As one of the leading research-intensive universities in Asia, NUS
engages in strategic, high calibre and high-impact research. Our
robust research culture, talented faculty and firm support create a
conducive atmosphere for researchers to synergise their efforts and
achieve scientific and medical breakthroughs, and discover new
insights into socio-economic patterns and behaviours.
Our research output continued to show significant growth. In
2010, a total of 6,0241 papers by NUS researchers was published
in international journals. In Financial Year (FY) 2010, some 1,0212
new projects were launched and 9012 were completed. Over the
same period, NUS signed 2142 research collaborative agreements
with other universities, industry, research institutions, government
agencies and statutory boards, reflecting a 20 per cent increase
from the previous year.
We constantly source for the necessary and appropriate funding
that will enable our researchers to strive for research excellence in
their respective fields. During the year, NUS researchers received
nearly $482 million2 in research funds from the Ministry of Education,
National Research Foundation, the Agency for Science, Technology
and Research and other granting agencies.
At NUS, we actively seek new research pursuits through an extensive range of
new research programmes and initiatives each year.
The opening of the $24 million NUS Centre for BioImaging Sciences
(CBIS) in December 2010 will greatly enhance Singapore's position as a
global biomedical hub and complement its flourishing bioimaging fraternity,
comprising NUS' Optical Bioengineering Laboratory, Singapore Bioimaging
Consortium, and Mechanobiology Institute, Singapore.
The CBIS will pioneer leading-edge development and application of
novel imaging techniques and computational methods to help solve the
most significant problems in life sciences, medicine, environment and energy.
Taking pride of place at the Centre is the state-of-the-art FEI Titan Krios cryo
transmission electron microscope – the first to be installed in Singapore –
which is designed for life science research.
Underscoring our commitment in sustainability research, the Faculty of
Engineering launched the Energy Research for Sustainability, a new initiative
which focuses on research and development of technologies in sustainable
energy. This programme will sharpen the Faculty's competitive edge in
attracting research grants from an extensive range of sources and help bring
together research teams from different departments to form integrated
research programmes based on major themes.
Research on humanities and social sciences issues which affect Singapore
is now easily accessible to academics, policymakers, students and the general
public with the launch of an online portal "Singapore Research Nexus" by
the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. With the oldest entry dating back to
1940, this rich repository of information on Singapore includes more than
7,000 academic publications and covers the research of 15 departments
within the Faculty.
In the Academic Year (AY) 2010/2011, NUS continued to forge
partnerships with various institutions and organisations both at home and
beyond Singapore's shores.
NUS and the Suzhou Industrial Park Administrative Committee (SIPAC)
joined forces to establish a research institute in the Suzhou Dushu Lake Science
and Education Innovation Industrial Park (SIP), NUSRI (NUS Research Institute).
NUS is the first foreign university to set up a research institute there.
The Institute will pursue research in key areas that are linked to NUS
Integrative Research Clusters and of interest to SIP. It will have an incubator
which supports NUS and Singapore start-ups, and help them expand their
businesses in China, in collaboration with local partners. NUSRI will also offer
a comprehensive range of certificate and executive training programmes for
Chinese students and provide research opportunities for NUS PhD students.
We also tied up with Beijing's Tsinghua University and the Media
Development Authority of Singapore to launch the NUS-Tsinghua Extreme
(NExT) Search Centre. The Centre will operate from two sites – NUS and
Tsinghua University. Apart from conducting leading-edge research into the
technologies, framework and applications of live media search, NExT will also
help turn the ideas into commercial reality for companies in Singapore, China
and other countries.
Making headway into the Middle East, we are now working with
Israel's second oldest university, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, to
establish a CREATE Research group in Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms
of Inflammation. The Centre, to be completed in 2011, aims to accelerate
the development of diagnostic/prognostic indicators and novel therapeutics
for inflammatory diseases common in Asia. It also seeks to set up new
high-tech companies in Singapore through scientific breakthroughs and
disruptive technologies.
NUS and Agilent Technologies signed a research collaboration agreement to
develop expertise and knowledge in the area of analytical lipidomics. The world's
premier measurement company and a technology leader in chemical analysis, life
sciences, electronics and communications, this is Agilent's first collaboration in
lipidomics research and development worldwide. Agilent also forged an alliance
with the NUS Environmental Research Institute in environmental research.
