People
Directors
Anuj is passionate about creating ecologically responsible and nature-inspired designs for the built environment that are good for people, biodiversity and ecosystem services. He founded bioSEA to bridge the gap between biodiversity & ecology professionals and architects in built environment design.
As the first trained Biomimicry Professional in Southeast Asia, he also founded the Biomimicry Singapore Network which is part of the Biomimicry Institute’s Global Networks. Anuj combines his deep ecological and biodiversity knowledge with biomimicry to create thematic landscapes such as butterfly gardens and experiences in tropical ecosystems. He has also been associated with the Nature Society (Singapore) for over 15 years and with BirdLife International on regional bird conservation.
Anuj is a National Geographic Explorer, a recipient of the Joan Mosenthal DeWind Award for Lepidoptera (Butterfly) Conservation by Xerces Society, USA and the Cities of Love Environmental Sustainability Award, Singapore.
Priyanka has over 15 years of experience in corporate governance, finance and startup consulting with degrees in sustainable & green finance, company secretarial services and law. Her expertise includes quantifying the monetary benefits of nature and how such valuations can create a strong proposition for nature in the built environment.
Biodiversity & Ecological Design Staff & Consultants
Rick is a marine and coastal ecologist with over 12 years of fieldwork experience. He has worked on mangrove species distributions across elevational gradients in Singapore and the impacts of sedimentation in Thailand, as well as on the impacts of algal growth and sedimentation on coral reefs in Singapore. In Australia, he has worked on the spatial configuration of marine habitats, specifically in remnant oyster reefs in New South Wales. Finally, in Europe, he worked on the spatial sedimentation effects in Dutch Eastern Scheldt oyster reefs.
Rick’s background in marine biology and global work experience makes him well suited to advise on the restoration and rehabilitation methods of degraded and/or urbanizing marine and coastal environments.
With a major in wildlife and conservation biology from Australia, Ruzaini has fieldwork experience with camera traps, birds, insects. His past research includes conducting behaviour study on Singapore’s birds and Sri Lanka’s dragonflies, curating museum entomological collection and having stints on animal welfare and keeping at ACRES Wildlife Rescue and Jurong Bird Park Singapore. Ruzaini also has expertise in using GIS and statistical tools. At bioSEA, Ruzaini focuses on and coordinates biodiversity assessments and field projects.
Lin Lan is fascinated by ecological and humanistic design for landscapes. She believes that landscape design is the perfect integration of ecology, space and people. As a landscape designer, she is passionate about incorporating ecological principles into her designs, studying the interrelationships between each natural element in a design and carefully considering the ways in which they co-exist in the landscape design. She is committed to developing different strategies and design highlights for each project to maximize its unique characteristics and potential.
Rochelle is a holistic believer of environmental rights, that humans have a right to a clean, safe, and healthy environment to live in. This begins with respecting, conserving, and preserving the natural environment through policies, laws, management systems, environment management plans, and nature-based solutions. She considers herself a naturalist, with a wide appreciation of different aspects of nature (from microorganisms, insects, flora, and other fauna) and nature-based solutions. She received her education in James Cook University and Ghent University, in business, environmental science, and marine science. The insights gained during her education and her work experiences have provided her with a more rounded perspective in tackling environmental problems. Her knack for researching the specifics to provide a more well-rounded contextualised story is one of the things she thoroughly enjoys, besides hiking in a rainforest or walking along the coastline during the low tides!
James Khoo is crazy about insects. At bioSEA, he specialises in insect surveys and assessments. His environmental work is also focused on soil-based agriculture and its interactions with insects and other arthropods. He works with farmers and like-minded educators to raise awareness and understanding of insects.
Separately, James also runs The Curious Pangolin, a film and biodiversity consultancy company focused on content with a social and environmental conscience. He is a leading figure in video documentation of performing arts in Singapore and employs his documentation techniques in the recording of local insect biodiversity. James has also developed several videos for bioSEA including those for the biomimicry design toolkit.
Bronwyn is trained as a Landscape Architect with design experience in Singapore, SE Asia, and Europe. She has crossed-training with ecologists working on environmental impact assessments, water-sensitive and biodiversity-sensitive urban design.
She runs a practice that creates interdependent and resilient landscapes that are beneficial to both the environment and society.
Bronwyn also teaches Landscape Architecture at the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts’ programmes and is developing the Bachelor of Arts (Biophilic Design) programme at the new University of the Arts Singapore.
Karan is an aspiring flora expert with growing experience on terrestrial forest ecology and plant species. He is currently taking his Masters in Environmental Biology and has had internship experience with Camphora. He has already coordinated flora work with bioSEA on projects in Sarimbun and Sentosa. In his spare time, he enjoys birdwatching & studying plants in local parks.
Biomimicry Design Consultants
Nathan is a designer and researcher based in the USA. He focuses on understanding and translating principles from the structures, relationships, and algorithms in living systems for applications in the built environment. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Sustainability, a Master of Science in Biomimicry, and a Master of Architecture from Arizona State University.
