Singapore, 24 July 2008 – Professor Charles Zukoski, Chairman of the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) of the Singapore Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), will relocate with his family to Singapore from 7 Aug 2008. He will spend more time in A*STAR while keeping his links with the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), where he is the William and Janet Lycan Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, in the School of Chemical Sciences.
2. Under Prof Zukoski’s excellent leadership of SERC, of which he has been Chairman since 1 Feb 2005, SERC has launched major initiatives such as the Energy Programme, the Aerospace Programme, and established international partnerships with top universities, research centres and the industry.
3. Prof Zukoski will focus on promoting integration of research areas to catalyse knowledge creation, strengthen research collaboration with industry and identify emerging areas of growth, and build up international linkages with other renowned centres of research in areas of strategic interests.
4. Said Mr Lim Chuan Poh, Chairman, A*STAR, “We welcome Chip (Prof Zukoski) and his family to Singapore. I am happy that he will be spending more time here just when the research institutes of the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) are moving into Fusionopolis. The physical move to Fusionopolis provides the impetus for SERC to take a fundamental relook at how they are organised to do impactful research. At the same time, the physical proximity between Fusionopolis and Biopolis brings together a whole spectrum of research capabilities spanning biomedical to engineering science that will vastly expand the knowledge creation and innovation space. This is truly a unique opportunity for SERC, BMRC and A*STAR to evolve a more integrated approach to research that will be beneficial to Singapore’s economy and the society. Chip’s increased commitment to Singapore will make a difference to our realising this goal.“
5. “My family and I are excited to be spending more time in Singapore. With the opening of the Fusionopolis in October and its expansion in 2010, SERC faces enormous challenges to build on a strong history to continue delivering science, technology and research to expand the Singapore economy. The challenges and opportunities are tremendously exciting and I look forward to working with the A*STAR team to meet these challenges”, said Prof Zukoski.
6. Prior to his relocation to Singapore, Prof Zukoski was concurrently the Vice-Chancellor for Research at UIUC and the Chairman of SERC. He has been conferred the American Chemistry Society Ralph K. Iler Award in the Chemistry of Colloidal Materials and the Alpha Chi Sigma Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers in 2002. He is also a member of the US National Academy of Engineering.
Science and Engineering Research Council 7. A*STAR’s Science and Engineering Research Council oversees seven science and engineering research institutes and one centre. These are: Data Storage Institute (DSI), Institute for Chemical & Engineering Sciences (ICES), Institute for High Performance Computing (IHPC), Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R), Institute of Microelectronics (IME), Institute of Materials Research & Engineering (IMRE), Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech), and National Metrology Centre (NMC).
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