Teck-Seng Low

Teck Seng Low is Malaysian-born Singaporean engineer and academic administrator. He was dean of engineering at the National University of Singapore, founding principal of Republic Polytechnic, and managing director of A*STAR before becoming chief executive officer of the National Research Foundation, Prime Minister's Office (Singapore). He returned to NUS in 2022 where he is currently Senior Vice President (Sustainability & Resilience).

In August 2022, Low retired from his position as CEO NRF, and returned to NUS to assume the position of Senior Vice President (Sustainability & Resilience) on 8 August 2022, joining the ranks of the senior leadership team.

In 2016, Low was designated the new Chairman of Singapore Post replacing Ho Kee LIM. He caused some consternation, however, when, within a few days, he announced that he realized the job would "demand more time and focus" than he would be able to give. The post was ultimately filled by Simon Israel and Low subsequently retired from the board.

In 2012, Low took on a new portfolio, as CEO of the National Research Foundation (NRF) a department in the Prime Minister's Office (Singapore). In this role, Low sets the direction of research and development efforts across Singapore, with the latest 5-year Research, Innovation and Enterprise (RIE) Plan working with a budget of S$25 billion (2020).

From 2010 to 2012, Low was managing director of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), a government agency with over 5,000 employees.

In 2002, Low was tasked as the principal and CEO in founding a new junior college in Singapore. Republic Polytechnic was established and first admitted students in 2003 focussed initially on Applied Science, Engineering, and Information and Communications. In 2007, the polytechnic moved to a new 20 hectare campus in Woodlands that can accommodate 13,000 students. Low was subsequently recognized with the Public Administration Medal (Gold).

From 1998 to 2000, Low served as Dean of NUS Faculty of Engineering in the National University of Singapore (NUS).

In 1992, with the support of Philip Yeo (Chair of Economic Development Board) and funding from National Science and Technology Board (now A*STAR), Low founded the Magnetics Technology Centre (MTC). MTC was later renamed the Data Storage Institute (DSI)) and operated from 1983 to 2018 conducting research and development primarily on hard disk drives in collaboration with major industrial partners such as Seagate, Maxtor and Conner Peripherals. Low's contributions were recognized with the National Science and Technology Medal in 2004.

In 1983, Teck Seng Low joined the faculty of the National University of Singapore (NUS) to teach and to conduct research in magnetic devices.

Teck Seng Low was born in Kuala Pilah, a small town in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia and completed his high school education at Swiss Cottage Secondary School in Singapore... He attended Southampton University department of Electrical and Computer Science receiving a B.Sc in 1978. He went on to receive a Ph.D. in 1982, also from Southampton University, for his work on modeling permanent magnets supervised by Kenneth J. Binns. Low was also honored with a D.Sc degree from Southampton University in 2009. Low and his wife, Ann Ang Gek Hoon, reside in Singapore. They have two sons.