Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Service Science curriculum development and research exploration
 |
| The MOU signing ceremony |
On 28 November 2007, at the launch of Service Science Management and Engineering (SSME) Initiative, SCE signed an MOU on Service Science curriculum development and research exploration with IBM.
 |
| A token of appreciation for SCE as an early adopter of SSME programme in Singapore |
SSME is a new multi-disciplinary research and academic effort that integrates aspects of established fields such as computer science, operations research, engineering, management sciences, business strategy, social and cognitive sciences, and legal sciences.
In collaboration with IBM and supported by IDA, SSME will be integrated into the undergraduate curriculum and offered by three local universities from 2008.
For the news reports, please click
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/corpcomms2/news/BT_071129_26_SSME.pdf
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/corpcomms2/news/LHZB_071129_16_SSME.pdf
Two
SCE faculty members awarded Project Grants for Interactive
Digital Media
Two SCE faculty members were awarded Project Grants
for Interactive Digital Media: Animation, Games &
Effects, "On-the-Move" Technologies, Media
Intermediary ("Mediary") Services, and Social
Impact.
| Computer Assisted Cel Animation,
CACAni 2.0 |
Prof Seah Hock Soon |
| Towards Highly Interactive Distributed
Media Environment |
A/P Zhou Suiping |
Click here
for the full report.
SCE
students in first-ever GAMBIT summer session
 |
| (Left
to right): Le Minh Duc, Edmund and Dominic enjoying
a fruitful summer in MIT, Boston |
3 SCE students, namely Dominic Chai,
Edmund Teo, and Le Minh Duc were selected to participate
in the first-ever GAMBIT summer session in Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston. The 8-week
stint which started in June this year, is part of
the initiative Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab, a collaboration
between Singapore’s Media Development Authority
and MIT.
Through this summer session, the
students were able to work in teams comprising students
from other institutions, and alongside MIT professors
and game professionals to develop games that are educational
and commercially-viable.
Le Minh Duc’s project The
Illogical Journey of Orez effectively employs
game design and educational principles to enhance
media literacy and improve the intuitive understanding
of complex secondary school mathematics concepts.
Dominic’s AudiOdyssey is an
experiential computer game designed to be accessible
by both mainstream gamers and the visually-impaired
community. Last but not least, Edmund developed Wiip,
a PC-based casual game which explores the concept
of interactivity through usage of an expressive physical
interface such as the Nintendo Wii Remote.
Dominic and Edmund’s games
were displayed during the Games Convention Asia (held
in Singapore from 6 to 9 September 2007) as they showed
good potential for commercialisation.
To play the games developed by the trio
and other teams in the GAMBIT summer session, go to
http://gambit.mit.edu/loadgame/index.php#wiip.
Imaging
the brain
A multi-disciplinary team effort by Assoc Prof Alexei
Sourin from SCE, Assoc Prof Vladimir Kulish from MAE,
and Asst Prof Olga Sourina from EEE, have resulted
in the development of a revolutionary new software
that enables 3D visualisation and data processing
of human brain activities.
The software translates data from an electroencephalogram
(EEG) into a 3D image in full colour. In the next
step, the software processes information to reveal
additional information not determined from a conventional
EEG. In this way, doctors are equipped with more information
to assess and diagnose their patients' neurological
conditions. It could prove be a vital tool in understanding
disorders such as epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease.
Apart from this, the technology can also be used
to study brain behaviour. Said Assoc Prof Sourin,
“With the developed visualization tools, new clues
for understanding mental processes in humans were
found. For example, we noticed that negative responses
were more stressful to the brain than positive ones.
Also, we observed that male and female brains react
differently to olfactory stimuli, and even different
parts of the brains were activated in response.”
http://www.ntu.edu.sg/home/assourin/Scivi.htm#brain
Media Coverage
SCE
alumnus brings home good news
 |
| At the
award ceremony held at Chinese Embassy in Australia:
Brad (centre), with his supervisor ANU Distinguished
Professor Brian D.O. Anderson (left) and Chancellor-General
Mr Li JiangNing (right). |
Changbin Yu (or Brad), who graduated from SCE in
2004 with a first class honours in Computer Engineering,
is currently in his 3rd PhD candidature year in Australia
National University, Canberra.
On 19 April 2007, Brad was presented with the 2006
Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Chinese Students
Abroad. This award, comes with a cash prize of US$5000,
was established to encourage research excellence and
recognise the achievement among Chinese students abroad.
Brad, at the age of 25, is among the only 15 recipients
of this award, and also one of the youngest awardees
in Australia.
Brad's research focuses on control of autonomous
multiagent formations, sensor network localization
and graph theory. Upon receiving an Australian Government’s
Endeavour Asia Award and a number of scholarships,
he commenced his PhD study at the Australian National
University in March 2005.
Brad attributes his part of the achievements to the
rigorous training and classes in NTU days, and without
those he would not have a chance to pursue a PhD in
the ANU and subsequently won the award. He is grateful
to his lecturers and the school.
SCE
collaborates with TQ Global to groom aspiring gamers
To meet the needs of the growing digital media industry
in Singapore, SCE has collaborated with TQ Global
to offer a Master of Engineering degree, with special
focus in Game Development.
