O p e n H o u s e 2 0 0 7 C o n t e n t s

Open House 2007 1

Facon Education Fair 2007 1

Visit to Kyoto University on JSPS-NUS

Scientific Programme

2

New Faculty Members 3

Selected Papers Published in 2006 by

ESP Faculty Members

6

Visitors to ESP 7

Books 7

Students’ Corner 8

ESP Distinguished Lecture Series 2

E d i t o r i a l

C o mm i t t e e

Editor:

Prof CM Wang

Secretaries:

Ms Lillian Zheng

Ms Sharmilah Salleh

Contributors:

Prof A Mujumdar

Prof JN Reddy

Dr A Bettiol

Dr D Pickard

Dr J. van Kan

Mr Wu Zhonghua

Mr Muhd Ibnur

Mr Jamen Loh

Mr Tan Wenyou

V o l 2 . N o . 2 , A p r i l 2 0 0 7

N e w s l e t t e r o f E n g i n e e r i n g S c i e n c e P r o g r a mm e

Close to 7000 prospective students and visitors came to the NUS Open House, held on the 10th

& 11th March 2007 at the Sports & Recreation Centre as well as at the Engineering Auditorium

foyer, Faculty of Engineering.

Our Engineering Science booths at both places received an over-

whelming response. All our 1500 brochures to prospective

students were exhausted. A talk on “A New Class of Engineer-

Scientist” was presented by Dr Erik Birgersson and Dr Ho Ghim

Wei on both days at the Engineering Auditorium. Projects done

by our 1st year student, Danny Chua, on “Jacob’s Ladder” and

“Reed Switch Motor” drew the attention of the public to the

innovativeness of ESP. Overall, the Open House was a success.

Many thanks to all those who helped out. We could not have done it without you! Below are

some snap shots of ESP staff & students taken during the Open House 2007.

Dr Palani & Dr Birgersson

at the ESP booth

Dr Ho talking to a visitor at

Engineering Auditorium

Danny’s projects

One of ESP students, Edna, helping

out in the Open House

Prof Wang represented ESP in the Facon Education Fair 2007 which was held on 17-18 March in

the KL Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur. Many school students and parents visited the fair to

seek information on the various educational programmes offered by over 50 colleges, institutes

and universities. The NUS booth saw a continuous stream of people enquiring on the various

offered programmes, admission criteria, tuition fees and application procedures. It was pleasing

to note that so many questions were asked on the new ESP.

Prof Wang also met Mr Yiew Leung Ong who has accepted the

ESP offer and several other students who have applied to read

ESP. All these students have straight As in their STPM (the

Malaysian equivalent of Singapore-Cambridge GCE A-level).

F a c o n E d u c a t i o n F a i r

Prof Wang & Mr Yiew

Page 2 V o l 2 . N o . 2 , A p r i l 2 0 0 7

V i s i t t o K y o t o U n i v e r s i t y u n d e r J S P S - N U S S c i e n t i f i c

P r o g r a mm e

Prof CM Wang visited the new Katsura Campus of Kyoto

University under the JSPS-NUS Scientific Programme. His visit

was hosted by A/Prof Tomoaki Utsunomiya, a leading expert

on Very Large Floating Structures (VLFS), particularly on the

hydroelastic analysis of VLFS.

During his visit, Prof Wang worked on an economical design

concept for a mega floating offshore fuel storage facility and

discussed the future research areas on VLFS with his host. Prof

Wang also presented a lecture on “Recent Developments of

VLFS in Singapore” to the Offshore Platform Committee of the

Japan Society of Naval Architects and Ocean Engineers at the

Yoshida Campus, Kyoto University.

In recent times, Singaporean engineers have become very

interested in VLFS as an alternative solution to land

reclamation in creating land from the sea. Through the JSPS-

NUS research programme, Prof Wang gained much

knowledge and experience in analysis, design and

construction of VLFS to share with Singapore engineers in

various organizations such as Maritime and Port Authority,

PSA, URA, Singapore Tourism Board, JTC, Jurong Consultants

Pte Ltd, Surbana International, and the Institution of Engineers.

Prof Wang was awarded a research grant of S$100,000 from

JTC and MPA to conduct a research feasibility study on

technical and application of large scale, versatile, floating sea

structures for processed petrochemical storage and another

S$100,000 from Surbana International and MPA to develop a

concept design of a floating bunker supply base.

