Dr. Jacob Gan is the founder, curriculum architect, and principal editor of Prep4Uni.online. An engineer, researcher, and veteran educator with over three decades of university-level teaching experience, he created the platform as an open-access academic initiative dedicated to conceptual depth, mathematical transparency, and rigorous cross-disciplinary learning for pre-university scholars, undergraduates, and practicing professionals.
🎓 Educational Background
- Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) — National University of Singapore (NUS) (1975)
- Master of Science (M.S.) — University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
- Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) — University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (1990)
💼 Academic, Industrial & Public Sector Leadership
Dr. Gan began his professional career with the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) as a projects officer, evaluating industrial development initiatives and technical infrastructure investments during a transformative period of Singapore’s economic growth. He subsequently transitioned into operational and managerial leadership roles within private industry, executing engineering projects and managing overseas plant assignments.
Following his graduate and doctoral research at the University of Michigan, he returned to Singapore to join Nanyang Technological University (NTU), an institution now ranked among the premier technological universities globally. Over an academic tenure of approximately 30 years, Dr. Gan taught Engineering Mathematics, Manufacturing Processes, and Advanced Engineering Systems across undergraduate and postgraduate cohorts. His academic stewardship encompassed laboratory development, curriculum redesign, postgraduate supervision, and mentoring thousands of future engineers and academic leaders.
Following his retirement from full-time university professorship, Dr. Gan has continued to contribute to higher education as a visiting and adjunct lecturer across public and private universities in Singapore, while directing his focus toward scalable digital pedagogy and open scientific publishing.
🧠 Academic Specializations & Research Focus
Engineering & Applied Mechanics
Continuum mechanics, fluid dynamics, open-channel hydraulics, and structural integrity modeling.
Applied Mathematics & Physics
Ordinary/partial differential equations, multivariable calculus, linear optimization, and classical dynamics.
Instructional & Systems Design
IDEF0 process modeling, concept-example-practice workflows, and client-side computational visualization.
Open Educational Resources (OER)
Digital repository archiving via Zenodo, persistent DOI assignment, and MERLOT educational indexing.