People

Asst Prof Cesare Soci (left) and Asst Prof Chen Ning
Nanyang Assistant Professors; School of Physical & Mathematical Sciences, College of Science

LIGHTING THE WAY
At 1.8m tall, Asst Prof Cesare Soci cuts a striking figure when he walks into any room. Equally impressive is his work on semiconductor nanowires, an integral component of nanoelectronics that represents one of the most intriguing fields in microelectronics.

Prior to joining NTU’s School of Physical & Mathematical Sciences (SPMS) in July, Asst Prof Soci was a researcher at the University of California, San Diego, where he made an important finding about nanowires being excellent photodetectors due to their geometry (which leads to extreme sensitivity to light). He believes that understanding this particular mechanism can lead to further developments in applications such as image sensors for medical or biomedical applications.

By making use of materials widely employed by the semiconductor industry, Asst Prof Soci and his team are now focusing on new properties or functions that emerge when the dimensions involved become extremely small.

“I am very interested in exploring the feasibility of nanoelectronics and pushing their development to a practical level,” he says. “Though it is hard to project if basic research will lead to new applications, we are committed to directing our efforts into areas where they may have the most benefit.”

At the moment, nanowires are intensively researched for light-emitting devices for telecommunications or solid-state lighting. But applications with the potential for an even wider impact are emerging rapidly; these include sensors for the detection of specific biological species and photovoltaic cells for solar energy harvesting. Asst Prof Soci believes that receiving the Nanyang Assistant Professorship from NTU has been a privilege, allowing him to carry on his investigations at SPMS in the company of an energetic academic community and student body. He is now working to establish a viable research programme founded on the engineering of nanostructured materials.

“I was really impressed when I got to know Singapore and the effort that is being devoted here to education and research,” he explains. “It makes me feel that my contributions can help to make a difference.”

GAME THEORY
With Algorithmic Game Theory becoming one of the exciting new developments on the horizon of computer science, it is no wonder that Asst Prof Chen Ning speaks with gusto about his plans for this fascinating area of study.

“I believe that this field can have a big impact on academia, the Internet and our daily lives,” he explains. “With the help of colleagues and students, I hope to build a great research group on Algorithmic Game Theory here.”

Asst Prof Chen received his PhD in Computer Science and Engineering from the University of Washington before joining NTU in September 2008, where he now teaches computational economics at the School of Physical & Mathematical Sciences.

Essentially, what Algorithmic Game Theory studies is the connection between economics and theoretical computer science. “With the Internet’s growing impact on every aspect of life and the many economic interests vested in it, there is a need to rethink algorithmic concepts and their practical applicability,” he says.

One of Asst Prof Chen’s recent papers (published in collaboration with researchers from Stanford University and Yahoo!) studied Prosper.com, the largest social lending site in the United States, and has made waves as the first literature with a theoretical analysis of peer-to-peer lending. “This research has the potential to impact us as it affects everything from buying items on eBay to socialising on Facebook,” he explains. “I hope that eventually these studies will provide solutions that optimise the interest of both these websites and their customers.”

Nanyang Assistant Professors

Launched by NTU in 2007, the Nanyang Assistant Professorship scheme is a premier programme open to outstanding international researchers and scholars in the fields of science, engineering, business and the humanities. Not only do recipients receive start-up research grants of up to S$1 million, they also have the chance to help lead NTU’s next wave of multidisciplinary research.

Asst Prof Yuan Junsong
Nanyang Assistant Professor; School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, College of Engineering

BUILDING SMARTER MACHINES
Asst Prof Yuan Junsong is no stranger to Singapore. The Hunan-born engineer lived here in 2003 for two years while completing his Master’s degree at the National University of Singapore. This time round, it was the singular opportunity offered by the Nanyang Assistant Professorship to do research in digital media that drew him back to our shores. “It is very exciting to be able to collaborate with the large pool of outstanding faculty members from different disciplines here,” he says.

Asst Prof Yuan’s enquiries at NTU’s School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering (EEE) encompass the realms of computer vision, pattern recognition and multimedia data-mining. His current focus is on image and video data-mining, a field that involves pattern analysis and knowledge discovery from large-scale image and video data.

“Think about the ways in which Google has changed our lives,” he explains. “Now, what if we can build an ‘oracle’ that can answer our questions based not only on textual data but also multimedia data such as photos on Flickr and videos on YouTube, both of which contain much richer information?”

While Asst Prof Yuan believes much work is still needed in order for us to intelligently utilise the large amount of data from today’s advanced digital media, he feels this pursuit has many benefits to offer. “It will influence many aspects of our daily lives, in areas such as education, entertainment, computer-aided diagnoses and public safety,” he says.


	“It is very exciting to be able to collaborate with the large pool of outstanding faculty members from different disciplines here.”

For instance, during a recent collaboration with Microsoft Research Redmond and Northwestern University (where Asst Prof Yuan completed his PhD studies), the team developed advanced algorithms for human action and event detection from videos, producing findings that can ultimately result in the building of better video surveillance systems.

As he begins his teaching and research at EEE, Asst Prof Yuan hopes to make even more breakthroughs. “I am looking forward to becoming involved in the intensive research environment here, and to contributing to the university’s strong technological base,” he says. “I also hope to make great contributions to society, by working with the graduate students and the faculty.”

Asst Prof Duan Hongwei
Nanyang Assistant Professor; School of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering

HEALTH HORIZONS
Having only arrived in August from the United States where he was based at Atlanta’s Emory-Georgia Tech Center of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence, Asst Prof Duan Hongwei has been busy getting into the swing of things at NTU’s School of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering (SCBE).

A recipient of the Nanyang Assistant Professorship, Asst Prof Duan’s primary research interest lies in the application of advanced nanotechnology, specifically the unique properties of nanostructures that allow them to be engineered and put to use in the early detection, diagnosis and targeted therapy of major human diseases. “The technology we are working on can help us better understand the mechanism of initiation and the progression of diseases,” he says. “It will also assist in detecting and treating devastating illnesses like cancer more effectively.”

Working with various research teams in Germany and China over the last few years, Asst Prof Duan has accumulated a wealth of investigative skills. As he embarks on the next phase of his career at SCBE, he is looking forward to building an interdisciplinary bionanotechnology research programme, to help produce the next generation of bioengineers in Singapore.


	“Hopefully, in such a nourishing environment as NTU, we will be able to create new nanotechnology platforms and move some of our technologies one step further from pre-clinical studies to clinical trials.”

“Developing a practical bionanotechnology platform requires a comprehensive understanding of how these tiny particles interact with the human body,” he says. “Hopefully, in such a nourishing environment as NTU, we will be able to create new nanotechnology platforms and move some of our technologies one step further from pre-clinical studies to clinical trials.”