High-efficiency organic semiconductor devices are widely used today. However, a universal additive crosslinker that can link amorphous and crystalline polymers without degrading device semiconductor properties has yet to be discovered. KO Hor Cheng, a Year 4 Chemistry student, received the OURP for successfully synthesising two novel photo-crosslinkers into a stable and solvent-resistant network structure. Her work solves a longstanding challenge and paves the way for high-performance semiconductors.

Year 4 student CHEN Meng-Fu, under the tutelage of Prof Richard WONG, received the CRISP award for his computational study on the use of ionic liquids as corrosion inhibitors.

He used density functional theory-based methods to model the corrosion inhibition mechanism of ionic liquids, which shed light on the nature of their adsorption process. This opens the door to the development of new sustainable corrosion inhibitors, which address the environmentally unfriendly impacts of conventional corrosion inhibitors. Green corrosion inhibitors such as ionic liquids do not contain toxic compounds and provide a sustainable alternative.

Heavy metal contaminated waste is typically washed and treated before it is landfilled. After landfilling, the waste is monitored for many years to ensure that the leachates meet regulatory standards. To address this, Dr LU Di co-founded KleenSoil Environmental Technologies to provide customised solid waste remediation solutions for industries. 

Its patented technology seals and deactivates heavy metal contaminants after removing a significant portion of heavy metals from waste. The waste is converted into useful chemicals and materials for other applications. This reduces the overall cost of treating and landfilling waste. In the future, KleenSoil will collaborate with a local company to commercialise ‘zero waste’ discharge technology. It will also be expanding the use of its technology in China.

Year 3 student Nathan ANG is keenly aware of the struggles of migrant workers, whose wellbeing is often overlooked, in spite of their backbreaking work to build up Singapore’s infrastructure. He therefore decided to take active steps to help them and create awareness of their struggles.

He reached out to large corporations on a donation drive to package and distribute apparel for domestic workers under community initiatives led by the Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics (HOME) and Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2). He found his experience on the ground sobering yet touching, as he lent an ear to the workers, who shared on their plight and near-death encounters during the pandemic.

An internship at a leading fragrance house led alumna (2018) Ms Joyce LIAN to discover her passion in perfumery. She founded Scent Journer to create mood-enhancing perfumes using her scientific skills in olfactive chemistry and esterification experiments to decipher the components of different materials. 

Her artisanal perfumes do not just smell good. The use of sustainably sourced fragrance ingredients also captures the healing essence of nature to calm and uplift consumers’ moods. She also created a maritime-themed scent to relieve seasickness, another example of the utility of her products. Ms Lian plans to expand into more product categories in the future.

In August 2022, we led an expedition to Timor-Leste in collaboration with Conservation International and the government of Timor-Leste. The Museum’s herpetologist, Dr CHAN Kin Onn, discovered a new species of bent-toed gecko which was named Cyrtodactylus santana, in reference to the Nino Konis Santana National Park, in which the gecko was discovered.