Goh Yew Lin to head Duke-NUS as chairman; inventor Aaron Thean named engineering faculty dean

THE National University of Singapore (NUS) has appointed mainboard-listed GK Goh Holdings' managing director Goh Yew Lin as chairman of Duke-NUS Medical School's governing board, and advanced microelectronics expert Aaron Thean as dean of the NUS Faculty of Engineering.

Mr Goh has been chairman-designate of the medical school's governing board since April 1. He will take over as chairman from Oct 1 from Kai Nargolwala, who has assumed the role for seven years. Mr Nargolwala played a pivotal role in strengthening the medical school's academic medicine partnership with SingHealth.

Over the years, Mr Goh has helped to shape the development of NUS by playing different yet important roles, including as the founding chairman of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music for 16 years from 2002 to 2018. He also played an active role in securing key endowments that were critical to the conservatory's success and advanced its role in nurturing musical talents.

NUS president Tan Eng Chye said on Monday: "We are very pleased that Mr Goh is now leading Duke-NUS to play a bigger role in Singapore's education and healthcare sectors."

Mr Goh was also a member of the NUS Board of the Trustees from April 2008 to March 2019, and chaired its investment committee during his tenure.

Meanwhile, at the NUS engineering school, Prof Thean has succeeded Chua Kee Chaing as the 13th dean, effective Sept 1. Prof Chua had previously served as dean for five years.

A faculty member at NUS's largest faculty, Prof Thean is an opinion leader in the advanced microelectronics community and a prolific inventor with more than 50 US patents.

He is one of the National Research Foundation's returning Singaporean scientists. Once back in Singapore, Prof Thean started his academic career at the NUS Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in May 2016. From 2016 to 2018, he was also the director of industry engagement and partnerships in the office of the deputy president (research and technology).

Prof Thean established his name in the highly competitive semiconductor domain, through advanced research on the latest technologies and the successful translation of ideas and research to products.

"We are heading into a new era of innovation, where traditional fields of science and technology dynamically blend into new opportunities," Prof Thean said.

"From artificial intelligence, nano-materials, smart structures, robotics to transforming Smart Nation infrastructure and enhancing health/medical care, we see exciting times and things to come," he added.