Rate My Professor Ming Joo Koh

Ming Joo Koh is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the National University of Singapore (NUS), where he serves as Deputy Head (Research) and holds the position of Dean's Chair Professor (2024–2027). He earned a B.Sc. in Chemistry and Biological Chemistry with first-class honours from Nanyang Technological University in 2012. Koh completed his Ph.D. and postdoctoral studies in organic chemistry at Boston College under the supervision of Professor Amir H. Hoveyda, with collaborative work involving Professor Richard R. Schrock at MIT. He joined NUS in 2018 as a President's Assistant Professor and was promoted to tenured Associate Professor in 2023. Koh also holds an adjunct appointment as Senior Principal Scientist II at A*STAR's Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment since 2024.

Koh's research focuses on developing sustainable catalytic methods for chemical synthesis, emphasizing base metal catalysis and radical cross-coupling strategies to address challenges in organic and organometallic chemistry. His work has appeared in leading journals including Nature, Nature Catalysis, and Nature Synthesis. He has received numerous awards and honors, such as the Kyoto Rising-Star Lectureship Award (2025), NRF Investigatorship (2025), Mitsui Chemicals Catalysis Science Award for Creative Work (2024), Novartis Early Career Award in Chemistry (2023), C&EN Talented 12 recognition (2022), and the President's Science and Technology Award (2022). Koh serves on editorial and advisory boards for journals including Chem, Organic Chemistry Frontiers, and Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry.