8 leaders, innovators lauded for science and tech contributions

Eight leaders and innovators have received the President’s Science and Technology Awards for their exceptional contributions to Singapore’s science and technology ecosystem.

- Joyce Teo Senior Health Correspondent

The awards, administered by the National Research Foundation (NRF), were given out at a ceremony on Oct 3 at the University Cultural Centre in the National University of Singapore.

President Tharman Shanmugaratnam presented the President’s Science and Technology Medal - which is the top honour - to NUS president Tan Eng Chye for his visionary leadership and lifelong dedication to driving science and technology research at NUS and in Singapore.

NRF said that Professor Tan has dedicated his entire career to driving science and technology research. He shaped a deeply collaborative culture within NUS, and played a critical role in placing Singapore’s science and technology capabilities and achievements firmly on the world map.

Ahead of the ceremony, Prof Tan told the media: “What to me was particularly memorable was (the setting up of) the Centre for Quantum Technologies in 2007. It was the first research centre for blue-sky research in quantum computing.”

The centre is now one of the top research centres for quantum computing in the world, he said.

“1 often say that the university is a talent organisation, so we basically have the best minds, and we groom them to contribute towards the nation and the world.”

The two recipients of the President’s Science Award in 2025 are Professor Lisa Ng, executive director of the A*Star Infectious Diseases Labs, and NUS Professor Lim Chwee Teck, director of the Institute for Health Innovation and Technology.

Prof Ng’s research on mosquito-borne viruses, especially chikungunya, has revealed how infections trigger both helpful and harmful immune responses, and how these may explain why patients recover differently.

These novel insights are underpinning improvements in the development of diagnostics, vaccines and treatments, and strengthening outbreak readiness in Singapore and the region, said NRF.