Management Team
Professor Thomas Magnanti
President
Tom is one of fourteen Institute Professors at MIT and former Dean of MIT’s School of Engineering. He formerly also headed one third of the MIT Sloan School of Management and led several programs including, as the founding co-director, MIT’s Leaders for Manufacturing and System Design and Management Programs and, as founding director, the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART). Tom is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from Syracuse University, and masters’ degrees in Statistics and in Mathematics and a PhD in Operations Research, all from Stanford University. He also holds honorary degrees from four universities.
 
Professor Chong Tow Chong
Provost (provost@sutd.edu.sg)
Tow Chong has a 15 year career in A*STAR as Executive Director of the Science and Engineering Research Council and Data Storage Institute and spearheaded the research agenda in transforming Singapore into a knowledge-based and innovation-driven economy. He is also an experienced university administrator and was Sub-Dean of the NUS Faculty of Engineering from 1993 – 1995. He authored and co-authored more than 400 publications in international refereed journals and holds 23 patents. A President Scholar, Tow Chong obtained his undergraduate degree in Engineering from the Tokyo Institute of Technology and has a Master of Engineering from the National University of Singapore and a Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
 
Professor Pey Kin Leong
Associate Provost, Education (assoc_provost_ed@sutd.edu.sg)
Kin Leong was previously Head of the Microelectronics Division, Director of the Microelectronic Centre and Director of the Nanyang Nano Fabrication Center in the School of Electrical & Electronics Engineering at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He also holds a concurrent Fellowship appointment at the Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA). He has published more than 185 international refereed publications, 173 conference papers and holds 38 US patents. He received his Bachelor of Engineering (1989) and PhD (1994) in Electrical Engineering from the National University of Singapore.
 
Professor Martin L. Dunn
Associate Provost, Research
Martin directed the Mechanics of Materials and Design of Engineering Materials Systems programmes at the US National Science Foundation. He served the NSF while on leave from the University of Colorado, Boulder where he was the Associate Dean for Research in the College of Engineering and Applied Science, a Professor of Mechanical Engineering (and former Department Chair), and held the Victor Schelke Endowed Chair. He earned a PhD from the University of Washington and held positions at Sandia National Laboratories and the Boeing Company. Along with his students, his research on the mechanics and physics of materials and structures has been widely published, cited, and recognised. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
 
Ms Corinna Choong
Senior Director, Marketing & Communications
Corinna has over 22 years of experience, spanning Consumer Marketing, Branding, Communications, and B2B Marketing. She worked for Procter and Gamble, and 2 leading Government-linked companies, progressing to Senior Vice President. She built brands to leadership positions and won several Advertising awards both internationally and locally. She re-branded 2 leading companies, improving their brand identity and reputation. Corinna graduated with Bachelor of Business Administration (Honors) from National University of Singapore.
 
Ms Giselia Giam
Senior Director, Finance and Corporate Services
Giselia has over 20 years of experience in corporate finance and general management in both private and public sectors. She is an experienced university administrator who was instrumental in setting up Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School as the Vice Dean, Corporate Services prior to joining SUTD. She graduated with Bachelor in Accountancy from the National University of Singapore and Master in Business Administration from the Eastern Michigan University. She is a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore and a certified Enterprise Risk Manager.
 
Mr Hoong Bee Lok
Senior Director, Campus Development
Bee Lok has extensive Architecture and Planning experience spanning 27 years, working with both private and public sector clients. The projects he designed cover universities, laboratories, sports and recreational facilities, residential, healthcare, entertainment developments and a racecourse. He won many design awards and achieved harmony of buildings with their environments. Bee Lok graduated from National University of Singapore and became a Registered Architect with Board of Architects in 1984.
 
Ms Jaclyn Lee
Senior Director, Human Resources
Jaclyn has over 20 years of experience in Human Resources in various industries, and before joining SUTD, was the Senior Vice President of Group Human Resources in a Temasek-linked Company. She has rich experience in managing diverse workforces and regional experience when she was the Regional HR Director with NEC Corp. She obtained her BSc in Psychology and Masters of Human Resource Management from Rutgers University.
 
Professor Saif Benjaafar
Head of Pillar, Engineering Systems and Design
Prior to joining SUTD, Saif was Distinguished McKnight University Professor at the University of Minnesota where he also served as Director of Industrial & Systems Engineering and Director of the Centre for Supply Chain Research. He was a Distinguished Senior Visiting Scientist at Honeywell Laboratories and a Visiting Professor at universities in France, Belgium, Hong Kong, China and Singapore. He holds PhD and MS degrees from Purdue University and a BS degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a fellow of IIE. His influential research on supply chain management and operations has been widely published and recognised by numerous awards and honours.
 
