Natural Sciences

 All Year 5s are welcome to attend.

Must attend: All year 5 students who are interested in pursuing science, engineering or technology-related research at Raffles Institution, as well as local and overseas Institutes of Higher Learning and research organisations, as well as Science Olympiads. All RA science students.

Please sign up via www.tinyurl.com/rss22keynote

RA science students (confirmed with placement) need not sign up as we have auto-included you.

Deadline for registration is 11^th February 2022, 2359 hrs

Sustainability Research

RSS Natural Sciences Strand 2022 will focus on Sustainability Research.  Highlights for incoming Year 5 students include:

• Keynote Lecture
• Super Senior’s Talk: Sharing by seniors and alumni about their research, conferences, competitions and olympiad experiences. (“Live” conference call)
• Virtual sharing of science research projects by students undertaken over the past year. (IVY library)
• Virtual Exhibition of science and engineering research projects done at various Institutes of Higher Learning and research organisations. (IVY Library)

Keynote Lecture: Carbonbits- Every bit counts!(“Live” conference call) Low Hong Yee Associate Professor/Associate Pillar Head Engineering Product Development Pillar Director, Digital Manufacturing and Design Research Center Singapore University of Technology and Design

About the speaker

Hong Yee Low received her PhD from the Macromolecular Science and Engineering department of Case Western Reserve University in 1998. After `2 years at Motorola Semiconductor Sector, she joined the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), Agency for Science Technology and Research, Singapore for `13 years. In IMRE she spearheaded nanoimprinting research, was the founding group head of Patterning and Fabrication Capability Group and served as the Director of Research and Innovation. She is currently an associate professor in the Engineering Product Development Pillar (EPD) at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and she holds two appointments as the associate pillar head and the director for the Digital Manufacturing and Design (DManD) center. DManD’s research profile spans the breadth of digital design and manufacturing resources and capabilities that integrate across design, materials, and manufacturing processes. Hong Yee has co-authored >150 peer reviewed publications and is a co-inventor of ~30 granted patents. 
https://epd.sutd.edu.sg/people/faculty/hong-yee-low 

Detailed Programme:

Super Seniors' Talk Line up:
List of presenters 

Speaker Profiles

Tham Yun Xin 
Yun Xin’s research journey began with a project at A*STAR NanoBio Lab on creating cellular models for chemotherapy drugs. Since then, she has actively pursued other avenues of scientific research, particularly research interdisciplinary in nature. One notable project she embarked on was on quantifying friction with a Timoshenko oscillator, which was awarded Silver at SSEF, and gave her the opportunity to represent Singapore at the ASPC, where she placed first in the Physical Sciences category. Besides that, she was also selected as one of six scholars from Singapore to attend the CEE-RSI summer research program, delving into research involving the detection of genetic mutations in cancer patients. Overall, these scientific ventures have instilled in her a strong passion for research, pushing her to embark on other research internships as well to broaden her worldview and spread her love for science to others.

Maggie Yao Chai Yinzhi & Aw Si Yu 
Having developed a passion in Biology in their lower secondary school days, Maggie and Si Yu signed up for the Biology Raffles Academy coursework with research in Year 3 at Raffles Girls’ School where they embarked on a research project investigating the effect of DHA on the motor and cognitive ability of flies. This project went on to win the Silver Award at SSEF 2021 and first prize in the Biological Sciences category at ASPC. These experiences have further fuelled their desire to pursue the sciences and they hope to share their enriching experiences in research projects and conferences.

Lien Cai Hui 
Cai Hui made her first foray into academic research when she participated in the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Programme organised by the Ministry of Education in 2018, and wrote her paper on the process of knowledge creation in Wikipedia. This sparked an interest in the field of social sciences and humanities, and she continued her research on the dynamics of a changing media landscape and the role of digital platforms two years later when she participated in the Nanyang Research Programme (NRP) organised by Nanyang Technological University, on the interventions of tech platforms in response to online falsehoods. Her paper, which she co-authored with her supervisors, Assoc Professor Edson C. Tandoc Jr. and Mr James Lee Chong Boi, subsequently received a Gold Award under NRP, and was accepted for publication in Digital Journalism, a peer-reviewed academic journal.

Kyi Cin Thet, Luo Zhong Yi & Ayyappan Lakshmanan 
Despite coming from diverse backgrounds and varying degrees of experience, Zhong Yi, Cin Thet and Lakshmanan shared passion for research and sustainability. Together as part of the RWESP, they worked on their research project, on the effectiveness of non-defatted papaya seeds as a biosorbent of wastewater pollutants, in 2020. Their project was awarded the Bronze Award and the SAAS Special Award at the SSEF in 2021, while also participating in many other noteworthy competitions. Their endeavours have broadened their understanding of the scientific and research fields, and they are here to share their valuable and fulfilling experiences hoping to inspire the notion that it’s the passion that counts!

