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Inroads to New Dimensions
Inroads to New Dimensions
Table of Contents
Dean’s Message .........................................
3
Faculty Appointments ............................. 4
- Deanery
- Heads of Department
- New Faculty
Awards and Achievements .................... 8
- National Awards
- University Awards
- Faculty Awards
Education .................................................. 14
- Undergraduate
- Postgraduate
- Student Highlights
Research .................................................... 24
- Research Breakthroughs
- Media Highlights
- Scientific Publications
Research Centres of Excellence ......... 60
- Centre for Quantum Technologies
- Mechanobiology Institute, Singapore
Outreach ................................................... 66
- Schools
- Alumni Relations
- Donors
Facts & Figures ......................................... 74
- NUS & FoS Global Standing
- Staff Profile
- Budget FY 09
- Undergraduate Statistics
- Postgraduate Statistics
- Research Data & Statistics
Conferences & Symposiums .................. 86
Dean’s Message
Our Vision
TO BE AMONG THE WORLD'S BEST
IN SCIENCE EDUCATION AND RESEARCH
Our Mission
To provide quality education, foster the spirit of enterprise
and conduct leading edge research to advance knowledge
in Science and Technology for the benefit of Singapore and
the global community
2
Inroads to New Dimensions | FACULTY OF SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT AY 09/10
Dean’s Message
I am pleased to report another
eventful and successful year for the
Faculty. As a respected institution
renowned for producing graduates to drive Singapore’s
thriving
economy,
we
have
enlarged
our
mission
focus
over the past decade to embrace leading edge research and a spirit of
enterprise. We continue to embrace talent and develop minds, keeping
abreast with our global partners as a quality player in all three arenas.
Our reputation for excellence continues with the slew of
awards received by faculty at the annual University Awards.
In a remarkable coincidence, three members of our Physics
Department received the prestigious Outstanding Educator,
Outstanding Researcher and Young Researcher Awards.
My heartiest congratulations to Assoc Prof Phil Chan, Prof
Ong Chong Kim and Assoc Prof Dagomir Kaszlikowski
respectively, and to the 10 others who received awards for
teaching excellence.
In recent years we have greatly expanded external
opportunities for our students through overseas
exchange and exposure initiatives, internships, work
stints, even supporting our students with financial aid in
entrepreneured ventures and humanity outreach projects.
Arising from this broad range of offerings, I am pleased to
report the formation of a Student Life Section in the Dean’s
Office. Working seamlessly and integrating with the other
student-centric sections in the Office, I am confident that
we will be able to work more effectively with our students
to enhance their educational experiences.
As a significant member in the global field of prestigious
research universities, it is little wonder that a large section
of this Report highlights developments and achievements
in our research. In these pages, we feature the influential
work by 16 of our colleagues and their fellow researchers.
We host two of Singapore’s five Research Centers of
Excellence - the Center for Quantum Technologies and the
Mechanobiology Institute, Singapore. Highlights of their
activities are also featured in this report.
For a few years now, the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity
Research has been a magnet for the public and schools,
attracting many to attend guided tours featuring exhibits of
the rich fauna and flora of both Singapore and the region.
However, little is known of the excellent, on-going research
undertaken by its staff. This will change soon, with the
recent announcement of plans to expand RMBR. Following
a remarkable fund-raising exercise, I am pleased to report
that the Museum will have a new home on campus by
2014. Renamed the Lee Kong Chian Natural History
Museum, the new facility will feature expanded exhibit
space, offer research and teaching programs to students
and educate visitors on its successful conservation work.
We continue to welcome donations from supporters and
well-wishers, and thank all donors for their contributions.
This report also pays tribute to our alumni, and features
a number of social events organized for them. It is my
intention for the Faculty to continue engaging with our
alumni, both in the social and professional settings. We
value their partnership, volunteerism and contributions.
I trust that you will find this Report interesting and informative.
Andrew Wee, Dean
FACULTY OF SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT AY 09/10 | Inroads to New Dimensions
3
FACULTY appointments
Deanery
Prof Andrew Wee
Dean
Assoc Prof Roger Tan
Vice-Dean
(Undergraduate Programs)
Prof Ji Wei
Vice-Dean
(Graduate Programs)
Prof Wong Sek Man
Vice-Dean
(Special Duties)
Assoc Prof Chin Wee Shong
Vice-Dean
(HR, Finance, Outreach)
Assoc Prof Loh Kian Ping
Vice-Dean
(Research)
Prof Jagadese J. Vittal
Assistant Dean
(Graduate Programs,
Infrastructure and Space, Research)
Assoc Prof Tok Eng Soon
Assistant Dean
(Stepping down on 30 September 2010)
(Stepped down on 30 June 2010)
Assoc Prof Chan Woon Khiong
Assistant Dean
Assoc Prof Wong Yan Loi
Assistant Dean
Assoc Prof Sow Chorng Haur
Assistant Dean
(Outreach & Alumni)
Prof Leo Tan
Director
(Special Projects)
4
Assoc Prof Chua Tin Chiu
Associate Dean
Head of Departments
Prof Paul Matsudaira
Prof Xu Guo Qin
Department of Biological Sciences
Department of Chemistry
Prof Chong Chi Tat
Assoc Prof Chan Sui Yung
Department of Mathematics
Department of Pharmacy
Prof Feng Yuan Ping
Prof Anthony Kuk Yung Cheung
Department of Physics
Department of Statistics & Applied Probability
Prof Loh Wei Liem
Department of Statistics & Applied Probability
(Acting Head from 1 July 2010)
NEW APPOINTMENTS (EFFECTIVE 1 JULY 2010)
• Assoc Prof Goh Say Song (Assistant Dean, Undergraduate Programs)
• Assoc Prof Pan Shen Quan (Assistant Dean, Research and Graduate Programs)
• Assoc Prof Ryan Bettens (Assistant Dean, Student Life)
• Assoc Prof Tay Seng Chuan (Associate Dean, Special Duties)
• Dr Ng Kah Loon (Coordinator, SM2/3 Program)
• Assoc Prof Wong Yan Loi (Director, Double Degree and Internship Programs)
5
FACULTY appointments
New Faculty
01. Ho Han Kiat
02. Roellin, Adrian
PhD (University of Washington, USA)
Assistant Professor, Pharmacy
PhD (University of Zurich, Switzerland)
Assistant Professor, Statistics & Applied
Probability
Research Areas
Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Toxicology and
toxicokinetics
03. Han Fei
Research Areas
Probability theory and applications, Stein’s
method for distributional approximation;
Mathematical modeling in epidemiology
04. Wang Jian
PhD (University of California, Berkeley, USA)
Assistant Professor, Mathematics
PhD (University of New Mexico, USA)
Assistant Professor, Chemistry
Research Areas
Differential geometry, Topology and
Mathematical physics
Research Areas
Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Medicinal
Chemistry and Chemical Biology
05. Liu Jie
06. Alkema, Leontine
PhD (University of Maryland, USA)
Assistant Professor, Mathematics
PhD (University of Washington, Seattle, USA)
Probability
Research Areas
Scientific computing, with specialization
in computational fluid dynamics, and
mathematical modeling of speech and hearing
07. Dieckmann, Kai
08. Yu Chun Kong, Victor
PhD (University of Amsterdam,
The Netherlands)
Associate Professor, Physics
PhD (University of California,
San Francisco, USA)
Associate Professor, Pharmacy
Research Areas
Experimental Quantum Optics and Atomic
Physics, Degenerate Bose and Fermi gases /
molecular quantum gases, Atom
interferometry, Laser cooling
Research Areas
Mitochondrial Signaling events in the
control of apoptosis
09. Ang Wee Han
6
Research Areas
Bayesian Statistics for probabilistic population
projections, HIV prevalence estimates/
projections and poverty measurements.
10. Yu Tao
PhD (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de
Lausanne, Switzerland)
PhD (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA)
Probability
Research Areas
Inorganic/Organometallic & Medicinal
Chemistry
Research Areas
Neuro-informatics, Bioinformatics and
Biostatistics, Statistical Inference for
High-Dimensional Modeling
Faculty Members
12. Yuk Hyun-Gyun
11. Joanne Yeh Chang
Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.)
(Temple University, Pennsylvania, USA)
Assistant Professor, Pharmacy
PhD (Mississippi State University, USA)
Research Areas
Food Microbiology and Safety
Research Areas
Internal Medicine, Chronic disease
management, Drug evaluation usage in
inpatient settings
14. van Wyhe, John Michael
13. Visweswara Shivashankar Ganaganor
PhD (The Rockefeller University, USA)
Associate Professor, Biological Sciences
PhD (University of Cambridge, UK)
Senior Lecturer, Biological Sciences
Research Areas
Mechanobiology, Bioimaging,
Biophysics of Gene Regulation
Research Areas
History of science, Charles Darwin, Alfred
Russel Wallace, evolution and religion
16. Tan Meng Chwan
15. Michael Sheetz
PhD (California Institute of Technology, USA)
Distinguished Professor, Biological Sciences
PhD (National University of Singapore)
Assistant Professor, Physics
Research Areas
Cell mechanics, Motility of organelles and
cytoplas, Cytoskeleton structure and
membrane interactions
Research Areas
String Theory and Quantum Field Theory,
Mathematical Physics
18. Nijhuis, Christian Albertus
17. Teo Yik Ying
PhD (University of Oxford, UK)
Associate Professor, Statistics & Applied
Probability
PhD (University of Twente, The Netherlands)
Research Areas
Nano-Electronics, Supramolecular Chemistry,
Nano-Fabrication, Self-Assembly
Research Areas
Statistical genetics, Biostatistics,
Genome-wide association studies
20. Toyama, Yusuke
19. Cheng Hansong
PhD (Princeton University, USA)
Associate Professor, Chemistry
PhD (Osaka University, Japan)
Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences
Research Areas
Computational chemistry, Design and
development of novel materials for hydrogen
storage and delivery, and for semiconductor
applications, Surface chemistry and heterogeneous catalysis, Force field and atomistic
simulations for metallic nano materials
Research Areas
Biophysical sciences, Cell and tissue
dynamics, Mechanical force contribution
in biological systems
7
Awards & Achievements
National Level
Singapore National Day Awards
NO.
NAME
Department
Award
01
A/Prof Ang Siau Gek
a) Registrar’s Office
b) Chemistry
The Public Administration Medal
02
Ms Soh Bee Kwan, Priscilla
Dean’s Office
The Commendation Medal
03
Prof Chan Sze On, Hardy
Chemistry
The Long Service Medal
04
Prof Chen Hsiao Yun, Louis
Mathematics
05
Miss Choo Beng Goon, Joan
Biological Sciences
06
Prof Lim Hock
Physics
07
A/Prof Loh Chiang Shiong
Biological Sciences
08
Mdm Ong Sewee Yong
Chemistry
09
Mr Rahmat Bin Wahab
Biological Sciences
10
Mrs See Toh Mew Ann
Statistics & Applied Probability
11
Prof Tan Tiong Gie, Bernard
Physics
(Bronze)
University Level
Singapore Millennium Foundation
-NUS Research Horizons Award
Dr Barbaros Oezyilmaz
Physics
Assoc Prof Loh Kian Ping
Chemistry
University Awards
Outstanding Educator
Award 2010
Assoc Prof Phil Chan Aik Hui
Physics
8
Outstanding Researcher Award
Prof Ong Chong Kim
Physics
Young Researcher Award
Assoc Prof Dagomir Kaszlikowski
Physics
University Awards (cont’d)
Annual Teaching Excellence Award AY 2008/09
A/P Loh Chiang Shiong
Biological Sciences
Mr N. Sivasothi
Biological Sciences
Mr Ng Wee Seng
Mathematics
Dr Eric Chan Chun Yong
Pharmacy
Dr Seow Teck Keong
Biological Sciences
A/P Gong Jiangbin
Physics
A/P Chew Tuan Seng
Mathematics
Dr Yeo Ye
Physics
Dr Ng Kah Loon
Mathematics
Ms Chen Peiyi
Honour Roll 2010
A/P Loh Chiang Shiong
Biological Sciences
Dr Eric Chan Chun Yong
Pharmacy
Ms Chen Peiyi
9
University Level (cont’d)
NUS Quality Service Award 2009
NO.
NAME
Department
Award Received
01
Ms Lee Chooi Lan
Chemistry
Service Champion
02
Ms Tay Bee Hwee
Physics
Service Champion
03
Ms Tang Chui Ngoh
Chemistry
Service Leader
04
Mr Yan Tie
Biological Sciences
Service Achiever
05
Ms Soh Siew Eng
Biological Sciences
Service Achiever
06
Ms Carine Ng Hew Cheng
Dean’s Office
Service Achiever
07
Mr Mohd Noor Bin Haron
Dean’s Office
Service Achiever
08
Mr Syam Kumar
Dean’s Office
Service Achiever
09
Mr Kek Chun Peng
Physics
Service Achiever
10
Ms Lee Soo Mien
Physics
Service Achiever
11
Mr Teo Hoon Hwee
Physics
Service Achiever
12
Mr Allen Tan Jee Hian
Biological Sciences
Service Advocate
13
Mdm Ang Hwee Hiok
Chemistry
Service Advocate
14
Ms Lau Pei Rong
Dean’s Office
Service Advocate
15
Ms Yong Lai Cheng
Dean’s Office
Service Advocate
Faculty Level
Faculty Teaching Excellence Award AY2008/2009
NO.
NAME
01
A/Prof Loh Chiang Shiong, Biological Sciences
15
Prof Koh Khee Meng, Mathematics
02
A/Prof Yu Hao, Biological Sciences
16
A/Prof Go Mei Lin, Pharmacy
03
A/Prof Chew Fook Tim, Biological Sciences
17
Dr Eric Chan Chun Yong, Pharmacy
04
Dr Lam Siew Hong, Biological Sciences
18
A/Prof Christian Kurtsiefer, Physics
05
Dr Seow Teck Keong, Biological Sciences
19
A/Prof Sow Chorng Haur, Physics
06
Prof Chou Loke Ming, Biological Sciences
20
A/Prof Tay Seng Chuan, Physics
07
Mr N Sivasothi, Biological Sciences
21
A/Prof Gong Jiang Bin, Physics
08
A/Prof Fan Wai Yip, Chemistry
22
Dr Yeo Ye, Physics
09
A/Prof Ryan Bettens, Chemistry
23
Prof Oh Choo Hiap, Physics
10
A/Prof Helmer Aslaksen, Mathematics
24
A/Prof Sanjay Khanna, Physiology
11
Dr Ng Kah Loon, Mathematics
25
Dr Alex Cook, Statistics & Applied Probability
12
Dr Toh Pee Choon, Mathematics
26
A/Prof Leng Chenlei, Statistics & Applied Probability
13
Mr Ng Wee Seng, Mathematics
27
Dr Tang Chengyong, Statistics & Applied Probability
14
Prof Chan Heng Huat, Mathematics
28
Ms Chen Peiyi, Statistics & Applied Probability
10
NO.
NAME
Honour Roll AY2008/2009
NO.
NAME
NO.
NAME
01
A/Prof Rudolf Meier, Biological Sciences
07
Prof Lee Soo Teck, Mathematics
02
Prof Alex Ip Yuen Kwong, Biological Sciences
08
Dr Grant Sklar, Pharmacy
03
Prof Zhou Weibiao, Chemistry
09
A/Prof Chan Lai Wah, Pharmacy
04
A/Prof Chew Tuan Seng, Mathematics
10
A/Prof Phil Chan Aik Hui, Physics
05
A/Prof Goh Say Song, Mathematics
06
A/Prof Victor Tan, Mathematics
11
Dr Yap Von Bing,
Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award (Full-Time) AY2008/2009
NO.
NAME
NO.
NAME
01
Ms Thyagarajan Saradha, Chemistry
04
Dr Nidhi Sharma, Physics
02
Mr Wang Fei, Mathematics
03
Dr Perry Lim Fung Chye, Pharmacy
05
Ms Qiu Leiju, Physics
Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award (Part-Time) AY2008/2009
NO.
NAME
NO.
NAME
01
Mr Ang Yuchen, Biological Sciences
10
Ms Sit Wing Yee, Mathematics
02
Mr Daryl Hee Kim Hor, Biological Sciences
11
Mr Goh Siong Thye, Mathematics
03
Mr Jose Christopher Mendoza, Biological Sciences
12
Mr Jin Chenyuan, Mathematics
04
Ms Andie Ang Hui Fang, Biological Sciences
13
Mr Miao Weimin, Mathematics
05
Ms Gwynne Lim Shimin, Biological Sciences
14
Ms Anahita Fathi-Azarbayjani, Pharmacy
06
Ms Loong Ai May, Biological Sciences
15
Mr Atul D Karande, Pharmacy
07
Ms Eunice Ng Yi Hui, Biological Sciences
16
Mr Jiang Binyan, Statistics & Applied Probability
08
Ms Tok Chia Yee, Biological Sciences
17
Mr Loke Chok Kang, Statistics & Applied Probability
09
Ms Laura-Marie Yap Yen Ling, Biological Sciences
18
Ms Elizabeth Chong Yan-Ci , Statistics & Applied Probability
Outstanding Scientist Award 2009
NO.
NAME
NO.
NAME
01
Prof Kini R Manjunatha, Biological Sciences
05
A/Prof Frank Stephan, Mathematics
02
Dr He Yuehui, Biological Sciences
06
A/Prof Zhang De Qi, Mathematics
03
A/Prof Thorsten Wohland, Chemistry
04
Prof Lee Hian Kee, Chemistry
07
A/Prof Chan Hock Peng,
11
Faculty Level (cont’d)
Young Scientist Award 2009
NO.
NAME
NO.
NAME
01
Dr Lu Yixin, Chemistry
04
A/Prof Dagomir Kaszlikowski, Physics
02
A/Prof Tan Choon Hong, Chemistry
03
A/Prof Tan Kai Meng, Mathematics
05
A/Prof Leng Chenlei,
Statistics & Applied Probabilty
Outstanding Science Entrepreneur Award 2009
NO.
NAME
01
Prof B V R Chowdari, Physics
Outstanding Service Award 2009
NO.
NAME
NO.
NAME
01
Mdm Liew Chye Fong, Biological Sciences
21
Ms Teh Wei Fong, Dean’s Office
02
Mr Lim Kok Peng, Biological Sciences
22
Ms Rajendra Sangeetha, Dean’s Office
03
Mr Allan Tan Jee Hian, Biological Sciences
23
Ms Sim Xiu Juan, Dean’s Office
04
Mr Yan Tie, Biological Sciences
24
Mdm Chan Lai Chee, Mathematics
05
Mrs Wong Wai Peng, Biological Sciences
25
Mdm Rubiah Bte Tukimin, Mathematics
06
Ms Joan Choo Beng Goon, Biological Sciences
26
Ms Lynette Wong Mei-Lin, Mathematics
07
Ms Tong Yan, Biological Sciences
27
Mdm Nor Hazliza Binte Mohamad, Pharmacy
08
Ms Yong Ann Nee, Biological Sciences
28
Mdm Oh Tang Booy, Pharmacy
09
Mdm Lee Chooi Lan, Chemistry
29
Mdm Wong Mei Yin, Pharmacy
10
Mr Abdul Rahaman Bin Mohd Noor, Chemistry
30
Mr Sukaman Bin Seymo, Pharmacy
11
Mr Chionh Twa Soon, Chemistry
31
Mrs Teo Say Moi nee Lim, Pharmacy
12
Mr Sim Hang Whatt, Chemistry
32
Ms Chew Ying Ying, Pharmacy
13
Ms Tang Chui Ngoh, Chemistry
33
Mr Lim Geok Quee, Physics
14
Mr Leong Hong Fai, Dean’s Office
34
Mr Teo Hoon Hwee, Physics
15
Mr Syam Kumar Prabhakaran, Dean’s Office
35
Mr Samuel Wu Tong Meng, Physics
16
Mr James Wee Chee Seng, Dean’s Office
36
Mr Tan Choon Wah, Physics
17
Ms Dawn Lee Siok-Peng, Dean’s Office
37
Mrs Lee Soo Mien, Physics
18
Ms Lau Pei Rong, Dean’s Office
38
Mrs Phua Swee Wah nee Choo, Physics
19
Ms Ong Lili (Wang Lili), Dean’s Office
39
Ms Foo Eng Tin, Physics
20
Ms Priscilla Soh Bee Kwan, Dean’s Office
40
Ms Muslihah Binte Moctar, Statistics & Applied Probability
12
Achievements
Headline: NUS Don The New Science
Centre Head
Assoc Prof Lim Tit Meng
Source: The Straits Times, pA29
Date: 9 January 2010
ACCOLADES
Cultivating teaching excellence
through the 3Cs
Embarking on his academic career with NUS more
than a decade ago, Assoc Prof Goh Say Song has
been garnering a number of teaching awards over
the years. He can now add yet another to his string
of accolades – the Outstanding Educator Award
(2009) which acknowledges faculty members who
have excelled in engaging and inspiring students in
their discovery of knowledge.
