BEARS

ABOUT BEARS

The Berkeley Education Alliance for Research in Singapore (BEARS) center is a University of California center for research, graduate education, and innovation with the goal of achieving an international reputation.  BEARS serves as an intellectual hub for interactions between UC Berkeley researchers and their counterparts from universities, polytechnics, research institutes, and industry in Singapore and Asia. Collaborations have already been established with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the National University of Singapore (NUS). BEARS will develop a broad network of partnerships and relationships with government agencies, universities, and industries in Singapore and in the region beyond. UC Berkeley expects the impact of BEARS to be the creation of new industry sectors in information technology, energy technologies, engineering, construction and related areas.

Funded by the government of Singapore through the National Research Foundation’s Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) initiative, BEARS is a non-profit University of California company incorporated in Singapore and managed by UC Berkeley.  BEARS has launched its headquarters and two major inter-disciplinary research groups (IRGs) led by more than 20 senior UC Berkeley faculty and focused on the development of technology solutions for sustainable, low carbon, low-greenhouse gas emission energy solutions on both the supply and demand sides.

  • Building Efficiency and Sustainability in the Tropics (SinBerBEST) led by Professor Costas Spanos.
  • Singapore-Berkeley Research Initiative for Sustainable Energy (SinBeRISE) led by Professor Fiona Doyle.

Currently, continuous cohort of UC Berkeley professors, post-doctorates, and PhD students on extended research stays at BEARS headquarters in the new CREATE campus in Singapore. Major research interactions involve groups of post-doctoral fellows and PhD students from UC Berkeley, as well as affiliated researchers from other institutions across the globe that are also working within the CREATE campus.  The SinBerBEST and SinBeRISE programs, together, are expected to engage more than 100 faculty, researchers, post-doctorates, Ph.D. students, and staff at BEARS. 

ABOUT SINBERBEST

The SinBerBEST programme started in January 2012 and is a research programme funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF), under its Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) programme. This is the first joint research programme between University of California, Berkeley, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and National University of Singapore (NUS).

SinBerBEST aims to deliver energy efficient building technologies for the tropical built environment, while optimising human comfort, safety, security, and productivity within the building. To achieve these objectives, this interdisciplinary research project is driven byorganised into six major research thrusts:

  1. Sensing, Data Mining, and Modelling
  2. Multi-level Optimal Control
  3. High Confidence Building Operating Systems
  4. Human Building Interactions
  5. Materials, Design and Life Cycle
  6. Integration and Test Bedding

There are more than about 70 researchers in SinBerBEST, consisting post-doctoral fellows, research associates, and PhD students participating researchers in SinBerBEST.  Leading the research teams are aA total of 27 29 Principal Investigators (PIs) lead the research teams: 7 9 UC Berkeley faculty, 14 NTU faculty and 6 NUS faculty.of whom hold joint appointments at UCB, 14 at NTU, and 6 at NUS. All the PIs are tenured faculty in their home institutions.

ABOUT SINBERISE

The SinBeRISE programme started in October 2012 and is a research programme funded by the National Research Foundation (NRF), under its Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE) programme. This is the second joint research programme between University of California, Berkeley, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and National University of Singapore (NUS). 

SinBeRISE seeks to harness solar energy using novel, inexpensive approaches. It aims to substantially improve the overall efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) devices and harvest solar energy for conversion into electricity and fuels. The program consists of 3 main thrusts:

  1. Direct conversion of solar energy to electrical energy
  2. Generation of clean fuel using solar energy
  3. Integration of the first 2 thrusts into functional systems and devices

There are about 60 researchers in SinBeRISE, consisting of post-doctoral fellows, research associates, and PhD students.  Leading the research teams are a total of 33 Principal Investigators (PIs), 7 of whom hold faculty joint appointments at UCB, 18 at NTU, and 8 at NUS. All the PIs are tenured faculty in their home institutions.

Download the SinBerBEST Factsheet

Download the SinBeRISE Factsheet

Contact Us
General Line: +65 6601 3195
Website: [http://bears.berkeley.edu/](http://sinberbest.berkeley.edu/](http://bears.berkeley.edu/](http://sinberbest.berkeley.edu/)

Where to Find Us
CREATE Tower
1 Create Way, #11-00
Singapore 138602

Publications
https://sinberbest.berkeley.edu/archive/publications