Nathan is a member of Biomimicry Professionals and the founder of nuLUCA, a design firm that provides education and consulting to help others find regenerative design solutions.
Lisa is Projects Principal of a regional firm (AtelierTTSG/ PT AtelierTT), with robust consultancy experience in the built environment, launching businesses and cultivating international collaborations in ASEAN. Certified in GreenMark, Universal Design and Public Policy, she consults on business partnerships, policy and writing.
Lisa holds a B. Sc. from Boston University, M. Arch from the University of California, Los Angeles and PCPPA from Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore.
Grace is a passionate biologist, trainer, writer, and adventurer. She is totally at home in the natural ecosystems, trekking in forests, kayaking in the mangroves, or just exploring the seashores and coastline. A zoologist by training, she uses the outdoor classroom, creative methodologies, and E-learning for her teaching of biology, and the development of educational curriculum and resources. Grace has developed and conducted programs, workshops, and learning trails for several Singapore governmental organizations, Singapore Science Centre, and primary and secondary schools. She has also conducted eco-literacy programs for teachers and trains nature guides. Grace also conducts consultancies for private organizations in environment education and sustainable development.
Collaborators and Advisors
Lahiru has worked at different scales of forest restoration and agriculture throughout Asia with a diverse set of stakeholders. His past engagements involve working in the government as a Senior Arborist at the Singapore Botanic Gardens, describing over a dozen new tree species and working on forests, termites, and finally wetlands with a focus on peatlands and mangroves. He has also worked as a consultant to private sector organizations, ASEAN and NGOs working on forest restoration/EIAs/HCVs and policy. In his personal life, Lahiru has worked as a hands-on smallholder farmer on his family farm in Sri Lanka exploring agroforestry techniques.
Perrine heads the Resilient and Inclusive Cities lab at Nanyang Technological University (NTU)’s Asian School of the Environment. Her work focuses on urban ecosystem services, ecosystem-based management, and water resource management, aiming to improve practices for “designing with nature” in Singapore and Southeast Asian cities. Prior to joining NTU, she was a senior scientist with the Natural Capital Project at Stanford University, where she conducted ecosystem services assessments and developed decision-support tools. She has previously worked as an environmental engineer in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Selvam is the Founder of Amozonia Landscape Pte Ltd that offers forest and water inspired landscaping services since 2002. Their services include conceptualization to implementation through a team of designers, gardeners, arborists, horticulturists and wetland experts. Selvam, an avid environmentalist and gardening enthusiast, has drawn great inspiration from vast rainforests ranging from the Amazon to Borneo, both in naming his company and providing forest themed landscape services to clients. Amozonia now has offices in Singapore, Malaysia, India and Thailand and has received numerous national and international awards.
Hortense is an Assistant Professor at the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore since 2019, as a joint faculty at the Schools of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering. Her research aims at developing new manufacturing approaches to create structural materials with multifunctional properties through the design of their microstructures, which are bioinspired. The materials employed are mostly ceramics as well as naturally grown materials. In 2020, Dr Le Ferrand was awarded the prestigious NRF fellowship to further develop bioinspired 3D printing methods at NTU.
Jeremy has been researching and working on ways to combat climate change and reduce its destructive effects on our society for over a decade by optimising plant growth to sequester carbon into the soil.
His company, Terra Matters, seeks to develop and refine methods to expedite biological carbon sequestration in the tropics. The power of supporting ecosystems to regenerate soil is the most powerful, proven method in the fight against climate change, but it is one that everyone must start participating in. Terra Matters mission is to provide practical solutions to help everyone fix carbon, from families living in apartments, to schools, corporations and agribusinesses.
Yun Hye Hwang is a landscape architect with expertise in developing low-maintenance naturalist landscapes. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture in the College of Design and Engineering at NUS. Her research, teaching, and professional activities speculate on emerging demands in fast-growing Asian cities by exploring socio-ecological design and management versus manicured greenery and the multifunctional role of everyday landscapes. She focuses on transferring knowledge of urban ecology from academia to practice through active interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaborations.
Alumni
Past Staff & Consultants
Ruiee Dhuri
Architectural and Landscape Designer
Wei Kit Lee
Hydrology Consultant
Celine Tan
Architectural Design Associate
Saloni Swaminathan
Research & Design Ecologist
Madhvi Chulet
Architectural Design Consultant
Maitreyee Fadnavis
Architectural Design Consultant
Katharina Hecht
Vertical Greenery & Ecosystem Services Researcher
Past Interns
Xavier Ng
Landscape and Ecology Intern
Atticus Cummings
Architectural Design & Biomimicry Intern
Bu Jing Yi
Biomechanics Intern
Ilina Shah
Biomaterials Intern
Leanne Haan
Urban Greenery & Biomimicry Intern
Reavathi Kumarappan
Vernomimicry Intern
Liang Weiheng
Ecosystem Services Intern
Hanxiao Zhong
Ecosystem Services Intern
Xaiver Yong
Field Ecology Intern
Haya Prasla
Sustainability and Biomimicry Intern
Udit Kabra
Sustainability and Biomimicry Intern