Sharing his three Cs of teaching, Assoc Prof Goh
said: “The first C is the commitment for us as
educators to perform each and every one of our
teaching task to the best of our abilities. The
second C is about the commitment to venture
into novel teaching methods as well as
to initiate and drive new educational
programmes. The third C, which requires
even more from us, is the commitment
to sustain and continue our efforts
in education and teaching over an
extended period of time.”
learning path, offering opportunities to achieve
multiple levels of understanding in lectures and
tutorials. He also draws examples from his daily
life, uses IT tools and illustrates relevance of
materials taught with ideas from his research
programme.
Assoc Prof Goh had wanted to be a teacher since
being inspired by teachers he encountered during
his junior college, university and graduate school
days. In a similar vein, he hopes to inspire his own
students, using every teaching challenge that
comes his way as an opportunity to inculcate skills
in his students and to make a difference for them.
Currently with the NUS Department of
Mathematics, Assoc Prof Goh’s teaching
portfolio includes calculus, advanced
calculus, analysis on metric spaces
and complex analysis. He views his
role as educator to be ever changing,
depending on the stage of his students
in their learning journey.
KNOWLEDGE ENTERPRISE
“For first-year students, my main task
is to help them build up fundamental
knowledge so that they are equipped
with the background capabilities for
subsequent modules. These classes are
usually large with students of different
aptitudes and learning mindsets.
Many students need to get used to
the significant jump in standard when
they progress from pre-university to
university education. There are also
issues like how to accommodate weaker
students while motivating the more
advanced ones, or how to challenge
all students effectively,” said Assoc
Prof Goh.
With his research students, he noted:
“I become their mentor in inventing
new knowledge. Unlike coursework,
research contains a great amount of uncertainty
and there is no guarantee that one will obtain the
desired results after embarking on a problem.” He
highlighted that challenges include finding ways to
encourage, guide and motivate research students
to ensure their potential is effectively realised.
Owing to NUS’ student diversity, the mathematics
professor uses different approaches in reaching
out to students from various backgrounds. His
strategies include taking students on a progressive
TEACHING EXCELLENCE: Assoc Prof Goh Say Song,
recipient of the Outstanding Educator Award 2009.
His efforts have been roundly rewarded in the
number of faculty and university-level teaching
awards conferred. In 2007, he was placed on the
Honour Roll – an award for faculty members who
have won the annual Teaching Excellence Award
three times in recognition of their sustained high
performance in teaching.
Assoc Prof Goh said that he hopes to contribute
towards the education of future generations as an
educator, researcher and administrator.
This article was written with reference from “An Opportunity to Educate and Inspire” which appeared in the July/Aug 2009 issue of
CDTLink, a triannual publication of the Centre for Development of Teaching and Learning.
6
Headline: Cultivating teaching excellence through the 3Cs
Assoc Prof Goh Say Song
Source: Knowledge Enterprise, p6
13
EDUCATION
Undergraduate
Student Experiences
Edwin Tan Wei Zhe
President
49th Executive Committee
NUS Pharmaceutical Society
Tay Manjun
President 2009-2010
NUS Chemical Sciences Society
“The past year as a student leader has broadened my
horizons and increased my personal confidence. In
addition, I also get to hone my communication and
leadership skills in the process. It has been a tough process
that was made easier and more enjoyable through
the sheer support of the Pharmacy Department.”
“It has been a busy yet fruitful and memorable year for
all of us. Nothing can be done without the efforts from
every single one of you. Thank you so much!”
Sun Yu
President 2009-2010
NUS Mathematics Society
Xiuqing picked up German
during her first year leading her
to participate in Department
of Chemistry’s EURIP (Europe
Immersion Program). It has
also fostered her interest
in German language and
culture. Furthermore, it led to an 8- month internship
with Bayer Crop Science AG at Frankfurt and a summer
exchange to Technical University of Munich (TUM).
“Every piece of knowledge gained is an asset, every
friend known is an additional colour in my life, and every
obstacle faced is another motivation towards success”
Ong Ding Li
President 2009-2010
30th Executive Committee
NUS Students’ Science Club
“The opportunity to be in
Science Club has allowed me
to experience a fulfilling and
enriching journey. It is heartwarming to see our members
display such remarkable level
of motivation and passion for everything they do and
it truly is a privilege to work with a wonderful mix of
personalities in the club to bring a more vibrant student
life to the Faculty of Science. I am proud to have worked
together with my team to achieve our goals and visions
that we had shared since we first took on this journey
together. Above all, I thank the Faculty of Science and
Science Club for providing this life-changing platform
to discover my passion, realise my potential, and pursue
my dreams.”
14
Loke Xiuqing,
Year 4 Applied
Chemistry
Chang Kai Lun,
Year 4 Pharmacy
Despite her busy schedule,
Xiuqing managed her
own chocolate fountain
business
www.liquidchocolate.blogspot.com.
She was a translator for the
Singapore Youth Olympics
2010 and she appeared in an episode of the German TV
channel Deutsch Welle in May - June 2010.
About NUS Science, Xiuqing has this to say: “NUS
provides a wide array of choices with all the different
programs. We have a say and choice as to how we want
to shape our education to suit our interests and goals in
life. With many programs and activities going on we can
be proactive in choosing what we really want to do. The
other extreme of getting involved in more than we can
cope can be detrimental. A good balance is choosing
what matters.”
A friendly and modest
gentleman,
Kai
Lun,
despite his demanding
coursework as a Pharmacy
4th Year student, has gone
above and beyond his
limits to actively seek out
the many opportunities
available for NUS undergraduates. Through his efforts, he
has been able to nurture himself as a biathlete, a float
designer and interning at a renowned research institute.
Kai Lun was all praises for his experience in NUS Science,
“Many opportunities abound for students with an interest
in healthcare, allowing us to take a myriad of courses
extending to even nursing and medicine. In the Faculty of
Science, the conditions are all ready for us to pursue our
ideal research internship. We do not have to approach a
company on our own, as the Faculty has strong connections
with many major players who are more than willing to
take in students.
“Future options in NUS are also attractive with programs
like a joint PhD degree. Our supervisors have been
encouraging, recommending us to step out to the global
stage and have even helped us to liaise with a collaborator
in Imperial College. They also helped to share their
experiences and opinions on other options.”
15
EDUCATION
Student Experiences
Ng Kah Fee,
Year 4 Physics,
NUS-French Double Degree
Ten thousand kilometres
away from NUS, Kah
Fee is a fourth year
Physics
undergraduate
in the second phase of
the French Double Degree
Program (FDDP) at Ecole
Polytechnique Paris, France. The unique joint degree
program conceived exclusively for Faculty of Science
undergraduates involves two years of study in NUS
followed by another two years in Ecole Polytechnique
Paris. He expects to graduate in mid-2011 with Bachelor
and Master degrees as well as a Diplome d’Ingenieur
and Diplome de l’Ecole Polytechnique.
“I would say being able to have the opportunity to go to
two universities is a big plus for me. NUS and the Faculty
of Science have many partnerships with good universities
around the world, ensuring an opportunity for many
of us to step out and experience a global education.
Moreover, the NUS curriculum allows us the flexibility to
choose and structure our own program, especially for
Physics. I could choose from a wide range of attractive
modules made available by the Faculty in order to fulfil my
degree requirements. The freedom to decide on my own
combination of Physics core modules and breadth modules
ranging from social sciences, arts, design, business and
many more, is something unique.”
16
Ewen Er, Year 3,
Life Sciences & Law
Double Degree
The Faculty of Science
aims to raise competent
researchers in groundbreaking fields of Science,
and therefore, research
is a strongly advocated
component of a Science
student’s life in NUS. There are many who thrive in a
multidisciplinary research environment; for
this the Faculty
has in place many programs to cater to their needs.
Ewen Er is one such individual who has found his niche
in pursuing a double degree in Law and Life Sciences.
The program is a collaboration between the Faculty of
Science and the Faculty of Law, wherein a student obtains
a bachelor’s degree from both faculties. Ewen explains
his decision to take up this combination and goes on to
recount his experiences in the double degree course, and
how he manages the difficulties and challenges.
“Most importantly, I have a good foundation in scientific
principles related to the Life Sciences, which will serve
me well when I practice law, especially in the domains
of bioethics, intellectual property and patenting with
respect to research done in the life sciences industry.
The facilities in NUS are excellent. The laboratories have
well-maintained, state of the art equipment. The lab
technicians and teaching assistants are helpful, friendly
and approachable. Apart from taking core Life Science
modules, I had opportunities to interact with my fellow
Science students through the Freshmen Seminar. In this
way, I was exposed to other science disciplines”.
Undergraduate News
Environmental Biology Specialization
To meet a growing demand by employers for Life Sciences
graduates with environmental knowledge and skills,
the Life Sciences Program offers students the option of
specializing in the environmental aspects of modern
biology. This new Environmental Biology specialization
involves the study of the functioning of organisms,
populations, communities and their habitats; it reflects the
commitment by the Department of Biological Sciences to
expand teaching and research in Environmental Biology.
Concurrent Degree Program between Faculty
of Science, NUS and Department of Biomedical
Sciences, King’s College London
Designed as a four-year program, this course of study
leads to a NUS B.Sc. (Hons.) in Life Sciences and a King’s
College London (KCL) M.Res. in Molecular Biophysics. It
focuses on the increasingly important and exciting field of
Biophysical Sciences.
It is a joint effort harnessing the synergy between the
two institutions in the field of Biophysics, specifically the
complementary strengths and expertise of the prestigious
Randall Division of Cell & Molecular Biophysics in KCL, and
the Research Centre of Excellence (RCE) in Mechanobiology
and Centre for BioImaging Sciences in NUS. The M.Res.
program at KCL is a newly-developed intensive one-year
Master’s program offering in-depth practical biophysics
research (75% of the program), complemented by courses
in molecular biophysics and biology (25% of the program).
Summer Undergraduate Research Opportunity
Program in Science (Summer UROPS)
UROPS in the Special Term, or more commonly known
as Summer UROPS in FoS, has increased in its scale of
offerings for students from the University of Toronto
(UofT), one of our valued partner universities. The number
of UofT students that came to FoS this summer (10 May
to 31 July 2010) has increased from three in 2009 to eight
this year. This intensive summer research, lasting over 12
weeks, gave UofT students the opportunity to experience
cultural immersion activities during their stay here. In
exchange, FoS students would be going to UofT for the
regular Student Exchange and Summer Program. This
program has further strengthened the ties between FoS
and the Faculty of Arts and Science in UofT.
The concurrent degree program is set to admit current Life
Sciences students in AY2010/2011.
17
EDUCATION
NUS students in the Global Clinic Program
(From Left) Lim Soo Rei Hannah, Gao Jing, Lim She Yah,
Dai Weilu, Bing Zhujun and Chung Hui Ling
Harvey Mudd College-NUS Global Clinic Program
FoS and Harvey Mudd College (HMC) had agreed on two
global clinic projects for the period June 2010 to May
2011. Each project team comprises six specially selected
students – three from NUS and three from HMC. The
students have undergone a six-week intensive summer
program – three weeks in HMC and three weeks in NUS,
to prepare them for the technicalities of the projects as
well as to encourage team bonding. After the summer
program, they will continue to discuss, meet and work
online for the duration of the project. The deliverables
from these projects will be products with industrial and
real life applications.
18
Forensic Science Opportunities at the University
of Toronto (UofT)
Two students in FoS, will have the rare opportunity to
go to UofT in Semester 1 of AY2010/11 to read Forensic
Science courses offered within the UofT’s prestigious
B.Sc. program in Forensic Science. This B.Sc. program is
the first in Canada and takes in only 20 to 25 students per
year. Our two FoS students will have the opportunity to
interact with practitioners and top minds in this area while
fulfilling the requirements for a minor in Forensic Science
from FoS. A joint minor in Forensic Science between the
two universities is also in the pipeline.
FoS Summer Program
For the first time, the FoS Summer Program welcomed
students from Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico. The
Field Studies in Biodiversity module, the highlight of the
FoS Summer Program held from 21 June to 23 July 2010,
had participating students visit the tropical island of Pulau
Tioman in Peninsula Malaysia for a one-week intensive field
trip to study the island’s diverse assemblage of flora and
fauna. Students also participated in a cultural assimilation
program to further acquaint themselves with the Asian/
Singaporean culture and way of life.
In reciprocation, a Forensic Science student from UofT
arrived in NUS for a six-week research internship (June
– July 2010), jointly hosted by FoS, the Singapore Police
Force and the Health Sciences Authority.
Students sorting out their freshwater catch at Pulau Tioman
Waseda Global Seminar
In collaboration with seven prestigious universities –
Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Peking and Korea Universities,
University of Washington and MIT, FoS collaborated with
Waseda University to formulate the pilot Waseda Global
Seminar program in 2009. Following the success of the
pilot program, FoS is proud to host this event for a second
time in June 2010. The theme for this year is ‘Sustainability’,
with a focus on ‘Biodiversity’. In recognition of the crucial
role he played in ensuring the success of the pilot program
last year, Emeritus Professor Chou Loke Ming from the
Department of Biological Sciences was invited to teach in
the program again this year.
Two FoS students had been selected to participate in
the seminar. FoS had also extended the invitation to two
students from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences to
join the team. Students engage in intensive online courses
from June to July before spending three weeks in Waseda
University. During the three-week summer program in
Waseda University, they will work in cross cultural teams
and engage in intensive lectures, discussions and debates
on selected case studies on the topic.
19
EDUCATION
Postgraduate
Science Graduate Students Win
National and University Awards
World Future Foundation PhD Prize
Dr Wang Yan from the Department of Chemistry received
the inaugural World Future Foundation PhD Prize
in Environmental and Sustainability Research. Her
thesis presented a systematic study on pervaporation
separation of bioalcohols. It makes important
contributions to the environmental impact and
sustainability of biofuels applications.
Dr Wang is currently working as a Research Fellow in the
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
Wang Gungwu Medal and Prize
& the Chua Toh Hua Memorial Gold Medal
Dr Liu Chang from the Department of Biological Sciences
is the recipient of two prestigious awards in Life Sciences,
the Wang Gungwu Medal and Prize for the best PhD thesis
in the Natural Sciences and the Chua Toh Hua Memorial
Gold Medal for the best PhD graduate with the most
outstanding work done in Life Science. He joined NUS in
August 2006 and has since published eight papers based
on the findings from his PhD research. He attributes his
success to his supervisors, Associate Professor Yu Hao and
Professor Prakash Kumar.
Dr Liu is currently working as a Research Fellow in Temasek
Life Science Laboratory.
(From Left) Lim Hui Ming (QC Biochemist), Gadekar Sunil
Appasaheb (Senior Production Supervisor),
Shajee Valsan (Process Engineer)
MSc Pharmaceutical Sciences and
Technology - First Graduating Cohort
The post-graduate coursework program, Master of Science
degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology, was
launched by the Department of Pharmacy in August
2008. This was in response to appeals from the Economic
Development Board to provide a pipeline of competent
engineers, scientists and pharmacists who are adept and
knowledge-ready to meet the needs of pharmaceutical
companies with manufacturing/pharmaceutical development
bases in Singapore. It caters to prospective students
who are already working in or aspiring to enter the
pharmaceutical and biomedical industry. It focuses
on topics in pharmaceutical sciences and technology,
spanning the processing and manufacturing of active pure
drugs (small molecules and biologics) and medical devices,
to the design, formulation and quality assurance of the
final health product. The first three of the 34 students enrolled in this 10-module
part-time program graduated in July 2010. Miss Lim Hui
Ming, one of the graduates said, “This postgraduate
course provides a broad selection of modules that sums
up the core functions of pharmaceutical manpower and
is well balanced in coverage of both the technical skills
and academic knowledge in biomedical industry. It has
provided me with the necessary skill set to face future
challenges in my career.”
20
STUDENT EXPERIENCES
LOO WEI YEN –
NUS/ANU MSc Science Communication graduate
The MSc (Science Communication) is a post-graduate
collaboration program between NUS and the Australian
National University (ANU). Launched in Semester 2
of AY2008/2009, it focuses on scientific content in
an educational context and caters to the needs and
expectations of teachers and science communicators. It
is especially customized for school teachers who want
to upgrade their skills in a program that focuses on
both communication skills and scientific content in an
educational context and individuals keen to pursue a
career in science communication, science policy, science
journalism or scientific writing.
Full time students spent one semester at ANU and one
semester at NUS. Part time students will do the ANU core
modules in intensive mode at Science Centre Singapore
and the optional ANU modules online.
Eight students enrolled in the inaugural year, one of whom
is the first graduate of the program in Commencement
2010. Loo Wei Yen shares her views and experiences here.
The reason for enrolling in the program.
I think it’s a combination of reasons that appealed.
It’s Singapore’s premier university, whose reputation is
renowned internationally.
The direction of the course, MSc Science Communication,
is pragmatic and different from other Masters courses that
are available to teachers.
Having ANU (Australia’s top university) as a collaborator,
and providing an opportunity to spend a semester there
was an added bonus.
Her experiences in ANU.
Having left school more than 10 years ago, I was a bit
apprehensive about going back to school. But attending
the Orientation Program not only helped in familiarizing
ourselves with ANU campus and its surroundings, it also
allowed us to form friendships that made the 4-month
Loo Wei Yen with A/P Sue Stocklmayer, Director of CPAS, ANU
stay in Canberra memorable. In addition, the staff and
students at Centre for Public Awareness of Science (CPAS),
ANU, were always there to help, from settling in, to getting
around and providing advice for completing assignments.
Having been educated and now teaching in Singapore,
going to ANU was an eye-opener to an overseas education.
To be immersed in a different educational landscape had
allowed me to appreciate the differences in a classroom
and to fully understand how cultural differences can affect
the way students learn and are taught.
Being part of CPAS at ANU, Australia’s oldest and most
diverse academic science communications centre, and
soaking in their enthusiasm and passion about the
importance of science communication, has reinforced the
significance of science awareness in the community and
improving the communication skills of scientists.
On the benefits and application of the course in teaching.
Science communication is not about communication
between scientists with their scientific jargon, it is about
science being relevant to and understood by the general
public. As teachers and as science communicators, it is
important for us to provide opportunities for students
to appreciate what they learn in school through
contextualization, helping them make sense of the world
around them by making connections. Many modules of
the course have created that awareness by emphasizing
the importance to constantly reflect on the true meaning
of the communications of science.
21
EDUCATION
STUDENT EXPERIENCES
DARIO POLETTI –
NUS/ANU Joint PhD graduate and recipient of the
Materials Research Society of Singapore Medal for
the best PhD thesis in Physics
The NUS-ANU Joint PhD Degree is another collaborative postgraduate program offered by the Department of Physics at
NUS and the Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and
the Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering at
the ANU.
The Joint PhD program is particularly tailored for students
whose research would benefit from the expertise of two
academic research groups with complementary strengths
or inter-disciplinary collaboration. Through their exposure to
different learning and research environments, the program
also enriches the students’ educational experience, helping
them develop both adaptability and a perspective to excel
and equipping them for leadership roles in a competitive
global environment.
Students are registered in one home university, but guided
in their work by faculty from both, and examined to the
standards of both. The students spend at least two semesters
at each partner university, either undertaking research and/
or reading modules.
At the end of this exchange my local supervisor Prof. Li
Baowen encouraged me to pursue a PhD, in the Department
of Physics and in the Center for Computational Science and
Engineering. I already had a very good chemistry with him
and we had an idea for an interesting project on quantum
ratchets in Bose-Einstein condensates. Other pull factors for
me were the joint PhD program with Australian National
University (ANU) and the opportunity to collaborate with
outstanding visiting professors like Prof Giulio Casati and Prof
Peter Hanggi and the Department of Physics has a number of
very good physicists in fields related to my interest. Of course
on a very personal level, I could stay in the town where that
wonderful girl I met in Paris lives.
His research interests and challenge.
I am interested in many-body quantum systems, in the
different phases that can emerge when atoms interact
between them and how they behave out of equilibrium.
It’s a tough field and I have only mastered a tiny part of it;
it is sometimes disconcerting to find out how many things
you don’t know well enough and I believe that many
PhD students feel the same... but well, this is the life of a
researcher and I try to savour those moments when I finally
understand something new (at least, new to me)
With the purpose of deepening my knowledge of many-body
quantum system, I am currently working for Prof BertholdGeorg Englert at the Center for Quantum Technologies here
in NUS. It is a great environment where you can find many
remarkable physicists.
His post-graduate plans
I am going back to Paris to do a Post-doc at the Ecole
Polytechnique and I am very excited about it. This university
has a great tradition and the group is outstanding; I count
on learning more physics and hopefully get something
interesting done in the mean-time.
To date, two students are enrolled in the NUS-ANU Joint PhD
Degree. Dario Poletti, who graduated in Commencement
2010 shares his views here.
Why he decided on NUS for a PhD
I never thought of coming to Singapore until I left my university
in Italy, the Politecnico di Milano, to go on exchange at Ecole
Centrale Paris; there I met a wonderful Singaporean girl who
changed my life. So I first arrived in NUS on exchange. I found
a very productive group that was working on quantum chaos,
something that I thought very interesting.
