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Editorial Committee Please direct enquiries to: Chin Wee Shong Editor: Lee Hian Kee Chemistry Alumni Network Co-editor: Chin Wee Shong Department of Chemistry Members: Chan Kwai Sum National University of Singapore

Teo Ming Ern 3 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117543Email: chmcws@nus.edu.sg

Noble gases, namely helium (He),neon (Ne), argon (Ar), krypton (Kr),xenon (Xe) and radon (Rn), areunreactive elements because of theirstable electronic configuration. Thus,for a long time it was thought thatchemical compounds of theseelements could not be formed.However, the discovery of the firstnoble gas compound XePtF6 by NeilBartlett in 1962 has toppled this belief.With the ongoing research in the pastfour decades, the existence ofcompounds containing Kr, Xe and Rnhas been firmly established. However,the existence of neutral compoundscontaining the lighter noble gases, He,Ne and Ar, remains an illusive dream.

In a recent theoretical study (Journalof the American Chemical Society,2000, vol. 122, p.6289-6290), using thestate-of-the-art computationaltechnique, Dr Richard Wong of theDepartment of Chemistry has showedthat Ar is capable of forming a

chemical bond and predicted thatargon fluorohydride (HArF) is anobservable species in the gas phase.Within a few months, the existenceof HArF was verified by an elegant low-temperature matrix-isolationexperiment performed by scientists atthe University of Helsinki. (Nature,2000, vol. 406, p.874-875). Anotherinteresting finding from Richard’sstudy is the prediction of the first He-containing compound, HHeF. With thehighest ionization energy among allelements, helium is the most unlikelycandidate to form a stable chemicalcompound. Therefore, it is trulyremarkable that this most “notorious”element may finally be conquered!Although theoretically possible, HHeF,predicted to have a lifetime of the orderof picosecond (i.e. 10-12 seconds),represents one of the majorchallenges for future experimentalwork. The discovery of the novel Ar-and He-containing compounds byRichard marks a new milestone in our

NN oble Gas Chemistry: is still full of surprises !oble Gas Chemistry: is still full of surprises !

fundamental understanding of thenature of chemical bond and thestability of compounds containing

lighter noble gases.

Dr Richard Wong was born in HongKong. He received his B.Sc.(Hons) andB.Math (Computing) in University ofNewcastle, Australia. With a uniquebackground in chemistry and computerscience, he went on to pursuit a Ph.D.degree in computational chemistry atthe Australian National University. Aftergraduation, Richard went to US tocarry out his post-doctoral research atIBM (1989) and Yale University (1990-91). In 1992, Richard returned toAustralia and took up a prestigiousAustralian Research Fellowship,hosted at the University ofQueensland. He joined NUS in 1997,and is the Assistant-Dean of theFaculty of Science currently. In recentyears, computational chemistrybecomes an increasingly importanttool in solving complexed chemicalproblems. Richard enjoys tackingchallenging problems of which theexperimentalists find them difficult tosolve. His recent research work in NUShas earned him the outstandingresearch award in 2002. Besidesresearch, Richard enjoys soccer,squash, music, and playing with histwo children.

Issue No. 6 (June 2002)http://www.chemistry.nus.edu.sg/alumni/

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Department News

As part of an initiative to modernizeour Physical Chemistry laboratory, aLaser Spectroscopy Lab has beensetup in the Department. Thelaboratory is expected to be ready forsome interesting experiments inChemistry for 2002/03. The laser wasinvented more than 40 years ago andhas found numerous applications inphysics and chemistry. As amonochromatic and directional lightsource, laser is highly sought after inisotope separation, photochemicalprocesses and ablation. With theadvent of pulsed lasers, thedetermination of chemical lifetimes offree radicals and excited chemicalspecies can now be routinelyperformed. It would be appropriate thatlasers experiments are introduced sothat our undergraduate students canbe exposed to the various applicationsof lasers in chemistry. Apart from that,students also learn how a laser worksstarting from a simple He-Ne laserpointer used in classroom teaching tomore complicated pulsed dye laser

During the first half of 2002, we badefarewell to three senior non-academicstaff members, Mr Lee Kim Suwe, MrGoh Kian Loo and Mdm Angela ChooKiam Fong. They retired from theDepartment after putting in an amazingtotal of 126 years’ invaluable service.

