Tham Wai

Kwok Wai Tham is a Past Head at the Department of Building, National University of Singapore (NUS). He is an elected member of the International Academy for Indoor Air Sciences (IAIAS), and has served as President and Trustee of the International Society for Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ). He has been involved in the development of guidelines and standards for indoor air quality in the Tropics, and various Technical Committees of SPRING Singapore (Standards, Productivity and Innovation Board), and the Singapore Accreditation Council (SAC).

He has served as advisor to the WHO for Indoor Air Quality Guidelines and Review panel member for WHO on “Natural ventilation control of infection in health care facilities and community settings – Systematic reviews”. He serves as a member of international advisory boards and scientific committees of major international conferences in the field of indoor air quality, has provided keynote and invited speeches, and undertaken numerous indoor air quality consultancies. He is a member of the editorial board of Indoor Air, Buildings and Environment, Energy and Buildings and the Journal of Building Performance Simulation, and a founding director of Enhanced Air Quality Pte Ltd, a NUS spin-off company based on the technologies associated with innovative air-conditioning.

He holds 3 US patents in the area of energy efficient air-conditioning system with zonal ventilation control for enhanced indoor air quality, and 3 other patents related to fan filter and façade energy systems. He is actively involved in the development of local IAQ, ventilation and energy standards in Singapore. He was a member of the committee which drafted the first guidelines on IAQ in Singapore, and subsequently of the revised “SS 554: 2016 Code of Practice for Indoor Air Quality for Air-Conditioned Buildings”. He directs the research program in Indoor Environment and Health at NUS, and has published widely in this field. His main research interests are in (i) indoor air quality impacts on health, performance and perceptions; (ii) ventilation, energy and thermal comfort; (iii) indoor exposures to airborne infectious agents and ozone initiated chemistry; and (iv) smart innovations for enhanced indoor environmental quality.

He obtained his B Eng (Mech, hons) from NUS and MSc and PhD from Sydney University. He has strong collaboration internationally (Berkeley, Cambridge, Technical University of Denmark) and with local agencies including BCA, MFS, NEA, MHA, NParks across his research interest areas. He received several awards including the Uichi Inouye Memorial Asia-International Award (2017), ASEAN Energy Award (2011), Ministry for National development R&D Award (2011), and The Enterprise Challenge Award (2004).