovation & Technology Transfer Office and SMTC.

Which is more challenging – scientific research, running an NGO or running a profitable business?
And why?
NGO work is the most challenging. The bottom line in business is profitability, so you do whatever makes the most money. In NGO work, there are many competing priorities. Policy, social factors and cost need to be considered when running an NGO.

You’re 32. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I’m actually hoping to land an academic position in NTU! I would like to be an academic that can straddle both the business and research worlds. Working with young people and research are my greatest joys.

It’s been said that social entrepreneurs are “not content to merely give a man a ﬁsh, or to teach him how to ﬁsh”. What’s your view on this?
Purchasing things at an inflated price because they are made by a disadvantaged person is still charity. From a purely economic perspective, it doesn’t make sense. But lending a poor person money so that he can start a business that can generate a return so he can pay you back with interest creates value. What I would like to see more of are enterprises that truly create value, such as micro-financing.

What’s the biggest misconception about saving Gaia?
The scientist in me objects when I hear people saying “we are running out of water”. We can’t run out of water. The earth is a closed system. The only way to lose water is to put water in a rocket and shoot it to the sun. Our oceans are getting more polluted and humans are congregating in numbers in areas where there isn’t enough water to support them.