Mr Lim feels that being recognised by Science demonstrates that research and development activities and growth in Singapore remain robust and are continuing to draw the attention of the scientific community around the world. -- ST PHOTO: LIM WUI LIANG
A*STAR chairman Lim Chuan Poh has been named by the prestigious Science journal as one of the research world's top eight people to watch in 2009.
Mr Lim, who replaced Mr Philip Yeo as the science agency's chairman in April 2007, faces the task of shaping the new Fusionopolis research hub for the physical sciences, engineering and information technology.
'Can Singapore make a name for itself in information technologies and engineering the way it has in biomedical research?' the journal asked in an article this week.
It added that Mr Lim's 'military demeanour' was a contrast to the 'fast-talking, wisecracking style' of his outspoken predecessor.
Before taking the helm at A*Star, Mr Lim, 47, spent 23 years in the military, serving as chief of defence force between 2000 and 2003, and then another three years as permanent secretary at the Ministry of Education.
'Being recognised by Science signifies the continued excitement and buzz of R&D activities and growth in Singapore,' Mr Lim said, adding that the Government's sustained investment in research and development despite the economic downturn would help attract scientific talent.
The highly regarded Science journal, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, puts out a list of people to watch each year.
Past recipients have included directors of science agencies, research institute heads and science administrators.
This year's list includes such administrative movers and shakers as the new British science minister Paul Drayson, Chinese health minister Chen Zhu and nominated United States Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson.
Also on the list are Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine Paul Nurse and paleogeneticist Svante Paabo, who hopes to map the Neanderthal genome. Others to make the list include Harvard University president Drew Faust and Massachusetts Institute of Technology president Susan Hockfield. Both institutions cut their operating budgets in the wake of the economic crisis.
'The annual list is made up of national leaders in research and development, and I think this is a signal to the world to watch Singapore's potential research impact in the next year,' said Dr Guan Cuntai, a researcher at the Fusionopolis-based Institute for Infocomm Research.
With Fusionopolis, which opened in October last year, Singapore hopes to replicate its success with biomedical science centre Biopolis.