22
“To provide quality education,
foster the spirit of enterprise and conduct
leading edge research to advance knowledge
in Science and Technology for the benefit of
Singapore and the global community”
- Faculty Mission
23
RESEARCH
:: DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
SUMMARY
The Department of Biological Sciences has
reorganized its research and teaching around three
major themes: Environmental Biology, Molecular
Cell and Developmental Biology, and Biophysical
Sciences. In 2009 DBS published 152 papers in Tier
1 journals, a reflection of the continuing excellence
of research by the faculty. This research activity was
fueled by $20M of new funding from government
sources. One major initiative is in Environmental
Biology as Singapore strives to merge an urban
population within an incredibly diverse tropical
environment. Biophysical Sciences continues to
expand with the hire of two new faculty, the setup of the Mechanobiology RCE, and the renovation
of new laboratories for bioimaging. In addition, DBS
is expanding its reach through collaborations with
leading universities and research institutes in China
and India. With a world class faculty, international
research collaborations and state-of-the-art facilities,
the department is becoming an international hub
for biological sciences research.
Research Breakthrough
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Turning on the Flowering
‘Switch’ in Plants
Assistant Professor Liou Yih-Cherng,
Associate Professor Yang Daiwen,
Associate Professor Yu Hao, Dr Wang Yu,
Dr Liu Chang
In a recent study, a multi-disciplinary team from the
Department of Biological Sciences showed that the
plant version of Pin1 - an important enzyme that is highly
expressed in human cancers and markedly depressed in
Alzheimer’s diseased brains – controls the flowering time
of plants. This is the first time that scientists have managed
to turn on the flowering ‘switch’ in plants. They have found
a novel genetic pathway that regulates this process. This
breakthrough, considered as the first Pin1 model in plant,
was reported in the top-notch scientific journal, Molecular
Cell, on 15 January 2010.
What is Pin1? It is a molecular switch, an enzyme called
proline isomerase that changes the chemical structure
of proline amino acid in other proteins such as those
controlling flowering time. By manipulating the enzyme, one
can affect how the plant flowers. This new understanding
of its characteristic has important applications in the floral
industry. For instance, plants could be engineered to flower
faster to increase the yield of rice and other crops.
24
(From left) Assoc Prof Yang Daiwen, Asst Prof Liou YihCherng and Assoc Prof YuHao demonstrate what they can
do with the discovery of the ‘flower switch’. The plant in the
middle had the switch turned on. The plant on the left had the
switch turned off, resulting in particularly abundant leaves. –
ST Photo: Ng Sor Luan
Principal Investigator Asst Prof Liou concludes that together
with their previous studies on the roles of Pin1 in human
cancers and Alzheimer’s, the current study also shed light
on the identification of new Pin1 and Pin1-like proteins
and their relevant biological processes in human diseases.
In fact, most interestingly, this central mechanism of how
Pin1 regulates the floral genes is highly similar to that of Pin1
in mediating tumor formation and Alzheimer’s disease.
Since plant Pin1 and human Pin1 share similar biological
processes, identifying more Pin1 targets (from both plants
and/or mammalian) may help to design Pin1 therapeutic
drugs for human cancers and other diseases in the future.
It is exciting to envisage future research along those line.
INTERVIEW with
Assistant Professor Liou Yih-Cherng
http://www.dbs.nus.edu.sg/staff/liouyihcherng.htm
‘We have a good team, great synergy and a singular focus’
Assistant Professor Liou Yih-Cherng obtained his B.Sc.
(Food Science) in Taiwan and his Ph.D. from Queen’s
University, Canada. Subsequently, he did his postdoctoral training at Harvard Medical School under
Cancer Biology Division.
A team led by cancer biology expert Asst Prof Liou made a
major breakthrough with their discovery that an important
enzyme Pin1, which is linked to human cancers and
Alzheimer’s disease has the ability to control flowering
time in plants. He explains some important elements in
the success of this research.
Describe the circumstances leading to your present
research focus.
Before we embarked on this research of Pin1 in plants, our
team mainly focused on investigating the characteristics
of Pin1 gene in mammalian systems, our main focus.
When our post-doc fellow Wang Yu studied its behavior
in Arabidopsis purely as a side project, he observed that
manipulating the enzyme, through over-expression or
depression of this Pin1 gene affects the development of the
plant: it either accelerates flowering, or it delays flowering.
That’s when we realized we may have something really
exciting in the work. We quickly made the switch to focus
on it. We took a chance and it paid off.
systems to working on plants required a major mindset
shift. For example, we had to wait for our supply of cells
from plants to work. Animal cells can be cultivated in
large quantities and overnight. But it is not so with plants.
There is the whole long process from planting the seed to
harvesting and isolating the plant cells to make transgenic
again. We learnt to be patient through working on plants.
It is good training for us ‘mammalian’ people.
Asst Prof Liou foresees research to characterize the Pin1
gene not only in plants but in other species. He expects
similar regulatory functions in mammals which would have
applications in controlling cancer growth, Alzheimer’s and
other diseases. It will pave the way to better disease control.
What challenges did the team face in the course of
its research work?
We assembled a team of experts, from their respective
fields. Assoc Prof Yu Hao is an expert on flowering
regulation, especially on flowering gene control. Assoc
Prof Yang Daiwen is our expert in structural biology who
uses MNR to determine how enzymes work in this study.
Wang Yu’s Ph.D. training was on Arabidopsis. I have been
working on Pin1 since my Post-doc days but it was always
in cancers and Alzheimer’s disease. This combination from
different areas of expertise created a synergy that fueled
the research culminating in the breakthrough. We have
a good team, great synergy and a singular focus. Also
switching from our on-going research in mammalian
Headline: Orchids Can Bloom At Any Time Through Control
Of Cell Gene Expression
Source: Lianhe Zaobao, Section 1, p7
Date: 16 January 2010
25
RESEARCH
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Meet Holly, the World’s First
Semi-Cloned Fish
Associate Professor Hong Yunhan,
Dr Yi Meisheng, Ms Hong Ni
Twenty six years ago, using mice for the experiment, British
scientist Sir Martin Evans attempted to make haploid
embryonic stem cells. But in 2009, it was a team led by
Associate Professor Hong Yunhan of the Department of
Biological Sciences, who successfully produced the world’s
first haploid embryonic stem cells and semi-cloned fish.
Their work was published in the highly acclaimed Science
Journal issue dated 16 October 2009.
Holly, the world’s first semi-cloned fish was produced by
introducing haploid embryonic stem cell nucleus into a
mature egg. In this procedure, the scientists mimic the
reproduction process artificially, creating an offspring
that carries genetic traits from both parents similar to
bisexual reproduction.
The NUS team : (From left) Dr Yi Meisheng,
Assoc Prof Hong Yunhan and Miss Hong Ni
The findings of Assoc Prof Hong have important
implications for reproductive medicine and technology.
With semi-cloning, which is 50 to 100 times more efficient
than cloning, there is hope for the treatment of infertility,
in particular male infertility, which is more prominent.
In addition, the NUS team’s study has generated haploid
embryonic stem cells which could be used to study
the effect of recessive mutations of essential genes
that may not be apparent in normal diploid cells. This
spells the possibility of developing mammalian haploid
embryonic stem cell cultures for disease analysis.
HOLLY: World’s first semi-cloned fish
This study was jointly supported by NUS, Singapore Agency
for Science, Technology & Research and Singapore Ministry
of Education. It took five years and cost $1.5M. The next
step would be to conduct the study on mice which will
take approximately another five years. For this, Assoc Prof
Hong will look for partners in Asia to collaborate with.
26
INTERVIEW with Associate Professor
Hong Yunhan
http://www.dbs.nus.edu.sg/staff/hongyh.htm
‘Have faith, patience and experience’
Associate Professor Hong Yunhan obtained his BSc in
1979 from the Huazhong Normal University and his MSc
in 1983 from the Wuhan University, Wuhan, China. He
was conferred his PhD by University of Goettingen and
Gene Centre of MPI-Biochemistry, Germany in 1992 after
which he joined the University of Wurzburg, Germany.
He has been an Associate Professor in the Department
of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore
since 2001.
He is a talented researcher and a pioneer in many ways.
His ‘first test-tube sperm 2004’ won him the NUS 2005
Excellent Researcher award while his latest creation Holly,
the world’s first semi-cloned fish, took the scientific world
by storm. In this interview, Prof Hong shares his views on the
challenges and the potential in the world of developmental
genetics research.
What were some of the challenges you had to face in
this research? And how did you overcome them?
The challenge came from the report by 2007 Nobel Laureate
Professor Sir Martin Evans who was the first to obtain mouse
diploid embryonic stem cells in 1981, and who was also the
first to report a similar but unsuccessful attempt to derive
mouse haploid embryonic stem cells and cultivate them in
laboratories in 1983. It is only now that we have made
haploid embryonic stem cells a reality in a fish called medaka.
Because such a project is in the realm of a new science and
highly risky, there were no preliminary results that were
positively indicative of a success. This makes it extremely
difficult to apply for grants and to get funding. We always
relied on the confidence we had about the research and on
the driving force from the great potential of the research.
Moreover, we have a good team, a supportive Department
of Biological Sciences and we are lucky, in a way, to have
achieved this breakthrough. Now we can say that we have
a track record. Hopefully, things will be different now
and there will be prospective partners approaching us
for collaborations.
What new knowledge have you gained in this study?
We have gained exciting new knowledge about haploid
stem cells. We discovered that haploidy in a vertebrate
is able and sufficient to support stable growth and
pluripotency in vitro; haploid stem cells are not inferior
to, but as good as, diploid stem cells in growth and
pluripotency; haploid stem cells can replace sperm to
produce whole organisms; and finally, semi-cloning is
achievable as is evident in our breakthrough.
What practical applications will there be for this
breakthrough?
With these newly available haploid embryonic stem cells,
it is now possible to develop a first system for haploid
genetic manipulation as well as direct genetic screens
and phenotypic assays, stimulating similar work towards
creation of haploid embryonic stem cells also in other
animal species such as the mouse. With this semi-cloning
breakthrough, it is now possible to develop an alternative
reproductive technology to combat infertility and engineer
animal reproduction, as well as to offer insights into
treating human infertility. These are the outcomes our
research work will aim for.
27
RESEARCH
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Does REDD+ Threaten to
Recentralize Forest Governance?
Assistant Professor Edward Webb;
Mr Jacob Phelps;
Professor Arun Agrawal, University of Michigan;
Over the past 25 years, many developing countries have
transitioned towards models of decentralized forest
management that allow local actors increased rights and
responsibilities; and they have often reduced management
costs and provided positive biodiversity and carbon
conservation outcomes. A new approach to climate
change mitigation, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation
and forest Degradation (REDD+), is poised to interrupt
this trend. Given the implications for tropical forest
management, environmental policy, conservation and
rural livelihoods, our research examines the links between
REDD+ governance.
Deforestation and forest degradation contribute
approximately 17% of human-induced carbon emissions
and are the focus of efforts to seek cost-effective climate
change mitigation. REDD+ is a proposed mechanism by
which developed countries will compensate developing
countries for reducing emissions through improved forest
protection, sustainable forest management and carbon
stock enhancement (e.g. reforestation). Donors have
already pledged over $4.5 billion by 2012 for REDD+ and
investment may reach $30 billion a year by 2020. As
such, REDD+ has significant implications for tropical forest
governance. Our research considers how REDD+ may
change incentive structures and introduce new demands
on forest managers that could catalyze a recentralization
of forest governance with deep implications for local forest
users and managers.
The groundbreaking paper ‘Does REDD+ threaten to
recentralize forest governance?’ was published recently in
a journal (Science, Volume: 328, Issue: 5976, Pages: 312313, Apr 16 2010), and attracted much media attention.
(There was a letter response to our article in Science
(Science, Volume: 328, Issue: 5982, Page 1105) to which
we responded with an e-letter on 16 August 2010.)
28
Prospective state-centric REDD+ mechanism. Elements of the figure are based in part on Angelsen and Wertz-Kanounnikoff (2008)
Source: A. Angelsen, S. Wertz-Kanounnikoff, in Moving Ahead
with REDD: Issues, Options and Implications, A. Angelsen, Ed.
(Center for International Forestry Research, Bogor, Indonesia,
2008), pp. 11–22.]
Women with leaf litter harvested from decentralized, communitymanaged forests (in the background) in Khabre Palanchok
district, in the middle hill region of Nepal. Such locally managed
forests could become important components of future REDD+
strategies. Photograph by Edward Webb.
Articles about our publication have appeared on the
following websites:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63F0SC20100416
http://environmentalresearchweb.org/cws/article/news/42376
INTERVIEW with
Assistant Professor Edward L Webb
http://staff.science.nus.edu.sg/~apelab/
‘Be unafraid to enter new fields of inquiry’
Asst Prof Edward Webb obtained his BA in Biology at
Occidental College in Los Angeles, California and his Ph.D. in
Biology from University of Miami. He has received two John D.
and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation grants for conservation
activities in Thua Thien Hue province, central Vietnam.
He is an environmental scientist who teaches his students to
be unafraid to enter new fields of inquiry. He and his Ph.D.
student Jacob Phelps recently co-authored a paper in the
journal Science entitled, ‘Does REDD+ threaten to recentralize
forest governance? In this interview, Asst Prof Webb briefly
introduces the mechanics behind this paper.
What is REDD+?
It is a novel approach to mitigating terrestrial carbon
emissions. It is a proposed performance-based mechanism
under negotiation through the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in which developed
country donors, corporations, NGOs, and individuals will
compensate developing countries for forest emissions
reductions, through means such as the market mechanism.
Payments will require demonstrated emissions reductions
through improved forest protection, sustainable forest
management, and/or enhancement of carbon stocks. REDD+
will be a key emissions mitigation strategy as evidenced by
extensive donor investments to prepare developing countries
to implement REDD+.
H o w i s RE D D + a t h re a t t o d e c e n t r a l i z e d
f o re s t g o v e r n a n c e ?
First, the unprecedented funding for REDD+ programs
will reduce previous burdens that incentivized previous
decentralization trends. Second, large REDD+ programs
will indeed require some level of centralized (national)
management. And finally, REDD+ is performance-based,
meaning that payments for REDD+ programs will only be
finalized when forest conservation objectives are met, which
could make central governments attempt to legitimize heavyhanded control over vast areas of forest. These three forces
could lead governments to reverse the trend of decentralizated
management of many forests.
Asst Prof Edward Webb (right) and Mr Jacob Phelps
What are the ways to safe-guard decentralized
forest governance?
We suggest that rural, forest-accessing communities should
have control over local REDD+ design and implementation,
whether they engage with REDD+, to align their management,
monitoring, and enforcement with low-emissions objectives,
and to negotiate revenue sharing. International carbon
investment markets, however, are unlikely to demand
particular local arrangements. Thus, one way to address the
re-centralization incentives I mention above is for the UNFCCC
(the main inter-governmental negotiating forum for REDD+)
to discuss and arrive at mandatory safeguards, benefit sharing
and local involvement for REDD+ programs.
What impact do you hope this article will have on the
future of REDD+?
Our paper brings up just one of the many significant challenges
facing successful, sustainable, and equitable REDD+
implementation around the world. Governance over forests
directly affects the lives millions of people who use forests as
part of their livelihoods. The stakes are very high with REDD+.
It is our obligation as scientists to analyze and discuss the
risks, and recommend steps to preempt unintended negative
outcomes of proposed REDD+ mechanisms. We hope that
this article will contribute to substantial, focused negotiations
about forest governance in countries at the receiving end of
REDD+ funding.
29
RESEARCH
:: DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY
SUMMARY
The Department of Chemistry continues to excel in
research as one of the most productive departments
in NUS. In 2009, more than 300 international journal
articles were published. Up to April/May 2010,
more than 120 publications have been captured
in the Web of Science. A significant number of
innovative works has attracted strong recognition
by chemistry journals as cover pages and as
hot papers. Recently, the team led by Assistant
Professor Liu Xiaogang, in collaboration with other
scientists, discovered a new synthetic strategy to
control the properties of ultra-small luminescent
nanocrystals. Their findings have been published
in the prestigious journal Nature in February 2010.
The department had a very fruitful year in
organizing bilateral meetings with other
universities around the world. The Collaborative
and Cooperative Chemistry Symposium series
(SXCCCS) with India and Korea have continued
with good success, with 10-20 staff members
participating in each of the symposia held in
Singapore in December 2009 and March 2010.
Our biannual Singapore International Chemical
Conference (SICC -6th) was held in Suntec City in
December 2009, and attended by more than 400
participants. Collectively, such symposia will lead
to mutually beneficial research collaborations,
foster stronger regional and international
collaborative ties, and serve as a strategic platform
to recruit high-quality graduate students.
30
Strategic research focuses in the Department
include Catalysis, Materials Chemistry, Medicinal
Chemistry and Environmental Chemistry. In the
last 2 years, our faculty have been awarded 3
NUS Young Investigator Awards, while 5 graduate
students received the Best Graduate Researcher
Award for their original work published in highly
prestigious international chemical journals. Assoc
Prof Loh Kian Ping received the inaugural SMFNUS Research Horizons Award, a joint initiative by
NUS and the Singapore Millennium Foundation to
accelerate the development of paradigm-changing
research ideas from conception to implementation.
New talents into the Department include Assistant
Professor Christan Albertus Nijhuis and Assoc Prof
Cheng Han Song. Dr Nijhuis is a recipient of the
prestigious NRF Fellowship with a US$1.5Million
in start-up funding. He will pursue cutting-edge
research in the areas of molecular self-assembly,
supramolecular chemistry and materials. Assoc Prof
Cheng has published over 102 scientific research
papers on broad topics in theoretical chemistry and
materials science in leading scientific journals. He
has also developed and filed close to 20 patents.
His work has drawn interest from other funding
agencies, such as the USA government’s Department
of Defence and the Office of Naval Research.
NHCHO
NHCHO
Chemistry
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13
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5
Orlistat (tetrahydrolipstatin)
New Directions for Old Drugs
Assistant Professor Martin J. Lear,
O
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N
O
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1( THL-R)
http://staff.science.nus.edu.sg/~chmlmj/index.htm
NHCHO
http://www.chemistry.nus.edu.sg/ourpeople/
academic_staff/yaosq.htm
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atta ck
Target
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Cova lent bond
fo rmation
Reporter
N3
Probe
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3
3) Permeabilization
4) Clickr eaction
5) Stain& Imaging
NHCHO
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Target
or 2) Fixa tion
2) Lysis
3) Clickr eaction
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NHCHO
HX
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3( THL-T)
1) Addt oc ellm edia/
Incubation
Associate Professor Yao Shao Qin
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2( THL-L)
NHCHO
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Target
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ep
or
te
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Ta rget
Va li da tion
Fig. 1 Trapping off-target proteins
NH CHO
NH CHO
With the beneficial goal of generating new applications
from known drugs, the chemistry and biology groups
of Asst Prof Martin J. Lear and Assoc Prof Yao Shao Qin
have teamed up to develop an anti-cancer agent out
of the FDA-approved anti-obesity drug called Orlistat
(also known as tetrahydrolipstatin, THL). The findings
of their research have been published in the prestigious
Journal of the American Chemical Society and will be
featured in the November 2010 issue of Chemical
Communications[1,2].
Their strategy combines the techniques of total synthesis
and chemical proteomics to generate THL-probes
capable of trapping off-target proteins (Figure 1).
These probes were synthesized through the introduction
of alkyne handles in the parental THL structure to
maintain the native biological properties of Orlistat,
while still providing the necessary functionality for target
identification via bio-orthogonal click chemistry. With
these probes, they were able to demonstrate for the first
time that this chemical proteomic approach is suitable
for the identification of previously unknown cellular
targets, i.e., the off -targets of Orlistat.
Through their approach, several anticancer related
proteins including HSP90 and three ribosomal proteins
have been identified[1], as well as more specific THLanalogues against a validated anti-cancer target called
fatty acid synthase (FAS)[2]. Some of these new targets
O
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Orlistat (withs aturated alkylc hains)
SyntheticT HL-probe (witha lkyne)
Triazole-modifiedT HL-analogs
with alkyne forp robe studies
Fig. 2 Activity-based protein profiling
were further validated by experiments including Western
blotting, recombinant protein expression and sitedirected mutagenesis.
The chemical key to the success of their approach resides
in the use of bio-compatible/bio-orthogonal “click”
chemistry (between azides and alkynes) to not only
rapidly diversify a compound library, but also to allow
the activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) of cellular offtargets of lead compounds (Figure 2).
The findings of this research have important implications
in the consideration of Orlistat as a potential anti-cancer
drug at its early stage of development for cancer therapy.
This strategy should be broadly useful for off-target
identification against a number of existing drugs and/or
candidates, which are known to covalently modify their
biological targets. With this breakthrough, the future
holds promise in revealing new directions for old drugs.
References: [1] Yang, P-Y.; Liu, K.; Ngai, M.H.; Lear, M.J.; Wenk,
M.; Yao, S.Q. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2010, 132, 656-666. [2] Ngai, M.H;
Yang, P-Y.; Liu, K.; Shen, Y.; Wenk, M.; Yao, S.Q.; Lear, M.J. Chem.
Commun. 2010, DOI: 10.1039/c0cc01276a.
31
RESEARCH
Chemistry
Stem Cell Probe Development by
Diversity Oriented Fluorescence
Library Approach
Associate Professor Chang Young-Tae
Cell therapy for regenerative medicine is a hotly
researched and debated field due to technological and
ethical problems. There appears to be a way out of these
predicaments in the near future. Recently, the hot issue
in this field is the autologous method which involves the
transplantation of stem cells taken from the patient’s
body. In this case, adult stem cells are usually used
and tried and there is no immune rejection response.
