Slaven Garaj

Slaven Garaj is a faculty member at the National University of Singapore (NUS), holding dual appointments in the Department of Physics and Department of Biomedical Engineering. He joined NUS in 2012 as an NRF Fellow, a prestigious early-career position.

His educational background includes a PhD in condensed-matter physics from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), followed by research scientist work at Harvard University.

Garaj's research pioneers nanoscale phenomena at soft-hard matter interfaces, with groundbreaking contributions to graphene nanopores that established the field of 2D material nanofluidics. His work spans nanopore sensors, membrane engineering, and transport phenomena, driving innovations in water filtration, medical diagnostics, and energy applications. Media coverage from BBC, Technology Review, and C&E News highlights the societal impact of his research.

His publication portfolio centers on 2D material membrane systems, exemplified by the 2022 Nature Reviews Physics review on graphene oxide chemistry, reflecting his group's focus on fundamental mechanisms and scalable membrane technologies.

Key recognitions include:

• NRF Fellowship from Singapore's National Research Foundation
• ExtremeTech Challenge award (2022) for reActo, his lab's spin-off recognized as Southeast Asia's top cleantech startup

Garaj leads a high-impact research group whose patented technologies are licensed to biotech and cleantech firms. The reActo spin-off's presentation at TechCrunch 2022 demonstrates successful technology translation, while media attention underscores the real-world relevance of his work in membrane science and nanofluidics.

His laboratory actively bridges fundamental nanoscale research with industrial applications, particularly through graphene-oxide membrane development for ion-selective transport and electrodialysis systems.