Kim Suwe started hislaboratory career as asemi-skilled artisan atthe former NanyangUniversity (Nantah) in1956, the year theinstitution opened its

doors to the first batch of 584 students,at a tender age of 17. He spent mostof his working hours in the chemicalsand glassware stores, including thetime he prepared for his SchoolCertif icate and Higher SchoolCertif icate examinations as anevening-class student. During his timeat Nantah and NUS, it boggles the mindthat every bottle of more than severalthousand different chemicals used byour students must have beenpersonal ly handled by him!

Additionally, every piece ofDepartmental equipment, with a totalworth of hundred of million dollars, hasbeen personally labelled by him withan inventory number! Amazingly, inhis personal file you’d hardly find anymedical leave application form! KimSuwe, not surprisingly has been awinner of the Department’s “Health isWealth” awards for the last threeyears. He retired in March 2002, as aSenior Laboratory Office (SLO), after46 years of service.

Kian Loo started hiswork as a laboratoryattendant in 1965,when the Republic ofSingapore wasBorn. He retired as aMechanical SupportOfficer in May 2002, after having servedthe Department for 37 years. He wasa “most-handy” man in the Department.Although as a Mechanical SupportOfficer, his work was never just‘mechanical’ in nature and in fact wasmuch more than that. His job rangedfrom those involving carpentry,masonry, metal works, to yes,

mechanical and electrical. Kian Loowould have had a hand in theconstruction of every trolley used in theDepartment or every metal scaffold onthe laboratory bench. Every piece ofhanging items on Chemistry buildingwalls was invariably put up by him.

Angela spent 43 yearswith the Department,her only employer. Asher main job has beentaking charge of theM i c r o a n a l y s i sLaboratory, more thanfifty thousand analytical samples havebeen analysed by her over these longyears. No NUS Chemistry thesis/dissertation can be considered ascomplete without acknowledgingAngela’s assistance in elementalanalysis. Moreover, many moreanalytical samples have been sent toher from other Departments, here andoverseas, or industry and otherresearch organizations outside NUS.She was in charge of a vital resourcein the Department. Angela retires asa SLO in the Department in June 2002.

By A/P Lee Swee Yong

Dr Ng Kai Ling wasborn and raised inSingapore, but shespent the last 10years in Tasmania,Australia, where shereceived her B.Sc(Hons) and Ph.D.

degrees from the University ofTasmania in Hobart. Her Ph.D. projectwas in the field of Separation Science,and Ion Chromatography, in particular,and her research interests continue inthe same field but also expanding intoCapillary Electrophoresis and CapillaryElectrochromatography. She joinedthe Department in December, 2001.

Staff Retirement

systems. Among some ini t ialexperiments identif ied are thedetermination of the speed of light,measurements of fluorescence andphosphorescence l i fet imes ofmolecules in gaseous and liquidmedia, laser Raman spectroscopy andlaser photolysis of important

atmospheric pollutants.

Laser Spectroscopy Labfor Undergraduates

NewcomersA/P Edward Tiekinkgraduated with Ph.D.from the University ofMelbourne in 1985.He took up aResearch Associateposition in crystalstructure analysis at

the University of Adelaide and laterjoined the academic staff there in 1989.In 2001, Edward made the move northto NUS. His research interestsencompass three areas, i.e. (i) MainGroup Metal Chemistry: structuralsystematics, oxotin clusters forcatalysis, and precursors for MOCVD;(ii) Metal-Based Drugs: gold-basedpharmaceuticals, and anti-tumouractivities of main group elementcompounds; and (i i i) CrystalEngineering: aurophilic associations vsH-bonding and non-directionalintermolecular forces. He is the author/co-author of over 750 researchpublications, short crystallographicreports, book chapters, reviews andpatents.

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The Department has hosed theinaugural Singapore-ChinaCollaborative and CooperativeChemistry Symposium(S=C=C=C=C=S) in NUS from 4to 5 March 2002.

This 2-day symposium, sponsoredby Agency for Science, Technologyand Research (A*STAR), LeeFoundation and Faculty of Science,NUS, is a major initiative of thedepartment. It serves as a platform todevelop and sustain ouracademic and researchrelationships with keypartners/scientists inChina, covering a widerange of contemporaryresearch areas in basicand applied chemistry.The symposium includedresearch presentationsand academic

discussions.

