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The President's Message

Chemistry – Time to Challenge the Summit

Over three decades, chemistry in Singapore has evolved from the “bottom of the totem pole” to a little darling whom everyone seems to admire or respect.

What is the magic? Nothing, except that over the years, we keep faith with our discipline and stay loyal to our science. The simplest definition of chemistry is – the science of molecules. When the value of molecules grows, chemistry glows as a result.

Molecules are molecules – they can multiply and transform, but they remain as molecules – by definition. Yes, they can disintegrate to atoms, or combine to give matters and systems but these all have their molecular root.

The thing that changes is people’s perception of molecules. We used to take a macroscopic view of science and technology. That was fine, but when the problems become more complex, challenges get bigger, stakes are higher and our thirst for wealth is stronger, we turn to NICE for solutions – Novelty, Innovation, Creativity and Enterprise.

If there is one word that underpins NICE, it has to be “molecules”, in my humble opinion. That is why some university departments and schools prefer the name “Molecular Science” to “Chemistry”, “Molecular Engineering” to “Chemical Engineering”, and “Molecular Materials” to “Materials Science & Engineering”. It also (partly) explains why traditional subjects such as biology, medicine, physics, and disciplines such as genetics, biotechnology and even specialised areas like ecology, imaging, gastronomy etc have mushroomed into molecular biology, molecular medicine, molecular physics, molecular genetics, molecular biotechnology, molecular ecology, molecular imaging, and molecular gastronomy and so forth.

Engineers who used to make devices are now very interested in molecular devices. Do you know that many top researchers in the world are obsessed in making molecular machines?

There are still people who forget that “molecular” is smaller than “nano” whereas the demarcation between nanotechnology and molecular technology is very blurred. Many researchers even interchange the terms “nano materials” with “molecular materials”.

When a subject takes on a molecular slant, it conveys the message that we address problems and systems not just from the end point, but also the starting point. When the leaves of a plant show signs of disease, the roots may have already rotten. When the quantum yield of an optical device has reached its machinery limit, the real solution forward is to design a new photo-active material or molecule.

We don’t teach the plants how to live, because the plants themselves are borne with the marvellous chemistry in photosynthesis. In fact, the faster and smarter we can learn from the plants, the better our hope is to find a solution for a daunting challenge of humankind – alternative energy.

When you innovate at the root, you come up with something fundamentally new, and this is how Nobel winners are borne, and where science, engineering and medicine are most thrilling.

In the wrong hands, chemistry can also kill. The problem is not with chemistry, but how we manage it. The same applies to medicine, engineering, and others.

Returning to Singapore, we have built an “ecosystem” on Science & Technology almost from scratch, based on a knowledge-based economy by developing human, intellectual and enterprise capital. Over three decades, we aggressively develop, translate and apply molecular science, engineering and medicine to problems and challenges that are the “bread-and-butter” of people – food and medicine, housing and transport, safety, security and telecommunication, and the list goes on...

The Gross Expenditure on R&D (GERD) in Singapore was about 0.8% in Year 1990. We are nearly touching 3.0% today. The national target is 3.5% by 2015 – very ambitious indeed. In this period, the number of scientists and engineers has grown astonishingly from fewer than 5,000 to about 27,000 today. It is the making of a nation that values people, knowledge and enterprise.

The climb has been steep but it will get steeper. The higher you climb, the more treacherous it will be. We know it, but we still do it, because it is worth it.

When you are aiming for the peak, you need every talent to come on board and participate. Chemistry must take its lead, not only for itself or us, but for the science and our community and nation.

SNIC, being the national champion of chemistry, therefore must do its part. Not only for being faithful to our discipline, we must also be upright and sincere about improving the well being and livelihood of our people.

Andy Hor (President of SNIC)
June 2011