Dr Chi Hieu Le BEng, MEng, MSc, PGCHE, DrEng, CEng, FHEA, MIMechE

Associate Professor

Dr Chi Hieu Le graduated from Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST, Vietnam), Asian Institute of Technology (Thailand), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium) and University of Greenwich (United Kingdom) respectively in Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Systems Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Higher Education. He is a Chartered Engineer (CEng), a member of Institution of Mechanical Engineers (MIMechE), and a fellow of Higher Education Academy (FHEA), United Kingdom (UK).

Before working for University of Greenwich, Dr Chi Hieu Le had been working for HUST and Cardiff University (UK) as a lecturer and a senior research fellow for 12 years. He has been actively working in Higher Education (Learning, Teaching and Assessment), Research & Technology Development (R&D), Technology Transfer, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, especially in Innovative Product Development, Advanced Manufacturing (CAD/CAM/CNC, 3D Printing - Additive Manufacturing, Micro-Nano Manufacturing, Smart Manufacturing), Robotics & Automations, Engineering Management, and Biomedical Engineering (Telehealth, In-Home Healthcare, 2D/3D Medical Image Processing, Personalised Implants, Biomedical Hi-Tech Products & Services). He has been successfully implemented at least 150 R&D and commercial projects in the UK, Europe, Vietnam, Japan and USA, with more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, abstracts and presentations. Dr Chi Hieu Le is a Member of Advisory Board in Science and Technology for Saigon Hi-Tech Park (www.eng.shtp.hochiminhcity.gov.vn), Vingroup Innovation Foundation (www.vinif.org);and Hi-Tech companies.

Dr Chi Hieu Le was/has been a project evaluator for the funding organisations such as Vingroup Innovation Foundation (Vietnam), Wellcome Trust (UK), The Royal Society (UK: Global Challenges Research Fund), Welsh Assembly Government (Wales, UK), Sêr Cymru - Welsh Government Office for Science (Wales, UK), NIHR - Invention for Innovation (i4i) Programme (Department of Health, National Institute for Health Research - NIHR, UK), and British Council. He annually serves as a visiting professor and an invited speaker at Higher Education Institutions in Vietnam, Thailand, China and Europe. He is a co-founder of the Vietnam-UK Network of Higher Education, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (www.vuheie.org), which has been successfully secured at least 5 million USD of the external funding for R&D and Higher Education activities, with the active engagements and networking among scientists, researchers and experts from Vietnam, ASEAN and the UK, as well as the fruitful University-Business collaborations.

Dr Chi Hieu Le is also active in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, serving as CEO, member of the advisory board and the mentor for the Hi-tech start-ups such as Robot3T (www.robot3t.com), VietMani (www.vietmani.com), SIPMD (www.sipmd.com), Digital Global Kingdom (www.dgk.vn), VietSolutions Ltd (www.vietsolutions.co.uk) and Hack4Growth (www.hack4growth.org).

Engineering Mechanical engineering

Engineering

Recognition

Dr Chi Hieu Le is a Chartered Engineer (CEng), a member of Institution of Mechanical Engineers (MIMechE), and a fellow of Higher Education Academy (FHEA), United Kingdom.

Dr Chi Hieu Le is a Member of Advisory Board in Science and Technology for Saigon Hi-Tech Park (www.eng.shtp.hochiminhcity.gov.vn), Vingroup Innovation Foundation (www.vinif.org) and Hi-Tech companies. He was/has been a project evaluator for the funding organisations such as Vingroup Innovation Foundation (Vietnam), Wellcome Trust (UK), The Royal Society (UK: Global Challenges Research Fund), Welsh Assembly Government (Wales, UK), Sêr Cymru - Welsh Government Office for Science (Wales, UK), NIHR - Invention for Innovation (i4i) Programme (Department of Health, National Institute for Health Research - NIHR, UK), and British Council. He annually serves as a visiting professor and an invited speaker at Higher Education Institutions in Vietnam, Thailand, China and Europe.