Singapore-China Collaborative andCooperative Chemistry Symposium

(S=C=C=C=C=S)

On the 25th of March, the Departmentsigned a Memorandum of Intentionand Cooperation with the HealthSciences Authority (HSA). Over 15members from both organisationswere present at the signingceremony. Prof. Hardy Chan, ViceDean of Science, who signed onbehalf of the Dean, represented NUSwhile the CEO of HSA, Dr. ClarenceTan signed on behalf of HSA.

This agreement with a key publicbody, a first for the ChemistryDepartment, aims to develop a co-operative and collaborativerelationship in the areas of scientificinvestigation and forensic scienceand to carry out joint research relatedto health, safety, quality and efficacy

of health related products.

Memorandumwith Health Sciences

Authority (HSA)

Beginning July 2002, the Departmentwill be offering a joint Master’s degreein Industrial Chemistry with theTechnical University of Munich (TUM),one of Europe’s top technicaluniversities. This is a postgraduatecourse for specialist chemists for thepharmaceutical as well as the fine andspecial i ty chemical industriesinternationally. It will offer thenecessary training to producesynthetic and analytical chemists whounderstand the industrial needs andhow products are developed andmanufactured. It will also providechemists and chemical engineers withthe required ski l ls to work inmultidisciplinary teams in globallyoperating companies.

The course will have an internationalteaching staff from NUS and TUM, witha significant proportion of specialistsfrom the industry. To instil culturalawareness, there will be studentexchanges, language programmesand cultural immersion courses. Theinclusion of economics, business

administration and managementscience in the curriculum will preparecandidates for leadership roles inindustrial productand processdevelopment. Thecourse is targetedat Europeanstudents whowish to gaini n t e r n a t i o n a lexposure in Asia,and local orregional studentswho aim for aGerman degreebut cannot affordfull time studies inGermany. The1 ½ - y e a rp r o g r a m m ecomprises two fullsemesters o fcoursework andsix months ofresearch workculminating in awritten Master’s

dissertation. The programme alsorequires a two-month internship in theindustry. For more details, please referto http://www.chemistry.nus.edu.sg/nus-tum.htm.

A New Joint Master’s Degree in Industrial Chemistry

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Events

Singapore International Chemical Conference 2 (SICC-2)

NUS-JSPS Joint Symposium on Analytical Sciences- Challenges of the New Century

This symposium held from 28 Feb to1 March 2002 was jointly organizedby the Department and the JapanSociety for the Promotion of Science(JSPS). It has attracted more than100 participants on the first day, andalthough the attendance was moremodest on day two, it was stillsignificant, given the small analyticalscience community in Singapore. Wereceived very strong support fromindustry. We hope they were not

disappointed with the quality of thepresentations because there wereexcellent papers presented by theinvited speakers as well as some lively

discussions. At informal discussionswith our Japanese colleaguessubsequently, there was a strongfeeling that the next joint event shouldbe held within three years. Theprevious interval of fourteen years wastoo long, we all agreed. TheDepartment will again work closelywith our Japanese colleagues toorganise the next one.

A CD of all the lectures is nowavailable. If you wish to have a copy,please register with Joyce atchm csk@ nus.edu.sg

Over 500 pioneering andpromising chemists from 27countries attended the InternationalChemical Conference-2 (SICC-2) whichwas held in Singapore from 18 to 20December 2001.

This prestigious event,organized by theDepartment and theSingapore NationalInstitute of Chemistry(SNIC), in cooperationwith the Chemical andProcess EngineeringCentre (CPEC), is oneof the most importantbiennial chemical

conferences in this region. 242lectures on the latest development insupramolecular materials, conductingpolymers, smart materials, molecularelectronics, bioactive compounds,asymmetric synthesis, clusters,bioinorganic compounds,homogeneous and heterogeneouscatalysis were delivered during theevent.

Other highlights of the conference werethe Ang Kok Peng Memorial Lecture,a poster session and the ChemicalEducation Workshop. The late Dr. AngKok Peng held the appointments ofMP, Minister of State, Ambassador toJapan, Dean of Science and the Headof the Department of Chemistry. TheMemorial Lecture entitled Research inNUS Chemistry- Turning Noise toSignal in One Decade, and from Signalto Fourier Transform in the Next waspresented by Prof Andy Hor, thepresent Head of the Department ofChemistry.

