Mine Less, Last Longer? Singapore Solutions for Critical Materials in Energy and Electronics

Lithium, cobalt, gallium and the rare earth elements underpin both the energy transition and modern electronics, yet their supply chains are concentrated, carbon-intensive and increasingly shaped by geopolitics. For a resource-scarce city-state like Singapore that makes 1 in 10 of the world’s semiconductor chips, the question is less where to mine and more of how we keep critical materials in use for longer.

Dr. Richard Dasher, Director of the US-ATMC, will moderate the session.

About our speaker:

Benjamin C. K. Tee is Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Vice President (Ecosystem Building) at NUS, where he oversees innovation and startup ecosystem growth programs. He holds the NUS College of Design and Engineering Dean’s Chair and received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University in 2014.

His research pioneers electronic skins and neuromorphic sensing technologies: flexible pressure sensors, artificial nervous systems, and soft, stretchable, self-healing electronic materials that give robots and human–machine interfaces a sense of touch. His recent work spans spike-based neuromorphic tactile sensors, electronics-free sensing-to-actuation for soft robotics, and sustainable, recyclable electronic materials, published in journals including Science Advances, Nature Materials, Nature Electronics, Nature Communications and Advanced Materials.

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Our series on “Topics in International Technology Management | Challenges and Solutions for Critical Materials in Energy and Electronics" begins September 24, 2026 and continues until December 3, 2026. Seminars will be held most Thursdays, 4:30 PM – 5:50 PM.  The series is available to Stanford students for credit; register for MATSCI 402A “Topics in International Technology Management,” also cross-listed as EE-402A, EASTASN 402A and EALC-402A, 1 unit S/NC. 

To attend by Zoom, please register here.

To attend in-person, please register over Eventbrite here.