Our warmest congratulations to Prof Ong Choon Nam on being conferred the NUS Emeritus Professorship – making him the second Emeritus Professor at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health (SSHSPH). The Emeritus Professor title is awarded to full professors on retirement in recognition of their sustained and strong contributions in teaching, research and/or service to the University and its community.
Prof Ong was the founding Director and a Principal Investigator (PI) of the Centre for Environmental and Occupational Health Research (CEOHR) in SSHSPH. CEOHR engages research on the identification of biomarkers for the School’s Environmental and Occupational Health Studies, especially on how lifestyle and diets may affect chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. His expertise in environmental health and ability in coordinating multidisciplinary research led to his appointment as the Chairman of the International Expert Panel on the NEWater study (1997-2003) by the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources. As a water quality expert, he has been advising our national water agency, PUB, for many years, and is currently chairing the PUB’s Grant Review Panel. In acknowledgement of his contributions, Prof Ong received the Singapore President’s National Day Award (PBM) in 2004.
Prof Ong also served as the Director of the Life Sciences Institute (LSI) from 2006 to 2009 and subsequently as the Director of the NUS Environmental Research Institute (NERI), from 2009 to 2018. During his tenure, he took the lead in initiating the Energy and Environmental Sustainability Programme (E2S2, 2014-2024) under CREATE programme, securing a total support exceeding $40 million from the National Research Foundation (NRF). Additionally, his team successfully obtained a NEA supported programme addressing on Haze and Air Quality in Singapore, and an NRF-CRP Programme on Agrotech for Urban Farming in Singapore. His team’s work on “An on-line senor to monitor surface water Quality” earned them the TechConnect Innovation award (Washington, 2015), and part of this study was presented at the World Economic Forum in 2017. Prof Ong is currently Chairman of the Technical Expert Panel for Development of Environmental Standards on Soil for NEA and SLA.
At SSHSPH, Professor Ong oversaw research projects and provided supervision and guidance to his research team who were involved in various government-supported projects. He has a distinguished body of scholarly work, with pivotal contributions reflecting a continued dedication to impactful research. Internationally recognized, he served as an editorial member for several prestigious journals and is frequently invited as a keynote speaker at global conferences. His educational contributions are reinforced by teaching commitments and mentorship, guiding many MSc/PhD students and post-docs. Professor Ong also held positions in evaluation committees responsible for overseeing the appointment and promotion of faculty staff. He served as a mentor to junior Assistant Professors, offering guidance and advice on various aspects, including research projects and the promotion & tenure process. In 2016, Professor Ong was honoured with the Outstanding Mentor Award from the Singapore Medical Association Charity Fund. Currently, he holds the position of Visiting Professor at Shanghai Jiaotong University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Urban Environment.
The conferment of the title Emeritus Professor is a tribute to Prof Ong’s illustrious career, outstanding contributions to NUS, and global recognition in his field. Once again, we would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to Prof Ong on achieving this exceptional recognition of his many achievements and wish him continued success in all his future endeavors.