Tan Eng Chye
Encyclopedia
Tan Eng Chye is Professor of Mathematics, Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost
at the National University of Singapore
(NUS). He graduated from (NUS) with his BSc
(1st Class Honours) in 1985 and completed his MSc
and PhD
at Yale University
in 1987 and 1989 respectively.
of the Faculty of Science
, a post he held till March 2007. Today, he is NUS’ Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost
. His responsibilities are wide ranging, from overseeing NUS Deans and their faculties/schools to being responsible for the appointment, promotion and tenure process of academic staff.
and Lie Algebra
and Invariant theory
and Algebraic combinatorics
. He has been invited to speak at several overseas conferences and has published articles in top internationally refereed journals. He has also been active in promoting mathematics, having established the Singapore Mathematical Society Enrichment Programmes in 1994, revamped the Singapore Mathematical Olympiad
in 1995 to allow more participation from students, and initiated a series of project teaching workshops for teachers in 1998. He served as President of the Singapore Mathematical Society from 2001 to 2005 and President of the South East Asian Mathematical Society from 2004 to 2005.
Apart from being the Chairman of the Risk Management Institute’s Management Board; Tan is a Management Board member of Defence Science National Laboratories, MINDEF and the Singapore-MIT Alliance
. He is also a Council member of the National Institute of Education
.
Tan’s passion for teaching also showed in the numerous teaching awards he won not just at the Faculty level but at the University level as well. In 1998, he was awarded the Innovative Teaching Award by the Faculty of Science and the Teaching Excellence Award for Innovative Teaching by the University. He was also awarded the Faculty as well as University Teaching Excellence Awards for the academic year 2004/2005.
Provost (education)
A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
at the National University of Singapore
National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
(NUS). He graduated from (NUS) with his BSc
BSC
BSC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to:Science and technology* Bachelor of Science , an undergraduate degree* Base Station Controller, part of a mobile phone network; see: Base Station subsystem...
(1st Class Honours) in 1985 and completed his MSc
MSC
- Computers:* Mario Strikers Charged* Microsoft Common Console Document, file for the Microsoft Management Console* Microelectronics Support Centre* Microsoft Corporation* MIDI Show Control* Message Sequence Chart...
and PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1987 and 1989 respectively.
Academic career
Tan Eng Chye joined NUS’ Department of Mathematics as a Senior Tutor in 1985, eventually becoming the Department’s Deputy Head in 1999. In June 2003, he was appointed DeanDean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of the Faculty of Science
Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore
The Faculty of Science in the National University of Singapore, can be traced back to 1929 when Raffles College started classes in Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics in Science education at the tertiary level...
, a post he held till March 2007. Today, he is NUS’ Deputy President (Academic Affairs) and Provost
Provost (education)
A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
. His responsibilities are wide ranging, from overseeing NUS Deans and their faculties/schools to being responsible for the appointment, promotion and tenure process of academic staff.
Research, Honours and Awards
Tan Eng Chye’s research interests are Representation Theory of Lie GroupsRepresentation of a Lie group
In mathematics and theoretical physics, the idea of a representation of a Lie group plays an important role in the study of continuous symmetry. A great deal is known about such representations, a basic tool in their study being the use of the corresponding 'infinitesimal' representations of Lie...
and Lie Algebra
Lie algebra
In mathematics, a Lie algebra is an algebraic structure whose main use is in studying geometric objects such as Lie groups and differentiable manifolds. Lie algebras were introduced to study the concept of infinitesimal transformations. The term "Lie algebra" was introduced by Hermann Weyl in the...
and Invariant theory
Invariant theory
Invariant theory is a branch of abstract algebra dealing with actions of groups on algebraic varieties from the point of view of their effect on functions...
and Algebraic combinatorics
Algebraic combinatorics
Algebraic combinatorics is an area of mathematics that employs methods of abstract algebra, notably group theory and representation theory, in various combinatorial contexts and, conversely, applies combinatorial techniques to problems in algebra....
. He has been invited to speak at several overseas conferences and has published articles in top internationally refereed journals. He has also been active in promoting mathematics, having established the Singapore Mathematical Society Enrichment Programmes in 1994, revamped the Singapore Mathematical Olympiad
Singapore Mathematical Olympiad
The Singapore Mathematical Olympiad is a mathematics competition organised by the Singapore Mathematical Society. It comprises three sections, Junior, Senior and Open, each of which is open to all pre-university students studying in Singapore who meet the age requirements for the particular section...
in 1995 to allow more participation from students, and initiated a series of project teaching workshops for teachers in 1998. He served as President of the Singapore Mathematical Society from 2001 to 2005 and President of the South East Asian Mathematical Society from 2004 to 2005.
Apart from being the Chairman of the Risk Management Institute’s Management Board; Tan is a Management Board member of Defence Science National Laboratories, MINDEF and the Singapore-MIT Alliance
Singapore-MIT alliance
Singapore-MIT Alliance was founded in 1998 as an initiative to develop research talents who can contribute locally to the economy. Born out of a collaboration between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the National University of Singapore and the Nanyang Technological University, it...
. He is also a Council member of the National Institute of Education
National Institute of Education
The is an institute of the , Singapore.NIE, Singapore, provides all levels of teacher education, from programmes to for in-service teachers and executive for Principals, Departmental Heads and other school leaders. NIE also administers postgraduate programmes that lead to the award of in...
.
Tan’s passion for teaching also showed in the numerous teaching awards he won not just at the Faculty level but at the University level as well. In 1998, he was awarded the Innovative Teaching Award by the Faculty of Science and the Teaching Excellence Award for Innovative Teaching by the University. He was also awarded the Faculty as well as University Teaching Excellence Awards for the academic year 2004/2005.