Professor Lim Tit Meng,

Chief Executive, Science Centre

Public Administration Medal (Silver)

From running a science busking performance competition to scripting a musical on reproductive biology cheekily titled Sex Cells, Professor Lim Tit Meng, 56, is known for making science fun.

The former National University of Singapore biology professor stepped into his current role as Science Centre chief executive in 2010.

A million visitors pass through the complex a year. Its 250 staff also run programmes such as the revamped Singapore Science Festival and KidsSTOP, a science activity area for children in the centre.

Biology is Prof Lim's first love.

"When I was little, there were no iPads and no Pokemon, so I played with nature and plants," he said, recalling how he observed snakes and swam in a pond with geese at the Lim Chu Kang farm he grew up on.

He said: "I believe that all children are born scientists. They're always inquiring, investigating, innovating - that innate behaviour is the starting point of all of us being a scientist."

Charissa Yong