Heads of Department of Physics, MUS (1929 – present)The National Science and Technology Board (NSTB) launched the first national technology plan (NTP) in September 1991. Focusing on economically driven R&D, the government allocated S$2 billion for the five-year plan which served as the blueprint for R&D development in nine sectors: information technology; microelectronics; electronic systems; manufacturing technology; materials technology; energy, water, environment and resources; food and agrotechnology; biotechnology; and medical sciences.
The Department of Physics underwent major expansion in its research facilities during this period. Major facilities and centres that were set up included the van de Graff accelerator (Box Story 1), the Surface Science Laboratory (Box Story 2), the Centre for Superconducting and Magnetic Materials (Box Story 3); the Centre for Quantum Technologies (Box Story 4), and most recently the Centre for Advanced 2D Materials (Box Story 5).
The department further expanded to about 60 academic staff and 45 technical and office staff by the end of 2015. With the increased investment in research funding and strategic hiring of high quality academic staff over the past two decades, the quality and quantity of physics research has rapidly increased too. This is reflected in various publications, citations and ranking indicators. For example, the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2015 for “Physics & Astronomy” saw NUS ranked 23rd in the world.