Singapore has constructed its first mega floating platform,

measuring 120m x 83m x 1.2m, on the Marina Bay. The floating

structure will be used in the National Day Parade as well as for

sporting and cultural activities. Prof Wang hopes that the

construction of this floating platform and other VLFS in

Singapore will inspire further VLFS activities in Japan and

other parts of the world.

Prof Wang with members of the Offshore Platform Committee of JSNAOE

Mega floating platform @ Marina Bay

ESP has launched its Distinguished Lecture Series to provide opportunities to its faculty and students to meet

great scientist-engineers of the world and listen to their inspiring lectures on various topics of

interdisciplinary nature. The inaugural lecture titled “Dynamic Weakening Processes Along Faults During

Seismic Slip” was presented by Prof James Rice of Harvard University on March 5, 2007. Prof Rice is

Mallinckrodt Professor of Engineering Sciences and Geophysics, Division of Engineering and Applied

Sciences and Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. In introducing the speaker,

Prof Reddy (Head of ESP) remarked that Prof Rice is famous for developing the J-integral used in fracture

mechanics and that ESP is fortunate to have a speaker of the stature of Prof Rice as the inaugural speaker of ESP

Distinguished Lecture Series.

Prof Rice’s research addresses problems in theoretical mechanics—stressing,

deformation, fracture and flow - as they arise in seismology, tectonophysics and

surficial geological processes, particularly topics related to the science of

earthquakes, and in civil-environmental engineering and materials physics. His

recent studies have been on glacial processes and the mechanism of surging. Prof

Rice’s work in previous years has also addressed the theory of crack propagation in

elastic-plastic metals, path-independent integrals in elasticity, the structure of

inelastic constitutive relations, microscopic mechanisms of cleavage and ductile or

creep rupture, the thermodynamics of interfacial embrittlement, wave effects in tensile crack dynamics, sliding friction and its

instabilities, deformation localization into shear zones, and landslides in overconsolidated soil slopes. Prof Rice has also made

contributions to techniques of computational mechanics, including finite-element and spectral elastodynamic methods.

ESP will bring lectures by other well-known engineer-scientists in the ESP Distinguished Lecture Series in the years to come.

Faculty and students should be inspired by these giant personalities and their monumental contributions to engineering science.

E S P D i s t i n g u i s h e d L e c t u r e S e r i e s I n a u g u r a l L e c t u r e b y P r o f e s s o r J a m e s R i c e

A group photo of Prof Rice and the seminar attendees

Prof James Rice

Page 3 V o l 2 . N o . 2 , A p r i l 2 0 0 7

New Faculty Members

My research career began when

I did my honours project in

Physics at the University of

Melbourne back in 1993. I

joined a great research group

that was actively involved in

both experimental physics and

hardware development. Many of

my fellow students and the post

docs in the group were working

together as a team to develop

s t a t e - o f - t h e - a r t n u c l e a r

microprobes. This gave me a

basic understanding of not only

Physics but also in programming

data acquisition systems,

electronics and scientific

hardware development. I now

know that what I was doing was

Engineering Science!

I went on to do my PhD on

Ionoluminescence (IL) in the

same research group. IL is a

technique that utilizes high

energy proton beams for

generating light in different

materials. The technique can be

used fo r imag ing and

spectroscopy of materials and

devices. The skills I learnt

during these years were to become invaluable later on

as I developed as a researcher.

I first arrived at NUS in December 1999 as an NSTB

research fellow in the Physics Department where I

joined Prof. Frank Watt’s research group. My post doc

assignment includes setting up a new proton beam

writing facility, in particularly developing the software

and hardware for controlling the new p-beam writer.

Again my work was oriented towards

engineering physics. However my scientific interests

lie in the study of light, how it is generated, how you

can detect it and how it can be used for various

applications in science and technology.

I began working on applying the new lithography

technique that we had just developed to applications

in photonics. I also worked on the fabrication of micro

optical components like waveguides, microlens arrays

and gratings. I became interested in how to integrate

these components into a lab-on-a-chip biophotonic

device so as to allow for the detection and

generation of fluorescence. This nicely tied back to

the work that I did during my PhD. Also around this

time, a new field in photonics was beginning to

emerge. This was the field of photonic crystals. The

discovery that periodic dielectric (or metallic)

materials can control light in ways that we have never

seen before fascinated me.