Professor Aditya Mathur
Head of Pillar, Information Systems Technology and Design
Aditya was Professor and Head of Computer Science Department at Purdue University, before SUTD. Aditya’s research spans software testing, reliability, and process control. Winner of numerous teaching and other awards, he is an outstanding teacher. Aditya designed the INDURE system to rank list experts in all academic areas across four universities in Indiana. His renowned textbook, "Introduction to Microprocessors", was first on the subject in India. Recent textbooks are "Foundations of Software Testing" and "A Gentle Introduction to Programming Using Java".
 
Professor Kristin L. Wood
Head of Pillar, Engineering Product Development / Co-Director, SUTD-MIT International Design Centre
Kristin completed his Master’s and PhD degrees in Mechanical Engineering (Division of Engineering and Applied Science) at the California Institute of Technology, where he was an AT&T Bell Laboratories PhD Scholar. His research focus is in the areas of innovation processes, ideation methods, design-by-analogy, advanced manufacturing processes, such as Solid Freeform Fabrication, methods in product development and innovation, design for manufacturing and tolerance methods, machine-system design, design for product flexibility, design transformer theory, reverse engineering, and design teaching and learning methods. He has received numerous national and international awards in engineering education, teaching and design research.
 
Professor John E. Fernández
Co-Director, SUTD-MIT International Design Centre
John is an Associate Professor in the MIT Department of Architecture and the Engineering Systems Division. He is also Director of the Building Technology Programme at MIT and a practicing architect. He conducts research in novel and sustainable materials for buildings and urban resources through the Urban Metabolism Group. The focus of his work is excellence in architectural design within the context of building and urban resource efficiency.
 
Professor Chris Magee
Co-Director, SUTD-MIT International Design Centre
Chris is a Professor of Practice at MIT in Engineering Systems Division and Mechanical Engineering. His teaching and research centres on the design and development of technology in complex systems. He is a member of National Academy of Engineering, a fellow of ASM and SAE and a participant National Research Council Studies. He received his BSc and PhD from Carnegie-Mellon University.
 
Mr Ang Lek Han
Director, Information Technology
Lek Han has more than 27 years of IT experience and started his career in application systems development at NUS, and later at SIM. At SIM, he played critical roles in the planning and development of the IT and business continuity needs for the SIM entities. He holds a computer science degree from the University of Western Ontario and has certification in IT Business Continuity Management.
 
Mr Poon King Wang
Director, Strategic Planning
King Wang has served in the Economic Development Board, Ministry of Law, A*STAR, and Competition Commission of Singapore. He has also worked in a financial institution in the private sector and advised a mobile search start-up. He holds a MSc (Industrial Engineering/Engineering Management) from Stanford University, and a BSc (Electrical Engineering) from the University of Illinois.
 
Ms Julie S Sabaratnam
University Librarian, Library
Julie has rich experiences from public, private and academic sectors. She was instrumental in the landmark Library 2000 study that shaped transformation of libraries in Singapore. She participated in various national plans such IT2000, ICT21, and Renaissance City. She spearheaded the first national digital library initiative. She helped establish, manage information and research services in various organisations. Julie obtained her Masters in Information Studies from Loughborough University of Technology.
 
Mr Sitoe Yew Kok
Director, Student Administration
With over 24 years of distinctive service in the education sector, Yew Kok started his early career teaching in Ngee Ann Polytechnic as a lecturer. He subsequently moved to NUS where he worked for the next 22 years in its Registrar’s Office. Prior to joining us, he was the Senior Associate Registrar overseeing all aspects of student academic matters.
 
Mr Tai Kian Heng
Director, Admissions
Kian Heng has extensive experience in University Administration. He served the Registrar’s Office of NUS for 4 years and 19 years with NTU Office Academic Services in Office of Admissions and Financial Aid. For his contribution to Education, Kian Heng was awarded the Public Administration Medal (Bronze) in 2004 National Day Award. Kian Heng graduated with Bachelor of Social Honours in Economics from National University of Singapore.
 
Dr Wong Woon Kwong
Director, Research & Industry Collaborations
Woon Kwong has more than 15 years of experience in the R&D space. He started his career with NUS for 5 years before serving 10 years in A*STAR responsible for public sector R&D in micro-electronics, data storage, infocomm and healthcare technologies. He graduated with First Class Honours in Mathematics from National University of Singapore, and obtained a PhD from Oxford University.
 
Ms Yvonne Ho
Director, Advancement & Development
Yvonne has extensive experience in business development and external relations, and has built a strong network with the business and philanthropic community.She was part of the pioneer advancement team at the Singapore Management University and Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, and was successful in raising significant funding for various initiatives.Yvonne graduated with Bachelor of Arts from National University of Singapore, and a Master of Business Administration from SMU.