FEATURES & INNOVATIONS
advisors carefully, of being prepared to venture into new ground, and the need to respect experimental observations as being among some of his top tips for a successful scientific career. In
addition, Hor comments, “Being
Andy Hor, Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the A*STAR/SNAS Young Scientist Awards and Executive Director of the A*STAR Institute of Materials Research and Engineering
have already demonstrated high journal publication productivity, Hor notes that the awards are intended to recognize those who stand out from the crowd by demonstrating truly exceptional capabilities. “‘Exceptional’ implies qualities that are not commonly found,”
says Hor. “Te
Young Scientist Awards are all about talent- scouting early, and this requires a perceptive analysis of potential. You don’t have to be 36, 37 or 38 to prove yourself. I have seen some candidates whose potential is very evident even at the age of 31, 32 and 33 — soon after they start their independent research.” By shining a light on early-career scien- tists who are passionate about their work, the Young Scientist Awards are one of several prominent awards and scholarships supported by A*STAR that aim to nurture the next generation of scientists whose breakthrough discoveries and inventions will help shape the future of science in Sin- gapore. “A*STAR has developed a compre- hensive system to develop our scholars and advance their careers,” says Hor. “We need a balanced ecosystem of early career research- ers and senior scientists, and a diversity of local and international talents, as well as a good mix of basic, translational and applied research activities.” “Tose who are truly outstanding look
for problems that are fundamental and have far-reaching impact,” says Hor. “Many of these problems may also influence how their peers look at science, and how we understand basic concepts and principles.” Based on his distinguished academic
background in the area of organometal- lic complexes and catalytic materials, and renowned as an outstanding educator and mentor, Hor has many tips for young researchers embarking on a career in sci- ence. He emphasizes the importance of getting the basics right, of choosing
88
‘target-driven’ is usually a virtue, but when you do that at the expense of ignoring the unexpected outcome, you wouldn’t be a very good scientist. Some of the greatest scientific findings in human civilization were not engineered, but arose out of pure serendipity. Tis is the beauty of science that our young people must appreciate. Finally, good communication is a must, for anyone who wants to do well in science.”
Building bright futures Many
of the previous winners of the
A*STAR/SNAS Young Scientist Awards have gone on to pursue rewarding careers in science, technology and engineering. For Yan Shuicheng, a 2011 award winner for his work on computer vision, multimedia and machine learning, the Young Scientist Awards offered a chance to gain a fresh per- spective on the applications of his research. “Te Young Scientist Awards have
driven me to work on projects with even higher impact and value, especially in terms of commercialization possibilities,”
says
Yan. In his current position as Assistant Professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Uni- versity of Singapore, Yan has been working on a project to develop ‘human clothing recommendation technology’ — a novel method of body detection and analysis based on algorithms that may lead to the development of personalized recommen- dation services, online search systems and intelligent advertisements. Yan is also work- ing on developing core technology for a
Mahesh Uttamchandani, Young Scientist Award winner, 2011
nation-scale surveillance system, exploring new ways to integrate video analytics and cloud computing as part of various collab- orative research projects. For Mahesh Uttamchandani, a 2011
award winner in the Biological and Bio- medical Sciences category,
the Young
Scientist Awards have not only generated widespread interest in his work at the cut- ting edge of proteomics and genomics, but have also enabled him to take on greater risks and challenges. With regard to the growing importance
of cross-disciplinary research in solving biological problems, Uttamchandani com- ments, “I think the greatest advances in R&D during the 21st century will come from the interfaces between disciplines and not from established fields in and of themselves. Few traverse the invisible boundaries between fields, but those who do find the journey highly enriching and rewarding... I myself find it very fruitful to interact with engineers, clinicians, art- ists, physicists, writers and policy makers, which has over the years shaped my re- search and thinking.” Uttamchandani, who currently pursues
Yan Shuicheng, Young Scientist Award winner, 2011
his research as Assistant Professor at the Defence Medical and Environmental Research Institute, DSO National Labo- ratories, Singapore, adds that there remains much to be explored at the frontiers of in- terdisciplinary research: “My chosen field of research is chemical biology, which capital- izes on the interface between two seemingly divergent disciplines. As a relatively new area of research, it has much to contribute
A*STAR RESEARCH OCTOBER 2011–MARCH 2012
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