Moreover, there are also no ethical problems as the stem
cells are not taken from the embryo.
This is possible because totipotent cells, which are capable
of developing into a complete organ, and known to exist
only in the early embryo, are fortunately still found in the
adult in the form of multipotent (e.g. hematopoietic stem
cells) and unipotent stem cells (e.g. basal cells of epidermis).
However, there are several limitations. 1) Multipotent and
unipotent stem cells are just able to differentiate within a
certain lineage. 2) There is a lack of exact technique for adult
stem cell selection, purification and differentiation from
other tissue. Therefore, many scientists have investigated
and tried the reprogramming of the adult somatic cells into
pluripotent cells for regenerative medicine.
The team aims to tackle this challenging problem by ES
or iPS selective fluorescent probe development and apply
them for high throughput screening iPS generation. This
multidisciplinary research including chemistry, bioimaging,
epigenetics, and stem cell biology is a collaboration of NUS
and SBIC (Singapore Bio Imaging Consortium). With this
new approach in stem cell probe development, the future for
cell therapy in medicine looks set to enter a new dimension.
32
DOFLA Screening
Stem cell generation and staining by DOFLA molecule
INTERVIEW with
Associate Professor Chang Young-Tae
http://ytchang.science.nus.edu.sg/
‘The time wasn’t right - I needed the training to
make the drug-like fluorescent molecule’
Associate Professor Chang Young-Tae was born in Busan,
Korea. After receiving his PhD in POSTECH, South Korea and
his post-doc training in U.C. (Berkley) and Scripps Research
Institute, he worked in New York University (NYU) for 7
years doing research in chemical genetics before joining
NUS in 2007.
Currently he heads a collaborative project between NUS
and SBIC (Singapore Bio Imaging Consortium) to develop
bioimaging probes for stem cell detection and isolation
using DOFLA as the key technique. In this interview,
Assoc. Prof Chang explains the concepts behind it and
its potentially far-reaching impact on cell therapy for
regenerative medicine.
What is DOFLA?
DOFLA stands for Diversity Oriented Fluorescence Library
Approach and is inspired by our immune system. When
our body is under attack by any antigen (foreign bodies),
it generates numerous kinds of antibodies to find a
perfect partner (neutralizer in this case) for the specific
antigen. In a similar way, if we want to visualize specific
cancer cells or stem cells in our body, we need to prepare
a huge collection of fluorescent molecules, a library, to
find perfect probes. This library combined together with
high throughput image-based screening will speed up the
discovery of cancer or stem cell probes.
How is DOFLA better than conventional
screening approach?
In the conventional probe development, a binding motif
for target analyte should be designed first. Once you have
designed the binding motif, you need to attach it to the
detection motif (fluorescent molecule), which increases
the total molecular weight up to 1000, rendering it
too big to penetrate the cell without injection. With our
approach using only the fluorescence part, it remains small
enough to enter the cell. In this way it is still a drug-like
molecule. Furthermore, we don’t need to know the target
in the beginning. Two different cells may have thousands of
reasons why they are different. By testing thousands of DOFL
compounds, we are able to screen millions of possibilities to
distinguish them. This is how DOFLA can be fast and has a
higher chance of success than conventional methods.
What are some of the challenges?
We’re the first group working on DOFLA and we’re
building up the library by making thousands of fluorescent
molecules which can be applied by any system to ultimately
use this unique library as a universal toolbox. The goal is
to use it for detection of specific cells e.g. to screen cancer
cells, stem cells, pancreatic alpha/beta cells, and others. It
is an enormous task.
How was this research conceived?
During my post-doc days, I had noticed that the
fluorescence of biological systems emit real light and
it is a lot more sensitive than subtractive colors. But the
time wasn’t right. I needed the training to make druglike fluorescent molecules in high diversity, which I did
eventually at NYU.
Assoc. Prof Chang and his team have been building up
the fluorescence library for the last 4 - 5 years. And now
the real exploring has just started!
33
RESEARCH
Chemistry
A Shining Example of Doping
Assistant Professor Liu Xiaogang
Luminescent image of a 3D structure generated in a polymer
sample via computer-controlled near-infrared laser scanning
A team of scientists from NUS, NTU and King Abdullah
University of Science and Technology (KAUST) collaborated
to develop a new strategy for the synthesis of ultra-small
upconversion nanoparticles with controlled properties.
This study was prompted by the drawbacks of using dyes
(organic fluorophores) and quantum dots in potential
biological applications. The new class of lanthanidedoped (for example, erbium or ytterbium) nanomaterials
termed as upconversion nanoparticles have the property
of emitting visible light when illuminated with nearinfrared light where biological molecules are optically
transparent. In addition, these nanoparticles show sharp
emission bandwidth, long lifetime tunable emission, high
photostability, and low cytotoxicity, which render them
particularly useful for bioimaging applications.
Luminescent image of NUS letters generated in a polymer
sample via computer-controlled near-infrared laser scanning
The research shows that introducing larger lanthanide
ions, such as gadolinium, into the NaYF4 lattice favours
the hexagonal structure. In addition, by varying the
composition and concentration of these dopant ions,
both crystal size and the colour of light emitted can be
varied. The method, which works at lower temperatures
with shorter reaction times, should be readily extendable
to other lanthanide-doped nanocrystal systems, with
potential applications ranging from bioimaging to threedimensional displays. The work was recently published in
Nature (Nature, Volume: 463, Issue: 7284, Pages: 10611065, Feb 25 2010) and highlighted in Lianhe Zaobao.
This research has yielded results which show that the size,
symmetry and optical properties of luminescent NaYF4
nanocrystals can be tuned by adjusting the concentration
of lanthanide ions incorporated into the crystal lattice.
These NaYF4 nanocrystals can adopt cubic or hexagonal
symmetry. While the hexagonal crystals emit light
more efficiently, synthesizing them with the ultra-small
dimensions useful for applications, has till now required
hazardous reaction materials, high temperatures and
long reaction times. It is evident from the data that such
reaction conditions are no longer necessary.
34
INTERVIEW with
Assistant Professor Liu Xiaogang
http://www.chemistry.nus.edu.sg/ourpeople/
academic_staff/liuxg.html
Assistant Professor Liu Xiaogang, the recipient of
Department of Chemistry’s Young Chemist Award
2009, was born in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province of
China. He received his B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering
from Beijing Technology and Business University in
1996. He went on to obtain a M.Sc. in Chemistry
from East Carolina University in Greenville, North
Carolina and a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from
Northwestern University in Evanston. He was a
postdoctoral fellow at MIT before joining NUS in 2006.
In a groundbreaking work, Asst Prof Liu and his
team developed a new group of materials termed
‘upconversion nanoparticles’. In this interview, he
explains the fundamentals of this research.
Describe your present research.
Our research is on ‘Tuning luminescent nanoparticles
through lanthanide doping’. It is in the field of nanoscience.
By manipulating the amount of lanthanides that are
introduced into the crystal structure, we have developed a
novel technology that makes it possible to simultaneously
control or tune the size, structure and color emission
of nanocrystals. This new class of lanthanide-doped
nanomaterials is known as upconversion nanoparticles.
Furthermore, the ultra-small luminescent nanocrystals can
be readily incorporated in the system used to produce
laser displays and three-dimensional films.They enable the
production of 3D displays using a single beam, in contrast
to conventional methods that rely on the intersection of
two separate laser beams, which give rise to problems of
misalignment of the two beams and blurred images. In
addition the nanocrystals created with this new method can
be used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) probes to obtain
detailed representations of cell structure and composition.
Asst Prof Liu’s research interests include nanomaterials
synthesis and self-assembly, bioinorganic and supramolecular
chemistry, and surface science for catalysis, sensors and
biomedical applications. This outstanding multi-award
winning scientist, will certainly continue to make major
contributions in these fields.
How important is the new technology?
Compared with conventional methods, we were able
to drastically reduce reaction time, from several days
to less than two hours and decrease the required
reaction temperature from 300 to 250 degree Celsius.
The challenge lies in the optimization of reaction
conditions and we have achieved that optimization.
More importantly, the new class of lanthanide doped
nanoparticles that comprises a group of luminescent
elements can be used as fluorescent labels for identifying
the presence of specific biological molecules in bioassay
or bioimaging.
Headline: Singapore And Saudi Universities Cooperate
To Develop A New Material That Could Change The
Way 3D Films Are Made And Cut Costs
Source: Lianhe Zaobao, Section 1, p10
Date: 25 February 2010
35
RESEARCH
:: Department of Mathematics
SUMMARY
The role played by Mathematics in modern society has
become even more significant in recent years. Indeed,
applications of Mathematics are found not just in the
physical and computing sciences and engineering,
but also in biological, medical and social sciences, as
well as in finance.With the combined capabilities and
expertise of 60 faculty members and researchers as
well as more than 50 visitors throughout the year,
the Department of Mathematics is at the forefront
of both fundamental research and the applications of
mathematics, covering the most important disciplines
in the field of mathematical sciences.
The Department has consistently been ranked
among the top 50 mathematics departments in
the world, and one of the top in Asia, in studies
conducted by various agencies. Having garnered
both national and university level awards for its
research achievements in both pure and applied
research in the last decade, the Department
continues to maintain high visibility in numerous
research areas, through its publication output in
premium journals, participation in the editorial work
of major mathematical journals, invitation to give
high profile lectures at prestigious conferences, and
active collaborations with universities from Asia,
Europe and USA.
Amongst the significant research achievements, we
highlight two most recent groundbreaking pieces
of work by Professor Zhu Chengbo and Professor
Yu Shih-Hsien respectively. In collaboration with
Sun Binyong of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Prof Zhu settled the long standing “multiplicity-one
conjectures” in representation theory. It is expected
that the work will have deep impact on the study
of L-functions, a fundamental object of investigation
in contemporary mathematics.
Prof Yu’s work
completes the studies on shock profile stability
problem which has remained unsolved since 1985.
Mathematics
Multiplicity One
in Symmetry Breaking
Professor Zhu Chengbo
Representation theory is a field in mathematics that involves
the study of symmetry patterns. Branching, also known as
symmetry breaking, is a process of comparison for two
symmetry patterns, one larger than the other. In analyzing
any symmetry pattern, it is important to understand how it
branches. The situation is particularly favorable if one can
show a certain uniqueness property called multiplicity-one,
where the larger symmetry pattern breaks into sub-symmetry patterns, each of which appears at most once.
Starting from the 1920’s at the time of Cartan and Weyl,
there have been huge advances in the understanding of
continuous symmetry patterns. A very important development in the area was the discovery by Casselman and Wallach of the canonical nature of the smooth models of such
symmetry patterns. The reason for the particular interest
36
in the smooth model derives from the fact that many key
objects in number theory can be interpreted as living on
smooth models.
Motivated by the study of automorphic L-functions (objects which are ubiquitous in contemporary mathematics
and which are supposed to have deep links with all sorts
of interesting arithmetic information), Bernstein and Rallis,
conjectured in the 1980’s that certain classical pairs always
have multiplicity-one branching in their smooth models.
This is known as multiplicity-one conjectures.
In 2008, jointly with Binyong Sun of the Chinese Academy
of Sciences, Professor Zhu Chengbo established the validity of this long-standing conjecture in full. Together with
its p-adic analog which was demonstrated by four other
mathematicians in 2007, this is expected to have important
applications to the study of L-functions, especially their
central values as predicted by the well-known conjecture
of Gross and Prasad.
INTERVIEW with
Professor Zhu Chengbo
http://ww1.math.nus.edu.sg/onepageCV.aspx?id=matzhucb
‘Every difficult moment in research is an opportunity
to get a better feel of it.’
Professor Zhu Chengbo graduated from Zhejiang
University, China in 1984 and received his Ph.D. from Yale
University in 1990. He has been with the Department of
Mathematics at NUS since 1991. His main research interest
is in representation theory (the study of symmetries), and its
applications in analysis and number theory. In this interview
he shares some fundamentals in his work ‘Multiplicity One
in Symmetry Breaking’’, a breakthrough in the mathematical
study of symmetry patterns.
What is the motivation behind your research work?
Broadly speaking, in Mathematics there are two types of
symmetries: real and p-adic. There is one guiding philosophy
in our field, called Harish-Chandra’s Lefschetz Principle,
which says that whatever is true for real groups should also
be true for p-adic groups. In fact for our research project,
the multiplicity-one conjecture was made for both real and
p-adic groups. There was a breakthrough on this for p-adic
groups in 2007 by four mathematicians. We solved the
conjecture for real groups in 2008.
What are the practical applications of your
research work in the real world?
We use math constantly in our daily lives, mostly through
numbers. An obvious area is in business. Another is in the
vast amount of data being generated which clearly matter
to governments, business, and individuals for decision
making. In a less apparent way, we use math to understand
the forces of planetary motion, to build theory for DNA
sequencing, to transfer information across the globe, and
so forth.
What are your future plans for research?
My previous research works were basically on “local” studies
of symmetries. The “global” studies of symmetries are
intimately connected with number theory with which I am
less familiar. I intend to expand my current line of research by
learning the “global” aspects, which may take several years.
To Prof Zhu, a self-professed optimist, every difficult moment
in research is an opportunity to get a better feel of it.
Representation theory, the area I work in, actually had
one of its origins in the study of heat transfer (theory as
developed by Fourier); it got invigorated with the rise
of quantum mechanics in the first part of 20th century.
Mathematics has a fantastic record in producing highly
applicable knowledge and there is every indication that it
will remain so.
37
RESEARCH
Mathematics
Nonlinear Wave Propagations Over
a Boltzmann Shock Profile
Professor Yu Shih-Hsien
This is a summary of the work of Professor Yu Shih-Hsien,
in [Y]. This work completes the studies on shock profile
stability problem initiated in 1985.
A shock wave is a generic phenomenon for viscid
compressible fluids such as ideal gases modeled by
the compressible Euler equations. It is a compressive
discontinuity occurring in a fluid. Its presence within a fluid
makes the physics for the compressible fluid and the related
mathematical theories highly nontrivial and interesting.
The time asymptotic stability of a viscous shock profile was
obtained independently by Goodman and Matsumara by
an energy method under a zero total mass condition in
1985. These two works initiated sequential works in this
direction, to remove the zero total mass condition, as well
as to construct more detailed structure of the perturbations
so that the results could be applied to the future studies
on the vanishing viscosity problem.
Professor Yu’s main idea in studying the qualitative
time asymptotic stability of a shock layer is based on a
separation of scales. The separation is based on the nature
of the hyperbolic wave propagation around a shock wave
that has a rather simple wave structure. It gives a natural
wave to decompose a vector into two components, one
tending to propagate to the far fields while the other
tending to merge into the shock front. The propagating
trajectories of the components are the characteristic
curves of the hyperbolic system. Then, one needs to realize
this phenomenon in terms of viscous conservation laws or
Boltzmann Equation.
38
The structure of the wave propagation towards far fields
in both Boltzmann Equation and viscous conservation laws
can be identified with the wave structures of the Green’s
Function of the problems linearized around their far
fields. Through a T-operator which solves the initial value
problem and a C-operator which constructs the coupling
due to the zero total mass input function, Prof Yu solved
the shock profile stability problem. This work has been
accepted for publication in the Journal of American
Mathematics Society.
[Y] Yu, S-H. Nonlinear Wave Propagations over a Boltzmann
Shock Profile, J.Amer. Math. Soc., No. 4, Vol 23, (2010)
1041-1118
INTERVIEW with
Professor Yu Shih-Hsien
http://ww1.math.nus.edu.sg/onepageCV.aspx?id=matysh
‘Romancing the Fundamentals to Build a Monument’
Prof Yu Shi-Hsien’s journey has taken him from National
Taiwan University, where he did his Master’s degree, to
Stanford University for his Ph.D. Later, he joined UCLA,
then Osaka University, followed by City University of Hong
Kong, and finally arriving at NUS in December 2007 to
continue his adventure in mathematical fundamental
research. In this interview, he shares some of the exciting
moments in his career.
What inspires you in your research?
I am relaxed and I enjoy my research. If I make a mistake,
it is okay. Mistakes are creative! They point me in new
directions. I am constantly romancing the fundamentals to
build a monument.
Prof Yu is a mathematician who exudes the spirit of an artist.
Tell us about your research - background, discoveries
and future plans.
My work is in basic research to lay down the fundamental
principles of Physics. The research is primarily on gas
dynamics, in particular on rarefield gas. For the past 12
years, I have been working on the problem of shock profile
stability, which has been around since the 80’s. Finally,
everything has come together. Now I have developed a
unified proof for the stability problems of shock profiles
for viscous conservation laws and Boltzmann Equation.
The turning point came during the SARS outbreak when
I was working in City University of Hong Kong. At that
time, I was stuck at a critical point. I was on my own
and spent a lot of time pacing up and down the length
of Victoria Harbour. One day, I found the solution! From
the breakthrough, I continued to develop it to get the final
solution. It has been accepted by a journal and will be
published in December this year.
When I was in America in 1997, I solved the problem of
the discrete shock wave related to the KAM theorem –
Kolmogorov Arnold Moser. This was unique in that I set
out to prove wrong thing, but ended up discovering
something more complex and more beautiful.
Fundamental research has no ‘next stage’. I will work
on other problems that have fascinated me during my
journey. I love doing this - it is an adventure that always
takes you by surprise. I may set out in one direction but
later find myself ending up in a completely different place.
Like Columbus, who set sail for India but discovered the
Americas instead.
39
RESEARCH
:: Department of Pharmacy
SUMMARY
The mission of the Department of Pharmacy at NUS is
to translate innovative scientific studies into optimal
health outcomes by discovering, developing, testing
and managing medications that will be safe, efficacious
and patient-friendly.
The NUS Pharmily’s research adopts a drug-productpatient tripartite approach with the goal of developing
safe and effective treatments for cancer, immunological,
cardiovascular, neurological and other disorders.
Our prowess, spanning from biologics and chemical
drugs to health product processing and quality to
patient outcome and informatics to disease markers
and management, is reflected in our educational and
research programs, facilities and clinical services.
Translational research entails the participation of a
multi-disciplinary team of pharmaceutical scientists and
clinical pharmacists who are experts in pharmaceutical
chemistry, formulation science, pharmaceutical
technology, biopharmaceutics, pharmacoinformatics,
pharmacoeconomics, clinical pharmacy or pharmacy
practice in collaboration with other scientists, engineers
and health professionals on campus, across Singapore
and beyond.
We have put together the essential ingredients to
recruit and train top undergraduate and graduate
students from Asia to excel as tomorrow’s pharmacists,
pharmaceutical scientists and pharmaceutical
engineers, finally becoming leaders impacting
academia, government and industry. We strive to
realize the promise of tomorrow’s medicines and
technologies today and to be the home where complex
and controversial issues can be discussed, studied and
addressed with a balance of science and compassion by
students, alumni and friends. We invite you to join and
support us on this exciting journey!
Pharmacy
Bacteria Shed Light
on Cancer Treatment
Associate Professor Victor Yu Chun Kong
What can bacteria teach us about fighting cancer? Scientists
at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and A-STAR’s
Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB) were the
first to discover that the bacterial protein called FimA has a
unique function in turning off the suicide program, known
as apoptosis, of the host cells during infection. This finding
is published on 26 March 2010 in the prestigious science
journal, Molecular Cell.
On a daily basis, many cells in our body are infected by
bacterial or viral pathogens and others may undergo
mutations that may cause the affected cells to become
cancerous. These infected or mutated cells would activate
a cell suicide program, known as apoptosis, to permit
the cells to be “self-destructed’, thereby preventing the
infection or other types of damages from spreading to
neighbouring cells. This is the body’s defense mechanism.
40
Headline: ’Missing link found’ in cancer fight
Source: The Straits Times, Science, pD10
Date: 10 April 2010
When a talented postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Sunil Sukumaran,
with extensive experience in working with bacterial
pathogens in the human gut joined the laboratory six years
ago, it inspired the research team to address the question of
whether bacterial pathogens in the gut inhibit the suicide
response of the infected cells, by directly manipulating the
command center of apoptosis in mitochondria. They found
that once the bacteria enter the cell, the FimA released by the
bacteria rapidly targeting to host cell mitochondria to turn off
the cell suicide program, by binding to the VDAC-hexokinase
protein complex to prevent them from separation which is
a necessary step for activating the cell suicide program. This
Headline: NUS Reseachers
Discover Bacteria May Help
Cancer Develop
Source: Lianhe Zaobao,
Section 1, p9
Date: 26 March 2010
is remarkable because the same protein complex is already
thought to be involved in shutting down the suicide program
in cancer cells.
The discovery of the connection between bacterial infection
and cancer will have far reaching implications and may even
lead to new treatment for these two seemingly unrelated
diseases. In future, chemicals capable of binding to the
protein complex could potentially be exploited as drug
candidates for treating cancers as well as infectious diseases
caused by the gut bacteria.