As an assistant professor in ESP, I hope to continue to

pursue my research interests in the field of photonics

and optics. I also hope to work closely with ESP

students and to ignite their interests in research. I

hope that the students that I work with can some day

go out into the world with the necessary skills and

confidence to pursue their own research interests and

ideas, and to confidently tackle any problem that is put

before them.

Dr Andrew Bettiol

Assistant Professor

Research Interes t s : I n t e g r a t e d m i c r o

o p t i c s , p h o t o n i c crystals, meta-materials, bio-photonic lab-on-a-chip devices, fluores-

cence microscopy and spectroscopy, proton beam writing technol-

ogy.

Teaching In teres t s : Photonics and optics,

lithography and nano f a b r i c a t i o n , d a t a a c q u i s i t i o n a n d

computer control of experiments.

Per sona l I n t e res t s : Photography, traveling, watching movies. Shar-ing fine food and wine

with friends and family.

One of the approaches that can be used to fabricate three dimensional photonic crystal structures is known as

self assembly. This approach utilizes the crystallization of a mono-disperse colloidal system to create a 3-

dimensional lattice of micro and nano-spheres. The silica and polystyrene spheres used in this approach do not

have the refractive index contrast required to produce a full 3D photonic band gap. In order to achieve this, the

crystal structures are typically infused with high refractive index material such as Titania, then the original

crystal backbone is etched away to form an inverse opal structure.

Bulk colloidal crystals can be fabricated using a method known as

gravity sedimentation. In Figure 1, a suspension containing silica

microspheres (250 nm) in ethanol was allowed to slowly dry over a

period of several days. Due to Bragg diffraction, single crystal

samples only allow specific wavelengths to be transmitted. As can be

seen in the reflected light image, these materials are similar to natural

opals.

Shown in Figure 2 are scanning electron microscope images of silica colloidal crystals fabricated using gravity

sedimentation. The crystals shown in (a) were made from 250 nm diameter silica spheres, and those in (b) were

made from 500 nm diameter spheres. As can be seen from these images, the method used to deposit these

crystals enables us to make large area single crystals with a thickness of up to several hundreds of microns.

Fabrication of colloidal photonic crystals (research done by Dr Bettiol)

Transmitted light Reflected light

Figure 1

Continue on Page 4

In an attempt to control the way in which

colloidal crystals are deposited on various

substrates, we use proton beam writing to make

high aspect ratio polymetric templates (here in

30 µm SU-8) and then deposit colloidal crystals

inside (as shown in Figure 3). After deposition,

the samples are subjected to reative ion etching

or sintering to fuse the colloids together before removing the polymer either chemically or thermally. What is left

behind are regions on a silicon substrate that have colloidal crystals several tens of micron size.

Page 4 V o l 2 . N o . 2 , A p r i l 2 0 0 7

(a) (b)

Figure 2

Figure 3

New Faculty Members

My undergraduate studies were

at U.C. Berkeley, where I earned

both a B.S. in Electrical

Engineering and Computer

Science and a B.A. in Physics. It

was also during this time that I

received my first research

opportuni ty at Lawrence

Berkeley National Laboratory.

There I worked on a wide range

of plasma source applications,

f r o m n e x t g e n e r a t i o n

lithography and semiconductor

p r o c e s s i n g t o n e u t r o n

generation for oil well logging

and explosives detection. I am

v e r y g r a t e f u l f o r t h e

opportunities given by various

mentors in my undergraduate

years, as they instilled a lasting

sense of discovery and learning.

Above all, my experiences there

taught me that contributions can

be made at all academic levels

(including undergraduate), and

that hands on research can be an

extremely effective educational

tool (as well as great fun!)

My graduate studies and

research were performed at

Stanford University. While there, I worked on a novel

lithography approach aimed at dramatically improving

the speed of electron beam lithography. The

technique employed ten thousand or more laser-

controlled electron beams distributed over a wafer,

each writing unique nanometer scale features. The

project was extremely challenging and brought

together many seemingly disparate fields including

electron optics, MEMS, photonics, solid state physics,

surface science, and nanofabrication techniques.