The Logistics Institute-Asia Pacific (TLI-AP) collaborated with global
logistics powerhouse DHL to launch Asia Pacific's first Sustainable Supply
Chain Centre. The $3 million centre will focus on joint applied research as well
as outreach and education, complementing TLI-AP's well-established THINK
branded programmes. It also aims to bring key supply chain stakeholders
together and seeks to roll out rapid assessment tools to become industry
references through its partnership with national policy teams.
On the medical front, the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School (Duke-NUS)
signed a Memorandum of Understanding with US-based vaccine maker,
Inviragen on vaccine research which will promote a better understanding on
the transmission of emerging infectious diseases and preventive measures.
Through this partnership, both parties hope to advance research in this field
and develop vaccines against virulent diseases such as dengue fever, hand,
foot and mouth disease and chikungunya.
In AY 2010/2011, our researchers made several significant breakthroughs
and discoveries which would contribute to the advancement of scientific
knowledge.
A collaborative effort between Dr Stephanie Wehner from the Centre for
Quantum Technologies and Dr Jonathan Oppenheim from the University of
Cambridge led to the discovery of a fundamental link between two defining
properties of quantum physics. This ground-breaking research, which was
published in Science, has been heralded as a dramatic breakthrough in the
basic understanding of quantum mechanics and will provide new clues in the
understanding of the foundation of quantum theory.
Over at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, hands-on learning has been
made easier. A team of researchers, led by Assoc Prof Erle Lim, has created
the world's first abdominal simulator – a tummy dummy fondly nicknamed
Abe, to simulate the clinical examination of the abdomen. With the medical
fraternity giving the tummy dummy an unqualified thumbs-up, the research
team plans to collaborate with manufacturers to mass produce it for medical
schools and hospitals worldwide.
A medical breakthrough relating to gastric cancer was made at the
Duke-NUS. Assoc Prof Patrick Tan's team of researchers collaborated with
experts from National Cancer Centre of Singapore, the Genome Institute of
Singapore, Yonsei University in South Korea and Howard University in the
United States to uncover a hybrid gene which appears to play a direct role in some stomach cancers. This discovery could pave the way for more effective
treatment of gastric cancer using current therapies and even help develop
new drugs and diagnostic tools.
Also at Duke-NUS, Prof George Augustine headed a collective team of
researchers from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology and Duke
University as well as Duke-NUS that made a research breakthrough in
understanding tonic inhibition, one of the main "brake" mechanisms in the
brain. The team found that an inhibitory neurotransmitter signal – a GABA – is
secreted via ion channels instead of a conventional neurotransmitter secretion
mechanism. Their work has been published in Science.
A research team from the Faculty of Engineering, led by Prof Lu Li, also
did NUS proud by developing high-performance, super-fast recharging car
batteries. Prototypes have proven to maintain their optimal capacity even
after 1,000 times of repeated recharging. With Prof Lu's new technology,
the recharging time for car batteries will be whittled down by 80 per cent or
more to just a few minutes. Currently, car batteries typically take a couple of
hours to charge.
Even as the University continues to make great strides in research, we actively
seek out opportunities that enable us to apply our knowledge and expertise
to help improve the quality of life in Singapore.
In light of the recent flooding incidents in Singapore, the Government has
appointed Prof Chan Eng Soon, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, to lead a
team of 11 experts to look into the local drainage system and flood prevention
measures. The experts will examine the landscape of flood-prone areas islandwide,
current and future building plans, as well as local weather patterns.
In another collaboration with the Urban Redevelopment Authority and
Housing Development Board, the School of Design and Environment together
with Yale's School of Forestry and Environmental Study, is embarking on a
three-year urban metabolism study to advise on innovative urban planning
strategies and make design recommendations for the sustainable development
of Singapore.
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1 Calendar year 2010 (1 Jan 2010 – 31 Dec 2010). Data extracted from SCOPUS online database
on 29 June 2011 and represents document types Article, Conference paper and Review.
2 Financial Year 2010 (1 Apr 2010 – 31 Mar 2011). Figures updated as at 29 June 2011. |
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