Rate My Professor Kok Kwang Phoon

Professor Kok Kwang Phoon is President of the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and Cheng Tsang Man Chair Professor. He obtained his BEng and MEng from the National University of Singapore and his PhD from Cornell University. Prior to joining SUTD, he served as Senior Vice-Provost (Academic Affairs) at NUS and as Deputy Chief Scientific Advisor to the National Research Foundation, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore. He is Deputy Executive Chairman (Research) of AI Singapore. Professor Phoon is a fellow of the Academy of Engineering Singapore, the Singapore National Academy of Science, the Institution of Engineers Singapore, and the American Society of Civil Engineers. He is Treasurer of the Academy of Engineering Singapore and serves on the Committee of Government Scientific Advisors and the Singapore-Tianjin Economic and Trade Council. He also sits on the boards of the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, the Home Team Science and Technology Agency, and the International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences.

Professor Phoon is a world leader in the development of statistical and machine learning methods for geotechnical engineering. He received the ASCE Norman Medal in 2005 and 2020, the Humboldt Research Award in 2017, the Harry Poulos Award in 2023, and the Alfredo Ang Award in 2024. He is the Founding Editor of Georisk and Editor-in-Chief of Geodata and AI. He is a Professional Engineer in Singapore and an ASEAN Chartered Professional Engineer. He has received the NUS University Outstanding Teaching Award twice and was Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at NUS.