Indeed, the stringent system requirements pushed the

technological limits in nearly every one of these fields

and I found myself engaged in a very rich set of

experiments in each. My project afforded me the

opportunity to interact intensively with industry and I

had the fortune of receiving mentorship from several

leading industrial figures in addition to my academic

mentors.

Throughout my time at Stanford I provided research

opportunities to others as well, resulting in the

supervision of over 20 students in my laboratory. Every

one of the students contributed to making my

mentoring role one of the most enriching experiences

of my career, and it is largely as a result of my

interactions with these students that I have chosen to

pursue an academic position as opposed to one

dedicated solely to research.

The emphasis of the ESP program on interdisciplinary

education resonates with my own experiences and

beliefs. I strongly believe one must have agility both

mentally and technically to adapt to the ever-changing

technological landscape, and I strongly believe in the

educational value of getting students involved in

hands-on research. I am excited about the prospects of

joining the ESP team and participating in the world

class research at NUS.

Research Interests:

Novel imaging techniques,

surface plasmons and

plasmonics, charged

particle optics, next

generation lithography,

a d v a n c e d e l e c t r o n

sources, and nano-

photonics

Teaching Interests:

Electromagnetics, nano-

photonics, nano-scale

fabrication and imaging

techniques, charged

particle optics

Personal Interests:

Photography, t ravel ,

natural history, most

outdoor activities

Dr Daniel Pickard

Assistant Professor

Page 5 V o l 2 . N o . 2 , A p r i l 2 0 0 7

New Faculty Members

We welcome Mr. WU Zhonghua to the ESP family. Mr Wu is our new research

fellow and he will be assisting Professor Arun S. Mujumdar in creating interesting

projects related to energy conversion and conservation. Mr Wu received his B.

Eng. degree and M. Eng. degree in Mechanical Engineering from China

Agricultural University. He has just completed his PhD research on “Mathematical

Modeling of Pulse Combustion and its Application to Innovative Thermal Drying

Techniques”. He has published a dozen papers and co-authored two book

chapters, based on his PhD work. His research interests are in the areas of novel

drying technologies, pulse combustion and pulse detonation, energy system,

mass and heat transfer processes, mathematical modeling.

I started my research career in

Amsterdam, Holland. During my

mas t er degree a t t he

”Universiteit van Amsterdam” I

came in contact with MeV

particle accelerators. In my final

year project I used two

accelerators — one to damage

Si crystals and one to study the

Si crystal re-growth as a function

of implanted foreign metals.

In 1992, I went to the “vrije

Universiteit van Amsterdam”,

for my PhD study. There I

developed an ultra-sensitive

surface analysis technique using

MeV protons. At the end of my

PhD in 1996, I received a

scholarship from SHELL to

a t tend an in terna t iona l

conference in Beijing. At this

conference Prof Frank Watt

asked me to join the Centre for

Ion Beam Applications (CIBA) in

the physics department in NUS.

In 1997, I started working in CIBA on a new

lithographic technique using MeV protons. After initial

tests this new lithographic technique showed great

potential. This gave me the opportunity to be

instrumental in the design, construction and

commissioning of the first dedicated system for proton

beam writing which became operational in 2002. As a

principal investigator in a grant from the US Air Force

in collaboration with Dow Corning, I managed to push

proton beam writing down to the 20 nm level and the

research findings were published recently in Nano

Letters.

My work has resulted in seven invited talks at

international conferences, the most recent was an

invited talk at the “International Conference on Micro-

and Nano-Engineering (MNE)” in Vienna (September

2005). Besides this I have also conducted 17 invited

lectures in the USA, Europe and China. In April 2006, I

was invited to conduct a lecture in the Nanostructures

Laboratory of Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Recently Japan has incorporated proton beam writing

in their road-map for nanofabrication. In the last 3

years I have attracted research funds amounting to US$

263,000 from the US Air Force to further develop

proton beam writing. In my latest grant approved by

the US Air Force, I obtained funding to develop the

next generation proton beam focusing system to

achieve 10 nm structuring capability.

I plan to combine this technique with other state-of-the-

art lithographies for the fabrication of integrated

nanosystems for applications in nanotechnology and

biochips. My future research will focus on the in-situ

fabrication of nanowires in functional systems like;

molecular electronic chips and circuits to do

fundamental electron spin studies. I plan to optimize

nano-replication techniques like nano-imprinting and

soft-lithography for DNA analysis using

nanofluidic chips.

