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NERI Interdisciplinary innovations NERI brings together researchers from different disciplines, institutions, government agencies, international organisations and industry to tackle critical environmental challenges that face the world today • Engineered Nanomaterials – investigating potential toxicity of exposure to engineered nanomaterials through exploring their behaviour in biological systems and their implications for the environment and health • Microbial Fuel Cells (MFC) – an eco-friendly wastewater treatment technique generating bioelectricity from biomass using bacteria. Our research team is developing more cost-effective and sustainable catalysts that could achieve bioelectricity generation with higher efficiency • Solventless and Solvent-minimised Extraction – green analytical chemistry involves designing analytical methods that minimise the use and generation of hazardous substances. Our team is developing an environmentally-friendly analytical method that combines solvent minimised extraction procedure and statistical calculation technique to reduce the amount of solvents required in the analysis of pollutants in environmental waters Can you offer an insight into NERI’s vision moving forward? NERI envisions itself as playing a major role in addressing environmental sustainability in Southeast Asia. The Institute is directed towards addressing regional issues through collaborations with Singapore’s neighbouring countries. This will entail sharing and working with regional governments to provide greater opportunities to address challenges beyond Singapore. THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY of Singapore Environmental Research Institute (NERI) initiates and coordinates interdisciplinary work on the environment by bringing together faculties from across the University as well as collaborating with international experts from renowned institutions worldwide. Focusing particularly on issues affecting Singapore and Asia, the Institute is working to establish itself as a leading global centre for forward-thinking research on the environment. The varied academic backgrounds of the Institute’s Director, Professor Ong Choon Nam, whose research is largely in environmental health, and of Deputy Directors Dr Ong Say Leong, an environmental engineer together with Dr Sanjay Swarup, an environmental microbiologist, exemplify the interdisciplinary principles on which NERI is founded. SUPPORTING INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES Alongside research work, the Institute hosts educational activities, such as cross-disciplinary seminar series and training, to share knowledge, build expertise and facilitate collaborative work among faculties from different disciplines towards environmental research. Its state-of-theart laboratory facilities, equipment and trained personnel support a high standard of novel research. The interdisciplinary strategy makes the National University of Singapore (NUS) a significant contributor in addressing critical environmental issues and reaching ‘innovative solutions for sustainable development’, one of the missions outlined by Choon Nam. By consistently building relationships and initiating projects between researchers across disciplines, both internally and externally, environmental sustainability issues are approached using new perspectives. As the pointof-contact for NUS environmental research, NERI matches the needed skills and expertise to implement projects and cover new grounds of research. The Institute also facilitates sharing of ideas by providing platforms for disseminating information and encouraging researchers to publish in peer-reviewed journals. NERI has built on its credible reputation and track record to establish collaborations beyond academia. The strategic partnerships with government agencies and industry demonstrate the Institute’s cutting-edge research with far-reaching impacts ensuring that research creates practical sustainable solutions to address environmental problems throughout Asia and beyond. MODELLING MEGACITIES FOR SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS NERI is hosting the recently established Programme on Energy and Environmental Sustainability Solutions (E2S2), a collaborative initiative between NUS and Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China and includes several international companies in China and Singapore. It is supported by the Singapore National Research Foundation and the Shanghai Municipal Government. The research team is addressing challenges in megacities that can be useful to strategic policy makers, environmental scientists and engineers. Singapore and Shanghai have been selected as the first two test-bedding sites because of their different sizes and complexities. Data gathered from these two cities will enable the development of a sustainable platform WWW.RESEARCHMEDIA.EU 49
