Biography

HF Cheong obtained the Professional Diploma (Mechanical Engineering) and the Singapore Polytechnic Gold Medal in 1967 and the B.Eng. (Mechanical Engineering) from the University of Singapore a year later. He then went to the U.S. on a Fulbright-Hays scholarship to pursue a M. S. (Water Resources Engineering) and a PhD (Hydraulic Engineering). After receiving his PhD in Hydraulic engineering from the Colorado State University and spending a year as a research associate at the Engineering Research Center in Fort Collins, Colorado, he returned to Singapore to join the Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Singapore in 1973. His research was focused on the statistical properties of alluvial bed forms and the stochastic analysis of the motion of sand grains along the alluvial bed in an open channel flow.

Prof Cheong has made contributions to research in coastal hydraulics and computational hydrodynamics as applied to tidal circulations, sedimentation and mud transport and water quality in coastal areas. He was instrumental in introducing coastal engineering into the civil engineering curriculum when he initiated the course on Applied Hydraulics in the mid 1970s which later expanded into other modules related to coastal hydraulics at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. This led to a pool of highly trained engineers who have contributed to the water resources development in Singapore and to some extent in Malaysia.

He received the Harold Jan Schoemaker Award from the International Association for Hydraulic Research for best paper (jointly authored) in the Journal of Hydraulic Research during September 1988-August 1990. He also received the Kenneth YD Gin Award for best paper (jointly authored) in 1994 from the Institution of Engineers Singapore.

He has jointly undertaken studies for the Housing and Development Board (HDB), the Port of Singapore Authority (PSA now MPA), the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC) and other organizations on matters related coastal engineering, including the impact of land reclamation on tidal circulations, sedimentation and water quality. He has served in various capacities with the Professional Engineers Board Singapore, the council of the Institution of Engineers Singapore and the management board of the Building and Construction Authority in Singapore. He was dean of the School of Design & Environment (2000-2007). He is currently the head of the Department of the Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Appointments in University

1973Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering
1981-1989Vice Dean, Faculty of Engineering
1983Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
1989-1995Head, Department of Civil Engineering
1995-2000Vice Dean, Faculty of Engineering
1996Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
2000-2007Dean, School of Design & Environment
2007-2010Professor, Department of Civil Engineering
2010-Head, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Qualifications

1967Prof. Dipl., Singapore Polytechnic, Singapore
1968B.Eng., University of Singapore, Singapore
1969M.S., University of Cincinnati, U.S.A.
1973Ph.D. Colorado State University, U.S.A.,
1974-P.Eng., Registered Professional Engineer, Singapore 1974

Honours & Awards

• Singapore Polytechnic Gold Medal for Most Outstanding Graduate, 1967
• Fulbright Hays Scholar, 1968
• Harold Jan Schoemaker Award, International Association for Hydraulic Research, Delft, The Netherlands, 1992. (Jointly with N.J Shankar and K. Subbiah)
• Er. Kenneth YD Gin Best Paper Award, Institution of Engineers Singapore, 1994. (Jointly with N Jothi Shankar and CT Chan)

Patents

• U.K. Patent GB2305427 Method and apparatus for aeration of fluid media, Jointly with Chen Guang Hao and Ng Wun Jern, 1998

Professional / Consulting Activities

• Board Member, Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Singapore, (2000-2002)
• President, Asia-Pacific Division of the International Association for Hydraulic Research & Engineering. (1996-2000)
• Council Member, Institution of Engineers Singapore (1991-1993)
• Member, Accreditation Committee, Professional Engineers Board, (1990-1993)
• Member, Joint Committee on Continuing Professional Development, Professional Engineers Board, (1989-1993)
• Consultant to Housing & Development Board and Jurong Town Corporation on mathematical modeling of tidal circulations and water quality in Singapore coastal waters
• Consultant to Ministry of the Environment and industry on studies of hydraulic surges in water and sewage pumping systems
• Consultant to industry, including overseas, and various government agencies on physical hydraulic model studies and studies on wind effects on buildings.

Teaching Areas

• Hydraulics
• Coastal hydraulics
• Sediment Transport
• River Mechanics

Research Interests

• Coastal and river hydraulics
• Sediment Transport

Recent Selected Publications

1. Jahid hasan, G.M., D.S. van Maren and H.F. Cheong, "Numerical study on mixing and stratification in the ebb-dominant Johor estuary", Journal of Coastal Research, (2012) accepted for publication.
2. Jahid Hasan, G.M., D.S. van Maren and H.F. Cheong, "Improving hydrodynamic modeling of an estuary in a mixed tidal regime by grid refining and aligning". Ocean Dynamics, 63, no. 3 (2012): 395-409 (Germany).
3. Zhang X., H.F. Cheong and Vivien P. Chua, "An investigation on the geometrical properties of the root system of mangroves and its influence on flow", 18th Congress of the Asia and Pacific Divison of the International Association for Hydro-Environmental Engineering and Research (2012). Jeju: (18th Congress of the Asia and Pacific Divison of the International Association for Hydro-Environmental Engineering and Research, 19-23 August, Jeju, Korea)
4. Cheong H.F., T. Balendra and G.T. Lim, "Probability of sliding of a stacked container under a strong wind condition", Proceedings of the Symposium in honour of Professor Lip Seng Lip, ed. KCG Ong, YK Chow and S Swaddiwudhipong (2011). Singapore: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore. (The Professor Lee Seng Lip Symposium on Education, Research and Practice in Civil Engineering and Infrastructure, 21-22 March 2011, Singapore)
5. Jahid Hasan G.M., D.S. van Maren and H.F. Cheong, "Improvement in hydrodynamic modeling by grid alignment and refinement of an estuary in a mixed tidal regime", Proceedings of the 15th Physics of Estuaries & Coastal Seas (PECS) Conference, ed. Chari Pattiaratchi, University of Western Australia (2010). Colombo. (15th Physics of Estuaries and Coastal Seas (PECS) Conference, 14-17 Sep 2010, Colombo, Sri Lanka).
6. Madsen, O.S., A Satria Negara, K.Y. Lim and H.F.Cheong, "Near bottom flow characteristics of currents at arbitrary angle to 2D ripples", 32nd International Conference on Coastal Engineering (2010). Shanghai:32 nd International Conference on Coastal Engineering. (32nd International Conference on Coastal Engineering, 30 Jun - 5 Jul, 2010, Shanghai, China)
7. Jahid Hasan G.M., H.F. Cheong & D.S. van Maren, "Preliminary study on the response of suspended sediment concentration to tidal dynamics of a large estuary, Proceedings of the 19th KAIST-KU-NTU-NUS (KKNN) Symposium on Environmental Engineering, ed. Shigeo Fujii (2010). Kyoto: University of Kyoto. (19th KKNN Conference on Environmental Engineering, 27-30 June 2010, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan).