THREE of the world's best scientific minds have descended on Singapore with a mission: to inspire some of Asia's best young students in their pursuit of scientific knowledge and excellence.

Over the next four days, Sir Anthony Leggett and Professors Douglas Osheroff and Kurt Wuthrich - all Nobel laureates - will engage students in a series of dialogues and discussions to share their experiences.

Sir Anthony won the Nobel Prize for physics in 2003, an award clinched seven years earlier by Prof Osheroff. Prof Wuthrich won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 2002.

Eighty-two students - representing 25 secondary schools and junior colleges from countries that include China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore - are here for the inaugural International Science Youth Forum at Hwa Chong Institution (HCI).

One of the keynote speakers is Sir Anthony, widely recognised as a leader in the study of low-temperature physics. He believes many fascinating challenges lie ahead for budding, young scientists.

'In the next 20 to 30 years, there are likely to be major revolutions in science, particularly in physics,' he said.

At the same time, he stressed the importance of a varied approach to learning. Sir Anthony himself read Latin, Greek and philosophy as a first degree in Oxford before later studying physics.

Philosophy proved particularly useful later in his career as a physicist.

'It taught me never to take anything for granted and constantly question many of the scientific ideas which, at the time, were well-established ideals,' he said.

Read the full report in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times.