Students undertaking the Masters research programme
will be sponsored by TQ Global for the 2-year candidature
period, and participate in the production of TQ’s
actual commercial projects. The pioneer cohort that
started last August is already in the midst of development
for the next-generation console game title, expected
to be released next year.
Says A/P Seah Hock Soon, Chair of SCE, “Through
this collaboration, we hope to produce outstanding
future game developers for Singapore and beyond.”
Media Coverage
SCE
project awarded close to $1 million funding
Persons suffering from mucosal cancers now get a
chance of early diagnosis with a project led by SCE’s
Chair A/P Seah Hock Soon, and partners, the National
Cancer Centre, Singapore General Hospital, and Changi
General Hospital. This project will work to develop
a first of its kind in vivo, in situ imaging system
that can perform spatial navigation and provide real-time
feedback. The project received a grant from the Singapore
Immunology Network.
Media Coverage
The
Straits Times
virtualXgame
2006 – a different cup of Java
|
 |
|
 |
| Mr
Kevin Jones (left) presenting a token of appreciation
for Opening Ceremony’s Guest-of-Honour A/P
Joseph Chang (right), Assoc Dean (Research &
Graduate Studies), CoE, NTU. |
Awards
Ceremony’s Guest-of-Honour Mr Leong Keng
Thai (centre), IDA’s Deputy CE and Director-General
(Telecoms), with champion team (JC Circuit) Innova
Junior College. |
|
Champion
team (Poly/ITE circuit) Singapore Polytechnic
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
with Mr Leong. |
On 9 December, virtualXgame saw its inaugural victor
of the full-day JAVA programming contest that is part
of the National Infocomm Competition (NIC). As one
of the challenges under NIC, SCE organized virtualXgame
to woo participants from junior colleges, polytechnics
and ITE colleges. 17 teams fought for the throne in
a contest that requires both computer programming
skills and game play tactics.
The virtualXgame was very well-received by the participants
and their coaches. One of the coaches commented, “It
had been an enjoyable time for my students and me.
We did not know that the competition can be of so
much fun beside just java programming.”
Says Mr Kevin Anthony Jones, virtualXgame director,
“Our aim in creating the virtualXgame is not
just to test the students’ on their programming
skills. More importantly, we want to encourage creativity
and teamwork, both critical factors in a winning solution.
I also hope the game further cultivates the students’
interest in digital media.”
AIC
and SCE collaborate on anime development
 |
From right:
Mr Toru Miura, President of AIC, presenting a
gift to A/P Seah Hock Soon, Dean of School of
Computer Engineering, while Dr Chia, CEO of MDA,
witnessed the collaboration. |
Another new milestone for Singapore-Japan collaboration,
namely in anime development, was put in motion when
SCE joined up with Anime International Company Inc
(AIC), a leading Japanese anime content provider to
produce a 13-episode anime series to be broadcast
in Japan. The significant signing up took place 20
June 2006.
SCE will get a chance to use its novel 2D animation
system, the Computer Assisted Cel Animation (CACAni),
a technology that automates the inbetween frame generation
and inking processes in animation production. The
automation increases creativity and productivity of
animators by significantly reducing labour and time
spent on frame drawing and inking by up to 40%.
This collaboration signifies a landmark step for
Japan and Singapore and paves the way for many future
joint anime productions. The signing of the Memorandum
of Understanding between AIC and SCE was witnessed
by Dr Christopher Chia, CEO of Media Development Authority
of Singapore.
Check out media coverage on this new tie-up, first
of its kind between Singapore and Japan:
Two
Greats Get Together
 |
At the
MOU signing (left to right): From Apple Computer
– Mr Leon Chen (Manager, South Asia, Worldwide
Developer Relations), Mr Eric Goh (Education Director),
Mr Edward Fun (General Manager). From SCE –
A/P Seah Hock Soon (Dean, SCE), A/P Yow Kin Choong,
A/P Lau Chiew Tong (Head of Computer Communications). |
Apple Computer and SCE have put together a joint
collaboration in developing an innovative mobile application
on the Apple platform. Two projects are already underway,
‘Bluebus’, a Bluetooth-based solution
for localized mobile services in public buses, and
‘3D Mobile Avatar’, which allows mobile
phone users to create 3D models of themselves and
add simple animations.
Using equipment and technical support from Apple,
SCE students will get the splendid opportunity to
get involved in the research for these projects. Ten
Apple Worldwide Developers’ Conference (WWDC)
2006 Student Program scholarships will be awarded
lucky students, with each receiving an e-ticket of
US$1,595 to attend the Apple WWDC 2006 in San Francisco
in August 2006. That’s not all. Travelling expenses
are taken care of with a US$500 allowance from Apple,
and another S$500 from SCE. The WWDC is among the
most important annual events gathering participants
from all over the world to get in the groove with
Apple’s latest technology.
SCE
Day - Exclaim V
SCE staff and students brought the Lee Kong Chian
Lecture Theatre to life with laughter and excitement
on 22 March 2006. The reason – celebrating SCE Day.
The indoor programme began with
the message by the President of the 6th
Management Committee of Computer Engineering Club,
Mr Chan Xinyi. He recounted on how his committee has
put together Exclaim V and thanked the school for
the strong support rendered to his club.