INTERVIEW with
Associate Professor Victor Yu Chun Kong
http://www.pharmacy.nus.edu.sg/staff/phayuv/index.html
‘The results are uncertain but the risk is worth taking’
Assoc Prof Victor Yu Chun-Kong graduated from University
of Houston, Texas with a B.Sc. (Magnum cum Laude)
Pharmacy in 1982. He obtained his Ph.D. (Pharmaceutical
Chemistry) from University of California, San Francisco
in 1987 and appointed a postdoctoral fellow of Howard
Hughes Medical Institute, University of California, San
Diego. From 2001 - 2009, he was an Associate Professor at
the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Singapore and
concurrently Adjunct Associate Professor in Department of
Pharmacology, NUS. Currently he is an Associate Professor
in the Department of Pharmacy.
The groundbreaking research on ‘Molecular Mechanism of
Apoptosis Signalling in Mitochondria’ in the field of cancer
cell biology bears good news for cancer treatment in the
future. In this interview, Principal Investigator Associate
Professor Yu sheds some light on the research and the
hope it brings.
the treatment to fail. It is known that mitochondria are
the key organelles that regulate sensitivity of cells to
apoptosis signals. Our research finding has brought us
a further step towards understanding the mechanism of
apoptosis signaling at the level of the mitochondria. This
has important implications for cancer treatment.
Can you describe your research and its link to cancer?
Apoptosis is a physiological process engaged by all multicellular organisms (i.e. from worm to man). It is a highly
effective way to keep the organism in healthy state by
getting rid of the damaged and infected cells.
What is the next phase of this research?
The long term goal of my work is to identify ways to
regulate the core apoptotic mechanism in mitochondria to
support the drug development effort. I hope that suitable
cellular targets and compounds that would be useful for
supporting drug development effort in combating human
cancers will be identified.
In chemotherapy, drugs work by taking advantage of the
vulnerability of rapidly dividing cancer cells due to DNA
damages induced by the drugs. DNA damages, in turn,
trigger potent signals for apoptosis and in principle will
bring death to cancer cells. But cancer cells suffer from a
reduced sensitivity to respond to apoptosis signals, causing
According to Assoc Prof Yu, there will likely be expansion
into using animal models to study clinical course of
infectious diseases or cancer. The results are uncertain but
the risk is worth taking when it is healthcare at stake.
41
RESEARCH
Pharmacy
Cell Confinement Within
Patterned Nanoliter Droplets
in a Microwell Array
Dr Kang Lifeng,
Department of Pharmacy;
Matthew J. Hancock, Brigham M.,
Ali Khademhossein,
Harvard-MIT Health Science & Technology
http://www.pharmacy.nus.edu.sg/staff/phakl/
During his postdoctoral training in MIT, Dr Kang Lifeng and
his collaborators published their work on cell confinement
within patterned nanoliter droplets in a microwell array
(Journal of Biomedical Materials Research: Part A. 2010;
93: 547-557). This research is important as cell patterning
is useful for a variety of biological applications such as
tissue engineering and drug discovery. In particular, the
ability to localize cells within distinct fluids is beneficial
in areas ranging from microencapsulation to highthroughput analysis. However, despite much progress,
cell immobilization and maintenance within patterned
microscale droplets remain a challenge. The team has
made inroads in devising a novel method to rapidly
seed a certain number of cells into microwell arrays in a
controllable and reliable manner.
Fig. 1 Microwell fabrication and cell patterning. A: Photolithography.
A bright field photomask was placed on top of the stack and the
precursor solution was irradiated through the photomask. After
UV irradiation, the spacers, cover glass, and the photomask were
removed. The PEGDA did not photo-cross-link in shaded areas
and could be washed away to fabricate microwell patterns. B: Cell
patterning. A drop of cell solution was pipetted onto a thin glass
slide and placed in contact at an obtuse angle with the microwell
slide adjacent to the array. The cover glass was rotated to an angle
of 45 degrees and moved across the array, spreading the cell solution
into the microwells and removing excess solution from the surface.
This process localized cells and isolated liquid in the microwells.
In this study, they present a simple wiping technique
to localize cells within arrays of polymeric microwells
(illustrated in Figure 1 and Figure 2.)
This short-term cell patterning approach is an enabling
tool to develop new high-throughput screening
technologies that utilize microwell arrays containing
cells for screening applications.
Fig. 2 Schematic of fluid flow and cell seeding during the wiping
process. The moving cover glass spreads a wedge of fluid over the
microwell array, forcing the leading contact line to advance and
draw fluid with cells into empty wells ahead of the wedge. Cells
also fall toward the wells and are also pushed and scraped into the
wells. The cells destined for the leading well are located in a 3D
parallelogram near the array. The height of the slice is exaggerated
for clarity. Inset (i) shows actual fluid wedge between the cover
glass and the microwell array. Inset (ii) shows the histogram of cell
and cell aggregate diameters. The notation is as follows: vs is the
wiping speed of the cover glass, d and are the microwell diameter
and spacing, ts is the time over which the cover glass travels the
base length Lw of the fluid wedge (~6 microwells), wf is the
terminal fall velocity of the cells (~10 µm/s).
42
Pharmacy
Obesity Associated with
Reduced Physical Health But Not
Mental Health
Assistant Professor Wee Hwee Lin,
Department of Pharmacy;
Associate Professor Jeannette Lee,
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health,
Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (YLLSoM);
Associate Professor Tai E. Shyong,
Department of Medicine, YLLSoM.
How does obesity affect a person’s well-being? Healthrelated Quality of Life (HRQoL) is an important patientreported outcome that measures the effect of health
condition on an individual’s subjective evaluation of
physical, social and mental well-being. Moreover, obesity as
a health condition is becoming more prevalent worldwide.
In 2009 a team from NUS was awarded a cross- faculty
grant to conduct a study to show the correlation between
obesity and HRQoL.
http://www.pharmacy.nus.edu.sg/staff/phawhl/
Asst Prof Wee Hwee Lin (3rd from left) with members of the
multidisciplinary cardiovascular research team
The multidisciplinary team jointly conducted a research
in the link between body mass index (BMI) and physical
and mental HRQoL in Singapore using data from the
Singapore Prospective Study Program (SP2). This study
involved the analyses of cross-sectional data from 5027
Chinese, Malay and Indian Singaporean participants
(2403 men and 2624 women) aged 24 – 95, all of whom
attended a medical examination and completed the Short
Form-36 (SF-36, a well-established HRQoL measure). A
statistical approach known as multiple linear regression
was performed, accounting for other variables that may
be connected with the relationship of BMI and the PCS
(physical component summary score) and MCS (mental
component summary score)
Asst Prof Wee and her team found that obesity impaired
physical well-being, which was measured using the
physical component summary score of the Short Form -36.
The effect is influenced by gender but not ethnicity; it is
greater in women than in men. Hence, efforts to reduce
or prevent obesity are likely to have similar benefits in all
ethnic groups.
However, obesity is not associated with mental wellbeing (measured using the mental component summary
score of the SF-36). Interestingly, being underweight
is associated with reduced mental well-being but not
physical well-being.
A manuscript reporting these findings has been published
by the International Journal of Obesity in January 2010.
43
RESEARCH
:: Department of Physics
Summary
The Department of Physics promotes excellence in a
wide range of research areas, including condensed
matter physics, surface physics, materials science,
quantum information and technology, high energy
physics, atomic physics, superconductor, solid-state
ionics, astrophysics, infrared spectroscopy, biophysics,
laser optics, x-ray fluorescence, ion-beam applications,
optics, acoustics and computer simulations.
The department has a number of first-rate laboratories
which are equipped with excellent, modern research
facilities. Among them are:
The Department’s excellence in research is
reflected by publications in high impact journals,
presentations at plenary/invited talks by our
faculty staff in international conferences and
service as editors and referees for international
journals. In the past year, the department continued
its strong performance in research as well
as in teaching, achieving several research
breakthroughs in addition to winning prestigious
awards including the NUS Outstanding Researcher
Award, NUS Young Researcher Award and NUS
Outstanding Educator Award.
- Surface Science Laboratory
- Centre for Ion Beam Applications
- Centre for Superconducting and Magnetic Materials
- Laser Spectroscopy Laboratory
- Graphene Laboratory
- Organic Nano Device Laboratory
Physics
Macromolecular Crowding Induced
Elongation and Compaction of
Single DNA Molecules Confined
in a Nanochannel
Associate Professor Johan R.C. van der Maarel
Assistant Professor Jeroen Anton van Kan
Dr Shao Pei Ge, Zhang Ce
The team comprising researchers from the Biophysics
and Complex Fluid group and the Centre for Ion Beam
Applications from the Department of Physics investigated
the effect of dextran nanoparticles on the conformation
and compaction of single DNA molecules confined in a
nanochannel with fluorescence microscopy.
44
Dextran is a generic crowding agent, which is often used
to mimic the intracellular crowded environment in vitro.
Crowding by neutral background species and confinement
in a quasi one-dimensional stationary nanostructure are
both known to affect the configurational properties of
DNA. The interplay of these two modes of compaction has
never been studied before, despite the fact that they are
intimately related in biology.
In their paper (Proceedings of the National Academy
of Sciences of the United States of America, Volume:
106, Issue: 39, Pages: 16651-16656, Sep 29 2009), the
researcher team has presented some counter-intuitive and
unexpected results regarding the conformation and the
transition to a compact state of crowded and confined
DNA. (Figures 1 & 2). They observed that crowding in
conjunction with anisotropic confinement gives a stretched
conformation of DNA and a possibility for condensation
into a compact state at low ionic strength.
Fig. 1 (a) Fluorescence images of T4-DNA in 300 x 300 nm2
channels. The molecules are crowded by dextran (radius Rg = 6.9
nm) with volume fraction 0, 4.2 x 10-4, 4.2 x 10-3, 4.2 x 10-2,
and 6.3 x 10-2 from left to right. (b) As in panel (a), but in 150 x
300 nm2 channels and volume fraction 4.2 x 10-4 (left) and 4.2 x
10-2 (right). (c) Distribution in extension of a population of 170
molecules in 300 x 300 nm2 channels and volume fraction 4.2 x
10-2.
Fig. 2 Relative extension of T4-DNA in 300 x 300 nm2 channels
versus the volume fraction of dextran. Rg = 2.6 (red), 6.9
(green), and 17 (blue) nm. The arrows denote the condensation
thresholds. The inset shows the critical volume fraction pertaining
to condensation versus Rg.
INTERVIEW with
Associate Professor Johan R.C. van
der Maarel
http://www.physics.nus.edu.sg/corporate/staff/johan.html
‘The real high point is the occasional sense
of understanding’
Associate Professor Johan van der Maarel obtained his
PhD from Leiden University, the Netherlands in 1987
after which he lectured there. He joined NUS in 2004 as
Associate Professor in the Department of Physics.
In this interview, he shares some insights into their research
on the effect of dextran nanoparticles on the conformation
and compaction of DNA.
Tell us about your research work.
Our research is in the field of biopolymer physics.
We investigated the interplay of nano-confinement,
crowding, and condensing agents at the level of the
single DNA molecule with a novel home-fabricated
nanofluidic device. We found that in certain conditions
macromolecular crowding results in a more open than
compacted structure of the genome. Furthermore,
DNA can be compacted with neutral nanoparticles, e.g.
nonbinding protein. It shows that osmotic compaction is
a feasible mechanism for gene regulation.
What challenges did the team face?
Technically, the main challenge was the fabrication of the
nanofluidic device. For this purpose, I had to form a team
of scientists with expertise ranging from nanolithography,
through DNA biophysics and optical imaging, to polymer
physics. Luckily, this expertise was available in NUS.
What are the potential applications arising from your
research work?
Our work helps to understand some fundamental biological
mechanisms involving the regulation, transcription, and
replication of the genome.
As a follow up to this work, we have just started a three
year program using a nanofluidic device to investigate
compaction of DNA with binding ligands and architectural
protein to shed light on the formation of chromatin.
To Assoc Prof van der Maarel, research work has many
exciting moments like getting a paper accepted for
publication and witnessing the match of data to theoretical
expectations. To him, the real highpoint is the occasional
sense of understanding.
45
RESEARCH
Physics
A Perfect Reflector
Professor Ong Chong Kim
A device conceived in 1952 by JE Eaton in a naval research
laboratory is a step closer to becoming a reality. This is the
Omnidirectional Retroreflector which can reflect all light
back at its source and thus enables high visibility from all
directions. It works for a full 360 degree range of incident
angles. In theory, the “Eaton Lens” is capable of reflecting
all light rays back to their original source, while faithfully
preserving any image the light carried, apart from inverting
the image (Figure 1).
Until now, the perfect reflector was impossible to fabricate
because of one seemingly impossible challenge. It requires
a singularity in the refractive index, which has stumped
scientists for a long time. The main difficulty lies in the
refractive index of an optical material. At a singularity the
speed of light would be required to go to zero, to complete
standstill, which is not possible in practice.
a.
Prof Ong and his colleagues have proposed an innovation
in the design of the Omnidirectional Retroreflector to
overcome this problem by the synthesis of a new theory
and new artificial material. The new theory is the optical
transformation optics proposed by Pendry and Leonhardt
(Prof Ong’s co-author) independently in 2006; it is based
on the electromagnetic theory and the mathematics of
coordinate transformation, which is also used in the general
theory of relativity. The new material used to make the
device (Figure 2) is known as a metamaterial - manmade
nano structures created with unusual electromagnetic
properties which can be customized.
b.
Fig. 2 The device. The split-ring resonators constitute a
metamaterial for microwave radiation with the designed
radial magnetic permeability. The rings were then filled
with a white dielectric powder that generates the required
electric permittivity.
Fig. 1 Eaton lenses. (a), Spherical lens. (b), Cylindrical lens. An
artist’s impression of the retroreflection of light that carries an
image, the letter ‘E’ for ‘Eaton’. In the outgoing light, the image
is inverted, but preserved (in (a) flipped and upside down, in (b)
flipped). The implementation of an Eaton lens would require a
singularity in the refractive index profile where the index tends
to infinity, unless the singularity is transmuted into a harmless
topological defect, as we demonstrate in our work for the
cylindrical lens with metamaterials for microwaves.
46
Prof Ong’s team is the first in the world to demonstrate
that the Omnidirectional Retroreflector conforms to
transformation optics theory and can be constructed
by means of properly designed metamaterials (Nature
Materials, 8; 639-642; 2009). The device has many
potential applications, especially in terms of tracking and
aggressively shielding or protecting objects from airplanebased laser system. It can also be incorporated into a
range of military applications. It will usher in a new era of
tracking and monitoring systems.
INTERVIEW with
Professor Ong Chong Kim
http://www.physics.nus.edu.sg/corporate/staff/ongck.html
‘A seemingly impossible barrier like singularity
in refractive index is no longer an obstacle.’
Professor Ong Chong Kim obtained his B.Sc. from
Nanyang University and his M.Sc. and Ph D. from
University of Manitoba, Canada. He is the recipient of the
Outstanding Researcher Award 2010, the most recent
honor in an illustrious career. He has broken the longconsidered impossible barrier of singularity in refractive
index to make possible the design of the perfect reflector
that is omnidirectional. In this interview with Prof Ong, we
discover more about the scientist and his work.
What is your research interest and aspirations?
My field of study is materials physics but the research interest
is wide-ranging, covering electronic and nanostructure of
oxide thin films, microwave measurement and material
characterization, superconductivity, magnetism, and ferroelectricity and electromagnetic materials and photonics.
There are many interesting ideas in theoretical physics, but
very few can be implemented in practice. It is my goal to
work towards making abstract concepts such as singularity
transmutation, once thought impossible, possible in real
life. The omnidirectional retroreflector is one such case. It
was first proposed by JE Eaton in Naval Research Laboratory
in 1952. It was impossible to fabricate for many years
because there were no suitable material with the correct
refractive index to work with.
What drives your passion for research?
There are two areas close to my heart. Firstly, I am committed
to develop sophisticated facilities in NUS’s physics laboratory,
designed in-house based on original research. Secondly,
my greatest satisfaction is to inspire and motivate young
scientists in conducting basic research on functional
materials and exploring their applications in new devices.
Prof Ong has published over 450 papers with a Hirsh index
of 29, signifying high scientific productivity and impact.
He has a solid international standing in his field. He will
no doubt continue to influence this area of research for
years to come.
What challenges did you face and how did you
overcome them?
When things get difficult you have to grit your teeth and
persevere. We were faced with finding a material with a
refractive index that can virtually slow and bend light. We
finally found this in the metamaterial, an artificial material
we designed specifically to have this very characteristic. It
was in part due to the development of metamaterial and
transformation optics that we are now able to do this. A
seemingly impossible barrier like singularity in refractive
index is no longer an obstacle.
Headline: Bright Idea For Bend Theory
Date: 04 July 2009
47
RESEARCH
:: Department of
Statistics
And Applied Probability
Summary
The Department of Statistics and Applied Probability
(DSAP) has continued to do well in research. During
AY2009/10, DSAP faculty members have collectively
published over 50 papers. In keeping with our
emphasis on quality, 10 of these papers appeared
in what are widely regarded as the top 7 journals in
probability and statistics.
Out of the many good results obtained by DSAP
researchers, we highlight two groundbreaking
pieces of work, both published in the Annals of
Statistics, which are potentially practice changing.
In the first highlighted paper, Prof Bai Zhidong and
his collaborators pointed out that the usual way to
test for equality of covariance matrices break down
when the dimension is large and they propose some
methods to overcome this problem using random
matrix theory. Since high-dimensional data are
amassed in this information age at unprecedented
rate in fields like genetics and genomics, finance,
and communication networks, the work by Prof Bai
is timely and significant.
48
In the second paper highlighted in this report,
Assoc Prof Chan Hock Peng proved the somewhat
surprising result that in detecting spatial clustering
in epidemiological and other studies, it is more
powerful to use the average rather than the maximal
version of the spatial scan statistic over all windows.
This finding may potentially change the traditional
approaches in detecting spatial clustering.
Our faculty members are also actively engaged in
inter-disciplinary research as evidenced by the growing
number of papers published in econometrics, finance,
biology, genetics and medical journals. For this year’s
report, we highlight the work done by Dr Alex
Cook and his team on modeling the H1N1 influenza
pandemic in Singapore.
Finally, DSAP members are well represented on the
editorial boards of statistical journals. The most recent
count is 11 journals with Dr Li Jialiang and Dr Alex
Cook the latest to have accepted associate editorship
appointments for the journals Biometrics and Statistical
Communications in Infectious Diseases respectively.
Statistics And APPLied Probability
Corrections to LRT on LargeDimensional Covariance Matrix
by RMT
Professor Bai Zhidong
http://www.stat.nus.edu.sg/~stabaizd/
Rapid advancement in science and computing technology
renders measurement, collection, and storage of quantities
of interests possible and efficiently. Many modern data such
as microarray data stock prices wireless communication
networks are often in high-dimension. Many classical
statistical inferential methods no longer work well in
these high-dimensional data without modifications or
refinements. Our research objectives were:
1. Investigated theoretically why the two commonly
2.
used likelihood ratio tests (LR) concerning covariance
matrices fail when the data are in high-dimension.
Using random matrix theory (RMT), provide necessary
corrections to these LR tests so as to cope with the
high-dimensional effects of these data.
square approximation fails. Additionally, the proposed
correction applies equally well for non-Gaussian
populations yielding a valid pseudo-likelihood ratio test.
Deliverables and Achievements to-date:
Significance/Impact:
We demonstrated theoretically (Annals of Statistics,
Volume: 37, Issue: 6B, Pages: 3822-3840, Dec 2009)
why the two commonly used LR tests failed. The limiting
distributions of the corrected LR tests under the null
hypothesis are established. Simulations showed that
the corrected LR tests yield a realizable size close to
nominal level for both moderate p (around 20) and
high dimension, where the traditional LR tests with chi-
The LR tests with Wilks approximation considered in this
paper are classical, and having them corrected for high
dimensional data will extend the applicability of these tests
to a large body of datasets. Our results were published in
a top statistics journal.
The table below showed that our test (corrected LR test,
CLRT) and the classical approximation leads erroneously
to a much higher test size than the nominal level for p
whereas ours stay close to the intended 5% level.
49
Detection of Spatial Clustering with
Average Likelihood Ratio Test Statistics
Associate Professor Chan Hock Peng
The importance of statistical studies cannot be overlooked
as crucial understanding necessary at critical times have
been known to be greatly affected by them. The detection
of local clustering in spatial point processes is of interest
in epidemiological studies, forestry, geological studies,
neural imaging and astronomy. Assoc Prof Chan uses a
classical application of the identification of potential
sources of environmental pollution that have contributed
to higher rates of disease cases in the local community.
He used the dataset from Diggle and Gatrell [1] for
locations of laryngeal cancer occurring in two districts in
Lancashire for the period of 1974-85 and the locations
of control cases of lung cancer for the same districts and
period (Figure 1). A key feature is clusters of laryngeal
cancer and he tested for the presence of local clusters
without biasing.
This research led to the findings that the ALR or average
likelihood ratio should be considered as an alternative to
the scan due to its stronger detection powers. It is also
easy to determine overall significance. There are potential
applications for this work as the detection of spatial
clustering is important in genetics, image analysis and
detection of local disease outbreaks.
References:
[1]. Diggle, P.J., Gatrell, A.C. and Lovett, A.A. (1990). Modelling
the prevalence of cancer of the larynx in part of Lanchashire: a
new methodology for spatial epidemiology. Spatial Epidemiology,
Pion, London.