INTELLIGENCE NERI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE OBJECTIVES To establish NUS as a leading global centre of interdisciplinary research, education, and expertise in the Environment field, particularly in issues affecting Singapore and Asia. KEY COLLABORATORS Professor Ong Choon Nam • Professor Ong Say Leong • Associate Professor Sanjay Swarup • Professor Li Fong Yau, Sam • Professor Lee Hian Kee • Professor Peter Ng Kee Lin • Associate Professor Tong Yen Wah FUNDING National University of Singapore • Singapore National Research Foundation • Environment and Water Technology Programme Office • National Environment Agency • National Medical Research Council • Singapore Economic Development Board • Industry CONTACT Ong Choon Nam, PhD Director, NUS Environmental Research Institute Professor, School of Public Health NUS Environmental Research Institute National University of Singapore #02-01, T-Lab Building, 5A Engineering Drive 1 Singapore 117411 T +65 6516 4982 or 6516 7542 E erisec@nus.edu.sg www.nus.edu.sg/neri ONG CHOON NAM is an environmental toxicologist by training. He is a professor of Public Health and presently Director of National University of Singapore Environmental Research Institute. Beyond these roles, Ong also works as advisor to the World Health Organization, US National Water Research Institute, and the International Life Sciences Institute. He is an editorial board member of several environmental journals, a scientific advisor to the China Center of Disease Control (CDC) and has chaired the Expert Panel for NEWater. to facilitate the understanding, design and implementation of future sustainable solutions for coupled problems in megacities. The Programme is developing capabilities necessary to solve problems characteristic of complex cities. These capabilities can then be transferred to different environments and benefit cities of various sizes and complexities. The research is focusing particularly on waste management for energy recovery and on the challenges of emerging contaminants. A distributed cloud system will be used for large-scale urban sensing and data management to support the two central areas of study towards missionorientated system modelling that can be similarly adapted by other megacities. A NATURAL APPROACH TO DESALINATION A large part of NERI’s work on water ecoefficiency is biomimicry, observing and studying nature to find solutions for environmental challenges. Supplies of fresh water sources are limited across the globe. Through biomimicry, NERI scientists are trying to find more energyefficient methods for water desalination. Strategic partnerships with government agencies and industry demonstrate the Institute’s cutting-edge research with farreaching impacts Mangrove species flourish along coastal regions due to their special desalination capacity. The leaf surfaces of mangroves contain microscopic salt glands that rid tissues of excess salts through secretions. As there is little knowledge about nature’s desalination mechanism in mangroves, NERI scientists have been motivated to study them to find insights for future desalination methods. A team of environmental physiologists and chemists is tracking the water movement in these glands to investigate the role of aquaporins in the desalination process. Using molecular biology and proteomic approaches, researchers are also exploring other membrane proteins that may be involved in facilitating the secretion of salts. Their work aims to understand the operative system of these glands in order to build a model for desalination that can be pivotal in developing novel, bio-inspired desalination devices and applications. The adaptive nature of certain fish species, such as African tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) also holds potential for educating us onadaptation and resilience within a changing environment. African tilapias can survive in both saline and fresh waters, offering another desalination model for study. Working in collaboration, fish biologists, chemists and engineers will obtain ‘architectural insights’ of the cellular structures involved in the desalination mechanism within the gills. This study will stimulate ideas for building an innovative water treatment system using potential biomaterials mimicked from euryhaline fish, better preparing us to deal with fresh water shortages and climate change. ENVIRONMENTAL WORKS ACROSS ASIA AND BEYOND In line with NERI’s aim of becoming a leading global environmental research institute centred in Asia, the Institute is involved in a number of initiatives spanning across the region. The NUS Centre for Climate Change Studies (C3S), the point-of-contact for climate change studies, and an initiative of NERI, is currently being established. The programme will carry out multidisciplinary research in vulnerability, adaptation and mitigation of climate change impacting Singapore and the wider region. The research includes collaborations with local and regional institutions, agencies and industries to obtain large data samples and disseminate information to a wider scope of parties. Working with two different institutions in Indonesia (Universitas Jambi and LIPI), NERI is investigating peatlands dynamics. By studying the functionality of tropical peatlands, options for different management solutions can be evaluated and developed, contributing to improved overall peatlands ecosystem management. Hopefully, these studies can be extended out to other parts of Southeast Asia in the future. NUS researchers also participate in the Seven Southeast Asian Studies (7SEAS) programme, a large-scale collaborative project with NASA, US Navy and many regional agencies to tackle the issues of transboundary emissions. Senior members of NERI have been involved in advising international bodies, such as the World Health Organization, and federal agencies like the US National Water Research Institute, on drinking water guidelines and environmental policies. Such involvements are perceived to increase and will help NERI to build its thought leadership and keep abreast with the advancement of innovative and sustainable environmental research. 50 INTERNATIONAL INNOVATION
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