Selina Peh Yuet Ning 
Selina’s first experience with research was at the SYPT in 2019, which involved investigating physics phenomena in the school labs. In 2020, she took on a YDSP project on the design of a wideband sinuous antenna, which was awarded a Silver award at SSEF, a Gold award at ICYS, and published as part of the proceedings of the 2021 IRC-SET conference. She enjoys discovering how the world works through the process of research, and hopes to embark on new projects in the future.

Nathaniel Tan Xin Rui 
Nathaniel is interested in the fields of physics and computing and their effects on everyday life.  His research project sought to use computer vision and machine learning to detect lies in high-stakes situations and is entitled "Liar Liar Pants on Fire:  A Computer Vision Approach to Deception Detection".  He was awarded the Gold Award and SAAS Special Award at SSEF and represented Singapore at ICYS and ISEF.  He hopes to share more about his research journey and the lessons he gleaned in the process.

 



About the programmes taken on by past research students

ASPC
The ASEAN Student Science Project Competition (ASPC) is held by the National Science Museum Thailand in collaboration with the Science Society of Thailand. With an aim to arrange integrative activities between Asean Economics Community youth, selected students from different countries participate by presenting their science projects at NSM.
https://www.nsm.or.th/en/nsm-activities/competitions/asean-student-science-project-competition-aspc.html

ICYS
The International Conference of Young Scientist is the unofficial world championship of research papers in several scientific disciplines for secondary school students. It has gained notable participation across three continents (Europe, Asia, and America), and is organised by a host institution and vary for each year. ICYS is a member of the World Federation of Physics Competitions. 
http://metal.elte.hu/~icys/

IRC-SET
The International Researchers Club (IRC) was set up in 2001, which was originally endorsed and funded by A*STAR. The IRC Conference on Science, Engineering and Technilogy (IRC-SET) aims at providing a platform for young and talented researchers to share fresh results, obtain comments, and exchange innovative ideas of the leading-edge research in the multi-disciplinary areas. Students from universities, polytechnics and junior colleges are warmly welcome to present their recent research work to the IRC-SET conference.
https://ircset.org/main/conference-2021/

ISEF
The world’s largest international pre-college science competition and is regarded as the Olympics of science competitions. Each year, approximately 1,800 high school students from more than 75 countries, regions, and territories are awarded the opportunity to showcase their independent research and compete for on average $4 million in prizes. ISEF 2022 will be held at Atlanta, Georgia.
https://www.societyforscience.org/isef/

NRP
The Nanyang Research Programme (NRP) is offered to JC1 students in Junior Colleges and seeks to offer students with a keen interest in and aptitude for research the opportunity to engage in the process of intellectual inquiry by undertaking projects in a real research environment under the supervision of NTU faculty, scientists and researchers. Participants in the NRP will undertake eight months of research activities, either individually or in a pair, culminating in the submission of a Research Paper and an Oral Presentation Assessment.
https://www.ntu.edu.sg/education/talent-outreach/NRP

RWESP
The Raffles Water and Environmental Sustainability Programme (RWESP) is an enrichment programme offered to Year 5 students at RI. As part of the programme, students will have the opportunity to discover the multidisciplinary nature of the subject, learn about Singapore’s water and environmental journey, have both social and scientific discourse with academia, industry and policymakers, and be equipped with skills to carry out a water/environmental science research project.
https://rafflespress.com/2022/01/05/wep-previews-22-raffles-water-and-environment-sustainability-programme/

SSEF
The Singapore Science & Engineering Fair (SSEF) is a national competition organised by the Ministry of Education (MOE), the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and the Science Centre Singapore (SCS). It is affiliated to the prestigious Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF). The SSEF is open to all secondary and pre-university students between 15 and 20 years of age. SSEF 2021 will be held virtually.
http://www.science.edu.sg/events/Pages/ssef.aspx

YDSP
The Young Defence Scientists Programme (YDSP), an initiative by the Defence Science & Technology Agency (DSTA) and DSO National Laboratories (DSO), aims to cultivate student interest in defence science and technology. Established in 1992, the YDSP seeks to expose students to a wide spectrum of fascinating topics, as well as research. Students will also learn practical skills and gain insights into fulfilling careers that await them in the Defence Technology Community.
https://www.dsta.gov.sg/join-us/student/young-defence-scientists-programme/