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Physics, Chemistry and Math to the fore
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| Something brewing: A burst of colour marks the opening of the SPMS building. On stage are Prof Lee Soo Ying, founding Dean of NTU’s College of Science (second from left); Prof Ling San, Chair of SPMS (third from left); NTU President Dr Su Guaning (fifth from left); NTU Provost Prof Bertil Andersson (third from right); and Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence (second from right). | |
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| NTU OFFICIALLY OPENED ITS NEW School of Physical & Mathematical Sciences (SPMS) building on 21 July. Touted as one of the best science complexes in the region, it comprises three interconnected buildings – the Divisions of Chemistry & Biological Chemistry, Mathematical Sciences, and Physics & Applied Physics. It also features state-of-the-art laboratories, classrooms and interaction spaces that encourage the exchange of ideas.
The unveiling of the SPMS building was preceded by a three-day academic conference that featured such stellar researchers and theoreticians as Nobel laureates in Chemistry Prof Richard Ernst (1991) and Prof Rudolph Marcus (1992). Since its establishment in 2005, SPMS has forged close partnerships with top universities such as Imperial College London and secured more than S$60 million in external grants for its cutting-edge research.
MODERN SILK ROAD
The event received much media coverage and highlighted NTU’s strengths within Asia. According to Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence, who was the Guest-of-Honour, NTU’s position in the region allows it a unique opportunity. “The potential shift in economic influence from the West to the East can be likened to a modern Silk Road being established,” noted Dr Ng. “While the Silk Road of the past served as a network of trading routes for items such as essentials and luxury goods, the ‘goods’ of today represent a continuous flow of knowledge nodes attracting wealth and talent. NTU can be a knowledge node along the modern Silk Road; it has already established East-West connections and partnerships among top overseas institutions from the region and beyond.”
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| In remembrance |
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At the opening of the SPMS conference on 20 July, SPMS Chair Prof Ling San spoke movingly of the contributions made by the late Emeritus Professor Kiang Ai Kim, who passed away two days before the conference, at the age of 92. Over the course of a distinguished career, Emeritus Prof Kiang led numerous pioneering efforts on behalf of science in Singapore. In 2005, NTU set up the Emeritus Professor Kiang Ai Kim Endowment Fund at SPMS in his honour to support book prizes, merit awards and gold medals for outstanding SPMS students, as well as teaching and research.
“There is one individual to whom I would like to pay special tribute,” noted Prof Ling. “Prof Kiang Ai Kim – one of the pioneer chemists in Singapore – has always been a strong supporter of SPMS and a source of encouragement for us. He would have been thrilled to join us here today. We thank him for having constantly cheered us on as the School moved forward.”
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Better water solutions
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NTU’S COMMITMENT TO improving Environmental and Water Technologies (EWT) continues to grow; in June, two university research projects received up to S$4 million from the Environment & Water Industry Development Council, under its second Challenge Call for Request-for-Proposals (RFP) in the field of rapid microbial detection. The RFP set out the challenge of developing new ways to detect the presence and viability of Cryptosporidium in drinking water within an hour. The two NTU projects are led by Assoc Prof Thomas Gong and Assoc Prof Liu Ai Qun, both of whom are exploring innovative EWT solutions that are an improvement over current methods (which are time-consuming and labour-intensive, typically taking six hours or more).
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| Research leaders: (from left) Prof Subodh Mhaisalkar, Assoc Prof Christos Panagopoulos and Assoc Prof Jaume Torres will each receive up to S$10 million from the NRF. | |
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| Leading edge
THREE PROPOSALS from NTU have received up to S$30 million in funding from the National Research Foundation (NRF), following its fourth call for proposals under its Competitive Research Programme (CRP) Funding Scheme. These projects were chosen from among 70 proposals submitted to the NRF by Singapore-based researchers from local universities, public research entities and private companies.
