top of page
Screenshot 2025-11-20 152211.png
THE TSSM MISSION

Translational Science for Sustainable Materials (TSSM) is founded on the core philosophy of the Cross Economy—a paradigm that moves beyond linear and circular models to focus on the transformation, creation, and multiplication of value across scientific, industrial, and societal systems. Our mission is to develop translational, engineering-driven materials solutions that do not merely reduce harm, but actively generate new forms of value from underutilized resources, complex challenges, and boundary-crossing opportunities.

At TSSM, we view sustainability not as an end state, but as a dynamic process of value conversion. In the Cross Economy framework, materials are not waste or endpoints; they are latent assets capable of being re-engineered into higher-order functions. Guided by this principle, TSSM integrates materials science, engineering, chemistry, physics, biology, and medicine to understand problems at the molecular and systems levels and to translate that understanding into deployable technologies that address global health, environmental resilience, and sustainable industrial development.

A defining characteristic of the Cross Economy is its rejection of siloed thinking. Accordingly, TSSM operates across traditional boundaries—between disciplines, sectors, and stages of innovation. We intentionally link fundamental science with translational execution, connecting discovery with manufacturing, clinical need with materials design, and environmental responsibility with economic viability. Our research is structured to ensure that every material system we develop has a clear pathway toward real-world impact, scalability, and value multiplication.

One of the central drivers of TSSM’s research is global health, particularly challenges where speed, accessibility, and resilience are critical. Infectious diseases, emerging pathogens, antimicrobial resistance, and diagnostic bottlenecks continue to impose disproportionate burdens on societies worldwide. From a Cross Economy perspective, these are not only biomedical problems, but systemic failures in how knowledge, materials, and technologies are translated and distributed. TSSM addresses these failures by creating materials platforms—for diagnostics, drug delivery, antiviral and antimicrobial interventions—that are robust, adaptable, and designed for diverse healthcare environments.

Our scientific approach is rooted in first principles—interfacial science, molecular self-assembly, mechanics, transport phenomena, and systems engineering—yet explicitly oriented toward translation. We prioritize materials that can cross domains: bio-derived materials that function in medical devices, waste-derived resources that become high-performance biomaterials, and hybrid systems that bridge biological and synthetic functionality. This ability to cross domains is central to the Cross Economy and is a defining feature of TSSM’s identity.

Importantly, the Cross Economy emphasizes value multiplication, not just efficiency. TSSM therefore evaluates success not only by performance metrics, but by how many layers of value a material system can generate: clinical benefit, environmental impact reduction, economic opportunity, manufacturability, and societal accessibility. A diagnostic material that is low-cost, biodegradable, scalable, and clinically reliable exemplifies this philosophy far more than a narrowly optimized but impractical alternative.

TSSM is also committed to rethinking resource utilization. We actively explore underexploited, discarded, or biologically abundant materials as starting points for innovation. In doing so, we aim to demonstrate that sustainability and high performance are not competing objectives, but mutually reinforcing outcomes when viewed through a Cross Economy lens. This approach supports resilient supply chains, reduces dependency on scarce resources, and enables localized production models aligned with regional needs.

Our team reflects the global and interdisciplinary nature of this mission. Researchers from diverse backgrounds and regions work together under a shared vision: to apply engineering and translational science to solve complex problems that cannot be addressed within single disciplines or linear innovation pipelines. We place strong emphasis on translational medicine, functional materials characterization, diagnostics, and therapeutic development, while remaining deeply engaged with industrial partners, clinicians, and policymakers to ensure relevance and adoption.

Ultimately, TSSM exists to operationalize the Cross Economy through science. Our mission is to turn complexity into opportunity, constraints into catalysts, and materials into engines of sustainable value creation. By embedding cross-domain thinking, translational intent, and sustainability at every stage of research, TSSM seeks to redefine how materials science contributes to human health, environmental stewardship, and long-term societal resilience.

"New programme aims to make lab-grown meat safe from contamination"
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT
Recyclable and Reusable Natural Plant-Based Paper for Repeated Digital Printing and Unprinting

Recyclable and Reusable Natural Plant-Based Paper for Repeated Digital Printing and Unprinting

Digital printing of shape-morphing natural materials

Digital printing of shape-morphing natural materials

Address

Nanyang Technological University

Centre for Cross Economy, 60 Nanyang Drive, SBS-01s, 637551

Email

choresearchgroup.ntu@gmail.com

© 2026 by Translational Science for Sustainable Materials. All rights reserved.

Reproduction of any materials from this site is strictly forbidden without permission.

bottom of page