Singapore: Twelve local engineering projects win top honours

The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES) bestowed the IES Prestigious Engineering Achievement Awards 2017 to 12 engineering projects for making outstanding contributions that improve the quality of lives and bring about engineering progress in Singapore.

The event guest-of honour, Mr. Masagos Zulkifli, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, presented the annual awards to the winning teams at the World Engineers Summit – Applied Energy Symposium & Forum (WES-CUE) 2017 Joint Conference Dinner on the 20th of July.

Spanning the healthcare, defence, manufacturing, chemical, energy and environmental industries, this year’s winners demonstrate distinctive brilliance in delivering exceptional value to the well-being of people and communities. Chosen from 37 entries, a record, these projects proved their merit to a judging panel of industry experts in these areas: Resourcefulness in the planning and solving of design problems and the pioneering use of materials and methods; innovations in planning, design and construction; as well as unique aspects and aesthetic values.

The team behind each winning project received a commemorative plaque and individual certificates.

Themed “Low Carbon Cities & Urban Energy”, the event championed engineering-led discussions on latest research findings and showcased cutting-edge engineering innovations in sustainable development.

“The winners of the Prestigious Engineering Achievement Awards 2017 embody the engineers’ spirit of determination and desire to improve lives,” Edwin Khew, President of IES, said. “I would therefore like to commend all winners for their devotion and determination to break through difficult boundaries to achieve engineering excellence in their projects. Through these awards, IES hopes to recognise and reward these engineers for their achievements and hopefully inspire the younger generation to do the same and more in the years to come.”

“This year’s award is significant as we had received the largest number of entries since the awards started,” Ho Siong Hin, Chairman, Awards Committee, IES Prestigious Engineering Achievement Awards 2017, said. “This shows the ingenuity across wide-ranging areas of engineering. It is also notable that three of the winning projects focus on sustainable urban development, in line with the push for Singapore to be a global hub for low-carbon, high energy-efficiency development through WES-CUE 2017.”

The winning projects in the four awards categories are:

Applied Research and Development

  • Development of apparatus and method to assess endothelial function to better manage patients with diabetes by School of Engineering, Nanyang Polytechnic
  • EscoGlove: A soft and wearable robotic glove for assistance of hand-impaired patients during activities of daily living and rehabilitation by Department of Biomedical Engineering, National University of Singapore (NUS)
  • High power mid-infrared fiber laser by SIMTech, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)

Engineering Project

  • BCA SkyLab – the world’s first high-rise rotatable laboratory for the tropics by BCA SkyLab, Building and Construction Authority
  • Littoral Mission Vessel by Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA)
  • Mitigation of pollution at Kandy Lake and Mid-Canal, Sri Lanka by Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University
  • Singapore Sports Hub by ARUP, DP Architects and AECOM

Technology Innovation

  • Island Air Defence – networked air defence capabilities through technology by DSTA
  • The av-Guardian – guardian for renal failure patients’ lifeline; plug-&-play ready for dialysis of the future by Advent Access Pte Ltd

Young Creators Award

  • Florisensors – Novel flower-based chemiresistive gas sensors by NUS
  • Soft robotics technology for application on bedside ankle rehabilitation by NUS
  • (Special Mention) Green and sustainable buildings: for our future by School of Engineering, Temasek Polytechnic