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Chan Wai Lee

CHAN Wai Lee

Senior Lecturer
EMAIL
wailee_chan
sutd.edu.sg
OFFICE
1.402.19
CONTACT
+65 6303 6663
RESEARCH AREAS
Energy & Sustainability

Biography

Wai Lee Chan is currently a Senior Lecturer in the Engineering Product Development (EPD) pillar at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). Driven by a passion in aircraft theories in junior college and recognition of his calling in engineering, he enrolled in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan (U-M) in 2008. He received his degrees of BSE, summa cum laude and MSE in 2011 and 2012, respectively, both in aerospace engineering. In 2016, he obtained his PhD in aerospace engineering from U-M for the analyses and development of combustion models, as well as simulations of turbulent reacting flows and high-speed propulsive engines. Subsequently, he had a short stint as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Stanford University, before returning to Singapore to join Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore as an assistant professor in 2017, a position that he held for more than 8 years before moving on to SUTD. His core research interest is in aerospace flow modelling and simulations but, as an advocate of research interdisciplinarity, he has led diverse project topics ranging from energy sciences (energetic material experimentation and modelling, hydrogen safety, thermoacoustics) to bio-medical engineering (computational biofluid dynamics) to machine learning and AI (physics-based artificial intelligence) to pedagogy (engineering communication). More specifically, he has years of experience characterizing and optimizing the performance of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and very low Earth orbit (VLEO) satellite and hence proud to identify himself as a true Aero(+)Space researcher.
Education
  • 2016: PhD in Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
  • 2012: MSE in Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
  • 2011: BSE, Summa Cum Laude, in Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Research interests
  • Aerospace flow modelling and simulations
  • Air/Spacecraft aerodynamics design
  • Physics-based artificial intelligence
  • Combustion modelling
  • Computational biofluid dynamics
  • Engineering communication
Institutional services
  • Chair of User Committee for High-Performance Computing Center of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 2023 – 2025
  • User Committee Member for High-Performance Computing Center of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 2021 – 2023
  • Executive Director of Dyson–NTU Studio, College of Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 2023 – 2025
  • Accreditation Committee Member for Aerospace Engineering Program, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 2020 – 2021
  • Advisor of Mecatron (Interdisciplinary Underwater Robotics Team), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 2024 – 2025
  • Advisor of MAE Leadership Development Program, School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 2017 – 2023
Professional services
  • Early Career Editorial Board Member, Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, 2025 – Present
  • Scientific Advisory Board Member, NING Research, Singapore, 2024 – Present
  • Local Organizing Committee Co-Chair, 15th Asia-Pacific Conference on Combustion, 2025
  • Area Co-Chair for “AI and Sustainability”, 2nd IEEE Conference on Artificial Intelligence, 2024
  • Session Chair for “Detonation and Combustion”, 32nd International Symposium on Shock Waves, 2019
  • Active Reviewer for Aerospace Science and Technology and International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology
Membership in scientific and professional societies
  • Treasurer of Singapore Section of The Combustion Institute
  • Member of The Combustion Institute
  • Member of Tau Beta Pi
Honours and awards
  • President’s International Fellowship for Visiting Scientist, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2024
  • Nanyang Education Award (School), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 2022
  • MAE Staff Award, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 2018 and 2024
Selected patents
