Imagine a world where cars automatically
detect and avoid pedestrians, where batteries last five times
longer and wireless devices replace your pills.
Last week, the MIT Technology Review named five
scientists based in Singapore as finalists for "Innovators Under
35" in Asia, a yearly competition that recognises those who develop
new technologies to solve global problems.
All 10 finalists will present their work at the EmTech
Asia conference, an annual conference on important new
technologies, to be held at Sands Expo and Convention Centre at
Marina Bay Sands on Feb 14 to 15, 2017. (See report below.)
Here are the five Singapore-based finalists.
Associate professor Gang Wang, 34, who is from Nanyang
Technological University's school of Electrical and Electronic
Engineering, and his team are building computer programmes and
algorithms to help computers "understand" objects they "see" more
accurately and quickly. Their research can make cameras in
self-driving cars automatically detect pedestrians and other
vehicles, avoiding accidents.
The cars will also be able to recognise the colours and
models of other cars and whether they are slowing down or speeding
up.
Dr Zhi Wei Seh, 30, a research scientist at the Agency
for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), designed materials
for clean energy storage and conversion.
His pioneering design of lithium-sulfur batteries have
five times the energy density of lithium-ion batteries today.
Dr Seh said he was motivated to start his research as
scientists have reached the theoretical limits of lithium-ion
batteries' energy density.
He plans to use renewable energy sources such as solar
and wind power as energy for the batteries.
Placing tiny, wireless implants near a patient's
malfunctioning organs might become the next generation of
treatment, replacing the use of pills.
Dr John Ho, 27, an assistant professor at the
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the National
University of Singapore (NUS), said the challenge was to eliminate
or reduce the size of the batteries that power these implants.
Wireless technology was the answer, and now his
research aims to study the physics behind these technologies and to
engineer systems that give doctors new ways to restore health.
Dr Dawn Tan, 33, an assistant professor at Singapore
University of Technology and Design, was nominated for developing
technology that improves the transmission, capacity, cost and
reliability of Internet data.
Dr Tan's research allows many individual channels of
data to be transmitted within a single optic fibre.
This makes Internet cables cheaper in terms of power
consumption and data transmission.
Assistant professor Prateek Saxena,
33, from NUS School of Computing, is building new types of web
servers and browsers with improved data security.
Dr Saxena said that his work aims
to place security safeguards in the web infrastructure instead of
relying on security software.
He said: "Seat belts in cars save
thousands of lives every year... Why can't computer systems be
designed to withstand failures and co-ordinated, large-scale
attacks?"
Now in its fourth edition, MIT Technology
Review's Innovators Under 35 Asia,lists top innovators under the
age of 35 from South-east Asia, Taiwan, Australia and New
Zealand.
Making the list this year are 10
researchers and entrepreneurs from Singapore, Malaysia and
Australia. They automatically become candidates and potential
finalists for the global Innovators Under 35 list in 2017 in
Boston.
MIT Technology Review will showcase
the global winners in the September and October issues and online.
The 10 honourees will each present a three-minute elevator pitch at
EmTech Asia at Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Marina Bay Sands
on Feb 14 and 15 next year
TNP