Dr Chi Hieu Le also served as a member of editorial boards for several scientific and technological journals, and frequently a member of the scientific and organising committee of international conferences.

Research / Scholarly interests

Dr Chi Hieu Le has been involving in a wide range of research topics as well as investment and commercial projects. He has produced more than 100 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, abstracts and presentations.

The following are the key expertise and research topics of interest of Dr Chi Hieu Le:

  • Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0:  Digital Twin, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and Big Data (Deep learning for smart manufacturing and e-Healthcare).
  • Innovative product development:  High-value added personalised and mass-customised products.
  • 3D geometrical modelling: 3D CAD, generative design, topology design, reverse engineering.
  • Advanced design and manufacturing: CAD - CAM - CNC - CAPP - CAE, additive manufacturing (3D Printing), micro & nano manufacturing, Sustainable Design & Manufacturing, and Responsive Manufacturing.
  • Design Optimisation: Kinematics and dynamics analysis, finite element analysis (FEA), computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and topology optimisation.
  • Mechatronics and Automation: Industrial robots, collaborative robots, and in-line control & monitoring.
  • Biomedical Engineering and Healthcare: Telehealth and in-home healthcare, biomechanics, 3D medical image processing, surgical planning, innovative development of biomedical hi-tech products (personalised implants, biomodels, surgical tools, prostheses, orthotics and medical devices).
  • Quality Control and Management: Dimensional inspections, micro & nano metrology, total quality management, production and operation management, and process improvement.
  • Operation research: Deterministic optimization models, multi-criteria decision modelling, process optimisation and simulation.
  • Higher education (Learning, teaching and assessment): Problem-based learning, collaborative learning, constructive alignment, development of course specifications and study programmes in Higher Education.

Key funded projects

The following are the funded R&D projects in which Dr Chi Hieu Le is a PI or Co-PI as well as a mentor and an implementor, especially from the following funding organisations: Newton Fund, UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI), India Department of Science and Technology and an implementor, (DST), British Council, National Foundation for Science & Technology Development (NAFOSTED: www.nafosted.gov.vn), British Academy (BA), UK Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng), Vingroup Innovation Foundation (VINIF: www.vinif.org), Vietnam National Technology Innovation Foundation (NATIF), Vietnam Ministry of Science & Technology (MOST: www.most.gov.vn), and European Commission (EC):