  • Conduit, B., Loh, S. E. J., Arafat, N. A., Kong, W. K. A., and Chan, W. L., “Fluid Flow Simulation”, App. # GB2312389.6. Granted on Oct 8, 2024.
  • Lim, C. W. J., Chan, W. L., Tran, A. T., and Ho, W. K. D., “Developing a Part Temperature-Based Feedback Loop Control for the Powder-Blown Directed Energy Deposition System in Fabrication of Parts”, App. # PCT/SG2024/050329. Filed on May 17, 2024.
Selected key publications
  • Ramesh, S. S., Elhadidi, B., Khoo, B. C., and Chan, W. L., “Effect of Gas-Surface Interactions on Very Low Earth Orbit Mission Operation” (Invited Paper), Rarefied Gas Dyn. – Proc. 33rd Int. Symp., 2026; https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-00094-1_21.
  • New, T. H., You, R. G. Y., and Chan, W. L., “Supersonic starting jet impingements upon surface-mounted hemispheres”, Phys. Fluids, 2026; https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0300961.
  • Yeo, R. J., New, T. H., and Chan, W. L., “OpenFOAM-based study on near- eld formation and mixing of high nozzle pressure ratio hydrogen jets from leakages”, Green Energy Resour., 2025; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerr.2025.100164.
  • Di Fede, S., Banninthaya, A., Huang, Z., Hu, Y., Elhadidi, B., Magarotto, M., and Chan, W. L., “Ionospheric plasma drag on small satellites in low-Earth orbit”, Acta Astronaut., 2025; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2025.11.020.
  • Ramesh, S. S., Di Fede, S., Shivakumar, R., Athreyas, K. N., Lim, W. S., Tsang, S. H. T., Teo, H. T. E., Khoo, B. C., and Chan, W. L., “Developing a VLEO Mission in Singapore with Simulations and Sensing” (Invited Paper), CEAS Space J., 2025; https://doi.org/10.1007/s12567-025-00661-4.
  • Lim, W. X., Loh, S. E. J., Lv, Y., Kong, W. K. A., and Chan, W. L., “Accelerating Fluid Simulations with Graph Convolution Network Predicted Flow Fields”, Aerosp. Sci. Technol., 164:110414, 2025; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ast.2025.110414.
  • Lee, C. P. J. and Chan, W. L., “Co-teaching in a Singapore Team-Based Learning Classroom: Students Learning Outcome and Perceptions”, Pedagogies, 20(4):617–637, 2025; https://doi.org/10.1080/1554480X.2025.2498149.
  • New, T. H., You, R. G. Y., and Chan, W. L., “Supersonic Starting Jets Impinging Upon Hemispherical Concavities”, Phys. Fluids, 37:036104, 2025; https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0255223.
  • S. S. Ramesh, Elhadidi, B., Khoo, B. C., and Chan, W. L., “Aerodynamics Force and Moment Computations for Very Low Earth Orbit Satellites Using a TPMC Model”, Acta Astronaut., 228:88–100, 2025; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2024.11.034.
  • Di Fede, S., Elhadidi, B., Magarotto, M., and Chan, W. L., “Satellite Surface Charging in LEO with ProPIC”, Acta Astronaut., 226(1):458–468, 2025; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2024.10.057.
  • You, G. Y. R., New, T. H. D., and Chan, W. L., “Large-Eddy Simulations of a Supersonic Impinging Jet Using OpenFOAM” (Invited Paper), Computation, 12:124, 2024; https://doi.org/10.3390/computation12060124.
  • Lim, W. X., Chan, W. L., and Elhadidi, B., “Evaluation of Thermoacoustic Instability for Chemically Reacting Flows Using Large-Eddy Simulations”, J. Fluids Eng., 146:061203, 2024; https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4064385.
  • Lim, W. X., Chan, W. L., and Elhadidi, B., “A Domain Decomposition Technique for Acoustic Wave Interactions and Scattering”, Comput. Math. Appl., 152:129–142, 2023; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.camwa.2023.10.009.
  • Lee, J. M. and Chan, W. L., “A Coupled SPH-EBG Numerical Model for Cell Deformations in a Microchannel Flow”, Int. J. Numer. Methods Fluids, 95:1821–1845, 2023; https://doi.org/10.1002/fld.5226.
  • Lim, C. W. J., Zhang, Y., Huang, S., and Chan, W. L., “A Dimensionless Analysis to Select Directed Energy Deposition Process Parameters for Proper Clad Formation”, Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol., 125:947–963, 2023; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-022-10731-0.
  • U S Vevek, Elhadidi, B., and Chan, W. L., “A Domain Decomposition Technique for Small Amplitude Wave Interactions with Shock Waves”, J. Comput. Phys., 437:110326, 2021; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcp.2021.110326.