Guest-of-Honour Dean of SCE Assoc
Prof Seah Hock Soon’s message updated everyone on
recent developments in the University and School,
together with recent graduate employment survey findings,
of concern to everyone. Things are looking good with
large-scale infocomm infrastructure development, as
well as the government’s aspirations to develop Singapore
into an IT hub for the region. The Dean also launched
the SCE Wall of Expressions – an expression board
that enables students to pen their thoughts on this
joyous day.
Awards and prizes were given out
for SCE’s sportsmen and women, together with results
of the long awaited Most Popular Lecturer awards.
The Year One Most Popular Lecturer went to A/P Yow
Kin Choong, a 3rd time winner of this category.
Year Two students voted for A/P Abdul Wahab Abdul
Rahman, while Year Three students supported Ast/P
Timo Rolf Bretschneider. A/P Man Zhihong, another
3rd time winner, nabbed the Year Four Award.
Mr Lam Loy Kong and Mr Tan Swee Huat of hardware and
software labs respectively were the recipients of
the Most Approachable Lab Executive Awards.
Lunch, always an attraction, did
not disappoint. The fun continued outdoors with student
group performances like cheerobics, a modern jazz
dance, and a jam band to keep up the usual upbeat
SCE tempo. There were also stage games and quiz questions
to challenge the intellectually inclined.
There were also services such
as personalized keychain-making, studio photography,
caricature and LAN gaming consoles. Those not knowing
what to do next could not be blamed for the choices
of things to do and see. Another day at SCE? For example,
students did not just passively participate. They
also got to run their own stalls, to experience the
thrill of entrepreneurship.
What will next year bring in terms
of innovation and ideas? Let’s look forward to it!
|
| Dean
of SCE A/P Seah officiating the launch
of the SCE Wall of Expressions. |
|
|
| Most
Popular Year 1 Lecturer A/P Yow Kin Choong
(left). |
|
|
| Most
Popular Year 2 Lecturer A/P Abdul Wahab
(left). |
|
|
| Most
Popular Year 3 Lecturer Ast/P Timo Bretschneider
(left). |
|
|
Most
Popular Year 4 Lecturer A/P Man Zhihong
(left). |
|
|
| Most
Approachable Hardware Lab Executive Mr
Lam Loy Kong (left) from Computer Engineering
Lab. |
|
|
Most
Approachable Software Lab Executive
Mr Tan Swee Huat (left) from Centre
for Computational Intelligence. |
|
|
The
fun started indoors and… |
|
|
|
SCE
Vice-Dean (Academic) received SPRING Outstanding Achievement
Award in Standardisation
|
| Prof Goh
and the recent addition to her array of awards. |
During the World Standards Day
Awards Presentation on 23 September 2005, Vice-Dean
(Academic) Prof Angela Goh was one of the three proud
recipients of the SPRING Outstanding Achievement Award
in Standardisation, a recognition given to individuals
who have displayed outstanding performance in leading
standardisation initiatives outside formal standards
programmes.
Prof Goh’s involvement
in the development of standards for the IT industry
started more than 10 years ago when she became a member
of the Council of the IT Standards Committee (ITSC).
She has since undertaken numerous projects in setting
standards and implementing them in Singapore’s
IT industry. Looking back, she commented, “10
years is a long time. I have recently stepped down
so that the committee can bring in fresh ideas to
bring Singapore standards to the next level.”
Not forgetting her compatriots, “Behind every
success story, there is always a supportive team who
has worked fervently to make this possible. Special
thanks go to the ITSC secretariat.” she reiterated.
SCE
Professor Invited for Talks at Nagoya University and
Tsurumi University
|
| From left: Prof Vilas
Wuwongse (Asian Institute of Technology), Prof
Shin-ichi Hirano (President, Nagoya University),
A/P Lim Ee Peng (SCE, NTU), Prof Yoshito Itoh
(Nagoya University) at IADLC2005 |
SCE’s Head of Information
Systems Associate Professor Lim Ee Peng was invited
by Nagoya University and Tsurumi University to give
talks on digital library research during his trip
to Japan in August 2005. In Nagoya University, he
gave a talk on ‘Web Mining: The Ontology Approach’
during the International Advanced Digital Library
Conference (see http://iadlc.nul.nagoya-u.ac.jp/english/information.html).
In Tsurumi University, A/P
Lim met the University’s President Professor
Keiji Yanagisawa, and other professors from the Department
of Library, Archival and Information Studies. He also
gave a public lecture on ‘The Use of Digital
Libraries in Learning: the G-Portal Experience’.
The two visits to Nagoya University and Tsurumi University
further strengthen SCE’s links with Japanese
universities in digital library research.
SCE
helps to build Vietnam’s 1st Virtual Reality
Lab
 |
| Dean of SCE
A/P Seah (fourth from left) officiated the opening
ceremony of the VR lab |
The School of Computer Engineering (SCE), through
its Centre for Advanced Media Technology (CAMTech)
was handpicked by Professor Le Hai Khoi, Director
of Vietnam’s national research institute, the
Institute of Information Technology (IOIT) as the
technology partner and advisor for Vietnam’s
first virtual reality lab. SCE was selected as the
technology partner and advisor for the planning and
setting up of the IOIT Virtual Reality Laboratory
because of its expertise in virtual reality technology.
The first Virtual Reality Laboratory was opened on
17 May 2005 at the Vietnamese Academy of Science and
Technology.