Fig. 1 Scatter plots of the 58 laryngeal cancer cases
(left) and the 978 lung cancer cases (right).
50
INTERVIEW with
Associate Professor Chan Hock Peng
http://www.stat.nus.edu.sg/~hockpeng/
‘To convince others that it is true and of value requires
quite a bit of theoretical and numerical work’
Associate Professor Chan Hock Peng obtained his B.Sc.
Hon. (Mathematics) from NUS in 1993 and his Ph.D.
(Statistics) from Stanford University in 1998.
The paper ‘Detection of spatial clustering with average
likelihood ratio test statistics’ was recently published in
the Annals of Statistics, widely considered the top journal
on theoretical statistics (Annals of Statistics, Volume: 37,
Issue: 6B, Pages: 3985 - 4010, Dec 2009). This is a soloauthored paper. In this interview, Assoc Prof Chan, the
recipient of 2009 Outstanding Scientist Award (Faculty of
Science) shares some insights about this statistical study.
What inspired this research?
I had realized the practical drawback of the scan statistic
when computing the overall significance. I tried to and
succeeded, in modifying the scan statistic such that the
computation of the overall significance became much
easier. On searching the literature, I realized that the
test statistic I obtained had been proposed and studied
by various authors, and they were aware that the ALR
test statistic has slightly more detection power compared
to the scan statistic. However, they did not know the
fascinating property that the overall significance of the
ALR is easy to determine.
What are the main problems of this study?
The essential problem is that there are potentially
many signals, some possibly dependent. Each signal’s
significance can be measured by what is known in statistical
terminology as likelihood ratios. To measure the overall
significance, the scan statistic, which is the maximum
likelihood ratio, is often used. However, the dependence
structure of the likelihood ratios has to be carefully dealt
with when computing the overall significance. This may
pose problems if the dependence structure is complicated
or unknown.
How did you approach the problems?
I always start out from a theoretical perspective
even though I recognize that the problem has to be
important to the practitioners. With a more fundamental
understanding of a test statistic’s theoretical property, one
can better know how to adapt it to new situations or in
this case, modify it to improve its performance. The use of
computing power to test its performance under realistic
scenarios can come in at a later stage.
What is the biggest challenge in statistical research?
To convince others of what you believe in. It is one thing
to convince myself that I have found something. But to
convince others that it is true and of value requires quite a
bit of taxing theoretical and numerical work and includes
applying the methodology on known datasets.
51
RESEARCH
Modeling the Influenza a
(H1N1-2009) Pandemic in Singapore
Dr Alex Cook, Ms Lee Huey Chyi,
Department of Statistic & Applied Probability;
Associate Professor Goh Lee Gan,
Associate Professor Paul A Tambyah,
National University Health System;
Dr Vernon Lee, Dr Jonathan Yap,
Singapore Armed Forces;
Dr Mark Chen, Mr Jimmy Ong, Tan Tock Seng Hospital;
Associate Professor Raymond Lin, Ministry of Health
A novel strain of influenza emerged early in 2009 to cause
this century’s first influenza pandemic. A national task
force involving various domains of expertise was set up to
meet the challenges the pandemic posed, one of which
was to model it. The DSAP group led by Dr Alex Cook had
three objectives: 1. To predict the severity of the H1N1
pandemic in real-time, making predictions available on-line
for the public; 2. To understand the effect of novel control
strategies, such as targeted anti-viral ring prophylaxis in
semi-closed populations; 3. To estimate how many people
were infected in the first wave determine how many
vaccines would be needed to attain herd immunity.
On short notice, they instigated a sentinel network of GPs
who sent data on influenza cases to Tan Tock Seng Hospital;
these data were processed using sophisticated statistical
methodologies to create a forecast for that day which was
uploaded to a publicly available webpage maintained by
DSAP server. After a short “training period”, predictions
turned out to be surprisingly accurate (Figure 1).[1]
There was also the implementation of “ring prophylaxis”
in SAF, namely, deploying anti-virals proactively to affected
army units to limit further infection. Previous mathematical
modeling had shown this in theory to be effective, but
they now provide hard evidence of its efficacy, recently
published in the top medical journal, New England Journal
of Medicine.[2]
Fig. 1 Real-time predictions as presented on webpage. Left panel
shows data (red +s) from GP network used to make predictions,
predictions (gradated polygons), and eventual data (orange +s).
Right panel shows predicted population infected, extrapolating
from the GP data heroically. The cyan cross indicates the estimate
of the proportion (of the adult population) infected from the
sero-epidemiological study: the close correspondence is striking.
A large serological epidemiological study was also
undertaken, to quantify the proportion of the population
and various sub-populations of interest infected by the
novel strain. They found that about one in six of the
adult population were infected, with higher attack rates
in SAF, and low attack rates in two populations previously
thought to be at high risk: healthcare workers and longterm care residents.
The significance and impact of this work were evident
as DSAP’s flu forecast webpage attracted global hits,
featured in the local press, and was used by SAF in
contingency planning; some of the work was published
in the top two American medical journals (Journal of the
American Medical Association and New England Journal
of Medicine).[2,3]
[1] PLOS ONE, Volume: 5, Issue: 4, Article Number: e10036, Apr 14 2010
[2] New England Journal Of Medicine, Volume: 362, Issue: 23, Pages: 2166 -2174, Jun 10 2010
[3] Jama Journal Of The American Medical Association, Volume: 303, Issue: 14, Pages: 1383 -1391, Apr 14 2010
52
INTERVIEW with Dr Alex Cook
A summary of the flu forecast can be found at
http://blog.nus.edu.sg/alexcook/allsorts/singaporeinfluenza-forecast/
‘The solution was to go back to first principles’
Dr Alex Cook has been a faculty member of NUS for two
years. Before coming to Singapore, he spent two years at
Heriot-Watt’s Department of Actuarial Mathematics and
Statistics in Scotland and one at Cambridge’s Department
of Plant Sciences working as a post-doc on optimal design
of plant disease experiments.
In 2009 during the H1N1 pandemic, he led a team in
modeling the influenza pandemic in Singapore. This study
has received much media attention. In this interview, Dr
Cook explains how he and his team met the challenge of
modeling the influenza A (H1N1) pandemic within a short
time-frame.
How did your team get involved with the SARS
pandemic?
The influenza pandemic forced myself and my colleagues
to stop other research to respond when a national
research taskforce was set up to co-ordinate the various
groups around the country, and mathematical modeling
was a strategic gap to be filled.
What challenges did you face then?
There were two main problems in the GP study: lack of an
existing data collection scheme to quantify influenza like
illness cases and lack of funds. At short notice, we had
to set up a network from scratch, with no funding from
either the university or the funding councils. Regrettably,
we were able to persuade fewer than 30 GPs to volunteer,
out of the 500 GPs contacted.
Another challenge was how to generate the predictions.
There was no time to perform proper model validation
and similarly we had to do all the programming in a tight
time frame.
(First row) Dr Alex Cook
(Second row) left to right: Dr Román Carrasco, Ms Zheng Xiaohui,
Ms Lee Huey Chyi.
In the serological study, my role was limited to the
statistical analysis, which was not particularly difficult.
But the logistics of data collection were challenging for
those involved.
What were the benefits and applications arising
from this research project?
The predictions from the GP study were used to inform
planning for the pandemic in the SAF, who also used ring
prophylaxis to maintain operational readiness. Knowledge
of influenza attack rates gave an idea of how many people
needed to be vaccinated to attain herd immunity.
I am presently collaborating with the Environmental
Health Institute into doing something similar to the realtime predictions, but for dengue. Dengue is substantially
more challenging because the vector is influenced by
environmental factors and greatly by control measures.
There were also challenges in the SAF ring prophylaxis
study. On my part, the main challenge was devising a
new statistical approach to evaluate the effectiveness
of the intervention when there was no control (or null)
treatment to compare against. The solution was to go
back to first principles and set up a stochastic process
representation of the outbreak in which sub-components
could be compared.
53
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A solution to this problem has now been developed by a team of collaborating researchers from the
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developed in-house, to the polymer mixture. Exposing the azide to deep ultraviolet light then
triggered a chemical reaction that induced the photocrosslinking of side chains, forming bonds among
emitting diodes (LEDs).
The devices were just as efficient as similar polymer-based devices made without the azide additive.
Furthermore, the scientists were able to fine-tune the electronic structure of the junctions between
materials, and thus the performance of the devices, by precisely controlling the thickness of the
polymer layer. In their LED, the addition of a 10 nm-thick layer of a polymer called TFB made the
LED ten times more efficient than without the layer by confining charge carriers (electrons and ‘holes’)
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2009
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The team also used this technique to make adjacent donor-acceptor heterostructures in which the
2009
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electron and hole conduction paths have built-in continuity, thereby increasing the photon-to-electron
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S) - A global university
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SITEMAP
Researcher: Dr Peter Ho
Source: NPG Asia Materials, Semiconductors: Plastic electronics,
http://www.natureasia.com/asia-materials/highlight.
php?id= 634 (viewed 15 Jul 10)
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Source:
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of Carbon
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nn9012109[7/15/2010 4:10:45 PM]
in NUS Websites
Search search for...
Nanotube Microstructures with Organized Initiations –,
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/nn9012109
MEDIA COVERAGE
KNOWLEDGE ENTERPRISE
PRESIDENT'S SPEECHES
NUS PUBLICATIONS
(viewed 15 Jul 10)
NUS Websites
US' News Portal
SE
NUS Home > NewsHub > Whats New at NUS
Four researchers clinch inaugural SMF-NUS
Research Horizons Award
28 Jan 2010
The inaugural SMF-NUS Research Horizons Award went to
four NUS researchers - Prof Kang En-Tang, Department of
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Assoc Prof Gan
Yunn Hwen, Department of Biochemistry; Assoc Prof Loh
Kian Ping, Department of Chemistry and Dr Barbaros
Oezyilmaz, Department of Physics, following much
deliberation from an expert panel comprising leading
scientists and established entrepreneurs from Singapore and
abroad. The Award, which is co-funded by NUS and the
Singapore Millennium Foundation (SMF), seeks to accelerate
the development of paradigm-changing research ideas from
conception to implementation.
The four winners will have one year and funding of up to
S$100,000 each to carry out their investigations. At the end
of the term, they will compete for the Phase II funding of up
to S$1 million over two years if their ideas show promise.
Assoc Prof Loh Kian Ping, who is also Vice Dean (Research)
of the Faculty of Science, expressed his excitement about
the award. He said: "This scheme provides researchers with
the opportunity to experiment with less conventional ideas," A
professor in chemistry, Assoc Prof Loh's proposed work may
lead to major novel developments in recycling technology.
INAUGURAL RECIPIENTS: (From left) Assoc Prof Loh Kian
Ping, Assoc Prof Gan Yunn Hwen, Prof Kang En-Tang and
Dr Barbaros Oezyilmaz
Researcher: Assoc Prof Loh Kian Ping and Dr Barbaros Oezyilmaz
Source: Newshub, NUS’ News Portal – Four researchers clinch
inaugural SMF-NUS Research Horizons Award, http://newshub.nus.
edu.sg/headlines/0110/horizons_28 Jan10.php (viewed 15 Jul 10)
Working in the area of graphene, Dr Oezyilmaz is extremely enthusiastic about his win. "The award will help me jump start the
research in this new field and will give me an important competitive edge over my colleagues in the USA," he said. Talking about
the award's accelerated review process, he noted: "The speed at which the proposals are evaluated allows us to take immediate
advantage of new ideas, before other groups around the globe realise the importance of a discovery."
As for Assoc Prof Gan, she believes that the award will help diversify research. Working on research that could possibly lead to the
discovery of a new class of anti-bacterial drugs, Assoc Prof Gan said "The award gives us a chance to explore a line of research
which would otherwise have been impossible."
Prof Kang's research will culminate in environmentally-friendly clean energy storage applications. Humble about his win, he sees
the award as an opportunity to "contribute in a small way towards solving the combined problems of energy and environment."
54
NUS called for proposals during the last quarter of 2009. The University saw close to 80 submissions coming from a wide
spectrum of biomedical, physical science and technology areas.
Researcher: Prof Kini Manjunatha
Headline: King Cobra Venom Has Potential To Delay Dementia
Source: The Straits Times, Prime, pA4
Date: 8 March 2010
Researcher: Asst Prof Toh Chee Seng
Headline: Unlocking the mysteries of dengue
Date: 24 April 2010
Researcher: Ms Andie Ang
Headline: Monkey Species in Better Shape Than Thought
Source: The Straits Times, Home, pB4
55
RESEARCH
Scientific Publications
The Natural Heritage of Singapore
Hugh Tan Tiang Wah, National University of Singapore
Jan 2010, Prentice Hall-Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd
Nature matters. Not only does it provide
us with food, it is also indispensable for
maintaining the quality of our air, soil
and water. It is a treasure trove of genetic
information that we use in agriculture,
industry, biotechnology, medicine, as
well as a myriad of other uses. It stabilises
our local micro-climatic conditions and
helps to moderate global warming.
Nature is also beautiful in itself and
provides recreation in our surroundings
as well as through our culture and care
of many useful ornamental plants and
animals. The diverse flora, fauna, and
environments that we have fortuitously
inherited constitutes Singapore’s natural
heritage, and in a country as small and
urbanized as ours, we simply cannot
afford to lose too much nature or allow
it to degrade!
The Natural Heritage of Singapore (Third
Edition) provides the comprehensive
basis to understanding the natural
history of Singapore. To fully appreciate
and protect nature, we must learn
Exploring Integrated Science
Belal E Baaquie, Frederick H. Willeboordse,
National University of Singapore
Jan 2010, CRC Press, Taylor and Francis Group
Richly illustrated with more than
650 vibrant color images, Exploring
Integrated Science captures the
essence of our intuitive appreciation of
nature, which is the starting point for
the adventure of science. Presenting
integrated scientific ideas that
56
seamlessly
blend
biology,
mathematics, chemistry, and physics,
this volume brings the most complex
and intriguing phenomena to the
reader in a manner that is both
accessible and entertaining.
about its past and present in order to
secure its future and benefit from the
great value it holds. With the threat of
global climate change, biodiversity loss
and other environmental problems,
Singapore’s natural heritage is receiving
greater attention from the government,
public and scientists. Singaporeans are
becoming more aware that conserving
nature and a green environment is
important for their well-being and with
various environmental issues being
highlighted, developing and changing
continually, the publication of this
update is necessary.
The authors, Associate Professor Hugh
T. W. Tan, Professor Chou Loke Ming,
Dr Darren C. J. Yeo and Professor Peter
K. L. Ng, all Singapore academics at
the Department of Biological Sciences,
National University of Singapore, have
many decades of research experience in
terrestrial and aquatic ecology, botany,
zoology and conservation biology of
Singapore and Southeast Asia.
Analytical Performance Modeling for Computer Systems
Tay Yong Chiang, National University of Singapore
April 2010, Morgan & Claypool Publishers
This book is an introduction to analytical
performance modeling for computer
systems, i.e., writing equations to
describe their performance behavior. It
is accessible to readers who have taken
college-level courses in calculus and
probability, networking, and operating
systems. This is not a training manual
for becoming an expert performance
analyst. Rather, the objective is to help
the reader construct simple models
for analyzing and understanding the
systems in which they are interested.
Describing a complicated system
abstractly with mathematical equations
requires a careful choice of assumptions
and approximations. These assumptions
and approximations make the model
tractable, but they must not remove
essential characteristics of the system,
nor introduce spurious properties.
To help the reader understand the
choices and their implications, this
book discusses the analytical models in
20 research papers. These papers cover
a broad range of topics: processors
and disks, databases and multimedia,
worms and wireless, etc. An Appendix
provides some questions for readers
to exercise their understanding of the
models in these papers.
Table of Contents: Preliminaries /
Concepts and Little’s Law / Single
Queues / Open Systems / Markov
Chains / Closed Systems / Bottlenecks
and Flow Equivalence / Deterministic
Approximations / Transient Analysis /
Experimental Validation and Analysis /
Analysis with an Analytical Model
Interest Rates and Coupon Bonds in Quantum Finance
Belal E Baaquie, National University of Singapore
December 2009, Cambridge University Press The economic crisis of 2008 has
shown that the capital markets need
new theoretical and mathematical
concepts to describe and price financial
instruments. Focusing on interest rates
and coupon bonds, this book does
not employ stochastic calculus – the
bedrock of present day mathematical
finance – for any of the derivations.
Instead, it analyzes interest rates and
coupon bonds using quantum finance.
The Heath-Jarrow-Morton and the
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Building on the principles formulated in
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2004) this ground-breaking book
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rate models. It will interest physicists
and mathematicians who are doing
research in finance, and professionals
working in the finance industry. FACULTY OF SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT AY 09/10 | Inroads to New Dimensions
57
it
sm
ss
cate
to
A Checklist of the Total Vascular Plant Flora of Singapore:
Native, Naturalised and Cultivated Species
K. Y. Chong, Hugh T. W. Tan and R. T. Corlett
Uploaded 12 Nov 2009
http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/raffles_museum_pub/flora_of_singapore_tc.pdf
A CHECKLIST OF THE
TOTAL VASCULAR PLANT FLORA OF SINGAPORE
Native, Naturalised and Cultivated Species
This is the first comprehensive
checklist of the vascular plant flora
including native, naturalized and
cultivated fern, fern ally, gymnosperm
and angiosperm species list found in
Singapore, numbering 4,180 species
from 1,580 genera, 243 families and
six phyla (Lycophyta, Filicinophyta,
Cycadophyta, Pinophyta, Gnetophyta,
and Magnoliophyta). Of these, 2,145
species (51.3%) are native and 1826
(43.7%) are exotic species. The remaining
209 (5.0%) species are classified as
weeds of uncertain origin (WUO). There
are eight species consisting of two
subspecific taxa (varieties or subspecies)
and two species consisting of three
varieites. If all these are included, the
total number of taxa is 4,192.
Kwek Yan Chong, Hugh T. W. Tan and Richard T. Corlett
Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research
Singapore
2009
Conservation Biology for All
Navjot S. Sodhi, National University of Singapore
Feb 2010, Oxford University Press
CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
on
such
te
yzing
ered
us
Scientific Publications
Sodhi & Ehrlich
ip.
n
RESEARCH
FOR ALL
otograph:
Dang Ngo
2
B I O LOGY
edited by Navjot S. Sodhi & Paul R. Ehrlich
2
CONSERVATION
BIOLOGY FOR ALL
58
Conservation Biology for All provides
cutting-edge but basic conservation
science to a global readership. A series of
authoritative chapters have been written
by the top names in conservation biology
with the principal aim of disseminating
cutting-edge conservation knowledge as
widely as possible. Important topics such
as balancing conversion and human needs,
climate change, conservation planning,
designing and analyzing conservation
research, ecosystem services, endangered
species management, extinctions, fire,
habitat loss, and invasive species are
covered. Numerous textboxes describing
additional relevant material or case
studies are also included. The global
biodiversity crisis is now unstoppable;
what can be saved in the developing world
will require an educated constituency
in both the developing and developed
world. Habitat loss is particularly acute in
developing countries, which is of special
concern because it tends to be these
locations where the greatest species
diversity and richest centres of endemism
are to be found. Sadly, developing world
conservation scientists have found
it difficult to access an authoritative
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it is these countries where the potential
benefits of knowledge application are
greatest. There is now an urgent need to
educate the next generation of scientists
in developing countries, so that they
are in a better position to protect their
natural resources.
Native and Naturalised Biodiversity for Singapore Waterways
and Water Bodies No. 1: Ficus microcarpa, Malayan Banyan
by Hugh T. W. Tan, C. K. Yeo and A. B. C. Ng
Uploaded 5 February 2010
http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/raffles_museum_pub/ficus_microcarpa.pdf
NATIVE AND NATURALISED BIODIVERSITY FOR
This book is the first in the series,
SINGAPORE WATERWAYS AND WATER BODIES
NO. 1
Native and Naturalised Biodiversity
Ficus microcarpa, Malayan Banyan
for Singapore Waterways and Water
Bodies written for plant enthusiasts,
park managers, landscape designers
and horticulturists in the Tropics,
to provide detailed information on
the natural history, morphology,
ecology,
horticulture,
utilization
for phytoremediation, folklore on
individual species of plants eminently
suitable for the canals, ponds, and
reservoirs of Singapore. This first
volume is devoted to the Malayan
banyan, Ficus microcarpa, a highly
versatile, native freshwater swamp
forest and dryland forest species that
grows in many urban habitats. Hugh T. W. Tan, C. K. Yeo and Angie B. C. Ng
Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research and
Singapore-Delft Water Alliance
Singapore
2010
The Potential of Native Woody Plants for Enhancing
the Urban Waterways and Waterbodies Environment in Singapore
by Hugh T. W. Tan and C. K. Yeo
Uploaded 24 August 2009
http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/raffles_museum_pub/native_woody_plants.pdf
THE POTENTIAL OF NATIVE WOODY PLANTS
FOR ENCHANCING THE URBAN WATERWAYS AND
WATER BODIES ENVIRONMENT IN SINGAPORE
Hugh T. W. Tan and C. K. Yeo
Aquatic plants utilized for cultivation in
canals, streams, ponds and other water
bodies are often herbaceous or nonwoody plants, especially in temperate
regions where most of such research has
been conducted. In tropical Singapore,
whose native vegetation types did not
include species in open water systems
such as lakes, there are few full sun,
open water, herbaceous species in the
native flora. On the other hand, there are
numerous woody species of mangrove,
brackish water or freshwater habitats,
such as the freshwater swamp forest. This
book outlines the many woody species
native to Singapore that can be utilized for
aquatic cultivation including information
on plant habits, natural distributions,
advantages of native versus exotic plant
species, advantages of woody versus
herbaceous plant species, and drawbacks
of native and exotic woody species.
Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research and
Singapore-Delft Water Alliance
Singapore
2009
59
Reseach Centres of excellence
Centre for Quantum
Technologies
The National University of Singapore’s (NUS) proposal
for a Research Centre of Excellence (RCE) in Quantum
Information Science and Technology (QIST) was approved
by the Research, Innovation and Enterprise Council (RIEC)
in March 2007 as the first of several RCEs to be set up
with co-funding from the National Research Foundation
(NRF) and the Ministry of Education (MOE). It is the first
research institute in Southeast Asia dedicated to QIST. The
RCE in QIST, currently known as the Centre for Quantum
Technologies (CQT) will be funded $158 million over 10
years. CQT was launched on 7 December 2007.
CQT conducts interdisciplinary research aimed at overcoming
the fundamental limits to information processing. It will
develop quantum technologies that will be crucial in both
cryptography and computation. The vision is to establish
CQT as one of the world’s top centres in quantum
information science and technology within 5 years.
60
CQT has rolled out its Postgraduate by Research (PGR)
program aimed at attracting and nurturing researchers
who will contribute to scientific and technological
advancements in the area of quantum information science.
The target for the program is 80 students over ten years.
CQT is led by Professor Artur Ekert, Professor of
Quantum Physics at Oxford University, Lee Kong Chian
Centennial Professor at NUS and the co-inventor of
Quantum Cryptography.
More details on CQT’s research can be found at:
www.quantumlah.org
No Quantum Leap
for Interactive Proofs!
http://www.quantumlah.org/people/rahul
Assistant Professor Rahul Jain
Research on quantum computing has grown rapidly in
recent times, attracting much attention from academic
institutions and research centers worldwide. Contributing to
this evolving field is Dr Rahul Jain (School of Computing/
Centre for Quantum Technologies) and his team who lately
solved a question which was left unanswered for 10 years.
Working on the research for about one year, their objective
was to compare the power of Quantum Interactive Proofs and
Classical Interactive Proofs. In a nutshell, Interactive Proofs
are proof systems in which a Verifier with limited resources
tries to verify a statement with the help of a Prover with
unlimited resources. However, the Prover is untrustworthy
and the Verifier needs to verify the Prover’s claims.
Since a classical computer is also a quantum computer, QIP
forms a super-set of IP.
In this setting, if the Verifier is a (probabilistic polynomial
time bounded) classical computer, then the class of
problems which have such proofs is called IP (for Interactive
Proofs). If the Verifier is a (polynomial time bounded)
quantum computer, then the class of problems which have
such proofs is called QIP (for Quantum Interactive Proofs).
Dr Jain and his team won the Best Paper Award at the
42nd ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing (STOC
2010), which is widely considered as a top conference in
Theoretical Computer Science. This paper has also been
invited to the Journal of ACM which is widely considered
as a top journal in Theoretical Computer Science.
Dr Jain and his team proved that QIP = IP. “This finding
shows that there is no extra power gained where interactive
proofs are concerned if the Verifier is a (polynomial time
bounded) quantum computer,” explained Dr Jain.
61
A New Physical Principle Behind
Quantum Physics
http://www.physics.nus.edu.sg/~physv/
http://conneqt.quantumlah.org/
Associate Professor Valerio Scarani
Quantum Mechanics is the most successful physical
theory we have. It’s predictive power is impressive,
both for pure science (think of particle physics) and for
applications (the laser, semiconductors). A significant
amount of public and private funding goes into research
in quantum physics, including here in Singapore.
Naturally, one would like to know what quantum physics
is actually about. But this query normally receives the
frustrating answer “Hmmm, well, it’s complicated!”
- which nobody doubted. However, relativity is also
complicated, and still physicists can tell you that it is based
on a simple physical principle, namely the constancy of
the speed of light. In the same vein, should not physicists
state the principle on which quantum physics is built? The
problem is that nobody has ever been able to formulate
such a principle; so much so, that most physicists just
gave up the quest for it. The present work revives this
quest by focusing on a physical principle that had never
been noticed before. This principle, called information
causality, is indeed satisfied in nature; moreover, it
comes very close to singling out quantum physics as
the only possible description of natural phenomena.
Admittedly, the principle of information causality is still
more complicated than the simple principle of the constancy
of the speed of light. An example is probably the best way
of approaching it.
Alice and Bob had a nice holiday together in Singapore.
They shared experiences, pictures, restaurant bills... For our
purpose, they might even have shared quantum objects.
Now they are both back in their respective countries. In the
UK, Alice discovers a CD with 10 songs, which she would like
to share with Bob. Quite clearly, Alice has to send Bob some
information: Bob will not find the songs among whatever
was shared in the past. Suppose now that each song
occupies 10Mbits and that Alice can send only 10Mbits.
Information causality says that the best thing Alice can do,
is to choose one of the songs and send that one to Bob.
Isn’t this intuitive? It is, and this is why it can be proposed
as a physical principle. But isn’t it actually trivial? No, it
is not trivial. Remember that the goal is to single out
quantum physics, so one has to study what would happen
if one could go beyond what quantum physics allows. In
the example, one then assumes that Alice and Bob have
shared some hypothetical “more-than-quantum objects”.
Then the following becomes possible: Alice sends 10Mbits
in a way that allows Bob to recover any one of the songs
- not all of them, just one, but he can choose which one
at a later stage. In this scenario, all the 100Mbits of the
songs are encoded in 10Mbits, in such a way that each
song, though only one, can be reconstructed perfectly.
This is what information causality forbids: Alice cannot
encode 100Mbits in 10Mbits, in such a way that Bob
can reconstruct perfectly any 10Mbits of his choice.
In the light of this example, information causality can
be summarized as follows. In a scenario with bounded
communication, information cannot be coded in such
a way, that the receiver can choose later which part to
retrieve: the sender must choose which part to send.
The fact that quantum physics does not break information
causality, while anything beyond quantum physics would
break it, shows that this principle is not trivial and may
actually be one of the defining features of our universe.
Reference: M. Pawlowski, T. Paterek, D. Kaszlikowski, V. Scarani,
A. Winter, M. Zukowski, Information causality as a physical
principle, Nature 461, 1101 (2009).
62
Mechanobiology Institute,
Singapore
In Feb 2009, the Mechanobiology Institute (MBI) was
established as Singapore’s 4th Research Centre of
Excellence through a $150 million grant over 10 years
from the National Research Foundation (NRF), the Ministry
of Education (MOE) and the National University of
Singapore (NUS). Its vision is to create the world’s leading
institute in Mechanobiology with a strong and cohesive
interdisciplinary team. Its goal is to develop a new paradigm
of biomedical research by focusing on the quantitative and
systematic understanding of dynamic functional processes.
Facilities
The facilities established by MBI are cutting-edge
technologies with many of them beta-test sites. Codevelopment of world class instruments are one of MBI’s
strengths in technology development in hardware and
software in biomaging and visualisation.
The MBI has set up major core facilities covering protein
expression, microscopy, computation, nanofabrication,
cell culture and other essential services.
(From Left) Emeritus Prof Hew Choy Leong, Prof Michael
Sheetz and Prof Paul Matsudaira
Professor Michael Sheetz of Columbia University was
appointed as the Director, Professor Paul Matsudaira, the
new Head of Department of Biological Sciences NUS as
Co-director and former Head of Department of Biological
Sciences and Emeritus Professor Hew Choy Leong now
serves as its Deputy Director.
The MBI moved to its permanent premises in March 2010
and established the first half of its research laboratories
and offices on 2 floors of the T-lab in NUS. The other
laboratories will be ready early 2011. Today, MBI hosts
some 19 Principal Investigators, 14 Co-Investigators, 28
Senior and Junior Research Fellows, 8 facility managers
and 27 technical and administrative support specialists. 12
visiting professors from US, France, Germany, Korea and
India will visit the Institute in 2010.
MBI has also set up its own network and server capable
of supporting up to 10 Gbps transfer rates today, and 100
Gbps rates in the future. It also houses a highly reliable
storage system and a sophisticated web-based and
network system to store, process, analyze and visualize
experimental data and images as well as permitting large
scale computer modeling of cell processing and data
mining of complex biological processes.
MBI’s Protein Expression and cloning facility is consolidated
with that of Department of Biological Sciences and aims to
provide fast, efficient cloning and expression services with
high quality, purified recombinant proteins from different
host systems (E.coli, yeast, insect and mammalian) and
custom made expression vectors with selective markers.
Research
The MBI has produced over 17 papers to date. By definition,
Mechanobiology research requires the application of
several different disciplines to solve many of the important
problems. Multidisciplinary research is challenging
because of the need for many different approaches to
be applied to a given problem by researchers who have
been taught in different cultures. How the MBI brings
together researchers on specific problems as well as how
it provides a platform for discussion of the problems are
critical elements to its success.
63
Prof Michael Sheetz’s laboratory has several
major projects that investigate molecular stretching as a
mode of mechanotransduction. With Felix Margadant,
they have been able to develop a very sensitive method
for measuring the N- to C-terminal length of a variety of
cytoskeletal proteins by attaching different fluorophores
to each end. The findings with a GFP-talin1-mCherry
construct have been reviewed in Science. Another effort is
targeted at developing new molecules that will form elastic
links between rigid materials and the integrins. These will
potentially enable us to change the apparent rigidity of
surfaces. What sets this method apart from previous efforts
in single molecule observation and from the current stateof-the-art photo-activation microscopy evolution is that
the signals observed fundamentally are single molecules
emitting light but their assembly is much denser than
what is permissible for the latter two approaches. This
allows for tracking these molecules at more than an order
of magnitude higher density and in real time and hence
within living specimen. The density of the signals causes
a loss of accuracy by about a factor of 4 to 5 compared
to the named approaches and triggers an increase of
two orders of magnitude in computational demands.
GFP---Talin---mCherry
unstretched
adhesion
complex
membrane
stick
60nm
GFP-----T-a-l-i-n-----mCherry
stretched
slip step
GFP-Talin-mCherry Distributes Normally
B
10m
An entirely novel approach used here is capping the protein
expression density while administering the compounds in
order to regulate the density of molecular signals. This in
consequence guarantees the method staying within its
operational settings.
http://mbi.nus.edu.sg/michael-sheetz/
64
Stretching-Slip Mechanism
Flowing actin transiently pulls Talin C termini
actin filament
In Situ Stretching of Talin
A
GFP Distribution
mCherry Distribution
Talin Antibody Distribution
Superposition
Prof Linda Kenney (University of Chicago and Prof Jay Groves’
MBI) and Asst Prof Yan Jie (NUS Dept. of Physics and MBI)
work on specialized proteins. One - H-NS - is involved in
silencing genes important for disease in many pathogens
like bacteria. Sophisticated methods have been used to
study how H-NS binds to DNA, including magnetic tweezers
(a device that stretches DNA and other molecules) and
atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM taps over a surface
in which H-NS/DNA complexes have been deposited and
provides a molecular picture of the complex.
work on membrane chips, a
technology that marries methods from the electronics
industry with biology, is going into scaled up production at
MBI. The work made news this year with a basic discovery
concerning how cancer cells misuse their ability to pull in
the onset and progression of cancer. The production of
membrane chips is key to this line of work and its potential
applications in the development of new cancer therapies.
http://mbi.nus.edu.sg/jay-groves/
The MBI is focusing on how cells sense and respond to
mechanical stress, for example, how bacteria such as
Salmonella sense whether or not they are in a host and
respond by activating virulence genes that promote
disease. The work was published in the February 15th issue
of Genes and Development (Liu, Y., Chen, H. Kenney, L.J.
and Yan, J. “A divalent switch drives H-NS/DNA-binding
conformations between stiffening and bridging modes”
24(4):339-344.
http://mbi.nus.edu.sg/linda-j-kenney/
Schematic of a ‘spatial mutation’ in which a
nanofabricated chip, like a computer chip, is used
to control the position and movement of proteins
inside a living cell.
In the absence or low concentration of magnesium, H-NS
polymerizes along DNA and results in DNA stiffening. In higher
magnesium concentration, H-NS mediates formation of large
linear DNA hairpins. The two modes co-exist in a few millimolar
concentration of magnesium. Relevance between the binding
modes and gene silencing will be investigated.
65
Outreach
Schools, JCs and Polytechnic Outreach
The quality of student admission remains high as the Faculties explore various strategies
to engage potential students through the annual NUS and Faculty Open Houses. With
its diverse undergraduate program offerings, new minors and collaborations with
partner universities, an increasing number of schools and JCs organise visits to NUS
for their students to explore and contemplate on furthering their higher education
through the NUS Faculty of Science.
NUS Open House 13 - 14 Mar 2010
Science Open House 15 May 2010
66
Schools and JCs Higher Education Talks and Fairs
Science.09 & Xperiment.09
Schools and JCs Higher Education Talks and Fairs
Visits to Science
67
Outreach
Collaborative Programs
with Ministry of Education
The Faculty continues to attract strong school and student participation in its
collaborative programs like the Science Research Program, Science Mentorship
Program, and Science Focus. The Teacher UPDATES initiative started in 2009 found
interest among school teachers, with 4 more workshops conducted this year.
Teacher Updates
CSI (Singapore): Fingerprints and Bloodstains Analysis (26 Oct 2009)
68
Programs
Science Research Program and Congress
Science Mentorship Program
Science Focus
Creative and Heuristic Applications of Science (CHAOS)
69
Outreach
Alumni Relations
On 15-Jun 2010, NUS President Prof Tan Chorh Chuan hosted 10 alumni of the Faculty
to lunch at the Shaw Foundation Alumni House. In attendance were Dean Prof Andrew
Wee and Office of Alumni Relations Director A/P Teo Choo Soo. The event provided
a conducive opportunity to update alumni on developments on campus, as well as
obtaining feedback and ideas from the alumni.
NUS President’s Dialogue Lunch with FoS Alumni (15 Jun 2010)
Bukit Timah Campus Reunion (8 Jul 2009)
70
80th Anniversary Gala Dinner
The Faculty completed its 80th Anniversary celebrations
with a gala dinner at the Sheraton Towers Hotel on 24-Oct
2009, featuring its Alumni Awards Ceremony. More than
300 staff, students and guests were present to celebrate
the occasion as Guest of Honour Dr Tony Tan presented
the Faculty’s Distinguished Science Alumni Award to 6
recipients. Another 11 alumni received the Outstanding
Science Alumni Award.
Distinguished Science Alumni Awards 2009
• ANG How Ghee, Emeritus Professor,
BSc(Hons) 1961, MSc 1962, DSc 1985
• LEE Sing Kong, PhD 1985
• NG Kok Song, BSc(Hons) 1970
• SEAH Jiak Choo, BSc(Hons) 1975
• SEET Ai Mee, PhD 1969
• TAN Shook Fong, BPharm(Hons) 1965
•
•
•
•
•
•
HEW Choy Leong, Emeritus Professor, BSc 1963
LIM Hock, BSc(Hons) 1970
LOKE Kwong Hung, BSc(Hons) 1954, MSc 1955
LOW Choon Ming, BSc(Hons) 1965
NG Boon Gay, BSc(Hons) 1990
SAW Phaik Hwa, BSc(Hons) 1978
Our efforts to engage Science alumni continue to bring
back more former students to their alma mater, with
several offering to contribute to the development of
our undergraduates through sharing of experiences and
financial donations. In respect of the latter, donations to
the Science Student Overseas Exposure Fund has resulted in
more students benefitting from an overseas stint this year,
while the Science Student Fund has provided the Faculty
with a platform to assist financially strapped students cope
with their studies.
Outstanding Science Alumni Awards 2009
• ANG Hui Gek, BScPharm 1981
• ANG Kok Tian, BSc(Hons) 1986
• CHEN Pu, PhD 1991
• CHEUNG Yin Bun, MSc 2003
• CHUA-LIM Yen Ching, BSc 1980
71
Outreach
Science Commencement (10~11 Jul 2010)
Commencement Speakers (Clockwise from above left) Assoc Prof (Adjunct) Stella Tan, Dr John Climax, Mr Wong Ah Long and Mr Bill Lee
72
DONORS
Science Funds
Donors
The Science Students Overseas Exposure Fund (SSOEF)
facilitates Science students from lower income homes to
gain exposure overseas via the various student exchange
programmes offered by the University and Faculty. During
the academic year 2009/10, $74,300 was disbursed to
61 students.
SSOEF also supports the Science Club’s Project Angel.
In May-June 2010, the Project sought to improve the
environmental conditions in rural Dali in Yunnan Province,
China. Participants built toilets with septic tanks to replace
traditional “dig and fill” toilets, and taught conversational
English to the local children. They also spread awareness
of environmental issues to reduce pollution in the Er Hai
Lake region. $6,000 from the Fund was utilised to support
their efforts.
The SSOEF has named awards honouring the late Mdm
Lam Yoke, the late Mdm Anna Ho, the late Mr C.J. Koh,
and Lee Foundation. One student and Project Angel were
offered named awards during the year.
In conjunction with the 80th Anniversary celebrations, the
Faculty’s fund-raising efforts raised more than $79,000
towards the SSOEF. As at June 2010, the SSOEF endowed
account, inclusive of government matching grants, stands
at $1.19 million. Another $61,290 was added to the SSF
Emergency use, and $188,000 was raised for 94 SSF annual
bursaries of $2,000 each with a further $24,000 pledged.
The Science Student Fund (SSF) supports students in sudden
and dire need. Mitigating factors include retrenchment,
disability, or a medical condition that places extreme burden
on the family. The aim is short-term emergency assistance
for the student to continue his/her studies. During the year,
there were no applicants for SSF Emergency.
Physics Professor Gives Back
In 2010, the Department of Physics received a gift of
$15,000 from retired Professor and former Head, Dr
Arthur Rajaratnam. To honour the man and his gift, the
Arthur Rajaratnam Prize was established to encourage
more students to continue their passion for the subject.
This prize recognises students who have excelled in
experimental training during their coursework in physics.
A cash incentive of $200 will be awarded to the two
top performing students in Level 2000 and Level 3000
experimental laboratory modules every year.
