The Coastal Protection and Flood Resilience Institute (CFI) Singapore, hosted on the College of Design and Engineering at NUS, held its second Annual Symposium on 18 and 19 September 2025 on the University Cultural Centre.
Themed Rising Stronger: Advancing Coastal and Flood Resilience by way of Science and Technology, this yr’s symposium gathered greater than 290 individuals, together with specialists, business leaders, policymakers, and researchers in coastal safety and flood resilience.
The occasion was graced by Ms Goh Hanyan, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, who additionally introduced the award of Applied Research tasks below nationwide water company PUB’s Coastal Protection and Flood Management Research Programme (CFRP).
Highlighting the importance of coastal safety, Ms Goh mentioned, “As a low-lying, densely built island nation with limited land surrounded entirely by sea, coastal protection is not just important – it is existential. Without coastal protection, rising sea levels may encroach on our land, and every square metre of Singapore’s precious land matters. Coastal protection matters because it protects our lives, livelihoods and vital assets.”
She additionally spoke about Singapore’s analysis and growth (R&D) in strengthening its capabilities in coastal safety.
“Collectively, our R&D investments will strengthen Singapore’s technical capabilities in coastal protection, developing homegrown expertise within our industry and research community. This enables us to develop more innovative and cost-effective solutions that address our distinct coastal challenges and serve our long-term resilience needs,” added Ms Goh.
First Applied Research grant name for coastal safety
The Applied Research grant name is a part of PUB’s efforts to foster analysis collaboration with business companions and encourage cross-sector data switch in coastal safety and flood administration. 47 proposals have been obtained for the grant name, with two-thirds involving collaboration between Institutes of Higher Learning and business gamers.
The awarded tasks cowl 5 key focus areas, geared toward addressing data gaps in coastal safety and flood administration in Singapore’s context. These options embody creating coastal safety measures that utilise recycled waste, and new monitoring applied sciences for coastal safety constructions.
Seven NUS-led tasks have been awarded below the primary Applied Research grant name, which helps 14 tasks in whole with funding price $22 million.
The analysis tasks involving principal investigators from NUS are:
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Associate Professor Pang Sze Dai, from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the College of Design and Engineering (CDE) at NUS, will lead a analysis mission that investigates bio-based fibre bolstered polymer as a superior various to traditional protecting strategies, providing prolonged lifespan, enhanced corrosion resistance in marine environments, and versatile functions from tidal gates to smaller elements, whereas specializing in underwater joint safety and upkeep options.
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Dr Du Hongjian, from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in CDE at NUS, will advance analysis on valorisation of recycled concrete fines from native development and demolition waste as a cement various for coastal infrastructure, incorporating optimised carbonation processes to boost each carbon seize effectivity and materials properties.
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Dr Zhang Shanli, from the Technology Centre for Offshore and Marine, Singapore (TCOMS), will lead the event of an Artificial Intelligence-powered satellite tv for pc monitoring system for coastal infrastructure evaluation and predictive upkeep by way of distant sensing technology.
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Assistant Professor Geng Guoqing, from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in CDE at NUS, will lead a mission in collaboration with BeeX – an NUS deep tech spin-off with confirmed experience in autonomous underwater inspection capabilities – and Delta Marine Consultants to combine autonomous robotics with underwater non-destructive testing strategies. This strategy will allow extra correct and environment friendly inspections of underwater constructions, strengthening the safety of Singapore’s coastal infrastructure.
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Dr Olivia Jensen, from the Lloyd’s Register Foundation Institute for the Public Understanding of Risk, will probably be creating a framework for adaptive coastal safety planning by incorporating social prices, value profit evaluation, and a multicriteria optimisation software targeted on resilience.
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Dr Lim Kian Yew, from TCOMS, has proposed an adaptive nature-based infrastructure system utilizing submerged soil bunds and biogenic shell-filled grids to offer sustainable coastal safety whereas selling biodiversity and waste upcycling.
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Professor Adrian Law, from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in CDE at NUS, will probably be creating an built-in coastal water monitoring system that mixes distant sensing and in-situ sensors to measure suspended sediments and particle sizes throughout floor and depth ranges.
Another Applied Research mission, with Associate Professor Darren Chian from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in CDE at NUS because the co-investigator, will discover using waste supplies in developing seepage cut-off partitions in coastal environments. The mission goals to substitute bentonite with polymer-modified waste marine clay and change cement with binders derived from industrial waste.
Spotlighting progressive analysis and selling business collaboration
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