He was hosted as a VSS Fellow by the Department of History from June 11, 2009 to July 10, 2009. Dr Heng's research interests include Southeast Asian society, economy and state-formation; China-Southeast Asia interactions; Chinese maritime history; the History of Singapore; Heritage preservation and the trade of antiquities in Southeast Asia and China. His research topic was on the formative processes of pre-modern societies in maritime Southeast Asia. During his stay, he conducted extensive research using trans-literated and Chinese language texts not available elsewhere. He also participated in the launch of the book "Singapore: A 700-Year History" which he co-authored with Prof Tan Tai Yong and Mr Kwa Chong Guan. In conjunction with the launch of the book, he also contributed an article which was published in the Straits Time on 30 June 2009.