Lian Pin Koh

Lian Pin Koh (born 1976 in Singapore) is a Singaporean conservation scientist. He is Associate Vice President and Chief Sustainability Scientist at the National University of Singapore (NUS), where he oversees and champions sustainability-related research. He employs a whole-of-University strategy to bridge academia with policy makers, industry and civil society, driving the change needed across all sectors to tackle the twin planetary crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.

By initiating and spearheading engagements with stakeholders locally and at international fora, Prof Koh seeks to promote societal understanding of the world we live in, and amplify the university’s and Singapore’s contributions to sustainability efforts globally.

He is presently also the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple Chair Professor of Conservation, Vice Dean of Research at the Faculty of Science, Director of the Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions, and Director of the Tropical Marine Science Institute at NUS.

An internationally renowned name in the field of sustainability and environmental science, Prof Koh is one of the most highly cited conservation scientists in the world, with over 20 years of international research experience under his belt. His previous stints include Swiss National Science Foundation Professor at ETH Zurich, Chair of Applied Ecology and Conservation at the University of Adelaide, Vice President of Science Partnerships and Innovation at Conservation International Foundation. He was also the Founding Director of Conservation Drones, a non-profit organisation that seeks to introduce drone technology to conservation scientists and practitioners worldwide.

Koh has received multiple awards including the Frontiers Planet Prize, National Champion, in 2023, the Australian Research Council Future Fellowship Level II in 2014, the Swiss National Science Foundation Professorship in 2011, the ETH Fellowship in 2008, and was also named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2013.

In 2020, Koh received a prestigious award from the National Research Foundation of the Singapore Prime Minister's Office under its Returning Singaporean Scientists Scheme. Established in 2013, the Scheme seeks to attract outstanding overseas-based Singaporean research leaders back to Singapore to take up leadership positions in Singapore's autonomous universities and publicly funded research institutes. Koh was the sixth recipient of the award.

On 14 January 2021, Koh was appointed as one of nine Nominated Members of Parliament (NMP) in the 14th Parliament of Singapore, which began on 21 January 2021. Provided by Wikipedia