Dr. Shi Xu

EY Entrepreneur Of The Year – Advanced Manufacturing

EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2017 Singapore

Dr. Shi Xu received his B.S. and M. Sc. Degree in Physics from Tongji University, China, and PhD on thin film technology from J. J. Thomson Physical Lab, University of Reading at UK in 1991. 

In 1991, Dr. Shi joined academia and by the age of 35, had achieved tenure as an Associate Professor at the Nanyang Technological University’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. He also ran a research lab that garnered over S$4m in funding and had multiple patents to his name.

Dr. Shi published over 100 research papers and filed 5 key inventive patents. In 1994, he started research in Filtered Cathodic Vacuum Arc (FCVA) technology. He was approached by the NTU to lead Nanofilm at its inception as CEO in 1999. Under his leadership, Nanofilm’s patented FCVA method remains the gold standard in the vacuum coating industry.

Dr. Shi received the ASEAN Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award in 1997; the National Technology Award in 2000; and Businessman of the Year 2020/2021. He was EY Entrepreneur Of The Year for Advanced Manufacturing and overall winner in 2017. Dr. Shi has also been Fellow of Singapore Academy of Engineering since 2020 and served as member of the Resource Panel to the Government Parliamentary Committee for Finance, Trade & Industry.