New research centre for environmental and water sustainability

Channel NewsAsia 14 Sep 11;

SINGAPORE: A new S$120 million research centre at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) will harness the powers of micro-organisms for environmental and water sustainability.

The Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE), will look at innovative ways to process waste water efficiently and trapping greenhouse gases.

The centre is led and hosted by NTU, in partnership with the National University of Singapore (NUS).

NTU said environmental engineering solutions are critical to solve the main challenges facing mankind, such as a sustainable environment and the availability of clean water.

At the same time it can bring significant economic benefits for Singapore and beyond.

It said in Asia alone, the water market is expected to grow to S$600 billion by 2015.

The centre has already embarked on two flagship programmes in partnership with PUB, Singapore's national water agency.

The first involves the Ulu Pandan wastewater reclamation plant, where SCELSE has started a comprehensive analysis of the complex microbial communities that treat water at the plant.

By knowing exactly what all of those organisms do and how they function together, the reclamation process can be optimised to be faster, more efficient and to use less energy.

The second is to study urban waterways, in which SCELSE has adopted the Ulu Pandan Catchment Areas to study the role of microbial processes in the recycling of surface water and for controlling harmful microorganisms.

The findings will be useful for reshaping of waterways by the combination of hard and soft engineering approaches.

- CNA/ck

NTU, NUS open micro-organisms research centre
Teo Si Jia Business Times 14 Sep 11;

In a tie-up with the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has, on Wednesday, opened the Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE) to study how micro-organisms can improve environmental and water sustainability.

Led and hosted by NTU, the centre is recieving funding for its research from the National Research Foundation and the Ministry of Education for the next 10 years.

The research centre, which cost S$120 million to start up, will merge 'two traditionally separate disciplines: life sciences and engineering', said director-professor Staffan Kjelleberg.

Headed by professor Kjelleberg and deputy director Professor Cohen Yehuda, veterans in environmental life sciences engineering, the research team consists of other leaders in the research world, such as molecular biologist Stephan Schuster, biofilm biology researcher Michael Givskov and Stefan Wuertz microbiology researcher and editor of Water Research, a trusted journal in water resources.

It has already partnered up with the Public Utilities Board (PUB) for two flagship programmes - firstly, for wastewater reclamation studies at Ulu Pandan and secondly, the study on the urban waterways.

'With similar collaborations with industrial partners, SCELSE can provide the competitive edge to Singapore's companies in clean technology, environmental management and pharmaceutical drug development, and ultimately contribute towards enhancing Singapore's job market and economic development,' said guest of honour, senior minister Grace Fu at the opening.

Micro-organism research centre opens at NTU
Straits Times 15 Sep 11;

RESEARCH into micro-organisms got a fillip yesterday with the opening of a research centre at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

The Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (Scelse) and the research it undertakes will be financed by a $120 million fund to be disbursed over the next 10 years.

The money comes from the Ministry of Education and the National Research Foundation.

The centre was declared open by Senior Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Grace Fu.

A collaboration between NTU and the National University of Singapore, the centre is headed by visiting professor at NTU Staffan Kjelleberg.

On Scelse's advisory board is Dr Craig Venter, one of the first scientists to sequence the human genome.

The centre's area of study will be the living organisms responsible for many things - from the plaque on one's teeth to the slime that accumulates on the hulls of ships and slows them down.

The Scelse team has already begun two projects with national water agency PUB.

One involves analysing water samples from the Ulu Pandan wastewater reclamation plant to find a way to improve the treatment process.

Prof Kjelleberg said: 'If there's a system breakdown, for example, we can analyse samples from before, during and after the breakdown to see which micro-organisms were responsible.'

The team's other project will bring scientists into Ulu Pandan waterways to find better ways to recycle rainwater using the organisms.

Prof Kjelleberg said the centre will produce scientists trained in engineering and the life sciences: 'We plan to take in doctoral students from both departments so they can be trained in each other's disciplines. This will make them more practical scientists.'

Ms Fu said Scelse's set-up is timely, given that urbanisation around the world is putting stress on cities.

'Countries everywhere are now confronted with increasingly complex challenges related to... clean water supply and proper sanitation,' she said.

FENG ZENGKUN