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Nanoscience and nanotechnology are areas of strategic
importance to NUS because we believe they hold great
promise. Nanotechnology is making great impact in a wide
range of areas and applications, including electronics,
defence, transportation as well as biotechnical applications
in medicine, health care and agriculture.
NUS aspires to position itself at the leading edge of
exciting developments in nanoscience and nanotechnology. As
such, NUS is committed to strengthening its capabilities and
collaborations in nanotechnology research and development.
Nanotech Research and Graduate Education in NUS
As early as July 2001, NUS’ Faculties of Engineering and
Science embarked on a technology scan for nanotechnology.
In January 2002, NUSNNI was set up. To date, 22 Nano Labs
have been established across the NUS campus, mainly in the
Faculties of Engineering and Science. The
Nanobioengineering Corridor, Silicon Nanodevices Lab and
Information Storage Materials Lab are but a few examples of
the infrastructure that has been put in place to support
research and graduate education in nanotechnology.
We are grateful that the Ministry of Education and A*STAR
recognise the importance of nanotechnology research and have
provided more than $15.5 million in funding for NUSNNI’s R&D
efforts.
NUS has also allocated more than $2 million for graduate
scholarships in nano-related fields. This is on top of
funding from the EDB to set up industry-oriented programmes
for the Master of Engineering in Nanoengineering.
Collaborations
NUSNNI is also actively developing and strengthening
collaborations with partners in Singapore and overseas. For
example, in April this year, a team visited the University
of California, Santa Barbara to participate in a joint
workshop and to explore collaborative opportunities. In
addition, a joint Korea-Singapore Workshop on
Nanobioengineering will be held in Singapore in July 2005.
Other joint conferences with Japan and with China are being
initiated.
Achievements in Nanotechnology
Significant breakthroughs have been made in nanotech R&D at
NUS. I will highlight a few.
Associate Prof Liu Xiang-Yang's team has made a
groundbreaking discovery in the formation of well-ordered
particles. The discovery will make possible a variety of
bioengineering applications, such as in intricate laser
surgery to treat short-sightedness or in tissue engineering
to stop the spread of disease in cells. Their discovery was
published in
Nature,
the world’s most prestigious scientific journal.
Another group led by Assistant Prof Sow Chorng Haur has
developed a laser pruning technique to fabricate 2D and
3D patterns made of nanostructured carbon materials. This
technique is convenient and effective, and can be
widely-applied in the fabrication of electrical circuits.
A team comprising Drs Mansoor Jalil, Teo Kie Leong and
Thomas Liew are doing research into semiconductor-based ‘Spintronics’,
to cut power consumption in electronic devices, and boost
processing speed thousand-fold. The team has filed an
international patent on a novel device to control the spin
of electrons. Within a year and a half, they have built a
strong collaboration with the Data Storage Institute.
Graduate student Ryuji Inai won the Gold Medal in the 2004
Far Eastern Economic Review - Hewlett Packard Young
Inventors Awards. He designed an innovative machine that
can build 3-D scaffolds and closely align the nanofibres in
2-D and 3-D scaffolds. Ryuji’s life-saving work was
recognised by an international panel of judges for its
originality, potential impact on humanity, feasibility of
commercialisation and quality of project presentation.
I am delighted that the inaugural NUSNNI Research
Achievement Award will be presented today. The award will
keep up the momentum and spur research efforts in
nanoscience and nanotechnology as well as promote
trans-disciplinary research. The award not only recognises
the quality and impact of the award winner’s research but
also the relevance to industry and the commercial
applications of the research.
Closing Speech
In closing, I would like to quote Prof John Polanyi, 1986
Nobel Laureate in Chemistry as well as a friend of NUS and
collaborator in a joint University of Toronto-NUS
semi-conductor-related research project. He said: “The
knowledge that we generate in our universities provides the
intellectual capital we need to sustain our economy and the
functioning of our society in the period of technological
change ahead.”
With its wide-ranging applications, nanotechnology can
impact billion-dollar industries such as the electronics,
data storage, petroleum, chemical and health industries.
Through NUSNNI, NUS will do its part to contribute to
Singapore’s efforts in developing nanotechnology as an
engine of growth for the country.
Thank you.
Professor Shih Choon Fong
President, NUS  |
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