He is first Singaporean and 3rd Asian to be inducted into Lindau honorary senate
By Kelly Tay, Business Times, 2 Jul 2012
SINGAPORE has made its mark on the scientific world stage again, with President Tony Tan Keng Yam receiving top honours at the 62nd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in Germany.
Dr Tan was yesterday inducted into the Honorary Senate of the Foundation Lindau Nobelprizewinners Meetings at Lake Constance, becoming the first Singaporean - and the third Asian - to receive the honour.
The honorary senate assembles top thinkers from the worlds of academia, business and politics, in recognition of their contributions to education, their commitment towards scientific excellence and their promotion of young researchers.
At present, honorary senate members include Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Now into its 62nd year, the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting serves as a platform for Nobel laureates to meet and inspire young scientific talents in the Nobel disciplines of physiology or medicine, chemistry and physics.
Noting Dr Tan's "particular devotion to science and education", foundation chairman Wolfgang Schuerer said that he has been a "quiet but tireless force in the rise of the Republic as a global hub of science and education in Asia".
"His intellectual charisma and deep understanding of the global research landscape distinguish him as a highly respected ambassador vis-a-vis Europe and the world," added Dr Schuerer.
In his acceptance speech, Dr Tan expressed his deep appreciation to the foundation for "this great honour accorded to (him) and to Singapore".
Dr Tan's induction this year is especially fitting given his background as a physicist, because 2012's meeting is dedicated to the discipline of physics.
It is being held from July 1 to July 6 here in Lindau, a town in the southern German federal state of Bavaria.
The conference has brought together 27 Nobel laureates and over 580 young researchers from 68 countries - including eight scientists from Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and the National University of Singapore (NUS).
Today, Singapore plays host on Day Two of the meeting, also known as International Day.
The event will see Singapore playing a key role in this year's meeting, and offers an unparalleled opportunity for the city-state to showcase its research and development (R&D) achievements.
Francis Yeoh, chief executive officer of the National Research Foundation, noted that Singapore's hosting of International Day would reap far-reaching benefits for the Republic, such as the promotion of Singapore as an R&D site of choice among young international researchers.
"This bunch of people are selected from all over the world because they are good in (their fields) - so it is really a very focused and targeted audience. We need a lot of good scientists to come to Singapore to participate in the research environment that we have . . . So this is very good ground to reach out to such bright young scientists."
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