Dr Jeroen van Kan

Assistant Professor

Research In teres t s :

Integration of nano-

systems, molecular elec-

tronics, proton beam

writing technology, nano

replication

Teaching In teres ts :

N a n o s c i e n c e a n d

Nanotechnology, Physi-

cal Properties of Nano-

Materials, Applied Solid

State Physics.

Per sona l I n t e res t s : Cycling, Rollerblading,

Tennis, Playing Violin

Proton beam written micro-replica of the

‘Stonehenge’ monument in England, indicating the

ability of p-beam writing to fabricate complex 3D

structures

Page 6 V o l 2 . N o . 2 , A p r i l 2 0 0 7

Selected Papers Published in 2006 by ESP Faculty Members

The 10 ESP faculty members have published 14 conference papers, 61 journal papers and 2 books in 2006. Some selected

papers are listed below:

♦ Bažant, Z.P. and Pang, S.D. (2006). "Nanoscale based quasibrittle failure statistics: How to ensure extremely low failure

probability and predict size effect," Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 103(25), 9434—9439.

♦ Birgersson, E. and Vynnycky, M. (2006). "A quantitative study of the effect of flow-distributor geometry in the cathode of a

PEM fuel cell", Journal of Power Sources, 153 (1), 76-88.

♦ Cha, S.N. and Ho, G.W. et al., (2006). “High performance ZnO nanowire field effect transistor using self aligned nanogap

gate electrodes,” Applied Physics Letter, 89, 263102-263104.

♦ Khursheed, A., Nelilyan, K. and Ding, Y. (2006). “Nanoscale imaging with a portable field emission scanning electron

microscope,” Microelectronic Engineering 83, 762-766

♦ Khursheed, A. and Osterberg, M. (2006). “Developments in the design of a spectroscopic scanning electron microscope,”

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 555, 437-444

♦ Lee, Y.Y., Sun, H.Y. and Reddy, J.N. (2006).“Nonlinear Finite Element Modal Approach for the Large Amplitude Free

Vibration of Symmetric and Unsymmetric Composite Plates,” International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering, 65,

45-61.

♦ Luo, T. and Khursheed, A. (2006). “Second order aberration corrected electron energy loss spectroscopy attachment for

scanning electron microscopes,” Review of Scientific Instruments 77, 043103

♦ Pontaza, J.P. and Reddy, J.N. (2006). “Least squares finite element formulations for viscous compressible and

incompressible fluid flows,” Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 195, 2454-2494.

♦ Surana, K.S., Maduri, R.K., TenPas, P.W. and Reddy, J.N, (2006). “Elastic wave propagation in laminated composites using

the space time least squares formulation in h,p,k framework,” Mechanics of Advanced Materials and Structures,13(2), 161-

196.

♦ Surana, K.S., Rajwani, A. and Reddy, J.N. (2006). “The k version finite element method for singular boundary value

problems with application to linear fracture mechanics,” International Journal of Computational Methods in Engineering

Science and Mechanics, 7(3), 217-239.

♦ van Kan, J.A., Bettiol, A.A. and Watt, F. (2006). "Proton beam writing of three dimensional nanostructures in hydrogen

silsesquioxane". Nano Letters, 6(3), 579-582.

♦ Wang, S.J. and Mujumdar, A.S. (2006). “Three dimensional analysis of flow and mixing characteristics of a novel in line

opposing-jet mixer,” Industrial Engineering and Chemical Research,46, 632-642

♦ Wang, Z.X., Mujumdar, A.S. and Yap, C. (2006). “ Thermal characteristics of tree-shaped micro-channel nets for cooling of a

rectangular heat sink,” International Journal of Thermal Sciences, 45,1103-1112

♦ Wang, C.M., Vo, K.K. and Chai, Y.H. (2006). “Membrane analysis and minimum weight design of submerged spherical

domes,” Journal of Structural Engineering, ASCE, 132(2), 253-259.

♦ Wang, C.M., Wu, T.Y., Choo, Y.S., Ang, K.K., Toh, A.C., Mao, W.Y. and Hee, A.M. (2006). “Minimizing differential deflection

in a pontoon-type very large floating structure via gill cells,” Marine Structures, 19(1), 70-82.

