MEET THE TEAM
At Q:TEMP, we strongly believe in a diverse and interdisciplinary approach. Our team members and collaborators come from different cultures and have wide-ranging backgrounds in physics, chemistry, material science, electrical engineering, AI, and more. This creates an enriching and collaborative environment for problem-solving, peer learning, creativity, and fun!
Principal Investigator
Dr. Aaron Chit Siong Lau, DPhil (Oxford, 2017), is Senior Scientist II at A*STAR Quantum Innovation Centre (Q.InC), and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). He is Deputy Director of the Quantum Materials & Devices Pillar in Q.InC.
Aaron has received awards such as the A*STAR Graduate Scholarship, Oxford Hetherington Prize, Career Development Award, MTC Young Individual Research Grant, and MTC Individual Research Grant. In 2025, he was awarded the prestigious National Research Foundation Competitive Research Programme Frontier (NRF CRP Frontier) which seeks to pursue innovative use-inspired research that can potentially enable paradigm shifts and breakthroughs in scientific knowledge.
He is fascinated with the physics of low-dimensional materials and pioneers novel nanofabrication techniques to study quantum transport. Passionate about scientific communication, Aaron serves as an A*STAR ambassador, engaging in initiatives like Scientist-In-Schools to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.
Aaron is an avid traveller with a serious and incurable affliction of wanderlust. He played basketball all his life, but aging knees constantly threaten to change this paradigm.
Email: aaron_lau@imre.a-star.edu.sg
Aaron Chit Siong Lau
Scientist
Dasari is an experimental scientist who works on 2D material based devices. He was awarded his doctorate from the University of Hyderabad, India (2018) in the field of nano-photonics, where he synthesized molecules to generate lasing. Later, he moved to Singapore for his first post-doctoral studies to work on molecular electronics at the Centre for Advanced 2D materials (CA2DM), National University of Singapore, where he worked on liquid metals as a top electrode for smooth contact for molecular junctions. Later, he was awarded by the Japanese Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS-2021) and moved to Japan to investigate the self-assembly process of organic molecules for lasing and device applications. In 2022, he joined IMRE, A* STAR, Singapore, where he is working on the fabrication of high-k oxides and their integration into 2D semiconductors for quantum applications.
In his free time, he is into cooking, playing cricket, watching movies, and jogging.
Email: dasari@imre.a-star.edu.sg
Dasari Venkatakrishnarao
Senior Research Engineer I
Prior to joining IMRE, Rainer was a process engineer at SERIS developing and fabricating P-type solar cells after graduation with a Bachelor from NTU’s School of Materials Science & Engineering. Moving forward, he will be contributing to the research in quantum materials through the development of fabrication process recipes for two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors, topological insulators and conventional semiconductors among others.
Email: rainer_lee@imre.a-star.edu.sg
Rainer Lee
Research Engineer
Cassandra earned her Bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the National University of Singapore in 2023 and her Master’s degree in Advanced Materials Science and Engineering from Imperial College London in 2024, where she conducted research on novel mesoporous alloys for catalytic applications. By joining A*STAR’s Quantum Innovation Centre, her focus will be on the fabrication of 2D quantum devices and the development of 2D oxide materials.
She has strong research interests in experimental materials science, with an emphasis on nanomaterials. In her free time, she enjoys watching sports and traveling.
Email: cassandra_ma@imre.a-star.edu.sg
Cassandra Ma
PhD Student
Mehamed is a PhD student at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and an A*STAR Research Attachment Programme (ARAP) Researcher affiliated with Q.InC. His research focuses on the development of 2D material nanohybrids for optoelectronic and biosensing applications.
During his first year at QMUL, Mehamed worked on optimizing common functionalisation strategies and studied their effects on the optical properties of 2D materials. Prior to his doctoral studies, he earned an MSc in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2019, where his research on thermally conductive polymer nanocomposites based on 2D materials resulted in two conference papers, two peer-reviewed journal articles, a book chapter, and a US provisional patent. His outstanding research contributions earned him the Best Graduate Researcher Award in 2020.
Outside the lab, Mehamed enjoys spending time with family, outdoor activities, playing and watching football, and staying informed on geopolitical developments.