Centre
of Advanced Media Technology (CAMTech) has developed
an application based on Mixed Reality – the
next-generation technology
The director Assoc Prof Wolfgang
Muller-Wittig, and his team at CAMTech, a research
centre under SCE, have developed an Augmented Reality
Chinese Character Learning system using mixed reality
software to provide 3D pictorial representation of
Chinese characters.
Mixed Reality, seen as the next-generation
technology, enables virtual reality to be fused with
the real world. This software uses a webcam to capture
the image of a Chinese character on a card, processes
the image, and then produces a virtual 3D computer
pictorial representation of the Chinese character
on the card itself. For instance, by picking up the
Chinese character for the word ‘cat’ on
a card, the software is able to display a 3D picture
of a cat alongside the text.
This application will prove
to be useful not only in education, but also in architecture
and tourism. Assoc Prof Muller-Wittig is currently
in dialogue with several schools to explore opportunities
to use this technology to advance teaching methods
in schools.
Gaming
Chair for Physically-Challenged Children
Researchers in gameLAB, SCE and
SMARTLab, UK, have collaborated to build a gaming
chair that enables physically-challenged children
to enjoy computer games. The chair, much like a reclining
dentist’s chair, is equipped with a software
that allows children with limited movements to control
the computer game characters with special gadgets.
These gadgets can be controlled
by the mouth, hands or feet. The chair jolts in different
directions to simulate the movements of the game character,
thereby further enhancing the gaming experience for
the children.
The director of gameLAB, Assoc
Prof Tony Chan, hopes that this invention will bring
joy to these children while they endure long hospital
stays, and hopefully lift their spirits and aid in
their recuperation.
The team is looking into
creating a game called Truth and connecting the system
to the Internet for online gaming.
SCE
helping to Design Vietnam's First Virtual Reality
Laboratory
SCE is helping to design Vietnam's
first virtual reality (VR) laboratory. The laboratory
will be set up at the Vietnamese Academy of Science
and Technology's (VAST) Institute of Information Technology
(IOIT), which is Vietnam's national research institute.
SCE was chosen because of its expertise in virtual
reality technology.
Since January this year, a team
of 10 professors and researchers has been working
with the IOIT to design and set up the laboratory.
The effort included a week-long technical workshop
in March 2004 in Hanoi, during which SCE professors
shared their research findings in VR technology. The
workshop also provided a platform for SCE to showcase
its current research projects.
SCE's Dean Associate Professor
Seah Hock Soon said, "Our School is pleased to share
our expertise in virtual reality research and development
with IOIT, whom we value as a research partner". SCE
will provide human resource training and technical
support to the IOIT after it is set up.
The IOIT Virtual Reality Laboratory
will be equipped with VR technology and applications
that are designed by the SCE team. Equipped with such
capabilities, the laboratory will also be able to
employ virtual reality as a tool for teaching and
education. SCE is now finalizing details for a long-term
collaboration with IOIT, which will begin after the
virtual reality laboratory has been opened in April
2005.
SingAREN
Day
| |
| From left to right:
Prof Lawrence Wong, Executive Director, IIR; A/P
Lee Bu Sung, Francis, Vice Dean (Research), SCE,
NTU and President of SingAREN; Dr. Douglas Van
Houwelling, President & CEO, UCAID, USA; Mr Kees
Neggers, Managing Director, SURFnet, Netherlands;
Dr Tan Geok Leng, Covering Chief Technology Officer,
IDA |
The School of Computer Engineering
(SCE) and Centre for IT Services (CITS) hosted the
Singapore Advanced Research and Education Network
Day (SingAREN Day) on 30 June 2004 at NTU. This year's
SingAREN Day, with the theme of Next Generation Internet,
highlighted new developments in the area of network
infrastructure, applications and technologies. This
inaugural annual event also saw the enhancement of
partnerships between SingAREN and its counterparts
from the USA and the Netherlands with the signing
of new MoUs to further strengthen the relationship
among the parties concerned.
The President of SingAREN, A/P
Lee Bu Sung, Francis, Vice-Dean (Research) of NTU's
School of Computer Engineering, gave a welcome address.
The Guest-of-Honour was Dr Tan Geok Leng, Covering
Chief Technology Officer of Infocomm Development Authority
of Singapore (IDA). Keynote speakers were
- Dr. Douglas Van Houwelling,
President and CEO of University Corporation for
Advanced Internet Development (UCAID) - (Internet2),
USA,
- Mr. Kees Neggers, Managing Director
of SURFnet, Netherlands.
- Mr. Javan Erfanian, IEEE Distinguished
lecturer, Bell Mobility & University of Toronto,
Canada.
Prof Lawrence Wong, Executive Director,
Institute for Infocomm Research (IIR) was also present
at this event.
Other events included VoIP demonstrations
and training, etc. News about internet security, SingAREN,
and Internet2 were telecast on TV (Channel NewsAsia)
on 5 July 2004.
SCE
and NGO won the bid to host CCGrid 2006
A/P Francis Lee [Leader, Network
WG and Vice-Dean(Research), SCE, NTU] and Dr. Lee
Hing Yan [Deputy Director, NGO(National Grid Office)]
made a successful joint bid to host the IEEE/ACM International
Symposium on Cluster Computing & the Grid (CCGrid
2006) in May 2006 in Singapore.