♦ Wang, C.M., Zhang, Y.Y., Sai Sudha Ramesh and Kitipornchai, S. (2006). “Buckling analysis of micro and nano-rods/tubes

based on nonlocal Timoshenko beam theory,” Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 39(17), 3904-3909.

♦ Watt, F., Rajendran, R., Ren, MQ, et al (2006). “A Nuclear Microscopy study of trace elements Ca, Fe, Zn and Cu in

atherosclerosis,” Nucl Instr and Meths B, 249, 646-652.

Page 7 V o l 2 . N o . 2 , A p r i l 2 0 0 7

V i s i t o r s o f E S P

A/Prof Tomoaki Utsunomiya from Kyoto University visited ESP from 24th-31st March 2007.

He was here to conduct research on very large floating structures with Prof Wang and his

graduate students. During his visit, A/Prof Utsunomiya gave some valuable advice to the

graduate students on the development of computer codes for hydroelastic analysis of large

multi-floating bodies that are adjacent to each other as in the case of a floating offshore fuel

storage facility, a jointly sponsored research project by JTC, MPA and NUS. He also visited

the construction site of the mega floating platform @ Marina Bay and provided advice to

DSTA engineers on the installation of measuring devices on the platform to monitor its

response to waves and live loads.

Dr Alfred Yee, President of Applied Technology Corporation, presented a seminar on “Recovery of

Natural Resources and Energy from the Oceans” for the ESP students on 5th February 2007. This

seminar is organized by the ESP club and is part of the ‘Bridging Engineering & Science’ Talk Series

(BEST). Dr Yee’s talk focused on Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion or OTEC where the difference

in temperature between the warm surface seawater and the deep ocean cold water could be

combined through heat exchange and turbine system to generate unlimited electric power with zero

carbon emission.

Prof Wang and A/Prof

Utsunomiya in discussion.

B o o k s

Prof CM Wang’s book on “Analysis and Design of Plated Structures, Volume 2: Dynamics” is recently

published by Woodhead Publishing Limited. The book discusses the modeling of plates for effects such

as transverse shear deformation and rotary inertia, assembly of plates in forming thin-walled members,

and changing material properties in composite, laminated and functionally graded plates. Various

recent techniques for linear and nonlinear vibration analysis are also presented and discussed. The book

concludes with a hybrid strategy suitable for parameter identification of plated structures and

hydroelastic analysis of floating plated structures.

2007 has already seen publication of a number of new books edited by Prof Arun Mujumdar and one

of his authored books translated into Chinese and published in China. Prof Mujumdar’s research

area is transport phenomena applied to energy systems, energy conservation in industrial

processes with special application to the development of novel industrial drying processes with the

aid of mathematical models.

His Handbook of Industrial Drying, first published in 1987 and then in enhanced second edition in

1995 has now come out in a not-so-handy 1420 oversize page volume published by CRC Press in

USA. This book is considered the 'bible' of industrial drying technologies around the world.

Interestingly, aside from editing the entire 53-chapter book by himself, Prof Mujumdar has authored

over 600 pages of the book himself. A second Handbook, which he teamed up to edit with his collaborators at Cornell

University, USA and Sultan Qubuz University in Oman, was also published about the same time by the same publisher.

It is entitled "Handbook of Food and Bioprocess Modeling Techniques". Despite its title, the contents are of wide

ranging interest and applicability to a multitude of disciplines. As if this is not enough, the first volume of a five-volume

set, entitled Modern Drying Technology, and published by Wiley-VCH in Germany is also just off the press. This book

deals with various advanced mathematical modeling approaches to the complex

heat and mass transfer phenomena that occur during thermal dehydration of various

products. Prof Mujumdar is the series editor for this set of books along with Prof E.

Totsas of Otto-von-Guericke-University, Magdeburg, Germany. It may be noted

that Prof Mujumdar is also the Editor-in-Chief of Drying Technology-An International

Journal, published by Taylor and Francis, USA. This peer-reviewed archived journal

is now in its 25th year of publication and publishes twelve issues a year. Details can

be found at http://serve.me.nus.edu.sg/arun .

