By: Devane Sharma
The Musim Mas Professorship in Sustainability was established in 2010 as part of the group’s commitment to advancing sustainability research and education. Hosted at the National University of Singapore (NUS), the professorship provides a platform for leading academics to conduct research and develop actionable solutions to address pressing sustainability challenges. Through this initiative, Musim Mas aims to bridge the gap between academia and industry, fostering collaboration to drive meaningful impact.
Over the years, the professorship has evolved to reflect the changing priorities in sustainability. Through this endowment, Musim Mas hopes to contribute towards the development of Sustainability, to enhance the literature for sustainability management in Asia.
Pests are more than just a nuisance in the agriculture industry. They can destroy crops, ruin entire plantations, and affect the livelihoods of farmers who rely on them. Even though pests pose a significant threat, they’re also an essential part of nature and play a vital role in our ecosystem.
Professor Tong Yen Wah (Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering) was accorded the Musim Mas Professorship in Sustainability on 1 October 2024 to boost sustainability research in a highly impactful and region-specific direction in the oil palm industry.
The Musim Mas Group is an integrated oil palm conglomerate with operations in 13 countries , and its products are shipped globally. Headquartered in Singapore, its activities span cultivation, refining, manufacturing, and downstream applications. The Professorship was established to attract and support leading academics who can positively impact emerging sustainability topics, including cross-disciplinary education and research for Singapore and the region.
Professor Tong joined the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in 2001 after graduating from the University of Toronto with a PhD in Chemical Engineering. His expertise is in biomaterials research for tissue engineering and bioenergy from food and biomass wastes.
With over 250 publications and 16000 citations, his research has impacted areas as wide-ranging as waste management, biofuels, polymer synthesis, and biomedical engineering. Recent work in food waste management has been commercialised through a spin-off company from NUS, enabling the installation of anaerobic digesters in various urban settings.
Discussion with Musim Mas is ongoing regarding collaborative work in several areas, including managing glycerin pitch waste, wastewater treatment, and removing impurities. Prof Tong has done considerable research in these areas, with specific applications for the oil palm industry.
In addition, collaborations with partners like Musim Mas provide real-world opportunities for students and researchers to hone their skills in developing solutions that can have a direct impact. Over the past 10 years, Prof Tong has supervised more than 20 PhD students, including several who have since graduated and are now in various sectors, delving deeper into impacting sustainability issues in academia and industry.
“I am honoured to have been accorded the Musim Mas Professorship in Sustainability and intend to actively promote more collaborative and thematic research on sustainability over my three-year term. This partnership also opens up avenues to engage students and young researchers on projects that have the potential to impact sustainability across the industry’s value chain,” shared Professor Tong.
”Musim Mas was the first from Indonesia to join the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. Since then, we have been looking at ways to stay at the forefront of agri-commodity sustainability. This includes improving our yields and making operations and the by-products more efficient. We believe in working with academia to broaden the sphere of knowledge in this area. We are pleased to welcome Professor Tong, who brings his wealth of experience and passion for improvement, and we look forward to working with him and his team at NUS,” said Olivier Tichit, Director of Sustainability, Musim Mas.
More about Prof Tong’s research at: https://blog.nus.edu.sg/chetyw/people/
