Rate My Professor Steve Yim

Professor Steve Yim holds a dual appointment as Professor in the Asian School of the Environment and the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He serves as Assistant Chair (Faculty) in the Asian School of the Environment, founding Director of the Centre for Climate Change and Environmental Health, and Principal Investigator leading the air pollution and health research cluster at the Earth Observatory of Singapore. His research centers on atmospheric science, with a focus on the interactions between climate variability, air quality, and human health impacts. Yim examines the mechanisms driving the formation, transport, and removal of air pollutants, influenced by emissions, meteorological conditions, land cover changes, and transboundary flows. His work quantifies population exposure to pollutants like PM2.5, ozone, and black carbon, assessing their contributions to respiratory diseases, cardiovascular conditions, and premature mortality, particularly in Southeast Asia.

Yim developed the 3-Dimensional Real-Time Atmospheric Monitoring System (3DREAMS), Southeast Asia's first Doppler LiDAR network for real-time vertical profiling of wind and aerosols up to 12 km altitude, enabling improved forecasting of haze episodes. As a reappointed member of the World Health Organization's Global Air Pollution and Health Technical Advisory Group since 2021, he advises on mitigation strategies. His research has issued early warnings for events like the 2023 transboundary haze exacerbated by El Niño and the positive Indian Ocean Dipole, informing policy and reducing health burdens compared to prior episodes. Yim has been listed in Stanford University's Top 2% Scientists globally for four consecutive years since 2021. Notable publications include 'Global, regional and local health impacts of civil aviation emissions' (Environmental Research Letters, 2015), 'Source emission contributions to particulate matter and ozone, and their health impacts in Southeast Asia' (Environment International, 2024), 'Effects of climate change on PM2.5 formation chemistry, and the associated human health impacts and economic costs in Southeast Asia' (Environment International, 2025), and 'Global health impacts of ambient fine particulate pollution associated with climate variability' (Environment International, 2024). His interdisciplinary approach integrates modeling, field measurements, and epidemiology to support emission controls and sustainable development.