Prof Chen Xiaodong elected as Fellow of Royal Society

Distinguished University Professor and President’s Chair in Materials Science and Engineering Prof Chen Xiaodong has been elected as Fellow of the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of sciences, in recognition of his exceptional contributions to science.

Championing the belief that “softness embodies strength”, Prof Chen is a leader in materials science whose interdisciplinary research integrates soft materials with electronics. A prolific inventor, he has created a multitude of devices with novel applications in fields ranging from food safety to product testing and holds over 50 patents.

Among Prof Chen’s most notable innovations are flexible electrodes that could revolutionise healthcare and agriculture. One of them is a water-responsive electrode inspired by spider-silk that wraps around tissues and organs to deliver electrical stimulation or record electrical signals. This innovation could offer new possibilities for nerve repair and wound recovery.

Using flexible electrodes, Prof Chen has also created a way for humans to communicate with plants. The scientists developed the plant communication device by attaching a conformable electrode onto the surface of a Venus flytrap plant that delivers electrical signals to and from the plant.

In the future, the tool can be applied to detect distress signals from crops to help farmers detect plant diseases early.

Prof Chen is also recognised as the inventor of the biphasic, nano-dispersed interface (BIND), which functions as a universal connector to assemble the different modules in stretchable devices simply and quickly like Lego bricks.

In collaboration with multinational consumer goods corporation Proctor & Gamble and Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Prof Chen developed the nation’s first wearable sensor that accurately quantifies skin texture.

Called HapSense, the device is shaped like a signet ring and worn on the fingertip. The sensor component of HapSense is attached to a smartwatch‐like module to create a portable, lightweight device that can be used to analyse skin even in consumers’ homes. As the sensor glides along the skin, HapSense captures real time data on friction and pressure.

By enabling an objective assessment of human skin texture, the device provides deep insights into the effects of a skincare product on the skin and removes the guesswork from skincare product development.

Besides flexible electrodes, Prof Chen has created an electronic “nose” that mimics the mammalian olfactory system and harnesses artificial intelligence (AI) to sniff out the freshness of meat. The device consists of a “barcode” that changes colour over time when it reacts with gases produced by decaying meat, and a barcode “reader” in the form of a smartphone app powered by AI.

When tested on commercially packaged chicken, fish and beef samples that were left to age, the “nose” predicted the freshness of the meat with 98.5 per cent accuracy.

A patent has been filed for this method of real-time monitoring of food freshness, and the researchers are working with a Singapore agribusiness company to extend this concept to other types of perishables.

Prof Chen has also been elected to several prestigious academies, including the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the Singapore National Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Engineering Singapore, and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

Other accolades that Prof Chen has received include the Kabiller Young Investigator Award and the Dan Maydan Prize for Nanoscience Research. He is also a two-time winner of the Falling Walls Breakthrough of the Year in 2021 and 2023. Prof Chen currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of ACS Nano, a flagship journal in nanoscience and nanotechnology.

“I’m proud and honoured to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. This honour isn’t just mine, it belongs to my research team, NTU and Singapore. The recognition motivates me to keep exploring fresh ideas and to turn discoveries into real-world impactful solutions that will benefit humanity,” says Prof Chen.