NTU has consistently demonstrated its research edge since the inaugural CRP grant call in April 2007; the three winning proposals from the university are:
• “Nanonets: New materials, devices for integrated energy harnessing and storage”, led by Prof Subodh Mhaisalkar from the School of Materials Science & Engineering
• “Interface Science and Technology (IS-Tech)”, led by Assoc Prof Christos Panagopoulos of the School of Physical & Mathematical Sciences
• “Membrane protein sciences: Tools for rational discovery of novel therapeutics and diagnostics targeting integral membrane proteins”, led by Assoc Prof Jaume Torres from the School of Biological Sciences
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Meeting of minds
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| Towards 2015: NTU President Dr Su Guaning outlining the new chapter for NTU’s growth at the Academic Council Meeting 2009. | |
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| NTU’S FACULTY MEMBERS came together on 27 August to witness the installation of a new cohort of full professors, a ceremony held in conjunction with the university’s Academic Council Meeting 2009. Comprising all tenured and tenure-track faculty members of NTU, the Academic Council provides input on academic matters through its elected Senate and standing committees. At this annual meeting of the Academic Council, the university leadership provided an overview of the key strategic directions for NTU, kicking off a communication and engagement process that will include visits by the President and Provost to the Colleges and Schools. In his State of the University Address, NTU President and Chair of the NTU Academic Council Dr Su Guaning gave the first glimpse of the exciting roadmap for the university, arrived at after deliberations with the Board of Trustees and the Colleges: NTU 2015. This strategic plan will build on NTU’s spirit of renewal and growth, with efforts to be channelled into five peaks of excellence that are integrated, multidisciplinary and highly inclusive.
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Take a bow, Class of 2009!
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THIS YEAR, NTU CELEBRATED the graduation of 7,983 students in 16 ceremonies held from 23 to 30 July. Two luminaries also received honorary degrees for their outstanding contributions in education, business and philanthropy; Dr Lee Seng Gee, Chairman of the Lee Foundation, was conferred the Degree of Doctor of Letters (honoris causa), while Prof Linda Darling-Hammond, the Charles E Ducommun Professor of Education at Stanford University, received the Degree of Doctor of Education (honoris causa).
Outstanding graduates also received their honours. This year, 112 gold medals (including 26 Lee Kuan Yew Gold Medals) were awarded to top students, while 20 students received the University Scholars Award. Launched by NTU in 2007, the University Scholars Award celebrates the accomplishments of well-rounded achievers while honouring the teachers and faculty members who have inspired them.
In his Convocation speech, NTU President Dr Su Guaning noted the challenges facing graduates, yet had heartening news to share as well. “We have been monitoring our graduate employment statistics closely, [and] up to Convocation, the employment rate is just a few percentage points behind last year,” explained Dr Su. “Even more gratifyingly, our Class of 2009 has really put their hearts into the Graduation Class Gift campaign, with a new record participation rate of 43.6 percent.”
Among the pioneers of the graduating class were the inaugural cohort of Bachelor’s degree graduates from NTU’s newest academic powerhouses: the School of Art, Design & Media, the School of Humanities & Social Sciences and the School of Physical & Mathematical Sciences.
On 19 September, NTU held its fourth China Convocation, in Fujian. A total of 288 students graduated from the university’s popular China-based Master’s programmes this year. Well done, Class of 2009; we are proud of you!
To find out more about our honorary degree recipients, go to Inspiration.
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Summer session
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| Going global: Participants of the Les Houches School of Physics Summer Session in Singapore. | |
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| THE RENOWNED Les Houches School of Physics has collaborated with NTU’s Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS) and the National University of Singapore’s Centre for Quantum Technology on its first summer school session in Singapore. This marks the first time that Les Houches, one of the world’s premier summer and winter schools, has held a session outside of France. Over four weeks at IAS (from 29 June to 24 July), close to 60 students from countries such as China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, France, Germany, Poland and Turkey took part in programmes based on quantum information science and ultracold atoms. The courses were taught by distinguished local and international lecturers including Prof Anthony Leggett, Nobel laureate in Physics (2003).
Bridges to China
TWO NEW COLLABORATIONS will inject NTU’s unique brand of education into China’s fast-evolving economy. To raise the bar on talent development for the proposed Guangdong Knowledge City, in July, NTU and SingBridge International Singapore signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Education of Guangdong Province and the Administrative Committee of Guangzhou Development District. The four-way partnership paves the way for research programmes that can enhance the capabilities of the new Knowledge City. The agreement also covers advanced training for staff of both large enterprises and start-ups. A second collaboration, between NTU and the Organisation Department of Guangzhou city, formalised in July at NTU’s one-north campus, promises quality educational programmes for city administrators. These include NTU’s highly-regarded Master’s degree programmes and short-term training courses and seminars.
