Prof. Harn Wei Kua

Associate Professor Harn Wei Kua leads the Smart Materials Laboratory of the Department of the Built Environment and the construction 3D printing thrust in National University of Singapore (NUS). He is also one of the Vice Deans of the College of Design and Engineering.

After earning three Masters degrees from NUS (in theoretical physics) and MIT (in civil & environmental engineering, and technology policy), he earned his PhD in sustainable building technology and policy from MIT. His current research interest is in upcycling and valorisation of biological waste into high performance smart building materials and novel life cycle sustainability assessment methodologies. Other than research, he co-founded and is advising a local spin-off company from NUS that develops, demonstrates and promotes biochar concrete in the local and international construction industries.

Dr. Kua has authored more than 130 articles and book chapters. He has won 83 different awards and honors for his academic and community service works, including the MIT Carrol Wilson Fellowship, Academic Writing Residency Fellowship awarded by the Rockefeller Foundation, Fellow of the International Association of Advanced Materials (IAAM), IAAM Scientist Award, and he has been identified by Stanford University as one of the top 2% scientists in the world over career and/or single-year analyses for 2019, 2020 and 2021.

He has been invited to deliver 99 speeches on various topics related to his research (among these are 29 plenary and 8 keynote speeches), including one as a plenary speaker at the Forum for Science, Technology and Innovation for Sustainable Development, workshop on Sustainable Consumption and Production, which was organized by the International Council for Science on 11th June 2012, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (at Rio+20).

Prof. Harn Wei Kua, Receiving the Von Klitzing International Engineering Award from Dr. Florian Kongoli at FLOGEN SIPS 2022

Prof. Harn Wei Kua, Delivering his acceptance speech to Dr. Florian Kongoli during the FLOGEN SIPS 2022 ceremony

FLOGEN SIPS 2022 Awards: Dr. Harn Wei Kua, Professor, National University of Singapore, Singapore