Innovating Greener Catalytic Processes for Carbon Dioxide Utilization, Storage and Hydrogen Production
Group Members
Principal Investigator
Prof. Sibudjing KAWI
Associate Professor
chekawis at. nus.edu.sg | ChBE Faculty Page | Google Scholar
Prof. Kawi obtained his BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees from University of Texas (Austin), University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign), and University of Delaware, respectively, and has been attached to the National University of Singapore since 1994. In the past decade, his research has focused on the design and synthesis of nanocatalysts for green and sustainable development, such as CO2 reforming with methane to bio-syngas and hydrogen, CO2 hydrogenation, biomass gasification, and water gas shift reactions via thermal, plasma, photo, and electrocatalysis. His expertise also includes the synthesis of novel inorganic membranes, as well as catalytic membrane reactors. He is a productive researcher who has published more than 600 international peer reviewed journal articles, awarded AIChE Outstanding Principal Investigator Award (2021) and has been selected as one of the world’s most highly cited researchers for five times since 2021.
Research Fellows
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Dr. Niu Jiangqi
Research Fellow
jiangqi.niu@
Dr. Jiangqi Niu obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Nagoya University in 2024. His research interests center on plasma chemistry and plasma catalysis, including liquid-phase plasma processes, plasma-assisted catalytic reactions, and advanced plasma diagnostics with an emphasis on in situ probing of gas-phase plasma–surface interactions.
Dr. Jiyi CHEN
Research Fellow
jiyichen@ | Google Scholar
Dr. Jiyi Chen graduated in B. Eng. (Polymer Science and Engineering) from Donghua University in 2016, M. S. (Material Physics and Chemistry) from Fudan University in 2020 and Ph.D. (Chemical Engineering) from National University of Singapore in 2024. He worked on investigations on the advanced electrocatalysts for water splitting during his master career and won 2-time National Scholarship for Graduate Students. Upon his graduation, he was awarded Academic Pioneer Prize for his high quality and significant works. His current research focuses on designing practical and novel catalysts for thermal CO2 hydrogenation to methanol.
Dr. Xiaohan CHEN
Research Fellow
xh.chen@
Dr. Xiaohan Chen graduated in 2024 with a degree in Chemical Engineering and Technology from Nanchang University and participated in a one-year joint training program at the National University of Singapore from 2023 to 2024. His research focuses on the resourceful conversion of C1 molecules (including CO, CO₂, and CH₄), with strong interests in plasma catalysis and photothermal catalysis.
Dr. Kang Hui Lim
Adjunct Research Fellow
khlim@ | Google Scholar
Dr. Kang Hui Lim is the co-founder and CEO of CRecTech and an adjunct Research Fellow at the National University of Singapore. He obtained his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the National University of Singapore (NUS) as a President’s Graduate Fellow in 2025, following dual First Class Honours degrees in Chemical Engineering and Quantitative Economics (Highest Distinction) from NUS. His expertise spans catalytic materials, process modeling, and techno-economic analysis for low-carbon fuels. He has published over 50 papers in leading journals including Nature Communications and serves as an expert reviewer for multiple international journals, including Chemical Engineering Journal, and as a Young Editorial Board Member of Rare Metals. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and Breakthrough Energy Innovator Fellow, Dr. Lim focuses on scaling renewable fuel technologies for maritime decarbonization.
Research Engineer
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Aindrila MANDAL
Research Engineer
aindm12@ | Google Scholar
Aindrila obtained her B.Tech. in Chemical Engineering from Anna University in 2023 and her M.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from the National University of Singapore in 2025. During her Master’s studies at NUS, she served as the Public Relations Secretary of the Graduate Students’ Society (2023–2024) and interned at A*STAR–ISCE² in 2024. Her research experience spans process simulation, photocatalysis, and carbon capture materials. Her current work focuses on methane valorization under thermal and plasma-assisted reaction conditions for sustainable hydrogen production.
Pinli DIAO
Research Engineer
E1139690@
Pinli Diao obtained Master of Science and Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering at National University of Singapore and Beijing University of Chemical Technology via a 3+1+1 project in 2024. His current research focuses on the development of SSZ membrane for the separation of hydrogen and methane gas, plasma catalysis and scale up of catalytic membrane reactor for methane pyrolysis.
Ph.D. Students
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Ziwen HAO
Ph.D. Student (co-supervised by Prof. Xinbin Ma, Tianjin Univ.)
E0788048@
Hao Ziwen received his B.Eng. (Chemical Engineering and Technology) from Dalian University of Technology in 2018 and M.S. (Chemical Engineering) from Tianjin University in 2021. He worked on investigations on the size effect of nanocatalysts for CO2 methanation during his Master career. His current research focuses on designing and synthesizing novel catalysts for thermal CO2 hydrogenation to methanol.
Zhenmei ZHANG
Ph.D. Student (co-supervised by Prof. Xinbin Ma, Tianjin Univ.)
E0974172@
Zhenmei graduated in B.Eng. (Chemical Engineering and Technology) from Qufu Normal University in 2017 and M.S. (Chemical Engineering) from Dalian University of Technology in 2021. She researched on CO2-assisted oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane (CO2-ODHE) during her Master’s career and obtained Outstanding Graduate Student Certificates for two consecutive years. Additionally, she joined the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology in 2021 as a Research Assistant working on hydrophobic Fe-NC@SiO2 for C-H bond selective oxidation. Her current research focuses on designing and synthesizing novel catalysts for thermal CO2 hydrogenation to methanol.
Wenyan JIA
Ph.D. Student (co-supervised by Prof. Xinbin Ma, Tianjin Univ.)
E1144037@
Wenyan graduated in B.Eng. (Chemical Engineering) from Tianjin University in 2020 and M.S. (Chemical Engineering) from Fuzhou University(International Joint Institute of Tianjin University, Fuzhou) in 2023. Her current research focuses on designing and synthesizing novel catalysts for thermal CO2 hydrogenation to methanol.
Tingting YANG
Ph.D. Student (co-supervised by Prof. Jinlong Gong, Tianjin Univ.)
E1154534@
Tingting Yang received her Master degree from the School of Chemical Engineering & Technology, Tianjin University in 2023. Her current research focuses on the theoretical study of methan reforming to syngas and C-H activation on metal oxides.
Yi XIONG
Ph.D. Student
E1143484@
Xiong Yi graduated in B. Eng. (Energy Chemical Engineering) from Southwest University of Science and Technology in 2023 and M. S. (Chemical Engineering) from National University of Singapore in 2024. She worked on advanced electrocatalysts for water splitting (OER) during her undergraduate and CO2 electrochemical reduction during Master. Her current research focuses on plasma catalysis for non-oxidative coupling of methane.
M.Sc. and M.Eng. Students
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Yu FU
3+1+1 (M.Eng Student)
E0969861@
To be updated.
Shiqi SUN
3+1+1 (M.Eng Student)
E1521182@
To be updated.
Keith TEO Yu Kiat
3+1+1 (M.Eng Student)
E1122971@
To be updated.
Visiting Students
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Jicheng LIU
Visiting Ph.D. Student
E1509518@
Jicheng Liu obtained his Bachelor's degree from Shandong Jianzhu University in 2018 and his Master's degree from China University of Petroleum (Beijing) in 2021. Now he is a PhD candidate in Power Engineering and Engineering Thermophysics at Xi'an Jiaotong University, as well as a visiting PhD student at the National University of Singapore. His research focuses on VOCs catalytic oxidation, environmental functional materials, and CO2 hydrogenation.
Xu MA
Visiting Ph.D. Student
E1509509@
Xu Ma received his B. Eng. (New Energy Science and Engineering) from Hebei University of Engineering in 2019. He is currently pursuing his PhD degree in at Xi'an Jiaotong University (Power Engineering and Engineering Thermophysics). During his master's studies, Ma's research focuses on the investigation of heat-mass transfer processes and enhancement mechanisms at the micro/nano-scale within multiphase flows. During his graduate studies, he received the National Scholarship and the Best Paper Award at the Asian Conference on Thermal Sciences. Currently, his primary research emphasis lies in the construction of catalytic systems for methane dry reforming driven by photothermal coupling and the study of mass transfer processes within this system.
Ning ZHAO
Visiting Ph.D. Student
E1509430@
Zhao Ning obtained her bachelor’s degree from China University of Petroleum (East China) in 2019. She is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Tianjin University and a visiting Ph.D. student at the National University of Singapore. Her current research at NUS focuses on CO2 hydrogenation to methanol.
Qibi LIU
Visiting Ph.D. Student
E1698237@
Qibo received his Master degree from the School of Science, Northeastern University in 2022. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Northeastern University and a visiting Ph.D. student at the National University of Singapore. His current research focuses on the design and synthesis of zeolite-based catalysts and their applications in the environmental and energy fields.
Jiachen YANG
Visiting Ph.D. Student
E1698294@
Jiachen Yang obtained her bachelor’s degree from Guizhou University in 2021. She is currently pursuing her PhD degree in at Xi'an Jiaotong University (Power Engineering and Engineering Thermophysics) and a visiting Ph.D. student at the National University of Singapore. Her current research at NUS focuses on CO2 photoreduction to hydrocarbon.
Yarou ZHAO
Visiting Ph.D. Student
E1516668@
To be updated.
Visiting Scholars
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Zheng LIAN
Visiting Research Scholar
lianzheng@
To be updated.