Electrical and Computer Engineering

Foo Hoong graduated from the National University of Singapore with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering. Before joining DigiPen in 2017, he was a senior lecturer in computer engineering at Temasek Polytechnic, where he taught courses including embedded and C programming, digital electronics, and VHDL.

Foo Hoong has wide industry experience, having been involved in various roles at Hewlett-Packard (HP) in both Singapore and the United States. For a large part of his career at HP, Foo Hoong was involved in the design of HP’s calculators, palmtop computers, and multi-function printers, holding roles such as principal engineer, system architect, and R&D project manager. He led the electronics design and development of HP’s 38G scientific calculator, Jornada 420/430/540 series of Pocket PCs, and the Jornada 300/320/680/690/928 series of palmtop computers.

While at HP, Foo Hoong also held the role of Intellectual Property (IP) Licensing Manager which involved reviewing patent portfolios on behalf of HP’s businesses with a view towards patent sales, acquisition, and technology licensing.

Foo Hoong’s interests include the areas of microprocessors and their applications. He is keen to share his experiences with the younger generation of engineers.

Dr. Tang Liang earned his Ph.D. in computer science from University of New South Wales and his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electronics engineering from East China Normal University. Before joining DigiPen in 2015, he held various academic and industry positions, including Research Fellow at National University of Singapore, Research Associate at University of New South Wales, and Senior System Engineer at Huawei China, OKI Singapore, and Wipro Singapore.

Liang’s research interests include reconfigurable computing and its related topics, such as software-defined radio, computer architecture, embedded system security, biomedical signal processing, and communication signal processing. He has presented his work at top-tier conferences, such as DAC, DATE, MILCOM, and ISCAS. In 2013, he won both the Best Paper Award at the VLSI Design conference in 2013, and the Australia New South Wales Innovation Award (iAwards).

Liang’s industry experience spans the fields of semiconductor WiFi/UWB/Digital-TV chips design, embedded system Bluetooth software design, and GSM/CDMA communication network design. He has many years of hands-on experience on ARM processor firmware design and ASIC/FPGA design.

Liang is passionate about teaching. He has acquired teaching experience in both post-graduate and undergraduate courses in different countries, including Singapore, Australia, and China. He teaches electronics and computer science courses.

Dr. Liaw Hwee Choo received his B.Eng. degree (First Class Honours) in Electrical Engineering and M.Eng. degree from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in 1992 and 1997, respectively. In 2005, he was awarded the Monash Graduate Scholarship and Monash International Postgraduate Research Scholarship for pursuing a Ph.D. in the field of micro/nano manipulation. In 2009, he received a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.

From 1992 to 1998, Hwee Choo was a video product engineer, a teaching assistant at NTU, and an R&D engineer in the Defence Science Organization (DSO) National Laboratories, Singapore. From 1998 to 2005, he was employed by the Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology as a senior research engineer. In 2009, he became a research fellow in the Robotics and Mechatronics Research Laboratory, Monash University. From 2009 to 2017, he was a senior lecturer in the Engineering Dean’s Office, National University of Singapore (NUS). From 2017 to 2018, he was a senior research fellow in the Digital Manufacturing and Design Centre and Temasek Laboratories at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).

Hwee Choo has published over 45 papers in international refereed journals and conferences. He has performed research and development in the areas of high-precision linear motion control, control of robot dynamics, mobile manipulation, and industrial automation. During his Ph.D. study, he also worked on the intelligent control of micro/nano manipulators. He has extended his interest into the development of microcontroller-based applications, micro/nano-satellite systems, 3D-printing machines, and mobile robot applications.

While at NUS, Hwee Choo was with the Engineering Design and Innovation Centre (EDIC) supporting the Design-Centric Programme. In 2010, he guided the team from NUS that clinched the champion title (University/Poly Category) at the Amazing Science-X Challenge held in Singapore. From 2012 to 2015, he helped NUS student teams to achieve four top awards and two second prizes in the Singapore Space Challenge (Satellite Systems Category), organized by Singapore Space and Technology Association (SSTA).