  • Network of Excellence and Hi-Tech Hub for Vietnam's Industry 4.0 via the UK-VN collaborations in Smart Manufacturing [Acronym: i4SMART]. Funded by Newton Fund – Research Environment Links Programme (1/2020-02/2021). Budget: £108,545 GBP. Grant ID No.: 528085858.
  • Medical Additive Manufacturing: Cost-effective and Sustainable Solutions for Innovative Development of High-value Added Products and Services. Funded by UKIERI-DST – Partnership Development Workshops Programme (12/2019-02/2021). Budget: £16,000 GBP. Grant ID No.: 2019-DST-PDW-10156.
  • Cost-effective solutions & assistive technologies for low-income aging populations. Funded by British Council - Newton Fund (02/2018-02/2019). Budget: 31,000 GBP. Grant ID No.: 2017-RLWK9-11081.
  • Development and Applications of Advanced Biomaterials and Medical Devices to Improve Health Outcomes of Underserved Population. Funded by British Council - Newton Fund (04/2016-01/2017). Budget: 25,000 GBP. Grant ID No.:  216422323.
  • Education fit for the future: development of a university-industry-government model to deliver industrial placements in international and transnational education. Funded by British Council – Higher Education Partnership Fund, UK-VN-HEP (5/2019-03/2020). Budget: £19,510 GBP. Grant ID No.: UK-VN-HEP 2019-20.
  • Transnational Education and Research via the Academic Mobility, Business-University Collaborations and the Joint Postgraduate Programmes in Sustainability, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Funded by British Council – Higher Education Partnership Fund (10/2018-06/2021). Budget: 60,000 GBP. Grant ID No.: UK-VN-HEP 2018-19.
  • Enhancements of High-Quality Human Resources and Employability for Vietnam in Design and Development of High-value Added Products, Innovation & Entrepreneurship. Funded by British Council, Higher Education Partnership Fund (10/2016 – 06/ 2017). Budget: 30,000 GBP. Grant ID No.: UK-VN-HEP 2016-17.
  • Innovative design and development of anticancer bacteriocins from the human microbiome: The Big-Data and Bioinformatics approach (09/017 – 03/2018). Funded by NAFOSTED, British Academy (BA) & Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng), under NAFOSTED – The UK Academies collaboration Programme. Budget: 7,100 GBP. Grant ID No.: 111/QĐ-HĐQL-NAFOSTED, 23/6/2017.
  • Innovative design & development of sport and toy products for enhancement of the levels of physical activity with an active play (15/03/2016-15/08/2016). Funded by Bruce O’Brien and Associates Budget: 18,000.00 GBP. Grant ID No.:  G8240 SPLOGO.
  • Cost-effective and innovative development of personalized implants for bone reconstruction based on Additive Manufacturing – 3D Printing, Smart Design and Medical Image Processing.  Funded by Government of Vietnam, Ministry of Science and Technology: MOST (01/2021-12/2023), under the national scientific and technological programme until 2025, entitled “Support for Research, Development and Applications of Industry 4.0, KC-4.0/19-25”. Budget: £275,000 GBP. Grant ID No.: KC-4.0/19-25.
  • Using IoT, AI and Digital Twin for development of smart manufacturing systems consisting of industrial robots and CNC machines. Funded by NAFOSTED (10/2020-10/2023).  Budget: £30,000 GBP. Grant ID No.: ***********.15.
  • Innovative and cost-effective development of a hybrid serial-parallel manipulator– Structural Dynamics, Control and Design Optimization. Funded by NAFOSTED (10/2017 -10/2019). Budget: 22,000 GBP. Grant ID No.: ***********.09.
  • Efficient Data-driven Physics-informed Optimization of Manufacturing Processes - EDPOMP.  Funded by Vingroup Innovation Foundation(VINIF) (10/2020-10/2022).  Budget: £157,000 GBP. Grant ID No.:  VINIF.2020.DA015.
  • Innovative and cost-effective development of collaborative robots (cobots) and smart eco-systems for Industry 4.0. Funded by Vingroup Innovation Foundation (VINIF) & VinTech City Fund (05/2020-12/2021).  Budget: £225,000 GBP. Grant ID No.: 059-VTC/2020 or VINIF.2020.NCUD.DA059.
  • Big data analytics-based optimization of process parameters for a smart manufacturing shop floor consisting of CNC machines and Robots. Funded by Vingroup Innovation Foundation (VINIF) (10/2019 – 10/2021). Budget: 300,000 USD (240,000 GBP). Grant ID No.: VINIF. 2019.DA08.
  • Development of product database and applications of blockchain in management, source trace, quality control, branding and commercialization of Ngoc Linh ginseng. Funded by Government of Vietnam (10/2020-10/2022).  Budget: £160,000 GBP. Grant ID No.: 360/QD-UBND, 3-2-2020.
  • Design and develop innovative and cost-effective industrial robot for automation SMEs in Vietnam (04/2018 – 04/2021). Funded by Vietnam National Technology Innovation Foundation (NATIF). Budget: £185,000 GBP. Grant ID No.: NATIF.TT.01.DT/2018.
  • Improving the design of flexible and responsive manufacturing systems involving autonomous Collaborative Robots (CoRoT). Funded by the European Commission Interreg France-Channel-England Program. Budget: € 3,957,023 [2016-2022]. Web: www.corot-project.org.
  • Cost effective, realistic surgical trainer for hands-on endoscopic procedures through application of Rapid Prototyping, CAD-CAM technology and a novel material (PRIMCORPS). Funded by European Commission: FP5-GROWTH. Budget: €753,880 [2001-2003]. Grant agreement ID: G1ST-CT-2000-50023. Web: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/G1ST-CT-2000-50023.

Recent publications