Physicist wins defence tech prize for laser beam idea
Jermyn Chow & Shobana Kesava, Straits Times 8 Nov 08;
WHEN squids mate in the dark depths of the sea, their bodies glow.
Applied physicist Phua Poh Boon, 38, has borrowed their method of radiating light to produce laser beams powerful enough to pierce the densest fog.
On the battlefield, this gives soldiers visual advantage, because these perfectly radial polarised beams of light stay true to their course over long distances.
This invention by Dr Phua of the DSO National Laboratories could do the same favour for firefighters amid dense smoke.
It has also won him the nation's prestigious prize for defence technology.
Two other defence scientists and five teams from DSO and the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA) also scooped up this year's awards.
Dr Phua is no stranger to thinking out of the box. The defence science world has sat up and taken notice of his research and inventions in the last decade, which has led to United States patents - eight and counting.
Yesterday, Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean lauded the winners for their work in sharpening the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF) capability to fight a high-tech war.
The DSO and DSTA hothouse the nation's pool of 5,000 defence scientists and engineers. DSO has had 22 patents granted to its researchers since 1999.
Mr Teo, speaking at the prize-giving ceremony at the Science Centre in Jurong, pledged that the Government would continue to 'invest steadily' in defence, specifically on research and development, so that the SAF can deliver a 'knockout punch' in wars of the future.
The drive to transform the SAF into a more lethal third-generation fighting force includes testing new firepower like the Aster anti-air missile and equipment that enables soldiers to share real-time information on the battlefield.
The Defence Ministry now commits about 4per cent of the nation's annual defence budget to research and development - which Mr Teo called 'a very good investment' that can 'make the difference between victory and defeat on the battlefield'.
He said the recent financial meltdown could cripple economies worldwide and trip off 'social and political stresses' that could destabilise the region.
'Our continued steady investment in a strong and capable SAF allows us to face any such security uncertainties that may arise from this crisis with sure-footed confidence,' he said.
Dr Phua, who hopes to do more for the defence industry here, said: 'Whether you are a scientist, artist or musician, you want a signature piece. Da Vinci had his Mona Lisa. I'm not there yet.'
