Jiarui (Gary) Lei is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS). His research focuses on environmental fluid mechanics, coastal and offshore engineering, and nature-based solutions for coastal protection, with particular emphasis on wave–vegetation–structure interactions. His work combines laboratory experiments, field observations, analytical modeling, and numiercal simulation/data-driven approaches to understand and quantify how natural and hybrid systems, such as seagrass meadows, mangroves, kelp forests, and porous coastal structures, modify hydrodynamics and attenuate wave energy. He is especially interested in linking physical mechanisms with scalable models and emerging sensing and machine-learning techniques for coastal monitoring and design.

Dr. Yushu Xie joined the group in October 2023. She completed her PhD in Civil & Environmental engineering at the University of Auckland. Her previous research is related to the mechanisms of sediment transport in both fluvial and marine environments. Yushu employed a “Smart Sediment Particle (SSP)” to measure the sediment acceleration during its movement, in combination with the instantaneous flow measurements by PTV technology. In her upcoming research, Yushu will concentrate on hybrid coastal protection solutions, a promising bridge between science problems and practical engineering.

Yushu grew up in Sichuan, China. During her leisure time, Yushu enjoys playing badminton, squash, hiking, and watching TV-series.

Enid joined in August 2024 as a research engineer, and is also a Ph.D. student in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the National University of Singapore (NUS). She completed her Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Engineering at NUS. With a passion in environmental sustainability, she has worked in the field of water management and climate adaptation for years. Her research focuses on environmental impacts of hybrid nature-based solutions, particularly how such green-grey solutions affect sediment and oxygen dynamics.

In her free time, Enid enjoys music, dance and traveling. She is also a huge foodie and is always on the hunt for hidden gems and local favourites.

Zichen Xu is a Ph.D. student in the Hydraulic Engineering Laboratory of Civil & Environmental Engineering (Jan 2022 - ). She completed her bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering at Sichuan University (2020). During her Master's degree in Environmental Engineering at NUS, Zichen collected field samples to study microplastic pollution near Singapore. She is interested in understanding wave attenuation and blue carbon sequestration by aquatic vegetation, which contributes to climate change mitigation and nature-based coastal protection solutions.

Zichen grew up in China. The top three of her favorites in the world are sunset, sea, and cute animals. In her free time, she enjoys landscape photography, hiking, cycling, and going for walks, through which she can connect with nature.

Xinya Liang joined in August 2022 as a Ph.D. student in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department of the National University of Singapore. She completed her bachelor's degree and master's degree (a collaborative program with Polytech Nice-Sophia) at Tianjin University in Coastal Engineering. Her research aims at understanding sediment transport and hydrodynamics in vegetated aquatic environments through computational fluid dynamics.

Outside of academics, Xinya enjoys yoga, water sports, painting, writing novels, and (making) games. She loves people, seas, and sunshine.

Guanyi Gao is a Ph.D. student in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at the National University of Singapore (since August 2024). He completed his Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering at the National University of Singapore in 2024. During his undergraduate studies, he integrated artificial intelligence and coastal engineering to develop algorithms for wave speed and wave period monitoring using videos of reference materials in waves.

Outside of academics, he enjoys playing chess, playing the guitar, and traveling. These activities relax him and provide him with a sense of peace.

Chen Jingning is a PhD student at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore. He received his bachelor’s degree from Southeast University and master’s degree from NUS. His recent research focuses on coupling artificial intelligence with physics for digitalized shoreline modeling, particularly vision-based flow velocity prediction. Outside research, he enjoys travelling and sports.

Tan Han Siang was a Graduate in Mechanical Engineering from National Technological University and is planning to pursue further in Master of Engineering in Civil and Environmental Engineering. (Environmental Engineering) 

Current Position: Research Engineer at NUS CFI (Coastal Protection and Flood Resilience Institute)

Research scientist (MEng, co-advising with TCOMS)

Emily is a part-time Masters of Engineering student in Civil Engineering and Research Engineer at the Technology Centre for Offshore and Marine, Singapore (TCOMS). Her work focuses on investigating the wave attenuation capabilities of mangroves, seagrasses and coral reefs, with the aim for these findings to be useful for designing of enhancing nature-based solutions and green-grey infrastructure for coastal protection applications in Singapore. Being someone who is passionate about nature and sustainability, she hopes that with the mechanical design engineering skills attained from her undergraduate studies coupled with the valuable guidance from her mentors in her team, she could contribute to the push for conservation and integration of nature in both modern and future Singapore.

Ziqin Gui is a visiting Ph.D student in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department of the National University of Singapore (Since September 2025). She earned her bachelor’s degree in Hydraulic Engineering at Northwest A&F University, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Hydraulics and River Dynamics at Sichuan University. Her research focuses on flow hydrodynamics and sediment transport in vegetated aquatic environments through laboratory experiments, theoretical analysis, and field investigations. This research contributes to the advancement of ecosystem restoration practices.

Ziqin grew up in Chongqing, China. During her leisure time, Ziqin enjoys reading, practicing calligraphy, and traveling. She also loves collecting postcards and refrigerator magnets during her travels as a way to preserve beautiful memories of each journey.

Visiting Graduate Student from ETH Zurich

I am a Master’s student in Environmental Engineering at ETH Zurich, specializing in resource management and hydraulic engineering. My academic background focuses on sustainable water and resource systems within engineered environments. I am particularly interested in integrating green infrastructure solutions into fields traditionally dominated by grey infrastructure. My work explores how nature-based approaches can enhance the resilience and sustainability of conventional infrastructure systems.

Visiting PhD Student from East China Normal University (ECNU)

I am a visiting PhD student from East China Normal University (ECNU), with a research focus on wave attenuation by spatially heterogeneous vegetation. My work integrates field observations, numerical simulations, and statistical methods to investigate how the spatial distribution of vegetation traits and their random arrangement influence uncertainty in wave dissipation. I aim to contribute to nature-based coastal protection strategies by bridging ecological variability and hydrodynamic processes.