Email: mehamedsalih.ali@gmail.com
Mehamed Salih Abdela Ali
PhD Student
Tho earned his Master degree in Materials Science from the Hanoi University of Science and Technology in 2003. In 2024, he joined A*STAR and SUTD, Singapore, where he is investigating novel oxide semiconductor materials and 2D semiconductors for field effect transistors and quantum device applications.
He is passionate about experimental work and problem-solving to continually learn more about physics and chemistry. In his free time, he enjoys music and outdoor adventures.
Email: tho_luuvan@mymail.sutd.edu.sg
Tho Van Luu
ARIA Intern
Shan Ying is a physics undergraduate at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), having just completed her second year of studies. She is currently interning on a research project exploring the use of 2D materials in quantum computing, where she is gaining hands-on experience with nanofabrication techniques, low-temperature measurements, and experimental data analysis.
In her free time, she enjoys baking, dancing and gaming.
Email: lims0307@e.ntu.edu.sg
Shanying Lim
ARIA Intern
Fabian Tan Thiam Lok is a Year 2 Engineering Science student at the National University of Singapore (AY2023/2024) joining the group as part of a summer research internship. With a solid-state physics foundation, he is particularly interested in the dielectric properties of 2D materials, their role in field-effect transistors, and their potential applications in quantum computing.
In his free time, Fabian enjoys cycling, exploring new ideas through reading, and tinkering with electronics and DIY projects.
Email: fabian_tan@u.nus.edu
Fabian Tan
PhD Student
Teymour is an A*STAR Research Attachment Programme (ARAP) Scholar attached at IMRE from Queen Mary’s University of London. His PhD focuses on importance of surfaces and interfaces with respect to two dimensional materials. He worked on surface functionalisation toward biosensing, inert fabrication of field effect transistors, and thermal scanning probe lithography based cleaning of devices.
He is passionate about experimental work, problem solving and continually learning more about physics. In his free time he enjoys reading sci-fi, outdoor adventures and playing video games.
Email: teymour96@outlook.com
Teymour Talha-Dean
ARIA Intern
Zixuan is an undergraduate at the National University of Singapore, majoring in Physics and Mathematics with a specialisation in Quantum Technologies. Her interests lie in quantum materials and condensed matter physics, blending her academic focus on theoretical research with experimental internships at A*STAR, where she worked on data-driven optimization of measurement methods and semiconductor device characterization.
In her free time, she enjoys making music and performing with orchestras.
Email: lizixuan1612@gmail.com
Zixuan Li
ARIA Intern
Joshua is a Year 2 undergraduate at the National University of Singapore (NUS), pursuing a double major in Engineering Science and Physics. He is currently involved in research focused on nanofabrication and nanolithography techniques for 2D materials, with applications in semiconductor devices. He has a strong interest in experimental physics and enjoys tackling complex problems through hands on investigation and critical thinking.
In his free time, Joshua enjoys playing a variety of sports and likes to try a bit of everything.
Email: tjx27@u.nus.edu
Joshua Tan Jia Xin
NSS pre-departure scholar
Siau Tan is a student preparing to begin his undergraduate studies at Oxford, with a strong interest in the theoretical research of 2D materials. In 2021, he completed a one-year research project using simulations to investigate the electronic transport properties of monolayer black phosphorus. Following this, Siau shifted his focus to exploring experimentally the potential applications of 2D field-effect transistors (2D-FETs).
In his free time, Siau enjoys playing video games and volleyball.
Email: gohsiautan@gmail.com
Siau Tan
Alumni
Dasari Ventakrishnarao (Now at IIT Bombay)
Yanqi Huan (Now at Harvard University)
Yaoju Tarn (Now at Stanford)
Yincheng Liu (Now at Caltech)
Yee Wen Teh
Huanrui Yang
JOIN OUR TEAM
We are always looking for talented and motivated people to join our team.
Whether you are a high school student, undergraduate, post-graduate, or post-doctoral fellow, don’t hesitate to reach out with your cover letter, academic transcript, and CV to discuss potential short or long-term opportunities.