About 150 posters were displayedduring the poster session, highlightingthe research areas of foreign and localresearchers. Eleven best posterawards, sponsored by Chartered

Semiconductor Manufacturing, DuPontSingapore, Schering-Plough and theSingapore National Academy ofScience, were presented at theconference to encourage excellencein poster content and presentation.

A chemical education workshop wasalso held for local teachers andscience educationalists to enable themto have a better understanding of thelatest developments in Chemistry andto help them promote careers inScience and Technology to youngSingaporeans.

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The Department, jointly with SingaporeNational Institute of Chemistry (SNIC)organized a workshop on “Proposal &Supervision of Scientific ResearchProject” for teachers on the 2 nd and 16th

of March 2002. The workshop wasattended by many school teachersnationwide who have the intention toimprove the level of research at theschools. With the introduction ofvarious programmes by MOE such asthe Teachers Aide programme andproject work, the workshop was timely,providing teachers with relevant skillsto face the new challenges.

Workshop for Teachers

The workshop covered a series oflectures given by eminent professorsin the Department on how a simpleidea can be generated into a goodresearch plan, followed by bringing theproject to completion. Variousaspects of running a project wasraised and discussed during theworkshop as well as in a web-baseddiscussion forum. Teachers were alsogiven the opportunity to write aresearch proposal and had i tcommented by experiencedresearchers.

25 th January 2002 should be amemorial day for the chemistrygraduate community. That very day,in front of the chemistry graduatecommunity and faculty staff, the ViceDean, Faculty of Science, Prof. HardyChan, declared the ChemistryGraduates Center and the ChemistryGraduates Club (CGC) officiallyopened, with a click of a mouse.Although the ceremony was a simpleone, it carried great significance. Itmarks the beginning of a new era forthe chemistry graduates – one in whichfacilities and the CGC are in place to

Due to popular request, similarworkshop will be repeated again in thenear future for teachers who havemissed this opportunity. Otherenrichment workshops on topics suchas general laboratory skills, basicspectroscopic or instrumentaltechniques will also be held. For moreinformation, please contact Dr LeongLai Peng (laipeng@nus.edu.sg) or DrRyan Bettens (chmbrpa@nus.edu.sg)at the Department. If you wanted tobe put on the mailling list regardingthese workshops, please email yourname, mailling address, email andtelephone number to Ms Joyce Chor(chm csk@ nus.edu.sg).

Chemistry Graduates Club (CGC) has its own home -Chemistry Graduates Club (CGC) has its own home -Opening of the Chemistry Graduates CenterOpening of the Chemistry Graduates Center

promote friendship and make our stayin NUS an enjoyable and unforgettableone.

As a start, that evening, the chemistrygraduates got together to enjoy asumptuous dinner and games, for thefirst time in many years. It was also anight when we saw the sporty and“humane” side of some of the facultystaff, as they played Charade onstage. We are all the more happy thatthe joyous occasion was celebratedwith the presence of our generous

sponsors from DSO NationalLaboratories and CharteredSemiconductor Manufacturing.

The CGC club did not stop there. Aftera short rest, we followed up with aseries of movie screening and anindustrial trip to CharteredSemiconductor. And we will not stophere. More activities are already in thestage of planning. It’s a secret for thetime being. But support and initiativesfrom you – the entire chemistrycommunity in NUS – is of utmostimportance to keep us going.

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Alumni News

Frontiers in Chemical Education– The Big Ideas

The Science & Technology Education Academic Group atthe National Institute of Education, NTU and the SingaporeNational Institute of Chemistry (SNIC) will be jointly organis-ing an International Symposium on Chemical Education on3 Aug 2002 at the Civil Service College, Buona Vista Road.This one-day symposium will focus on modern chemicaleducation, and will cover topics such as project work, multi-ple intelligences theory, IT in chemistry, relevance of chem-istry in life sciences, etc. Some prominent internationalspeakers invited include Professor P. W. Atkins, ProfessorJ. D. Bradley, Professor R. B. Bucat, etc. For registrationdetails, contact Dr R. Subramaniam at subrar@nie.edu.sg.

up to the roof of the skyscraper, dropit over the edge, and measure the timeit takes to reach the ground. The heightof the building can then be worked outfrom the formula H = 0.5g * t 2. Butbad luck on the barometer!

