r. Aplin has been lecturing in Singapore since 1985. He completed his doctoral studies in 1999 at SPE with a dissertation entitled 'Values and the Pursuit of Sports Excellence: The Case of Singapore'. This study won the Educational Research Association Travel Award for the best doctoral dissertation in 1999.  

Dr Aplin is the Head of Olympic Studies of the Singapore Olympic Academy and has been engaged in local, regional and international promotion of Olympism. His current research focuses on the historical development of sport in Singapore, with particular reference to the experiences of Olympians. A combined social history and biographical study of the first female Olympians, entitled "To The Finishing Line", was published in August 2002.  

In 2005, Dr Aplin co-authored the first complete profile of Singaporean sportsmen and women to participate at the Olympic Games. “Singapore Olympians: A Complete Who’s Who 1936-2004” documents the experiences of 147 Olympians.      

Dr Aplin is one of three Vice-Presidents of the Singapore Chess Federation. He was the Head of Delegation of the teams that represented Singapore at the World Youth Chess Championships in Crete in November 2002; the Asian Youth Chess Championships in India in 2003, the South East Asian Games in Vietnam in 2003, and the South East Asian Games in the Philippines in 2005. He is also the author of the twin volumes published by Batsfords in England entitled “Kasparov’s Fighting Chess”   

In 2006, Dr Aplin compiled the sporting entries for “Singapore: The Encyclopedia” and in 2007 he became a member of the Public Education and Awareness sub-committee of the Sports Culture Committee inaugurated by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports