Prof. Licheng Liu
Assistant Professor
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Licheng Liu received his Ph.D. in Political Science and Statistics from MIT in May 2024. He subsequently held a postdoctoral position in the Department of Political Science at Stanford University. His research focuses on Political Methodology and International Political Economy, with a particular interest in developing new methods for causal inference with longitudinal and network data, using both frequentist and Bayesian approaches. He applies these methods to empirical studies such as trade politics and comparative political behavior. His work has been published in the American Journal of Political Science and Political Analysis, among other journals.
An internationally renowned name in the field of sustainability and environmental science, he is one of the most highly cited conservation scientists in the world, with over 20 years of international research experience under his belt. His previous stints include Swiss National Science Foundation Professor at ETH Zurich, Chair of Applied Ecology and Conservation at the University of Adelaide, Vice President of Science Partnerships and Innovation at Conservation International Foundation, and Technical Director of the Marine Climate Change Science Programme at the National Research Foundation Singapore.
An NUS alumnus, Prof Koh joined the NUS Department of Biological Sciences in 2020, having returned to Singapore under the National Research Foundation’s Returning Singapore Scientists scheme. His research is centred on developing policy-relevant science, as well as science-based decision support tools, to reconcile humanity’s needs with environmental protection. This is complemented by his rich work in advocacy, which has seen him drive global sustainability efforts in his roles as a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and Founding Director of ConservationDrones.org, as well as offer a science-based perspective to socioeconomic and environmental issues on both local and global platforms, including the UN COP sessions, TEDGlobal and TEDx and, locally, the 14th Parliament of Singapore as Nominated Member of Parliament (2021 – 2023), among others.
Prof Koh received a BSc (First Class Honours) and MSc in Biological Sciences from the National University of Singapore and a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University.
Research Interests
My research interests center on enhancing our understanding of carbon, nutrient, and water cycles in agricultural and natural ecosystems, to explain their roles in dynamic climate and provide actionable insights for sustainable solutions, by integrating advanced analytical tools such as process-based models, knowledge-guided machine learning (KGML), multi-source data from modern sensing techniques, and AI-accelerated optimization algorithms in decision making.
