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Commenting on the completion of the building, NTU President Dr Su Guaning says: “With the infrastructure in place, as the SPMS continues to grow, we can be confident that new peaks of excellence in education and research will emerge, intellectual interaction will intensify, and further exciting collaborations, including with other disciplines, will develop.”
“The new state-of-the-art science and mathematics building is a focal point for innovative science teaching and research on campus. With our strong foundation of excellence in faculty members, research staff and curriculum, SPMS is poised to scale greater heights and to be the place for the next generation of scientists who will impact the future of science and technology,” says Professor Lee Soo Ying, Dean, College of Science.
Touted to be the best science complex in the region, the 38,000 square metres facility comprises three interconnected buildings - the Divisions of Chemistry & Biological Chemistry, Mathematical Sciences, and Physics and Applied Physics. It houses excellent facilities, state-of-the-art laboratories with high safety standards, as well as classrooms and interaction space that are highly conducive for the exchange of ideas.
This July also marks an important occasion for SPMS as it welcomes its pioneer batch of 168 graduates, with some having secured jobs even before graduation. Seven exceptionally able students, who were on the fast-track, graduated ahead of their cohort last year.
The School offers new and innovative curriculum such as the combined major in Mathematics & Economics, an interdisciplinary programme jointly offered with the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Its programmes also train students to be well-rounded individuals who are able to take on challenges in many diverse areas including entrepreneurship and defence science.
Since its establishment in year 2005, SPMS has marked several achievements in conducting research, attracting strong faculty and nurturing talents. These include forging close partnerships with top overseas universities such as Imperial College and securing more than S$60 million of external grants for its various cutting-edge researches. The School has also attracted the most numbers of National Research Foundation Research Fellows, recruited many excellent faculty members from around the world, as well as top undergraduate and graduate students.
“SPMS will continue to build upon excellence in research and education. At the same time, we want to foster entrepreneurial spirit among our faculty and students, for science gives rise to new opportunities for new businesses,” says Professor Ling San, Chair, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.
In conjunction with the official opening, a three-day conference featuring 95 overseas and local speakers, who will deliver scientific presentations, will be held from 20 to 22 July 2009. The event provides a platform for scientists from Singapore and overseas to exchange ideas and explore collaborative opportunities. Renowned speakers, some of whom are Nobel Laureates, Fields Medallists and Lee Kong Chian Distinguished Professors, will be addressing the audience at the conference. These include Richard Ernst from Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) Zurich, Switzerland; Rudolph A. Marcus from California Institute of Technology (Caltech), USA; and Anthony J. Leggett from University of Illinois at Urbana, USA; Pierre-Louis Lions from University of Paris-Dauphine, Collège de France; and Jean-Pierre Serre from Collège de France.
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