The Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s Dr Stephen Riady Geoscience Scholars Fund: Ms Marlena Joppien, Mr Leoh Khai Ken, and Mr Dampal Ranawaka.

In 2015, the EOS received an endowment of S$1 million from the Stephen Riady Group of Foundations, which was matched one-to-one by the Singapore government. The goal of the fund is to provide opportunities for postgraduate students working with EOS to explore the Earth’s dynamic processes, and ensure greater resilience and safety of people, cultures, and economies in the region.

Now in its tenth year, the Dr Stephen Riady Geoscience Scholars Fund was awarded to postgraduates Ms Marlena Joppien, Mr Leoh Khai Ken, and Mr Dampal Ranawaka, all PhD students at the Asian School of the Environment (ASE) at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, working under the supervision of ASE faculty who are also Principal Investigators (PIs) at EOS.

The review panel was composed of three EOS PIs – Associate Professor Wang Xianfeng, Associate Professor Wei Shengji and Assistant Professor Janice Lee, who had the challenging task of selecting the winners.


Recipients of theDr Stephen Riady Geoscience Scholars Fund 2025. From left to right: Ms Marlena Joppien, Mr Leoh Khai Ken, and Mr Dampal Ranawaka (Source: Earth Observatory of Singapore)

Ms Marlena Joppien will investigate how the development of a coral reef in the Philippines is affected by the proximity of mangrove environments. Her project, called ‘Vertical accretion and long-term development of a turbid fringing reef’, will inform conservation and coastal management strategies of these reefs which are crucial to protect coastlines from wave energy and reduce coastal hazards for communities and infrastructure. She will be supervised by Assistant Professor Kyle Morgan from ASE and EOS.

Mr Leoh Khai Ken will trial two techniques to characterise sediment cores from the Kallang Basin in Singapore. His project, called ‘First applications of diatom assemblage analysis and luminescence dating on Singapore sediments to understand past environmental changes’, will help reconstruct past sea-level changes in Singapore. He will be supervised by Professor Adam Switzer from ASE and EOS.

Mr Dampal Ranakawa will identify mechanisms that affect the availability of iron in the ocean, an important micronutrient that regulates the uptake of carbon dioxide in the oceans. His project, called ‘A Missing Link in Iron Cycling? The Potential of Organic Compounds with Reduced Sulphur in Fe³⁺ Reduction’, will provide insights into the crucial role of the ocean for climate change mitigation. He will be supervised by Associate Professor Xianfeng Wang from ASE and EOS.

Congratulations to the three award winners!