Singapore

Often described as the “Little Red Dot,” Singapore is the smallest country in southeast Asia with a land area of 707 sq. kilometers or 273 sq. miles, and a population of 4.48 million. Despite its small size, the island city-state has made remarkable achievements in scientific research and development (R&D) since its independence in 1965. Notably, Singapore is the fifth wealthiest nation in the world in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) purchase power parity (PPP) per capita. Alongside the rapid economic growth, Singapore has mapped out a national strategy for developing the nation through science and technology. In particular, the Singapore government increased its R&D budget to S$13.6 billion and established the National Research Foundation with a budget of S$5 billion as part of its Science and Technology 2010 (S&T2010) plan to transform the nation from an efficiency-driven economy toward an innovation- and knowledge-driven economy. Among the various fields, nanotechnology has been emphasized in the S&T2010 plan as a key enabler to sustain the future development of the Singapore economy. Nanotechnology has also been identified as one of the 12 priority research areas by the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A∗STAR), a statutory board under the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Nanotechnology R&D in Singapore began to take flight in the late 1990s when the world was starting to feel the excitement over the potential benefits that the emerging technology could bring to our lives. Between 2003 and 2007 alone, the Singapore government spent about S$300 million in nanotechnology-related R&D and manpower development. Although the amount of funding is relatively small compared with that in developed economies such as the United States, this is still indicative of the earnest efforts by the Singapore government to develop the novel technology. At present, around 1,000 researchers and engineers in the public and private sectors are estimated to be working in Nanotech-related fields in the country.

The two largest universities, namely, National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), as well as the A∗STAR research institutes, are the forerunners of nanotechnology research in Singapore. At NUS, research activities focus on areas such as nanobiotechnology, nanomagnetics and spintronics, nanofabrication, and nanophotonics. Several significant breakthroughs have been made in nanotechnology R&D at NUS. For example, a team of NUS scientists has made an unprecedented discovery in the formation of well-ordered particles. This discovery, which was published in Nature, involves the understanding and management of the quality of crystal growth allowing for the manufacture of higher performance laser devices. At NTU, the NanoCluster was developed to provide a university-wide network of research centers with shared facilities for nanofabrication, nanocharacterization, and exploitation of nanotechnology applications in nanodevices, energy and catalysis, nanobiotechnology, and others. NTU scientists have also collaborated with scholars in the United [Page 715]States and Europe to produce several significant research breakthroughs that were published in Nature and Science. Paralleling academic programs in the rest of the world, there are currently no specific master's or doctoral programs in nanotechnology offered by NUS and NTU. However, both universities are offering a range of research programs in nanotechnology at the master's and doctoral level through their traditional departments.

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