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1. NUS conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Letters on the former Vice-Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. The conferment recognised the illustrious academic and economic achievements of His Excellency, Mr Li Lanqing, in particular the key role he played in enhancing Singapore and China ties through the Suzhou Industrial Park.
2. Engineering student Tan Li Yu entered the annals of the Federation of International Robosoccer Association (FIRA) World Cup Humanoid Robotics Competition. He achieved the rare feat of winning the Overall Tournament Champion (Humanoid Category) for two consecutive years.
3. The Law Faculty relocated to its original home at Bukit Timah Campus. The move established NUS as a multi-campus university. Bukit Timah campus was returned to NUS in 2005. The Faculty started out at the campus in 1956 as the Department of Law in the then University of Malaya, a predecessor institution of NUS.
4. Students and staff folded 10,000 cranes over a seven-day period. Their community effort garnered a donation of 1,000 kg of rice from corporate sponsor, Songhe Fragrance Rice, to the Red Cross. The week-long folding climaxed in an hour-long finale when the community folded a further 9,300 cranes to merit a donation of $4,650 by the same sponsor to the Singapore Autism Association.
5. Professor Wu Tai Tsun, the 58th Lee Kuan Yew Distinguished Visitor, delivered a public lecture at NUS. Prof Wu, who is the Gordon McKay Professor of Applied Physics at Harvard University, spoke on Particle Physics and the Large Hadron Collider. He kept his audience enthralled with discussions on how elementary particles are being studied experimentally using high-energy accelerators.
6. The NUS Students’ Union Volunteer Action Club received the Singapore International Foundation Award for sustained volunteer projects in the region. The Club runs three expeditions a year to take care of the healthcare and education of villagers in Myanmar and Cambodia amongst its many activities.
7. Construction of NUS’ second medical school took off with a ground-breaking ceremony at its 23,000 sq metres site at Outram campus. The Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore, a collaboration between Duke University School of Medicine and NUS, will complement the University’s Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine by developing clinician-scientists with strong research capabilities in translational medicine. The faculty with its signature Khoo Teck Puat Building is expected to be completed in 2009.
8. The Centennial Exhibition of the Nobel Prize opened at NUS for a three-month run. On a 15-city world tour, the travelling exhibition was brought to Singapore by NUS and the Nobel Museum of Sweden. Aptly entitled Cultures of Creativity, the exhibition poses rather than answers questions on what contributes to the development of a Nobel Prize laureate. The exhibition attracted more than 13,000 visitors.
9. The investiture of Six Centennial Professors took place at the annual State of the University Address delivered by NUS President Professor Shih Choon Fong. They are Professor Alastair Campbell, Chen Su Lan Centennial Professor of Medical Ethics; Professor Artur Ekert, Lee Kong Chian Centennial Professor (overseas); Professor Subra Suresh, Tan Chin Tuan Centennial Professor (overseas); and Professor Louis Chen, Sir Richard Friend as well as Professor Barry Halliwell all of whom were appointed Tan Chin Tuan Centennial Professors.
10. An insightful piece of work, The Encyclopedia of the Indian Diaspora was launched by the South Asian Studies Programme together with publisher Editions Didier Millet. The publication offers comprehensive insight into the movement and development of 44 Indian communities around the world. The first of its kind, the volume was seen as particularly pertinent in the age of globalisation.
11. NUS alumna, Dr Margaret Chan, was appointed by the World Health Organisation to be its seventh Director-General. Dr Chan received her formal training in public health during her MSc (Public Health) course at the Department of Community, Occupational and Family Medicine in 1984/1985. It was a proud homecoming for NUS when the newly appointed Director-General paid a visit to her alma mater to speak on Public Health In the 21st Century: Optimism in the midst of unprecedented challenges.
12. Third-year medical student, Ms Valerie Teo, won the nation’s first gold at the Asian Games (Doha, Qatar) in the Women’s Double Bowling. On a winning streak, she had in July clinched the first gold medal that was won by Singapore at the World Championships in Germany.
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