About Dr Tan
Dr Tan’s research deals with the structural and functional (performance) characterisation of engineering materials and structures across a broad range of scales. He is particularly interested in understanding how light-weight materials (foams, micro- and nano-architectured lattices, composites, etc.) and structures (sandwich panels, bonded structures etc.) respond to unconventional loadings and how they may be designed, or used in combination, to withstand more arduous operating conditions; including dynamic loading, thermal and mechanical stresses, enhanced resistance to spall and shock without structural degradation.
A major driver of his research work, and that of his research group, concerns the application of engineering solutions to improving the physical resilience of built systems to extreme load cases arising from malevolent actions, accidents or natural hazards. In addition, he also undertakes collaborative research with medical and life science colleagues to address biomedical-related problems.