Dr. Thian Eng San is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and a Principal Investigator in the Centre for Biomedical Materials Applications & Technology at National University of Singapore (NUS). He is also a fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM), and the Royal Microscopical Society (FRMS). Prior to joining NUS, he worked as a Faraday Research Associate in the Cambridge Centre for Medical Materials, UK under Professor William Bonfield. Trained as a biomaterial scientist, he gained a broad knowledge at the interface of materials science and biotechnology, relating to biomedical and food packaging applications. Areas of his research work include (but not limited to) nanobiomaterials, surface modification, tissue engineering, and food security.

Dr. Thian has received several awards including the Bechtel Gold Medal, Armourers & Brasiers’ Company Award, and Institution of Mechanical Engineering Best Ph.D Thesis in Bioengineering Award. Dr. Thian is engaged in internationally leading research addressing some of the global healthcare and food packaging challenges, with a total research income of over S$7 million from various sources. He has made major contributions to the biomaterials field, having authored more than 100 journal papers, conference papers and book chapters; and also a member of the reviewer board of several major international journals.