NUS - Industrial Systems Engineering & Management

30/04/2026

From all of ISEM, Happy Labor Day to the workers of every field! The world runs on your contributions - thank you for your hard work!

23/04/2026

To all freshmen-to-be or if you are a student interested in our ISE programme:
If you would like to learn more about CDE and ISE, CDE Open Day 2026 is happening on May 16 (Sat) from 11am to 4pm! You will be learning about the different majors, second majors and minors offered in CDE at the booths, joining a free-and-easy tour at the Innovation and Design Hub to learn more about the Innovation & Design Programme (iDP), listening to professors and students talk about the programme and their experiences here, and even connecting them directly over a QnA and interaction session!

Don’t miss out on this valuable opportunity to learn and network.
Sign up for the ISE segment by scanning the QR code in the 2nd slide, or visit https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/AXEfDYJmDE.

We hope to see you there!

22/04/2026

ISEM was extremely honoured to have Prof Lui Pao Chuen with us on 14 April to share his views on energy security and defense strategies for Singapore.

Prof Lui has served in the Ministry of Defence for 41 years in various key capacities, including 22 years as Chief Defence Scientist before his retirement in 2008. He continues to contribute his expertise professionally to numerous committees in universities, government agencies and corporations.

Prof Lui presented a comprehensive overview of Singapore's approach to energy security, covering three main areas: defense, energy sources, and climate change adaptation, giving our attendees valuable insights to practical strategies that enhance resilience and ensure reliable, sustainable energy supply for Singapore.

20/04/2026

The Science of Better: An Introduction to Operations Research

Have you ever wondered how ride-hailing apps route drivers instantly? How does Singapore manage thousands of ships at the port? How do tech companies train AI efficiently? The answer is Operations Research (OR). OR uses math and data to help us make the best possible decisions with limited resources.

Join the Department of Industrial Systems Engineering and Management (ISEM) for a clear, introductory online lecture. We will explain Linear Programming—a basic math tool in OR—and show how it solves real-world problems: Local Logistics, Global Shipping, Healthcare, and Future Tech. If you enjoy math, computer science, and solving practical problems, this lecture will show you how OR connects them all to make a direct impact on society.

Date: 25 April 2025 (Sat)
Time: 11am - 12pm
Speaker: Dr Wang Guanyi, Assistant Professor, ISEM Department
The workshop will be held through Zoom meeting.

Interested Pre-U or current students are welcome to sign up here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/cr1zxCkLpz or scan the QR code in the poster below!

17/04/2026

This year, 22 dedicated student teams spent the past 9 months working hand-in-hand with industry partners such as Micron, SingHealth, and Singapore General Hospital, and also faculty advisors to come up with practical and innovative solutions for real-world challenges across diverse sectors.

Our students showcased a great amount of versatility as they are faced with such technical industry problems, as they were well-trained in various skillsets such as streamlining logistics operations, improving resource planning, and enhancing decision-making through data analytics. It is also evident that their success would not have been possible without the students' hard work and teamwork, as well as their mentors' guidance.

Through the Systems Design Project module, students gained valuable pre-work experience, applying industrial systems engineering knowledge in real-world environments. In turn, ISEM’s industry partners benefit from impactful solutions and the opportunity to connect with a talented pool of future-ready engineers.

We can't wait to see what the future batches of ISE engineers will continue to contribute in the world beyond NUS.

📸 Missed the event? Check out the highlights in the albums of our page @ https://www.facebook.com/isem.nus/

17/04/2026

This study examines assortment and inventory optimization in a two-warehouse e-commerce system that aims to balance delivery speed and cost efficiency. The system consists of a front-end warehouse, strategically located near customers to support rapid order fulfillment but constrained in inventory capacity, and a back-end warehouse, which holds a larger inventory but incurs higher fulfillment costs and longer shipping times. We model this setting as a joint assortment and inventory optimization problem, where initial assortment and inventory decisions are made for the front-end warehouse before demand is realized. Once orders are placed, the e-commerce firm determines the quantity of each order type to fulfill from the front-end warehouse. The marginal distributions of each order type are known, while the correlation structure of the joint distribution is unknown. We formulate the problem using the Marginal Distribution Model (MDM). As MDM is not directly tractable, we propose an approximation that relies solely on marginal distributions and provides valid lower and upper bounds for the original problem. We further investigate conditions under which these bounds are tight. Additionally, we show that the joint assortment and inventory optimization problem is NP-hard, even under simplified settings with deterministic demand and single-item order types. To address this computational complexity, we develop a heuristic algorithm to facilitate efficient assortment decisions. Numerical experiments based on simulated data demonstrate that our proposed policies achieve a favorable balance between optimality and computational efficiency.