This symposium will serve to:
- promote collaboration
between NGO and NTU
- promote the efforts and activities
of the National Grid
- facilitate networking among
local researchers, other CCGrid participants and
those from the national grid project offices in
other countries. Through these links, they would
be able to follow up and nurture working relationships
for exchange of information on Grid initiatives
and other purposes.
Hosting
of Pacific-Asia Conference on Knowledge Discovery
and Data Mining 2006 (PAKDD2006)
The Pacific-Asia Conference on
Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (PAKDD) is a leading
international conference in the area of data mining.
It provides an international forum for researchers
and industry practitioners to share their new ideas,
original research results and practical development
experiences from all KDD related areas including data
mining, data warehousing, machine learning, databases,
statistics, knowledge acquisition and automatic scientific
discovery, data visualization, causal induction and
knowledge-based systems. In 1997, PAKDD was first
held in Singapore. Since then, the conference has
grown in size and was held in different cities. Recently,
School of Computer Engineering (SCE) of NTU has successfully
bid to host the PAKDD2006 in Singapore to celebrate
its 10th anniversary. Experience of the organizing
committee in organizing conferences of this stature
and its proper representation of both industry and
academia, and suitability of Singapore as an international
hub and its well-connected airport are some of the
major factors that convinced the board of trustees
to decide in favor of NTU. The conference will be
held sometime in April 2006 and the organizing team
includes researchers from NTU, NUS, I2R, and universities
from USA, Japan, China, Canada, and Hong Kong.
Collaboration
with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
has instituted an award for SCE (School of Computer
Engineering) best student (any software subject) and
this will come into effect from 2005. Other arrangements
include: learning opportunities for both SCE students
and TCS associates, recruitment possibilities for
SCE students, and sponsorship for professors from
IISc (Indian Institute of Science) in Bangalore to
visit SCE yearly.
TCS is a leading information technology
consulting, services, and business process outsourcing
organization that is part of the well-known Tata conglomerate
in India.
SCE
Opens up IT Window in Vietnam
|
| SCE Delegation with
Key Members of IOIT VR Lab (Second row from left:
Mr Gerrit Voss, Dr. Le Hai Khoi [Director, IOIT],
Assoc Prof Seah Hock Soon, Assoc Prof Cai Wentong,
and Dr Wolfgang Mueller-Wittig) |
As part of the effort to project
NTU as the Information Technology Hub in the region,
a group of academics from the School of Computer Engineering
(SCE) visited the Institute of Information Technology
(IOIT) in Vietnam from 23 to 26 March. The delegation,
led by the Dean, Assoc Prof Seah Hock Soon, consisted
of Assoc Prof Cai Wentong, Head of Computer Science,
SCE, Dr Wolfgang Mueller-Wittig, Director, CAMTech/SCE
and Mr Gerrit Voss, Project Leader, CAMTech/SCE.
The main objective of the visit
was to harness SCE's IT expertise to set up the first
Virtual Reality (VR) Laboratory in Vietnam and run
a technical workshop on VR including an introductory
tutorial on OpenSG. The workshop also provides a platform
for the SCE dons to showcase their school's current
research projects so as to solicit immediate and long-term
collaborations in teaching and research.
Capitalizing on its strength in
both research and teaching, the School expects to
establish further collaborations with IT institutions
in Vietnam through IOIT. This visit provides a good
opportunity to establish a partnership that synergizes
SCE's IT research expertise and Vietnam's resources.
NTU
welcomes visitors to its shared cyberworld
|
| A/P Alexei Sourin
in the inset of Virtual NTU |
A/P Alexei Sourin and his students
have built a shared cyberworld modelled on the NTU
campus using powerful graphics workstation, advanced
modelling software systems for photorealistic effects
and interactive graphics modelling. Visitors from
both Singapore and abroad, visit Virtual NTU, see
one another, interact and even speak to one another
in a computer-simulated voice. Virtual NTU is planned
for e-learning where students and professors can meet
in the virtual classrooms in a shared cyberworld,
wherever it is that they actually exist in the real
world. The technology can be deployed in the modelling
of realistic harsh and/or dangerous environments for
simulation, training and research purposes. Prof.
Sourin is setting his sights on a shared cyberworld
of Singapore in his next project.
Click here
to visit Virtual NTU
Reported in Lianhe Zaobao dated
5 Feb 2004.
SCE's
Collaborative Project, Large Scale Distributed Simulation
on the Grid, has Garnered Funding from UK Government's
e-Science Programme
| |
|
| A/P Cai Wentong |
A/P Stephen Turner |
In conjunction with Dr Cheok Beng
Teck's (project director) updates on the National
Grid project, A/P Francis Lee Bu Sung, chairman of
NTU's campus grid, has announced the addition of a
new project, Large Scale Distributed Simulation on
the Grid, to harness the vast resources of both the
Singapore National Grid as well as the UK e-Science
Grid.
This project is one of the only
four grid collaborations approved by the UK government's
e-Science programme. This project aims to set up an
international grid infrastructure between the two
countries and bring together a combination of strong
expertise in distributed simulation, grid computing
and agent-based systems between Midlands e-Science
Center of Excellence in Modeling and Analysis of Complex
Systems (MeSC) at the University of Birmingham, UK,
and the Parallel and Distributed Computing Centre
(PDCC), at NTU. It also sets up the basis for a long
term collaboration between the two institutions.
