Kim Choon NG, Ph.D.

Faculty

​​​Professor

Social Profile:

Biography

Professor Kim Choon NG obtained his B.Sc. and Ph.D. from the Strathclyde University (Glasgow, UK) in 1975 and 1980, respectively. He worked briefly at Babcock Power Ltd (Renfrew, Glasgow) and joined the ME Dept. of NUS in 1981. After 34 years at in NUS, he joined the Water Desalination and Reuse Center of the King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia in 2015 as a full-time faculty. His research interests are in adsorption cooling, innovative air conditioning and dehumidifier systems, seawater desalination, co-generation power systems analysis and harnessing sunlight to liquid fuels by CPV systems. He is keen reader of energy efficiency and its thermodynamics relation to unit cost of resource. He pioneered the use of the heat-driven AD cycle to lower the bottom brine temperature limit of MED processes. Kim Choon is the lead PI for KAUST Cooling Initiative (KCI -2019-2022) that will develop chillers for air conditioning without compressors or use of chemical refrigerants.  He has over 270 peer reviewed journals and conference publications. He is active in professional services, serving as associate editors in three international journals, as well as in the committee for PE examination (Part 1_Mechanical, from 2008 to 2015) of PE Board, Singapore. He has been on visiting professorship to the World Class University (WCU) program of Jeju National University, Korea from 2008-2013 and also as a visiting Imperial Professor to Kyushu University in Japan (2004, 2006). He has published 3 books, 14 book chapters, 16 patents started 3 spin-off companies with licenses from NUS and KAUST. His Google H-index factor is 63, total Google Scholar citations in publication is 13093.

https://scholar.google.com.sg/citations?hl=en&user=Ie2fRzAAAAAJ&view_op=list_works

in KAUST News

https://www.kaust.edu.sa/en/news/solar-desalination%E2%80%94from-lab-to-plant

https://www.kaust.edu.sa/en/news/kaust-professor-kim-choon-ng-and-research-team-win-prestigious-water-desalination-award

https://www.kaust.edu.sa/en/news/kaust-and-the-global-air-conditioning-revolution

Latest book:  Kian Jon, C., Islam, M. R., Kim Choon, Ng., & Shahzad, M. W. (2020). Efficacy Comparison for Cooling Cycles. Green Energy and Technology, 277–289. doi:10.1007/978-981-15-8477-0 https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-15-8477-0

Npj Clean Water (open access), https://www.nature.com/articles/s41545-021-00114-5

Research Interests

Professor Ng's research interests are in nuclear power plants, solar energy applications, adsorption cooling & desalination, membrane-based dehumidification. He has published over two hundred peer-reviewed journals and conferences. He is active in professional services, serving as associate editors in three international journals. He has published 2 books, 4 book chapters, 12 patents, and 4 spin-off companies. His research H-index is 37 with 4463 citations.

Selected Publications

  • A thermodynamic platform for evaluating the energy efficiency of combined power generation and desalination plants
    K.C. Ng, M.Burhan, Q.Chen, D. Ybyraiykul, F.H. Akhtar, M. Kumja, R.W. Field, M.W. Shahzad 
    npj Clean Water 4:25 (2021)
  • Pilot studies on synergetic impacts of energy utilization in hybrid desalination system: Multi-effect distillation and adsorption cycle (MED-AD)
    H.S. Son, M.W.  Shahzad,  N.Ghaffour, K.C. Ng
     Desalination, Vol 477, p. 114266 (2020)
  • A Universal Theoretical Framework in Material Characterization for Tailored Porous Surface Design
    M.Burhan, M.W. Shahzad, K.C. Ng
    Scientific Reports 9:8773 (2019)
  • Energy-water-environment nexus underpinning future desalination sustainability
    M.W. Shahzad, M. Burhan, L. Ang, K.C. Ng
    Desalination Vol 413 pp.52–64 (2017)
  • Performance investigation on a 4-bed adsorption desalination cycle with internal heat recovery scheme 
    K. Thu, H. Yanagi, B.B. Saha, K.C. Ng
    Desalination, Volume 402, pp. 88-96, (2017)
  • Performance investigation of a waste heat-driven 3-bed 2-evaporator adsorption cycle for cooling and desalination 
    K. Thu, B.B. Saha, K.J. Chua, K.C. Ng
    International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Volume 101, pp. 1111-1122, (2016)
  • Fundamental and application aspects of adsorption cooling and desalination 
    B.B. Saha, I.I. El-Sharkawy, M.W. Shahzad, K. Thu, L. Ang, K.C. Ng
    Applied Thermal Engineering, Volume 97, pp. 68-76, (2016)
  • An adsorption equilibria model for steady state analysis 
    A. Bin Ismail, K.M. Sabnani, L. Ang, K.C. Ng
    International Journal of Technology, Volume 7, pp. 274-280, (2016)
  • Recent developments in thermally-driven seawater desalination: Energy efficiency improvement by hybridization of the MED and AD cycles
    K.C. Ng, K. Thu, S.J. Oh, L. Ang, M.W. Shahzad, A. Bin Ismail
    Desalination, vol. 356, 255-270, (2015)
  • Adsorption desalination: An emerging low-cost thermal desalination method
    K.C. Ng , K. Thu , Y. Kim,  A.Chakraborty , G.Amy
    Desalination, Vol. 308, pp. 161-179 (2013)

Education

  • ​Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom, 1980
  • B.S.​ (Hons 1), Mechanical Engineering, University of Strathcylde, Glasgow, United Kingdom​, 1975
  • Dip., Singapore Polytechnic, 1973

Professional Profile

  • 2015- Present: Professor, KAUST, Saudi Arabia
  • 1981- 2015: Professor, NUS, Singapore​

Scientific and Professional Membership

  • ​Professional Engineer (Singapore)
  • Member of IES, Singapore
  • MIMechE, UK.

Awards

  • ​MEED Sustainability Medal 2020 for Hybrid Medad
  • GE-Aramco Renewable Energy Solutions for Desalination 2015.
  • IES Prestigious Engineering Achievements Award 2015 (Team award)– by Institution of Engineers Singapore for Air Conditioning Efficiency improvements without compressors.
  • NUS Innovation & Enterprise Award 2014
  • IES Prestigious Engineering Achievements Award 2009 (Team award)– by Institution of Engineers Singapore for research in Adsorption Technology for Desalination and Cooling
  • Ludwig Mond Prize, 2006, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, IMechE, London, UK

KAUST Affiliations

  • Water Desalination & Reuse Centre (WDRC)
  • Biological & Environmental Sciences & Engineering (BESE)​

Research Interests Keywords

Adsorption Desalination (AD) Thermal desalination, Energy efficiency analysis with Standard Primary Energy Direct Spray Evaporation and Condensation (DCSEC) Atmospheric Water Harvester (AWH) Solar energy applications Sunlight (CPV) to formic acid (liquid hydrogen carrier) Indirect Evaporative Chiller (IEC) Coated-coil Mechanical Vapor Chiller (CCMVC) Dehumidifier