AsianScientist (Mar. 18, 2015) – Professor Andy Hor Tzi Sum, Executive Director of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s (A*STAR) Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) has been appointed as Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Hong Kong (HKU). Hor is expected to take up his new appointment on September 1, 2015.
During his leadership of IMRE, the institute enhanced its standing as a world-class research institute in materials. Hor established four new thematic laboratories promoting fundamental materials science in porous materials, soft surface and interface, bioinspired structures and plasmonics. He also deepened IMRE’s science capability building in strategic areas such as metamaterials, piezoelectric sensing, molecular materials and polymers, and advanced characterization techniques.
Hor spearheaded the formation of the Materials Center of Innovation in partnership with SPRING Singapore to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) better utilize technology to increase productivity and create new products for commercialization. He was also responsible for establishing the Industrial Coating and Packaging Consortium, a platform that helps companies build new capabilities in new coating and packaging technologies.
Hor continues to contribute to the local and international scientific community through his appointments on committees and advisory panels. He has been President of the Federation of Asian Chemical Societies since 2013 and President of the Singapore National Institute of Chemistry since 2003, among others.
A*STAR will initiate an international search for Hor’s successor. In the interim, an Executive Committee headed by Dr. Tan Geok Leng, Executive Director of A*STAR’s Science & Engineering Research Council, will be put in place from June 2015 to oversee operations at IMRE and ensure a smooth transition.
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Source: A*STAR; Photo: The University of Hong Kong.
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