A/P Stephen Turner is heading this
project together with Dr Georgios Theodoropoulos from
University of Birmingham. The other team members include
A/P Cai Wentong, SCE and Dr Brian Logan from the University
of Nottingham.
Reported in Computer Times dated
31 Dec 03.
AI
has improved the Quality of Life but Man still Rules,
at least for the time being
Dr Wlodzislaw Duch, a senior visiting
fellow with SCE and an expert in Artificial Intelligence,
in an interview with Computer Times, acknowledges
that AI has permeated many aspects of our life and
vast improvements in AI research has greatly improved
the quality of our life. However, the machines are
not intelligent enough to replace Man just yet as
they still lack the higher-level cognitive ability
(e.g. to understand complex issues, draw on experience
and background knowledge to solve problems) which
renders Man superior.
Reported in Computer Times dated
26 Nov 2003.
Technological
Collaboration Between NTU BIRC, Genvea Biosciences,
and HP Will Speed Up Research Development in Bioinformatics
| |
| From left to right:
Dr Dadabhai Tagore Singh, Senior Vice President,
Genvea BioSciences Pte Ltd, A/P Seah Hock Soon,
DSCE, Mr Leong Say Haur, General Manager, HP Singapore
(Sales) |
The Bioinformatics Research Centre
(BIRC) of SCE has signed an MOU with Genvea Biosciences
and HP to deploy Genvea's gRNA platform on the BIRC-HP
S$12 million supercomputing cluster. This deployment
adds another dimension to BIRC's supercomputing resources
and complements its existing software infrastructure.
"This collaboration will lead to a shorter turnaround
time needed to translate research results into diagnosis
kits and clinical trials so that the benefits can
reach patients as quickly as possible" said A/P Jagath
Rajapakse, Deputy Director of BIRC in an interview
with NewsRadio.
Reported on MediaCorp NewsRadio
dated 19 Nov 2003.
Grid-enabled
Animation to boost Creativity and Productivity of
Animation Artists
|
|
A/P
Seah Hock Soon |
Ms
Zhang Hai Wen |
A/P Seah Hock Soon, Dean SCE and
his team working at CGIT have developed an application
which allows computers to generate more than half
of all frames needed in any 2-D animation clip. This
greatly reduces the time and labour needed by animation
artists to draw out each and every frame. Said Ms
Zhang Hai Wen, an animation artist at SCE, "All I
need to do now is to draw a few key reference frames
and the computer will take care of the rest."
A/P Seah said the team is currently
working on deploying their application on the National
Grid which will vastly improve the processing time
needed to produce the in-between frames.
Reported by Computer Times dated
5 Nov 2003.
National
Grid Pilot Platform Renders Animation Factory Possible
Dean, SCE, A/P Seah Hock Soon mooted
the idea of an animation factory to tap the national
grid resources. This high speed network that pools
the computing resources of A*STAR research institutions,
NTU and NUS will allow the animation factory to generate
films faster and more efficiently. The IT grid was
launched by Trade and Industry Minister Geroge Yeo
on 1 Nov 2003.
Reported in Sunday Times dated
2 Nov 03.
Renesas
supports R&D work by Centre for High Performance Embedded
Systems, SCE
Japan's largest semiconductor manufacturer,
Renesas Technology Corporation, has launched the T-Engine
Application Development Centre in Singapore. This
new centre is the only other centre in the world outside
Japan and it will support R&D work based on the T-Engine
by CHiPES. "This partnership to promote T-engine not
only complements NTU’s capability in embedded systems
solutions but also enables NTU to act as a technology
resource centre for both local and regional companies
using TRON in their R&D efforts,” said Prof. Seah
Hock Soon, Dean of NTU School of Computer Engineering.
TRON is the real-time operating system nucleus of
T-Engine and was developed by scientists at the University
of Tokyo led by Professor Ken Sakamura. With more
than 1 billion copies in use today, TRON is reportedly
the world’s most commonly used embedded operating
system.
|
|
 |
| Mr Low Hwee Hwa, Renesas
(L), Mr Yamashiro Osamu, Managing Director of
Renesas System Solutions Asia Pte Ltd and Professor
Ken Sakamura, Founder of TRON. |
|
Professor
Ken Sakamura and Prof. Seah Hock Soon, Dean SCE |
Reported in Straits Times dated
31 Oct 03.
A
Businessman - but still in Uni
Adil Ahmad - The Entrepreneur and
the Undergraduate. He is studying Computer Engineering
at NTU but he has opened a café, Puff n Roti, along
North Bridge Road in Sep 03.
Reported in
- New Paper dated 29 Sep
03.
- Straits Time dated Oct
03.
The
Education of NTU Engineers
Computer Engineering degree programme
- The best of two worlds. An amalgamation of computer
science and electronics engineering. CE is more than
the design of computers and their interfaces since
CE and its applications have permeated all aspects
of daily life.
Reported in Today dated 29 Sep
03.
ICT
Industry is still relevant
Good career opportunities are still
available in the infocomm and technology industry.