Or, if the sun is shining you couldmeasure the height of the barometer,then set it on end and measure thelength of its shadow. Then you measurethe length of the skyscraper’s shadow,and thereafter it is a simple matter ofproportional arithmetic to work out theheight of the skyscraper.

But if you wanted to be highly scientificabout it, you could tie a short piece ofstring to thebarometer and swingit like a pendulum,first at ground leveland then on the roofof the skyscraper.The height is workedout by the differencein the gravitationalrestoring force

Or if the skyscraperhas an emergencystaircase, it would beeasier to walk up itand mark off theheight of theskyscraper inbarometer lengths,then add them up.

If you merely wantedto be boring and

The following was actually a questionin a physics exam at the University ofCopenhagen: “Using a barometer, howwould you determine the height of askyscraper?”

One student replied:“You tie a long piece of string to theneck of the barometer, then lower thebarometer from the roof of theskyscraper to the ground. The lengthof the string plus the length of thebarometer will equal the height of thebuilding.”

This highly original answer so incensedthe examiner that the student wasfailed immediately. He appealed on thegrounds that his answer wasindisputably correct, and the universityappointed an independent arbiter todecide the case. The arbiter judged thatthe answer was indeed correct, but didnot display any noticeable knowledgeof physics. To resolve the problem itwas decided to call the student in andallow him six minutes in which toprovide a verbal answer that showedat least a minimal familiarity with thebasic principles of physics.

For five minutes the student sat insilence, forehead creased in thought.The arbiter reminded him that time wasrunning out, to which the studentreplied that he had several extremelyrelevant answers, but couldn’t makeup his mind which to use. On beingadvised to hurry up the student repliedas follows:

“Firstly, you could take the barometer

Chemistry Career Centre

We are setting up a Chemistry Career Centre in theDepartment, with the aim to provide a consolidatedresource where our students can easily accessinformation about their career prospects in Chemistry.We would ike to invite our alumni to write-in their ideasor contributions based on their own experience in thejob market.

Who are the people they can work for?What does it mean to have a career in Chemistry?

Indeed, why major in Chemistry at all?Questions and contributions should be directed to DrNg Kai Ling (kailing@nus.edu.sg). We look forward tohearing from you :)

gt /12π=

orthodox about it, of course, you coulduse the barometer to measure the airpressure on the roof of the skyscraperand on the ground, and convert thedifference in millibars into feet to givethe height of the building.

But since we are constantly beingexhorted to exercise independence ofmind and apply scientific methods,undoubtedly the best way would be toknock on the janitor’s door and say tohim ‘if you would like a nice newbarometer, I will give you this one ifyou tell me the height of this

skyscraper’.”

To Measure A Skyscraper

The student was Niels Bohrwho won the Nobel Prize for

Physics in Year 1922.

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NUS Chemistry Alumni Dinner- to celebrate 75 Years of Chemistry in Singapore

Year 2003 will mark 75 years of Chemistry as a university subject in Singapore. This is ahistorical moment that the Department would like to share with our alumni and friends.We are organising a series of activities to celebrate this landmark year. The first in thisseries is a dinner w ith our alum ni on the 8 th Nov 2002 at the Raffles Hotel.

The dinner offers a relaxed and informal ambience to mingle and establish network links.It is an opportunity to meet up with old friends and teachers. Book a table and call all youold friends and classmates to come. If you need your class name list, please contact MsJoyce Chor at Tel: 6874-8142 or Dr Chin Wee Shong at chmcws@nus.edu.sg.

The dinner costs $80/- per person, but our alumni need to pay just $60/- for the fullWestern set dinner & drink at this exquisite venue. An early reply from you is essentialthough, preferably by 15th September 2002.

Friday, 8th November 2002

The Ballroom,Raffles Hotel1 Beach Road, Singapore 189673

Dress code: Smart casual

I/We shall attend the Alumni Dinner on 8th Nov 2002 - to celebrate 75Years of Chemistry in Singapore. Enclosed is a cheque of S$____________ aspayment for ______ alumni and _________ spouses/guests.

Name (Please list all names, use separate sheet if needed): ____________________

_________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________

Address to send tickets: ________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

Contact number: ________________ E-mail address: ________________________

Preferred Main Course (please write numbers): Fish Chicken

Or Vegetarian Set

Cheques should be made payable to “National University of Singapore” and sentto Ms Joyce Chor, Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, 3Science Drive 3, Singapore 117543.

Please detach this portion

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