Dr. Ng Kian Ann received his B.Eng. and M.Eng. degrees in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, in 2000 and 2005, respectively. He received his Ph.D. from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2015. From 2000 to 2009, he held senior technical positions with STMicroelectronics, Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing (now GlobalFoundries), and Oxford Semiconductor (now part of Broadcom). During his tenure in the industry, Kian Ann designed many of the integrated circuits (IC) inside microchips we use every day, such as contactless smartcards, USB1.1 to USB 3.0, Firewire, CMOS image sensors, and ESD/IO protection circuits.

During his time at NUS spent in cross-disciplinary, Electronic and Biomedical research, Kian Ann and his team developed wearable, IoT-based EEG/Neurological front-ends (with IEC 60601-1 safety and IEC 60601-1-2 EMC compliance) that are currently used by the National University Hospital and NUS’ research laboratories. He and his team also developed microchips and systems that allow clinicians to wirelessly “tap” into patients’ nervous systems for electroceutical intervention.

In 2015 and 2020, Kian Ann and his team represented Singapore and NUS at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference, the “Olympics” of IC design. Only the top 30% of the world’s most advanced IC research works are selected for presentation to industry and academic experts in San Francisco. Kian Ann holds five U.S. patents and has authored/co-authored more than 30 technical journals and conference proceedings, many of which are highly cited.

Kian Ann is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and an office bearer in the IEEE Solid-State Circuits Society (Singapore Chapter). He also participates in the IEC TC47-Semiconductor Devices standards committee. Dr. Ng believes in and enjoys passing down acquired knowledge to the younger generation. During his time in the industry and academia, he has mentored numerous engineers and students from the pre-university to Ph.D. levels.

Dr. Khoo Teck Ping holds a B.Eng. degree in Electrical Engineering from National University of Singapore (NUS), M.Sc. in Digital Media Technology from Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and a Ph.D. in Computer Software Engineering from Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD).

Teck Ping’s teaching and research interests lie in the areas of low-code software development and software design verification. He is excited by their combined potential to solve multiple business problems through applications like web apps or embedded systems — all without the need for highly-skilled programmers.

Before joining DigiPen (Singapore), Teck Ping was a senior software quality engineer at technology and sustainability solutions company, TUV SUD Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. Prior to that, he was a lecturer at Republic Polytechnic where he taught modules in Python programming.

Teck Ping is a firm believer in the value of a hands-on, problem-solving approach to education. He enjoys working with students and is inspired by the grit and resilience that they show when overcoming obstacles to complete their program.

In his free time, Teck Ping enjoys jogging and spending time with his wife and four young children.

Gan Lian Chai graduated from University Technology Malaysia (UTM) with a Bachelor of Electrical & Electronics Engineering degree in 2008.

Prior to joining DigiPen (Singapore), Lian Chai was a development hardware engineer at JSBTech Pte Ltd. He designed and calibrated high-precision instruments at Digi-Pas, such as the DWL600 and DWL3000. He also dealt with suppliers in PCB fabrication and PCB mass production with a factory located in Batam, Indonesia.

In 2010, Lian Chai was trained to be a group leader for JSBTech’s R&D Department, which was involved in firmware development. His in-depth knowledge in microcontrollers (MCU) allowed him to interface with various systems such as USB, I2C, SPI, UART, CAN Bus, and ADC. He specializes in real-time operating systems (RTOS) for multitasking such as uc/os-ii, FreeRTOS, and Segger embOS. He has experience in embedding FAT32 files using SD cards, NAND flash, or thumb drives, which allow MCUs to read and write files.

Lian Chai’s passion and interest in electronics and firmware coding saw him through several product development cycles, and he carries that expertise in product development into teaching courses in the BEng in Mechatronics Systems program.

Tay Xiang Wei graduated from SIT-DigiPen (Singapore) with a Bachelor of Engineering in Systems Engineering (ElectroMechanical Systems) in 2022.

Xiang Wei is passionate about mentoring students and helping them better understand what they have learned in class through hands-on applications and projects. He currently helps design, develop, test, and evaluate various embedded systems engineering projects for the Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics Systems program.