Freddy Boey
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Freddy Boey | |
|---|---|
梅彦昌 | |
| President of the City University of Hong Kong | |
| In office 18 May 2023 – 24 Apr 2026 | |
| Preceded by | Way Kuo |
| Deputy President (Innovation & Enterprise) of the National University of Singapore | |
| In office January 2018 – December 2022 | |
| Personal details | |
| Education | National University of Singapore (Ph.D.) |
Freddy Boey (Chinese: 梅彦昌) is a Singaporean[1] academic who formerly served as the president of the City University of Hong Kong. Boey was previously the deputy president (innovation & enterprise) of the National University of Singapore (NUS),[2] overseeing the university's initiatives and activities in the areas of innovation, entrepreneurship and research translation, as well as graduate studies. He was previously the senior vice president (graduate education and research translation) of NUS. Before joining NUS in 2018, Boey was deputy president and provost of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) from July 2011 to September 2017.[3][4] Prior to these appointments, he was the chair of NTU's School of Materials Science and Engineering from 2005 to 2010.[5]
A professor of materials engineering, Boey graduated from Monash University, Australia, with a First Class Honours degree in materials engineering in 1980. He obtained his PhD in Chemistry and Engineering in 1987 from the National University of Singapore.[6][7]
Research and innovation
Boey's research areas are in functional biomaterials for medical devices, nanomaterials and nanostructures for cell regeneration, sensing and energy storage.[6] A keen inventor, he has filed 25 original patents with NTU, the majority of which have been licensed.[5][7] He founded several companies to patent and license his creations, such as a surgical tissue retractor which was licensed to Insightra Medical Inc., Irvine, California, and sold in the United States, India, Japan and Europe.[8]
Boey's other inventions include a fully biodegradable peripheral cardiovascular stent,[9][10] micropumps for thermal management solutions in consumer electronic gadgets, microfluidic and biomedical devices[11][12] a coronary stent with drug release capability,[13] a hernia mesh[14] and cardiac peptides for treating heart diseases.[15] His innovations have garnered him numerous investment funding and research grants.[7]
Among the companies Boey founded are Amaranth Medical Inc, Adcomp Technology Pte Ltd and Electroactiv Ltd.[5] Boey also teamed up with the renowned Mayo Clinic to develop implants for the controlled release of cardiac peptides specially designed to treat heart diseases, through a joint start-up, CardioRev Pte Ltd. This company won early-stage funding under SPRING Singapore’s Technology Enterprise Commercialisation Scheme.[16]
Boey has published 344 top journal papers with a citation of 7436 and h-index of 44.[5] He won about S$36 million in competitive research grants between 2008 and 2011, including a S$10 million individual National Research Foundation (NRF) Competitive Research Programme grant for his work on fully biodegradable cardiovascular implants,[17][18] a S$20 million NRF Technion-Singapore grant for his research in nanomedicine for cardiovascular diseases[19] and a S$1.25 million grant from the NRF Translational Flagship Project for his research to make cataract surgery safer.[20][21]
Teaching
During his tenure as chair of NTU's School of Materials Science and Engineering, Boey oversaw its transformation into one of the leading schools in the field.[7] As an educator and mentor, Boey has supervised 33 PhD students and mentored 15 post-doctoral students. His current biomedical research team comprises 12 PhD students and more than 10 post-doctoral students and senior research fellows. About 15 of his past and current students and staff have been or are now involved in their own or his start-up companies.[5]
As deputy president and provost, Boey has worked to enhance learning conditions for students. Among these initiatives are a S$45 million learning hub with modern study and social facilities, as well as upgraded learning spaces and resources across campus.[7] He has also implemented new measures to ensure that teaching standards remain high, with potential faculty appointments having their teaching abilities reviewed on different levels.[7]