Reported in Computer Times dated
20 Aug 03.
A
Virtual Warehouse
NTU researchers A/P Francis Lee,
A/P Yeo Chai Kiat and Research Scholar Tang Ming at
SCE are working with researchers from University of
Tennessee in the United States to develop software
tools that will allow users to store and retrieve
data on remote computers anywhere in the world.
|
| NTU Researchers, A/P
Yeo Chai Kiat, Mr Tang Ming, A/P Francis Lee Bu
Sung |
Reported in Computer Times dated
10 Sep 03.
High-speed
network to link research units here and overseas
A/P Francis Lee from SCE is an
expert in grid technology and a member of the task
force set up to make the grid a reality. According
to A/P Lee, the National Grid Pilot Project with a
link of 1 Gbps, is 10 times faster than anything currently
available in Singapore. This will facilitate greater
and speedier collaborations between local research
institutions and their counterparts overseas. In fact,
NTU has already tied up with Britain's University
of Southhamptom to work on complex engineering designs,
a project led by Ast/P Ong Yew Soon of SCE.
Reported in
- Straits Times dated 25 Aug 03.
- Computer Times dated 27
Aug 03.
NTU
to boost pool of experts in 'smart' products
NTU has launched a master's course
(MSc in Embedded Sytems) to meet the demand for talents
in the $95 billion embedded systems market. The course
has met with an overwhelming response with almost
six times more applicants than the expected intake.
|
| Professor Su Guaning,
President NTU and Mr Teo Ming Kian, Chairman EDB
at the MSc Launch |
Reported in Straits Times and Lianhe
Zaobao dated 23 Aug 03.
R&D
Partnership between SCE and Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ:
SUNW) will work with Nanyang Technological University
(NTU) to select a premier Indian university for a
twinning partnership, focussing on using High Performance
and Grid Computing, and E-learning technologies to
drive scientific research and engineering collaboration.
As a further dimension to the longstanding
relationship between Sun and NTU, the rationale for
the twinning project is to leverage existing areas
of collaboration and research with an institute of
higher learning in India. Powered by a S$10 million
collaboration plan, the goal will be the innovative
development of applications and technologies, in areas
such as Digital Signal Processing, Animation, Rendering,
Open Source, etc.
Associate Professor Seah Hock Soon,
Dean, School of Computer Engineering, NTU, explained,
"As an industry partner, Sun has long helped us focus
our research efforts on the cutting edge. This dynamic
and fruitful relationship has led to the setting up
of research bodies such as the Application Service
Provider (ASP) Centre and the Asia Pacific Science
& Technology Centre (APSTC).
Click here
for the full report.
Embedded
ambitions
Singapore is gunning for the US$55
billion ($98 billion) embedded software market with
plans by the Economic Development Board to position
the country as a global centre of excellence for embedded
software technology. To achieve this through partnership
development, EDB has launched the "Embedded in Singapore"
platform.
This comprises various activities and an Internet
portal to bring together hardware and software players
as well as third party developers in companies have
signed up with the portal, including research institutes
such as the Laboratories for Information Technology,
Institute for Communications Research and Centre
for High Performance Embedded Systems.
Click here
for the full report.
NTU
helps Japanese team crunch data
Japanese researchers studying the
complexities of brain disorders and mental illnesses
are tapping Singapore's expertise in using grid technology
to crunch huge amounts of data. The speed-up in result-analysis
time means that doctors will be able to reduce the
anxiety and long wait patients have to put up with
currently.
Reported in Straits Times dated
12 Nov 02.
Singapore
port gets ready for mega container ships
A team of 9 experts from NTU has
helped the port authorities here to come up with a
new operating system for port, quayside and yardsize
operations that will substantially boost the efficiency
of Singapore's port while keeping costs down for shippers.
The project is led by A/P Hsu Wen Jing. The $3-million
research project is being co-funded by the Maritime
and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the Agency
for Science, Technology and Research.
Reported in Straits Times dated
26 Aug 02.
Wanted
here: Experts in bioinformatics
NTU has launched a Master of Science
degree in bioinformatics to up the talent pool in
biology, computing and related fields to meet the
demands of the life-sciences industry. The MSc is
being supported by the Bioinformatics Institute through
a training programme, in partnership with the NUS.
The first cohort comprises close to 100 students.
Reported in Straits Times dated
19 Mar 02.
NTU
to get supercomputer for life sciences
NTU will house one of the world's
top 10 supercomputers, a S$ 12.4 million investment
between NTU and Compaq Computer. This will be devoted
to life-sciences research. According to A/P Chia Tet
Fatt, Director of NTU's Bioinformatics Research Centre
(BRC), the supercomputer will be able to crunch data
that normally takes three days, in half a day. BRC,
which is formally launched on 12 Mar 02, is part of
NTU's plan to be a hub for kife-sciences.
Reported in Straits Times dated
13 Mar 02.
NTU,
police team up to fight cyber crime
School of Computer Engineering,
NTU has partnered the Singapore Police Force in crime-fighting
to keep a step ahead of tech-savvy criminals. The
police force is tapping SCE's expertise in computer
forensics while SCE can have the opportunity to apply
the cutting edge research to solve live cases.
Reported in Straits Times dated
19 Dec 01.
The
2001 ACM Asia Programming Contest
NTU SCE hosted the 2001 ACM Asian
Regional Programming Contest. A total of thirty-seven
teams of undergraduates from around Asia compete against
one another on 30 Nov 2001. They have to tackle a
wide range of challenging problems on the spot , which
included writing programs to encrypt messages so they
can be hacker-proof as well as to compare genetic
sequences from a genome database.
