The
National University of Singapore (NUS) announced
that it has appointed visual computing expert Professor Chen Tsuhan as Deputy
President (Research and Technology) and Distinguished Professor from 1 June
2018.
Prof
Chen is also Chief Scientist at AI Singapore, a national programme to enhance
Singapore’s artificial intelligence (AI) competencies to drive the digital economy,
which is hosted at NUS. He holds a PhD degree in electrical engineering from
the California Institute of Technology, US.
“NUS is poised for exciting times ahead, and we are pleased
to have Professor Chen Tsuhan, who is an expert in visual computing and a prolific
inventor, to augment the expertise of the University’s leadership team as we
expand NUS’ innovation and enterprise network in the region and beyond,” said NUS
President Professor Tan Eng Chye.
“At NUS, we will continue to explore new frontiers of
science and technology through innovation and excellence, with the aim of
creating impact and value for the benefit of Singapore and Singaporeans, as
well as the region and the society at large,” Prof Tan added.
According to the press release, Prof Chen is a celebrated
expert in computer vision, machine learning and pattern recognition. He has
published more than 300 technical papers and holds close to 30 US patents. He
has been the David E. Burr Professor of Engineering at Cornell University, US,
a position he has held since 2009. From 2009 to 2013, when he served as
Director of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Cornell, he
promoted the School to top ranking positions and launched several initiatives
to boost innovation as well as foster research and teaching excellence. He also
directed the Advanced Multimedia Processing Laboratory, which conducts research
in areas including computer vision and pattern recognition; multimedia coding and
retrieval; as well as biometric authentication.
Prof Chen believes strongly in collaborative research. As
the Cheng Tsang Man Chair Professor and Dean of the College of Engineering at
the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore from 2015 to 2017, he
pioneered several support schemes to encourage inter-school multidisciplinary
programmes in line with the domain areas spelled out in the national Research,
Innovation and Enterprise 2020 Plan. These initiatives included the Advanced
Manufacturing and Engineering Centre, the Data Science & Artificial Intelligence
Research Centre and the Innovative Centre for Flexible Devices.
“NUS, as the leading higher education institution in
Singapore, has the responsibility to conduct world-class research and develop
advanced technology for Singapore as well as for the world. I am honoured to be
part of this endeavour. As Deputy President (Research and Technology), I feel
extremely humbled by the privilege of both leadership and stewardship. I see my
new role in serving the NUS community, and championing NUS research and
technology as an integral part of NUS’ mission in higher education,” said Prof
Chen.
“Together with NUS leadership, we will
brainstorm to identify strategic areas for the future, that is, the ‘next big
things’. In these areas, we will strive to provide appropriate platforms and
resources, recruit and nurture future leaders, and create partnerships between
research institutes and schools across the University, in Singapore and
beyond,” said Prof Chen, who will report to Senior Deputy President and
Provost, Professor Ho Teck Hua.