Prof Arun Mujumdar

Books by Prof Mujumdar

S t u d e n t s ’ C o r n e r

For any enquiry or feedback, you may contact:

Engineering Science Programme

National University of Singapore

7 Engineering Drive 1, E3A #04-17

Singapore 117574

Fax No.: (65) 6775 4710 Tel No.: (65) 6516 5408 Website: www.esp.nus.edu.sg

V o l 2 . N o . 2 , A p r i l 2 0 0 7 Page 8 V o l 2 . N o . 2 , A p r i l 2 0 0 7

Very Special Arts (VSA) Charity Run by Tan Wenyou & Jamen Loh

On 27th Jan 2007, while most students were enjoying their welldeserved sleep on Saturday morning, a group of ESP

students gathered in school to participate in the ‘Very Special Arts (VSA) Charity Run’ organised by the School of Medicine,

NUS. The thought of doing something meaningful to repay our society has always been running in our minds and what would be

better than this timely charity run – a donation of $2 for every round completed by participants. While we did our part for

charity, it also served as good training for some of us who are slated to take part in the upcoming NUS Biathlon ’07 in March. Of

course, ESP was not the only group that took part in the charity run; we joined 500 other enthusiasts to do our part for charity.

Initially, it was indeed difficult to pick up the pace since, understandably, everybody was having a ‘cold morning start’ but over

time when the ‘engine’ began to warm up, everybody put in their best to clock as many rounds as they possibly could. Though

there was no specified number of rounds to complete, we all knew that we would not settle for anything less than what we were

capable of. Round after round, we began to tire out, but with will power and countless encouragement that we gave one

another, we overcame the limitations of our tired body. With Wenyou leading ESP with 35 rounds (14 km), our combined effort

of 240 rounds (96 km) managed to raise $480 for the charity. The day ended with lunch at “Subway”, Yusof Ishak House before

everyone parted for the weekend break.

At the end of the day, our tired legs and sweaty bodies, were nothing compared to the wonderful feeling of spending time

meaningfully in the company of our fellow ESP course-mates. The 96 km was certainly not an easy feat, but it would not have

been possible without the strong friendship and bonds that had seen us through thus far! Now we are only in the 1st year of our

study, one could only imagine how far-reaching this friendship is going to be!

The ‘Bridging Engineering and Science Talk’ or BEST series

is organised by the ESP Club to expose fellow course mates to

various discourses and research papers that are closely

associated with the four main ESP specialisations. Its

objectives include creating an ESP community of students and

engineer scientists in both the academia and industry, as well

as giving students a more holistic picture of the expectations

and opportunities in the global high technology market.

We kicked off the BEST series with Prof Andrew Wee’s “From

Surface to Nanoscale Science” where he spoke on various

developments in nanotechnology such as nanomeshes and

self-assembly. He also enlightened us with views from nano

technology visionaries on artificial intelligence and

immortality. Prof Wee is the current Dean of the Faculty of

Science.

Next was Dr Alfred Yee’s “Recovery of Natural Resources and

Energy from the Oceans”. His anecdotal style was indeed

refreshing. He shared

about the OTEC

(Ocean Thermal

Energy Conversion)

t e chno l ogy , i t s

achievements and

bright prospects. He

emphasised the need

for the integration of

engineering and scientific methods to improve economic

viability while still maintaining eco-friendliness. Dr Yee is the

President of Applied Technology Corporation in Honolulu,

Hawaii.

Dr Ng Kah Loon, our Linear Algebra lecturer gave a

presentation on his field of interest and passion: Graph

Theory. It was enjoyable as graph theory involves much ‘fun’

and ‘games’ elements. He also shared its prospects in

epidemiology, especially in the current world where

outbreaks are increasingly becoming common.

Finally, we had a collaborative session with A*STAR Graduate

Academy. Ms Tricia Huang gave a presentation to brief the

students on the Pre-Graduate Awards, followed by a rather

holistic talk by A/Prof Lee Heok Pueh from the Institute of High

Performance Computing (IHPC). Prof Lee expanded our

definition of Computational Science and also our view on its

applications. The session ended off with A*STAR scholars

sharing their experiences and thoughts in a more casual

atmosphere. The talk marked a great end for the series as it

ties in all the previous talks together by showing how

important computational technologies are in many disciplines.

The BEST series have been successful in their objectives and

will continue to bring students, academia and industry

together in the future semesters, all in the spirit to bridge

Engineering and Science!

Dr Alfred Yee & students at the seminar

BEST Series by Muhd Ibnur