Dr John Tan

Principal Lecturer

Head of Subject

I originally studied Naval Architecture here in the UK before returning to Singapore to enrol on a Mechanical Engineering course. I came to Northumbria in 2001 after lecturing at Newcastle University and am now subject leader for the Mechanical Engineering area.

There are several aspects that make an academic career interesting and rewarding to me.  I derive pleasure from being able to help students build confidence and achieve their full potential both in their academic and professional careers.  Research adds an additional learning and enriching element to this job, as one continues to explore new areas and applies these in various ways: linking to teaching, updating the curriculum, or tackling industrial problems.  All these activities are not isolated but linked through collaborations with other universities, professional bodies and industry, the third element that makes this job interesting.  Drawing satisfaction from helping students, stimulating own interests with research the results of which either feedback to teaching or feed forward to industry, what else can one ask for from a career?

Research wise, I am interested in discipline-based and pedagogic research.  Data analysis, safety/risk analysis, multiple criteria decision making and engineering design are some of my disciplined-based research interests.  Pedagogic research interests include linking research to teaching, helping students achieving learning outcomes required to achieve professional qualification and assessment of learning outcomes.

My main hobbies are travelling, music and photography. Travelling allows me to explore different landscapes, people, and cultures and also to explore the fascinating ways to “paint with light” which is what photography really does – from faithfully record a scene, to artistic or personal expressions given the subject matter.

Current Research Projects:

   * Preference structure elicitation
   * Safety Decision Making
   * Data Analysis
   * Uncertainty Modelling
   * Multiple Criteria Decision Making

Publications:

  1. Tan, K. G., (1988). Uncertainty In Expert Systems, Proceedings of Seminar in Recent Development in Expert Systems in Singapore, 23-24 September 1988, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Singapore

  2. Tan, K.G. and Lau, Lui (1990). Probabilistic Approach To Engineering Cost Estimation, Ngee Ann Journal, Journal of Ngee Ann Polytechnic March 1990, 535 Clementi Road, 2159 Singapore, Vol. 3, pp. 56 - 67

  3. Lau, L. and Tan, K. G. (1990). Degenerate Lagrange Element as Singular Crack Tip Element, Ngee Ann Journal, Journal of Ngee Ann Polytechnic October 1990, 535 Clementi Road, 2159 Singapore, Vol. 4, pp. 13 - 19

  4. Sen, P. and Tan, K.G. (1994). Modelling Uncertainty in Cost Estimation, 13th International Cost Engineering Congress, 1994 October, London, pp CE 9

  5. Tan, J. K. G. (1996). A Framework for Decision Support System in Designing for Safety, PhD First Year Report, Marine Technology Department, University of Newcastle upon Tyne

  6. Tan, J. K. G. (1996). Probability and Variance Computation in Boolean Representation Method, Internal Report 1996, Marine Technology Department, Engineering Design Centre, University of Newcastle upon Tyne

  7. Tan, K. G. (1997). Risk Analysis And Decision Making: An Integrated Approach To Designing For Safety, Advances In Safety & Reliability Proceeding of the ESREL ?7, International Conference on Safety and Reliability, Vol. 1, pp. 227 - 236, 17 - 20 June 1997, Lisbon, Portugal

  8. Tan, J. K. G. (1997). The Application of Belief Functions in Risk Analysis, Internal Report 1997, Marine Technology Department, Engineering Design Centre, University of Newcastle upon Tyne

  9. Tan, J. K. G. and Sen P. (1998). A Multiple Criteria Decision Making Approach To Risk Analysis and Management Using Objective and Subjective Data, Safety and Reliability, Proceedings of European Safety and Reliability Conference 1998, 17 - 19 June 1998, Trondheim, Norway, Vol. 2, pp. 1427 - 1436

 10. Tan, J. K. G. (1996). A Design for Safety Approach on Marine Machinery Systems, 21st annual journal of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers Singapore (SNAMES) 1996/97, pp. 81 - 90

 11. Tan, K. G. (1999). A Framework for Decision Support System in Designing for Safety, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Engineering Design Centre, Department of Marine Technology, Ph.D. Thesis

 12. Sen, P.; Tan, J. K. G. and Spencer D. (1999). An Integrated Probabilistic Risk Analysis Decision Support Methodology For Systems With Multiple State Variables, Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Vol. 64, No. 1, pp. 73 - 88

 13. Sen, P. and K. G. Tan (2000). Multiple Criteria Issues in Design: Seeking the Right Balance, International Workshop on Multiple-Criteria Evaluation, MCE 2000, Neukirchen, September 14 - 15, 2000

 14. Tan, K. G. (2000). Design Decomposition, Project Report, EDC, Newcastle University

 15. Tan, K. G. (2001). Use and Reuse of Emerging Design Knowledge, Project Report, EDC, Newcastle University

 16. Tan, K. G. and Sen P. (2001). The Application of a Decomposition and Reuse Approach in Marine Design, PRADS 2001, The Eighth International Symposium on Practical Design of Ships and Other Floating Structures, September 2001, Shanghai, China

 17. Tan, K. G. and Sen, P. (2001). Design Decomposition and Reuse as a Design Process Strategy, Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Advanced Engineering Design, June 2001, Glasgow

 18. Liu, Y. J. and Tan, J. K. (2003). Development and Implementation of Activity-Based Budgeting Systems in the U.K., 10th European Conference on IT Evaluation, 25 ?26 September 2003, Madrid, Spain

 19. Fleming, W. J., Connor, C. G. and Tan, J. K., (2004), Creation of an Inter-disciplinary Design Curriculum at Northumbria University, International engineering and product design education conference, 2 - 3rd september 2004 Delft the Netherlands

 20. Tan, J. K. (2004). Elicitation of Preference Structure in Engineering Design, 4th International Conference on Advanced Engineering Design, 5 - 8th September, 2004, Glasgow

 21. Tan, J. K. (2005). Elicitation of Preference Structure in Engineering Design. Acta Polytechnica, 45(3) 2005, pp. 5 - 9

 22. Tan J. K. (2006). Development of an Interdisciplinary Design Curriculum: Preparing the Students for Final Year Major Design Projects. Proceedings of the Engineering and Product Design Education Conference, 6 - 8th September, 2006, salzburg, Austria

 23. Tan, J. K. (2006). Specification of Design Margins: A probabilistic Multiple Criteria Approach. Proceedings of the Advanced Engineering design Conference, 11 - 14th June, 2006, Prague, Czech Republic

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