By design
ANOTHER OUTSTANDING PARTNERSHIP looks set to give students of the School of Art, Design & Media the best of Asia and Europe. In July, the university formalised an alliance with one of Europe’s top design schools, Domus Academy, to offer a joint Master of Arts degree in Interactive Design. This is the first time that Domus Academy has established a Master’s degree programme with a partner outside of Italy. Lending an Asian perspective to European design sensibilities, the one-year programme will commence in January 2010 and offer a solid grounding in the conceptual and strategic aspects of interactive design, via coursework in both Milan and Singapore.
Premier joint PhDs
NTU’S ACADEMIC OFFERINGS continue to expand with the addition of two new joint Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programmes. In August, the university and leading German institution Technische Universität München (TUM) took their partnership to the next level by signing an agreement to jointly offer a PhD programme in Electrical & Electronic Engineering, which will be extended to other disciplines. NTU and TUM have previously launched three successful joint MSc programmes. The latest landmark collaboration has resulted in TUM’s first joint PhD programme with a partner university.
In September, NTU also formed a world-beating partnership with top Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet to offer a joint PhD programme in Biomedical Science. The two academic alliances come on the heels of a joint PhD programme with Imperial College London, formalised in May this year. Such tie-ups with world-renowned European universities in recent months attest to the reputation NTU enjoys as a leading global science and technology university.
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Engineered for excellence
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| Joint effort: Researchers from Rolls-Royce and NTU are already at work on projects in the three areas of process technology, computational engineering and power electronics. | |
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| NTU AND ROLLS-ROYCE have signed a five-year Master Research Agreement that will allow researchers from both entities to work together in key areas. At a media conference on 5 August, NTU Provost Prof Bertil Andersson outlined three fields in which the university and Rolls-Royce would be collaborating: process technology research (focusing on surface modification solutions), computational engineering research and power electronics research.
Besides developing a pool of researchers with multidisciplinary experience, the agreement will also benefit students by allowing them to take on high-level investigative challenges. “NTU is one of the biggest engineering universities in the world, and just as important as high-quality research is having high-quality people to do it,” said Mr Ric Parker, Group Director for Research & Technology at Rolls-Royce. “This is what NTU offers.”
The agreement also complements Roll-Royce’s recent announcement that it will be building a new facility at Seletar to manufacture fan blades for military and commercial aircraft engines. “This is our most important technology, and we have been developing it for 20 years,” explained Mr Parker. “The fact that we are bringing it here to Singapore shows our great faith in the respect for intellectual property here, and in NTU’s ability to help us develop the technology further, as well as to lend the skills and innovation needed to take it to the market.”
Ease of transport
THE LAND TRANSPORT AUTHORITY (LTA) is keen to tap NTU’s innovations for smoother journeys. On 13 August, NTU and LTA signed a Memorandum of Collaboration that will allow the university to bring its research capabilities and resources to bear upon transport challenges. One project employs a custom-designed traffic-driving simulator to study the response of drivers to LTA’s Advanced Traveller Information System. Data from this study will allow for the improved placement of signs in tunnels and clearer messaging. A second project involves the development of Singapore’s first fuel cell buses, with the advantage of low carbon dioxide emissions.
Medical interfaces
IN MAY, it was announced that NTU would be looking into setting up Singapore’s third medical school, a landmark institution that will deliver world-class medical education and healthcare.
The man leading the charge is Prof Jan Carlstedt-Duke, the Director of NTU’s Medical School Project. A Professor of Molecular Endocrinology and Senior Adviser, Rectorate, at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Prof Carlstedt-Duke is a seasoned clinician and researcher (his main field of study being the structure and function of steroid hormone receptors). In 1999, he was appointed Vice-Dean of Research at Karolinska Institutet and from 2001–2007 was Dean of Research. In July, Prof Carlstedt-Duke received an honorary Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. In his acceptance speech, he urged graduates to explore different research cultures in order to become better clinicians and scientists.
NTU’s plan for the medical school builds on the university’s established strengths in engineering and science. Through working with local and international partners such as Tan Tock Seng Hospital and Imperial College London, among others, NTU expects to lend a fresh new perspective to medical science in the region and beyond. |
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