73
FACTS & FIGURES
Global Standing
Times Higher Education-QS World Universities Rankings 2009
TOP 200 World Universities
RANK
2009
RANK
2008
SCHOOL NAME
COUNTRY
28
28
Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris
France
29
41
University of Toronto
Canada
30
30=
National University of Singapore (NUS)
Singapore
31
27
Brown University
US
32=
30=
University of California, Los Angeles
US
TOP 50 Universities for Life Sciences and Biomedicine
RANK
2009
RANK
2008
SCHOOL NAME
COUNTRY
18
11
US
19
19
Peking University
China
20
17
Singapore
21
37
Australian National University
Australia
22
25
University College London
UK
TOP 50 Universities for Natural Sciences
RANK
2009
RANK
2008
SCHOOL NAME
COUNTRY
25
37
Sapienza University of Rome
Italy
26
22
McGill University
Canada
27
31=
Singapore
28=
31=
Seoul National University
South Korea
28=
26
Ecole Polytechnique
France
Source: Times Higher Education, www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/ (viewed 20 July 2010)
74
Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Asian University Rankings (AUR) 2010
Top 200 Asian Universities
RANK
2010
RANK
2009
SCHOOL NAME
COUNTRY
1
1
University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong
2
4
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Hong Kong
3
10=
Singapore
4
2
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong
5
3
The University of Tokyo
Japan
Life Sciences and Biomedicine
RANK
2010
RANK
2009
SCHOOL NAME
COUNTRY
1
1
Japan
2
4
Singapore
3
3
Kyoto University
Japan
4
5
Korea, South
5
2
Peking University
China
Natural Sciences
RANK
2010
RANK
2009
SCHOOL NAME
COUNTRY
1
1
Japan
2
2
Kyoto University
Japan
3
3
Peking University
China
4
6
Singapore
5
5
Korea, South
Source: QS Quacquarelli Symonds, http://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/asian-university-rankings/overall (viewed 20 July 2010)
75
FACTS & FIGURES
Staff Profile
Staff Population
(does not include temporary and visiting staff appointments)
01. Full-time Faculty Members: 267 (28%)
02. Teaching Staff: 69 (7%)
03. Research Staff: 338 (35%)
04. * Executive & Professional: 70 (7%)
05. * Non-academic Staff: 221 (23%)
05
04
TOTAL: 965
* includes staff employed under grant
03
01
02
06
07 08
01
05
04
01
01
03
02
02
04
03
03
02
Research Staff Population
Teaching Staff Population
Academic Staff Population
01. LKY Postdoctoral Fellow: 5 (1%)
01. Lecturer: 20 (29%)
01. Assistant Professors: 91 (34%)
02. Research Assistant: 144 (43%)
02. Senior Lecturer: 9 (13%)
02. Associate Professors: 106 (40%)
03. Research Associate: 20 (6%)
03. Teaching Assistant: 20 (29%)
03. Professors: 70 (26%)
04. Research Fellow: 81 (24%)
04. Instructor: 20 (29%)
05. Research Fellow (Scale A): 69 (20%)
06. Research Fellow (Scale B): 12 (4%)
TOTAL: 69
07. Senior Research Fellow: 6 (2%)
08. SMF Postdoctoral Fellow: 1
TOTAL: 338
76
TOTAL: 267
Budget
04
05
06
07
FY2009 Budgetary Allocations
03
01. Operating Budget: S$74,700,000 (70%)
02. Research Scholarships: S$20,500,000 (19%)
02
03. Equipment Budget: S$4,440,000 (4%)
04. Strategic Initiatives for Undergraduate
Overseas Initiatives: S$175,550
01
05. Strategic Initiatives Budget: S$49,000
06. Start-up Grants: S$3,340,000 (3%)
07. Academic Research Fund
(FRC allocations only): S$4,176,810 (4%)
TOTAL: S$107,381,360
Undergraduate Statistics
Number of Students by Nationality
as at Semester 2 AY2009/10
01. Singaporeans and Permanent
Residents: 3,185 (70%)
02. Foreigners: 1,334 (30%)
02
01
TOTAL: 4,519
77
FACTS & FIGURES
Undergraduate Statistics
Undergraduate Students in Majors
Number of Science undergraduate students in each major as at Semester 2 AY2009/10
MAJOR (NO. OF STUDENTS)
Applied Chemistry
113
Life Sciences (Specialisation in Molecular & Cell Biology)
110
Applied Mathematics
499
Mathematics
200
Chemistry
860
Pharmacy
495
Computational Biology
30
Physics
213
Food Science And Technology
153
Physics (Concentration in Applied Physics)
2
Life Sciences
11
Physics (Specialisation in Astrophysics)
18
Life Sciences (Concentration in Biology and
Molecular & Cell Biology)
1
Physics (Specialisation in Physics in Technology)
13
Life Sciences (Concentration in Biology)
42
Quantitative Finance
109
Life Sciences (Concentration in Biomedical Science and
Molecular & Cell Biology)
1
Statistics
270
Life Sciences (Concentration in Biomedical Science)
222
Statistics (Concentration in Biostatistics)
2
Life Sciences (Concentration in Molecular & Cell Biology)
42
Statistics (Specialisation in Biostatistics)
3
Life Sciences (Specialisation in Biology)
205
Life Sciences (Specialisation in Biomedical Science)
803
Statistics (Specialisation in Finance and
Business Statistics)
102
TOTAL: 4,519
Overseas Programs
Number of Faculty of Science undergraduate students on overseas programs in AY2009/10
PROGRAM TYPE / PROGRAM (NO. OF STUDENTS)
Summer Program
7th Sino-Singapore Undergraduate Exchange Program
3
Summer Program at Kyushu University
1
Caltech-NUS Surf Program
1
Summer Program at Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico
15
2
Summer Program at the Chinese University of Hong Kong
7
Global Seminar on Sustainability @
Waseda University
Summer Program at the Ludwig Maximilian
Global Village @ Lehigh University
1
IARU Global Summer Program
5
Summer Program at the University of Ulm
2
MIT-NUS Summer Research Exchange Program
1
Summer Programme at UCLA
34
NUS-UNSW Joint Summer Program
34
Summer Program at Wuhan University
6
NUS-UofT Joint Summer Program
30
The Mayan Route Program, Mexico
4
UNCCH-NUS Summer Research Exchange Program
1
Summer Program at Korea Advanced Institute of Science
and Technology
Summer Program at Korea University
78
2
University of Munich
11
2
Overseas Programs (cont’d)
Number of Faculty of Science undergraduate students on overseas programs in AY2009/10
PROGRAM TYPE / PROGRAM (NO. OF STUDENTS)
Overseas Joint / Double / Concurrent Degree Programs
French Double Degree Program
5
NUS-ANU Joint Degree Program
1
NUS-UofT Joint Minor Program
6
Field Studies
Fieldtrip, Food Science & Technology Program, Department of Chemistry
37
Tioman Fieldtrip, Department of Biological Sciences
41
Student Exchange Program (SEP)
Student Exchange Program (SEP)
209
NUS Overseas Colleges Program
NUS Overseas Colleges Program
7
Other Overseas Activities
APPS Conference,
43
Internship, Food Science & Technology Program,
4
China Immersion Program,
30
IPSF SEP,
8
China Immersion Program,
Department of Physics
33
IPSF Conference,
27
European Immersion Program,
30
UBC Internship, Applied Chemistry Program,
1
TOTAL: 644
ABBREVIATIONS
ANU
Australian National University
UBC
University of British Columbia
APPS
Asia-Pacific Pharmaceutical Symposium
UCLA
IARU
International Alliance of Research Universities
UNCCH
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
IPSF
International Pharmaceutical Students’ Federation
UNSW
University of New South Wales
MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
UofT
University of Toronto
79
FACTS & FIGURES
Postgraduate Statistics
01
Graduate Student
Population
01. Research: 1,037 (77%)
02. Coursework: 308 (23%)
02
TOTAL: 1,345
01
10
02
03
02
03
09
04
08
05
07
01
06
Breakdown for Graduate Students (Coursework)
Breakdown for Graduate Students (Research)
01. Doctor of Pharmacy: 5 (2%)
01. Doctor of Philosophy: 916 (88%)
02. Master of Science: 38 (12%)
(Industrial Chemistry)
(Science Communication)
(Applied Physics)
(Chemistry)
(Pharmaceutical Sciences
and Technology)
(Physics)
(Statistics)
(Quantitative Finance)
TOTAL: 308
(Mathematics)
80
02. Graduate Program: 20 (2%)
TOTAL: 1,037
Postgraduate Statistics
06
05
Research Students (Breakdown by Department)
01
01. Biological Sciences: 333 (32%)
02. Chemistry: 307 (30%)
04
03. Mathematics: 89 (9%)
04. Pharmacy: 96 (9%)
05. Physics: 165 (16%)
06. Statistics & Applied Probability: 47 (4%)
03
TOTAL: 1,037
02
01
Graduate Students (Breakdown by Nationality)
01. Singaporeans & Permanent Residents: 514 (38%)
02. Other nationalities: 831 (62%)
TOTAL: 1,345
02
Commencement 2010
10
09
08
01. Doctor of Philosophy: 113 (45%)
01
03. Master of Science (Pharmacy): 2 (1%)
04. Master of Science (Industrial Chemistry): 10 (4%)
07
05. Master of Science (Science Communication): 1 (1%)
06. Master of Science (Applied Physics): 2 (1%)
06
07. Master of Science (Chemistry): 38 (15%)
05
08. Master of Science (Mathematics): 5 (2%)
(Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technology)
04
03
02
10. Master of Science (Statistics): 31 (12%)
TOTAL: 251
81
FACTS & FIGURES
Research Data & Statistics
Research Performance (Journal Publications)
NUS Journal Publications in Science by Impact from 2001 to 2009
Legend
Premium / Top-notch
Leading
Reputable
Others
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
No. of Publications
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Year
JOURNAL PUBLICATIONS
82
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Premium / Top-notch
199
308
301
336
354
431
451
505
558
Leading
156
191
196
179
190
232
231
243
258
Reputable
177
147
131
105
151
129
111
115
136
Others
107
126
101
84
101
72
103
102
149
TOTAL
639
772
729
704
796
864
896
965
1101
Research Data & Statistics
Faculty Research Funding from 2001 to 2009 (in millions)
Legend
20
15
10
0
5
Singapore Dollars (in millions)
25
30
Academic Research Fund
External Grants
Research Scholarship
2001
2002
RESEARCH FUNDING
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Academic Research Fund
6.4
6.3
10
6.4
11.1
10.2
12.4
19.8
10.7
External Grant
28.6
30.5
9
10.5
19.1
22.1
32.2
27.1
21.6
12
12
11.5
11.4
10.9
10.9
0.9
16.9
18.5
Research Scholarships
Year
Citations of NUS Journal Publications in Science by Impact over years 2001-2009
No. of Citations (in thousands)
35
34,513
25
30
28,351
21,726
20
17,977
8,868
5,477
6,484
2001
2002
9,895
0
5
10
15
14,646
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Year
83
FACTS & FIGURES
Approved URC and ARC Projects 2009/2010
DEPARTMENT
PRINCIPAL
INVESTIGATOR
Biological
Sciences
He Yuehui
ARC
Elucidating Flowering Control by a Histone H3 Lysine-4
Methyltransferase Complex / 3 years / $738,020
Biological
Sciences
Liou Yih-Cherng
ARC
Characterization of a novel Plant Peptidyl-Prolyl Isomerase AtPP1 in
Arabidopsis / 3 years / $903,020
Biological
Sciences
Yang Daiwen
ARC
Structure Elucidation of Spider Eggcase Silk Protein Towards Artificial Silk
Production / 3 years / $856,020
Biological
Sciences
Xu Jian
ARC
Stem Cell Formation and Root Patterning in Plants / 3 years / $753,566
Mathematics
Zhang Luoxin
ARC
Rapid Alignment Methods for Biological Network Comparison / 3 years /
$724,020
Physics
Johan R C van
der Maarel
ARC
Nanofluidic Studies of DNA Compaction by Condensing
Ligands and Architectural Protein / 3 years / $770,020
Chemistry
Huynh Han Vinh
URC
Remote N-heterocyclic Carbenes (rNHCs): Design,
Coordination and Applications / 3 years / $250,000
FUNDING SOURCE
PROJECT TITLE / DURATION / APPROVED PROJECT VALUE
ABBREVIATIONS
URC
University Research Committee
ARC
Academic Research Committee
External Grants Approved in 2009/2010
DEPARTMENT
PRINCIPAL
INVESTIGATOR
FUNDING AGENCY
Chemistry
Andy
6th S’pore-China Joint
Nano-Porous Metal-Organic Framework (nMOF)
Hor Tzi Sum
Research Program
for Absorption and Activation of Small Molecules / 3 years / $233,945
Huynh Han Vinh
A*STAR SERC
Conversion of Levulinic Acid to Nylon Monomers / 3 years / $249,262.50
Chemistry
“Sustainable Waste
based Biorefinery”
Research Program
Physics
Feng Yuan Ping
A*STAR SERC
The First Principle Prediction of New Media and Spintronics
Materials for 10TB/SQ-IN Data Storage / 3 years / $437,250
Chemistry
Toh Chee-Seng
A*STAR - SIgN
Development of Fast Response, Sensitive and Selective
Biosensor Probe System for Dengue and Its Serotypes for Use
at Point-of-Cares In Singapore / 3 years / $466,400
Biological
Liou Yih-Cherng
BMRC
Sciences
Studies on the Role of Peptidyl-Prolyl Isomerase Pin1
in Regulating TR3-Mediated Celel Proliferation / 3 years / $699,000
Biological
Jayaraman
Sciences
Sivaraman
BMRC
Elucidating Specificity of BCH Domains by Structural and Functional
Characterization of Their Complexes with RhoA and Glutaminase / 3 years /
$619,800
84
External Grants Approved in 2009/2010 (cont’d)
DEPARTMENT
PRINCIPAL
INVESTIGATOR
FUNDING AGENCY
Biological
Liou Yih- Cherng
BMRC (SSCC)
Identification of Novel Regulators for the Maintenance of Human ESC
Sciences
Chemistry
Pluripotency Through a Kinome siRNA Screen / 3 Years / $604,000
Chan Yin Thai
DSTA DIRP
Ultra-Sensitive Detection of Botulinum Neurotoxin Subtype A & B / 3 years /
$440,000
Chemistry
Liu Xiaogang
DSTA DIRP
Composite Nanostructured Materials for Themal Management / 3 years /
$590,990
Chemistry
Xu Qing-hua
DSTA DIRP
Metal Nanoparticles as Novel Laser Absorbing Agents / 3 years / $498,000
Physics
Jeroen Anton
SERC (PSF 2009)
Development of Novel Methods of Fabricating Metallic Nano
Van Kan
Injection Molds for Lab on Chip Biomedical Sample Preparation and DNA
Analysis Applications / 3 years / $488,068
Biological
Song Jianxing
NMRC
Sciences
Signalling Mechanism and Antagonist Design for Treating Human
Cancers and Other Diseases by Targeting Eph Receptors and Ephrins / 3 years
/ $802,000
Biological
Hugh
Nparks
Enhancing the Native Urban Biodiversity of Singapore / 3 years / $1,496,888
Sciences
Tan Tiang Wah
Chemistry
Sow Chorng Haur
NRF CRP
Nanowire Synthesis by Controlled oxidation Growth / 3.5 years / $701,000
Chemistry
Eugene Khor
NRF POC
Development of Biomaterial and Its Design Into a Tube Covering Material Used
for Glaucoma Drainage Device (GDD) / 1 Year / $183,000
Physics
Ozyilmaz
NRF POC
Barbaros
Graphene Based Ferroelectric Field Effect Transistors (GFeFET) for GHZ/THZ
Transistor Applications and Wearable Electronics / 1 Year / $250,000
Biological
John Michael
NUS America
Sciences
Van Wyhe
Foundation
Wallace Online-Darwin Online / 3 years / US$275,000
Biological
Ganesh
Waters
Dynamics of Protein-Protein Interactions and Allostery by
Sciences
Srinivasan Anand
Technology
High-Throughput Amide Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange Mass
Corporation
Spectrometry / 1 year / $446,137
ABBREVIATIONS
A*Star SERC
A*Star SIgN
BMRC
BMRC (SSCC)
DSTA DIPR
NMRC
NParks
NRF CRP
NRF POC
SERC (PSF)
Agency for Science, Technology and Research - Science Engineering Research Council
Agency for Science, Technology and Research - Singapore Immunology Network
Biomedical Research Council
Biomedical Research Council (Singapore Stem Cell Consortium)
Defence Science and Technology Agency - Defence Innovative Research Programme
National Medical Research Council
National Parks
National Research Foundation - Competitive Research Programme
National Research Foundation - Proof of Concept
Science Engineering Research Council (Public Sector Funding)
85
CONFERENCES & SYMPOSIUMS
Conferences & Symposiums
NO.
01
Date
Title of Conference/ Symposium, Venue, Organisers
28 Jun - 3 Jul 2009
International Conference on Materials for Advanced
Technologies (ICMAT 2009), Singapore
Number of
Attendees
2345
Department of Physics (NUS) and MRS Singapore
Mathematical Theory and Numerical Methods for
Computational Materials Simulation and Design, Singapore
02
1 Jul - 31 Aug 2009
Institute for Mathematical Sciences (IMS), Department of Mathematics (NUS),
Department of Physics (NUS), Penn State University and Courant Institute,
New York University in celebration of 80th Anniversary of Faculty of Science
(http://www.ims.nus.edu.sg/Programs/09matheory/index.htm)
131
The 5th Singapore-China Joint Symposium on Research
Frontiers in Physics, Singapore
03
22 - 24 Jul 2009
04
13 - 14 Aug 2009
Department of Physics (NUS), Institute of Advanced Studies at Nanyang Technological
University, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Suzhou University, Xiamen University,
Huazhong University of Science & Technology and Zhejiang University
(http://www.physics.nus.edu.sg/sympo2009/)
The 2nd NUS-NTHU Bilateral Meeting 2009, Singapore
Department of Biological Sciences (NUS) and College of Life Science,
National Taiwan Tsing Hua University (NTHU)
100
150
05
3 - 4 Sep 2009
Joint BII -DBS workshop - Modern Approaches to Biological
Problems, Singapore
06
11 Sep 2009
Joint NUS-USTC Workshop on Frontiers in Mathematics,
Singapore
20
07
15 - 16 Sep 2009
Asian Symposium on ADMET Profiling for Drug Discovery,
Singapore
150
08
16 Oct 2009
09
3 - 5 Nov 2009
10
16 - 18 Nov 2009
11
10 - 11 Dec 2009
12
14 - 15 Dec 2009
NUS-University of Hyderabad, Singapore
70
13
14 - 16 Dec 2009
Workshop on Harmonic Analysis and Invariant Distributions,
Singapore
18
A*STAR’S Bioinformatics Institute, the Department of Biological Sciences (NUS),
Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory and Duke-NUS
Department of Mathematics (NUS) and
University of Science & Technology of China (USTC)
NUS FoS, Department of Pharmacy (NUS), BMRC, ABI, Agilent Technologies,
Alpha Analytical, BD Gentest, GSK, Shimadzu and Biomed Diagnostics.
80
First Singapore Conference on Statistical Finance, Singapore
Departmet of Statistics & Applied Probability(NUS),
Saw Centre for Quantitative Finance(NUS Business School) and
Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science (University of Hong Kong)
3rd Mechanobiology Workshop, Singapore
Mechanobiology Institute (Funded by NRF, MOE and NUS)
10th Sino-Singapore Symposium in Biology, Xiamen, China
Department of Biological Sciences (NUS),
Tsinghua University and Xiamen University
14 Graduate Congress 2009, Bangkok, Thailand
Graduate students of Chulalongkorn University, Thailand,
Department of Biological Sciences (NUS) and the University Malaya.
Department of Chemistry (NUS) and University of Hyderabad
100
150
100
100
Department of Mathematics (NUS)
14
16 - 18 Dec 2009
Singapore International Chemical Conference 6 (SICC-6th),
Singapore
Department of Chemistry (NUS) and Singapore National Institute of Chemistry
86
300
NO.
15
Date
Title of Conference/ Symposium, Venue, Organisers
4 - 8 Jan 2010
Workshop on Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases: Emerging
Challenges, Singapore
16
20 - 23 Jan 2010
17
19 - 21 Feb 2010
Department of Statistics & Applied Probability (NUS) and
Institute for Mathematical Sciences (NUS)
The Inaugural Abbott-NUS Symposium on Drug Delivery
Systems, Singapore
Department of Pharmacy (NUS), Abbott, NUS, Agilent Technologies,
Colorcon, NMRC and Glatt GmBH.
(http://www.pharmacy.nus.edu.sg/events/abbott-nus/)
India Singapore Joint Physics Symposium 2010, Hyderabad, India
Department of Physics (NUS) and University of Hyderabad
Number of
Attendees
40
136
100
(http://sop.uohyd.ernet.in/~isjps/)
18
20 - 24 Feb 2010
19
23 - 24 Feb 2010
20
24 - 26 Feb 2010
The 54th Biophysical Society meeting, San Francisco, USA
Department of Physics (NUS), University of Illinois at Chicago and
Mechanobiology Institute of NUS
Workshop on Advanced Mathematics, Singapore
Department of Mathematics (NUS), Fudan University and
Department of Mathematics, Shanghai Jiaotong University
200
20
Conference in Honor of Murray Gell-Mann’s 80th Birthday:
Quantum Mechanics, Elementary Particles, Quantum
Cosmology and Complexity, Singapore
249
Department of Physics (NUS), Nanyang Technological University/Institute of Advanced
Studies, Sante Fe Institute and Institute of Physics
21
5 Mar 2010
2nd NUS-SNU Joint Symposium, Singapore
80
22
13 - 14 April 2010
Risk Based Approach to Inspecting Quality Systems, Singapore
21
23
15 -16 April 2010
24
28 April 2010
Good Clinical Practice Workshop, Singapore
25
29 April 2010
Building a Research-based Healthcare System in Singapore,
Singapore
75
300
Department of Chemistry (NUS) and Seoul National University
Department of Pharmacy (NUS), NUSAGE and PharmEng Technology
Educating Pharmacists (Asia) 2010 Symposium, Singapore
Department of Pharmacy (NUS), Western Pacific Pharmaceutical Forum and the South East
Asian FIP-WHO Pharmaceutical Forum
Department of Pharmacy (NUS), NUSAGE and PACRA
97
30
Department of Pharmacy (NUS), NUSAGE, ICON, SCRI, Quintiles and Paraxel
26
2 - 6 May 2010
12th Asian Conference on Solid State Ionics, Wuhan, China
27
11-12 May 2010
Control of Microbiological Contamination, Singapore
20
28
17- 19 May 2010
Pharmaceutical Technology Seminar 2010, Singapore
74
25 - 26 Jun 2010
Probability Approximations and Beyond : A Conference in
Honour of Louis Chen on his 70th Birthday, Singapore
29
Department of Physics (NUS) and Asian Society for Solid State Ionics
Department of Pharmacy (NUS), NUSAGE and PharmEng Technology
GEA-NUS PPRL and Department of Pharmacy (NUS)
Department of Statistics & Applied Probability (NUS) and
Department of Mathematics (NUS)
100
87
Overseas students in NUS for
Biodiversity Summer Program
Faculty of Science Annual Report AY09/10
Project Team
Perry Hee Yoon Siang (Lead)
Belinda Lim Ghim Peng (Coordinator)
Jenny Low (Coordinator)
James Wee Chee Seng (Design & Layout)
Printed on environmentally friendly paper
Science Dean’s Office
Faculty of Science
Block S16, Level 9
6 Science Drive 2
Singapore 117546
Tel:
(65) 6516 3092 (Undergraduate)
(65) 6156 8780 (Graduate)
(65) 6516 7641 (Outreach)
Fax: (65) 6777 4279
Website:
www.science.nus.edu.sg

here - Science - National University of Singapore

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