Date: 24 April 2026
Time: 3p.m.-4p.m.
Location: E1-07-21/22 ISEM Executive Classroom

All are welcome. See you there!
Visit https://tinyurl.com/isemkexin to register!

15/04/2026

Dear ISEM Alumni,

Good day and greetings from the Department of Industrial Systems Engineering and Management (ISEM)!

In 2023, the inaugural ISEM Alumni Association was founded and we are still growing.

As we look forward to the start of the 4th ISEM Alumni Association Calendar of Events, we are pleased to invite you to nominate yourselves for the EXCO positions.

A brief description of the positions is included in the form. Please click on link below to view. https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/kCiXjeLrDQ


Do indicate your interest by completing the online form by Friday, 17 April 2026.

We are looking forward to your participation in alumni activities!

14/04/2026

14/04/2026

A/Prof Sean Lam's research journey began as he took up both his Masters in Engineering (2003) and PhD (2012) with the Department of Industrial Systems Engineering and Management at NUS.

In this interview, A/Prof Lam shares his passion in contributing to socially meaningful applications and reflects on how his background in systems engineering sparked a career in healthcare research. Pivoting from engineering artefacts to health systems, he applies systems thinking and data science to improve health services delivery. Combining analytics, systems thinking, and operational insights, he manages to improve healthcare delivery, strengthen system resilience, and support better patient outcomes.

Check out the link for the full interview: https://for.sg/interview-with-assoc-prof-sean-lam

Healthcare transformation isn’t just about new technology – it's about changing how we think. 💡 📊 Meet Assoc Prof Sean Lam, your not-so-usual scientist who proves that impactful healthcare doesn’t only happen at the bench or bedside – it happens in systems, models and data. A...

09/04/2026

In Singapore, energy security is more than an economic or a social concern—it is a matter of national defence. It must be treated as a large-scale integrated defence system, linking infrastructure, fuel imports, nuclear options, and climate policy. Critical nodes such as energy terminals, LNG supply chains, and digital power grids require physical protection, redundancy, and cybersecurity. Heavy reliance on imported natural gas leaves Singapore exposed to geopolitical shocks, making diversification through regional electricity trade (ASEAN Power Grid), solar deployment, and low-carbon fuels strategically vital—but also introducing new interdependence risks. Emerging nuclear technologies, particularly small modular reactors, offer potential for long-term strategic autonomy. Yet they bring trade-offs: limited land, safety margins in a dense environment, waste management, public trust, and regional diplomacy. In short, Singapore’s energy defence requires integration as a large-scale system. Protecting infrastructure, diversifying energy sources, and carefully exploring nuclear options are all essential to safeguard energy security while minimizing climate impacts.

Date: 14 April 2026
Time: 10a.m.-12p.m.
Location: LT2

Sign up at https://tinyurl.com/energylpc by 10 Apr!
Lunch catering will be provided.

31/03/2026

DAO-ISEM-IORA Seminar Series presents ✨

Mission-oriented R&D programs such as those at DARPA and ARPA-E increasingly shape national innovation portfolios, yet their design and evaluation are typically inferred from aggregate outputs — publications, patents, and spinouts which reveal little about how programs actually organize and coordinate innovation. This talk develops a network-science framework for analyzing the structural organization of challenge-led R&D programs. Representing programs as typed networks linking researchers, organizations, and knowledge outputs, Prof Ho applies motif-based graph analysis to recover the local coordination structures assembled by program directors and to test longstanding hypotheses in innovation management about how ARPA-style programs assemble capabilities, coordinate projects, and generate spillovers across innovation ecosystems.

Date: 8 April 2026
Time: 10.30a.m.-11.30a.m.
Location: E1-07-21/22 - ISEM Executive Classroom

All are welcome. See you there!