Reported in Straits Times dated
4 Dec 01.
Movers
and Shakers - Arthur Loo
Arthur Loo is the runner-up winner
of the 2001 Phoenix Award. The Phoenix award is conferred
upon businessman who managed to turn their business
from failure into success. Arthur started Cron Computer
School while he was still in the honours year of the
Computer Engineering programme at NTU, juggling research
work, homework and business all at the same time.
He was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1999 after the
dot.com bubble burst but managed to turnaround the
compaby and expects a turnover of $ 4.5 million this
year.
Reported in Straits Times dated
5 Oct 01.
Setting
job security aside to chase a dream
SCE graduates Gabriel Ng Chwee
Hock and Eric Yong Ngai forgo well-paying and relatively
secure jobs with multinational firms to set up their
own software development company.
Reported in Straits Times dated
5 Sep 01.
Meet
the e-teacher
A/P Alexei Sourin who teaches computer
graphics and virtual reality to more than 300 undergraduates,
as well as 30 post-graduate and distance learning
students is one of the pioneers in e-teaching at NTU.
His lectures, handouts and supplementary materials
are all online on the NTU edveNTUre e-learning system.
E-learning has enhanced his accessibility to students
and facilitated timely responses to the students'
queries.
Reported in Computer Times dated
18 Apr 01.
NTU
and MIPT students can obtain Double Masters
NTU and MIPT (Moscow Institute
of Physics and Technology) signed an MOU to enable
exchange of students at each institution to obtain
double Masters degrees on 22 Jan 2001. This is the
first MOU that NTU has with a Russian institution,
that gives local students an opportunity to study
in a world-renowned institution in order to enhance
their learning experience.
For more details, refer to http://www.ntu.edu.sg/home/assourin/MIPT.htm
Reported in
- Lianhe Zaobao dated 23
Jan 01.
- Straits Times dated 24
Jan 01.
The
2000 ACM Asia Programming Contest
NTU SCE hosted the 2000 ACM Asian
Regional Programming Contest, widely described as
the Olympics of Computing. This is the first time
that this annual competition was held in South-East
Asia. Undergraduate programmers from 27 Asian universities
took part in this event which require the teams to
solve 8 programming problems on the spot.
Reported in Straits Times dated
9 Dec 00.
NTU
and MPA in joint effort to develop High Capacity Terminal
Simulation System
NTU and The Maritime and Port Authority
of Singapore (MPA) signed an agreement to jointly
develop a high capacity terminal simulation system
that could be applied to handle mega-container vessels.
The total cost for this project
is estimated to be S$3 million, and will be carried
out in Centre for Advanced Information Systems.
Click here
for the full report.
She's
a Millionaire, even before she graduates
Even before Miss Surachita Mishra
graduated with a second-upper honours in computer
engineering, she has already made her first million
through an Internet shopping company, Buyittogether.com.
In Mar 00, Scandinavian company CoShopper.com paid
S$ 7.6 million for a 51% stake in Buyittogether.com.
Miss Mishra sees a lot of business opportunities in
Singapore. Her advice to undergraduates is to seize
the opportunity.
Reported in Straits Times dated
5 Sep 00.
Promising
Foreign Talent
Foreign talent intake in Computer
Engineering programme is at an all-time high of 40%
of the 550 strong cohort. "Most of them were from
India, China and Indonesia and the large numbers are
a result of the university's efforts at marketing
itself overseas. They came in with good grades and
do well in their final year-end examinations," said
Professor Harcharan Singh, dean, School of Applied
Science.
They showed that they had entrepreneurial
skills as two groups had set up companies after graduation.
One group, under the leadership
of lecturer Prof Chong Man Nang, started Nirvana Digital.
Mr Showbhik Kalra, Mr Amey Laud, and Mr Dilip Krishnan,
all Indian nationals, are now marketing a movie-restoring
computer system.
Another group, Mr Amit Malhotra,
Ms Surachita Mishra and Mr Manik Gupta started IntelliLife
Inc, an electronic services company. IntelliLife is
funded by NTU alumni and technopreneur cum MP for
Ang Mo Kio GRC, Mr Inderjit Singh.
Reported in Straits Times dated
24 Sep 99.
CE
Graduates Turn Entrepreneurs - AudioTRIP Internet
System
One CE Master Graduate (1999),
Leonard Chong Siow Kwang, and another CE Graduate
(1996), Tay Eng Wah have set up a company called AudioTRIP
Internet System in June 1998.
AudioTRIP.com promotes Singapore
(and later Asian) music to the rest of the world through
virtual communities, event promotion and co-sponsorship,
music reviews and later music sales. Music sales would
be done completely through online downloads using
secure encryption technology to reduce the risk of
piracy.
Reported in Lianhe Zaobao dated
June 1999.
Club
for Budding Technopreneurs - Feb 1999
Three budding technopreneurs, Mr
Amit Malhotra, Ms Joysy John and Ms Surachita Mishra
from Computer Engineering course, have formed a club
to help undergraduates with good ideas to find advice,
info and venture capital.
Reported in Straits Times dated
16 Feb 99.
