Feng Zengkun Straits Times 22 Jan 12;
The study of climate science here is receiving a boost with the arrival of a scientist who has surveyed coral reefs to uncover the climate history of the North Atlantic Ocean.
Dr Nathalie Goodkin, assistant professor of environmental science at the University of Hong Kong, plans to set up a geochemistry laboratory at the Earth Observatory of Singapore.
There, she and a team of scientists will study how changes to seas' surface temperature, saltiness and water circulation affected the South-east Asian monsoon in the past.
Piecing together this history is essential to predicting how climate in the region may change in the future, she said.
'There is a lot about tropical weather that has yet to be uncovered, and the information is crucial because of the dense populations that live in the region,' said Dr Goodkin.
In Singapore, such knowledge could also be used to plan for future drainage systems to cope with climate change.
Dr Goodkin was one of 10 scientists awarded the National Research Foundation (NRF) Fellowship on Friday.
Each year, NRF selects a group of scientists and researchers who are under 40 years old and offers them up to $3 million over five years and a salary to do research here.
There is no quota as to the number of scientists who can be chosen, and since the programme started in 2007, 38 scientists, not including this year's recipients, have accepted the fellowship.
Fellows can carry out any research provided they are hosted by a Singapore-based university or research institution.
Besides Dr Goodkin, this year's fellowships were also awarded separately for the first time to two scientists who are husband and wife.
Dr Silvija Gradecak plans to use the fellowship to continue her work on ultra-small wires, which can be used to create more energy-efficient light bulbs.
An assistant professor of materials science and engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she said changing the composition of the wires can make them emit different colours.
Combining red, green and blue light from the wires produces white light. This can be used to make light bulbs to replace current energy-wasting tungsten versions, she said.
Her team will also research other ways to reduce energy for lighting that is converted to heat instead.
'Twenty per cent of the world's electricity is used for lighting. If we can reduce heat wastage, the energy savings would be substantial,' she said.
Meanwhile, her husband, Dr Slaven Garaj, will concentrate on creating a full genome-DNA sequencing method that costs less than US$1,000 (S$1,280).
Such a technique - 10 times cheaper than current technology - could lead to a better understanding of diseases and more personalised medicine.
Dr Garaj, a researcher at Harvard University, said the method will use materials such as super-thin carbon - also known as graphene - instead of the traditional chemicals to decode DNA.
Not using chemicals makes DNA sequencing cheaper and eliminates the risk of destroying biological data, he said.
Dr Chong Yidong, who did research at Yale University, is the only Singaporean among this year's awardees. His interest is in theoretical optics, specifically how to filter light so it can be absorbed or rejected by materials.
This could be used in the future generations of computers called optical computers, which will be powered by light in addition to electrons.
Dr Francis Yeoh, the NRF's chief executive officer, said the fellowship helps young scientists to establish themselves. 'We expect many to become international scientific leaders in due course as well as role models to aspiring students,' he said.
The fellowship evaluation panel also checked on the progress of fellows in recent years and found it promising.
Said Professor Anthony Leggett, a Nobel Prize winner in physics and a member of the panel: 'It's encouraging... that these young researchers have managed to set up substantial research groups in such a short time.'
