Former Singapore DPM Professor S Jayakumar and international health leader Professor Victor J Dzau among individuals awarded top NUS honours
Leading academics and researchers to be lauded at 2014 University Awards
The National University of Singapore (NUS) will celebrate the achievements of nine exceptional educators, researchers and professionals at the NUS University Awards, which will be held on 9 May 2014. The annual Awards recognise and honour individuals who have contributed to the University's mission through their exceptional achievements in education, research, and service to Singapore and the community.
Said NUS President Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, “We are truly proud of our 2014 University Award recipients. They stand out as role models of excellence who have made outstanding contributions and served the university and society with passion, energy, and creativity in their respective fields of expertise. Collectively, their achievements will inspire us to scale new heights as NUS strives to be an even more distinguished academic institution. I extend my heartiest congratulations to all our award recipients.”
This year's award categories include the Outstanding Service Award, Emeritus Professorship, Outstanding Educator Award, Outstanding Researcher Award and Young Researcher Award.
Outstanding Service Award
NUS will present the Outstanding Service Award to two recipients in recognition of their exceptional contributions towards the development of the University, Singapore and globally: Professor S Jayakumar, Chairman, NUS Faculty of Law Advisory Council and Chairman, International Advisory Panel of the Centre for International Law; and Professor Victor J. Dzau, Member, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore Governing Board.
Professor S Jayakumar
Prof S Jayakumar, a distinguished academician, lawyer and statesman, is one of the most prominent and influential NUS alumni and faculty members. A graduate of the third cohort (LL.B. '63) of its Faculty of Law, he joined the Law Faculty staff in 1964, rising to become Dean a decade later.
He took leave from 1980 to 2011 in order to enter politics, serving as Minister for Law, Home Affairs, and Labour, as well as holding the positions of Deputy Prime Minister, Senior Minister, and Coordinating Minister for National Security.
Prof Jayakumar returned to the Faculty of Law in October 2011. Waiving any remuneration, he now chairs the NUS Law Advisory Council, serves as Patron to the NUS Centre for International Law (CIL) and chairs its International Advisory Panel. He has also co-chaired major CIL conferences on the South China Sea (2013) and Transboundary Pollution (2014). Recently, the Government appointed him Co-Chair of the International Advisory Panel on Transboundary Pollution.
Prof Jayakumar has played a key role in promoting NUS and its Faculty of Law, especially in the area of international law. His experiences overseeing the Pedra Branca and Reclamation cases before international tribunals motivated him to support the setting up of CIL, which within a short time has become one of Asia's most influential international law centres.
Professor Victor J Dzau
Prof Victor J Dzau is a member of the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore Governing Board, Chancellor for Health Affairs at Duke University and President and Chief Executive Officer of the Duke University Health System. He will become the President of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of the US, effective 1 July 2014.
Prof Dzau has been the initial proponent and force behind the creation of the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore and was the signatory to the historic agreement between Duke and NUS. He has also played a very critical role in shaping the academic medicine partnership between Duke-NUS and the Singapore Health Services.
Prof Dzau is recognised as an international expert and leader on academic health systems, national health policy, health care innovation and global health, and has served as an advisor to universities, corporations and foreign governments. As a researcher, Prof Dzau specialises in cardiovascular translational research and his work has earned numerous awards and recognitions over the years.
Emeritus Professor
NUS will also be conferring the title of Emeritus Professor on four faculty members in recognition of their distinguished scholarship and outstanding service to the University.
The four Emeritus Professors are: Professor Cheong Hin Fatt from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering; Professor P. Gopalakrishnakone from the Department of Anatomy at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine; as well as Professor Doyle G. Graham and Professor Augustus John Rush who are from the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore.
Other Award Recipients
The NUS University Awards 2014 will also recognise the accomplishments of three other outstanding faculty members namely: Assistant Professor Susan Ang from the Department of English Language and Literature at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, who will be receiving the Outstanding Educator Award; Professor Lim Chwee Teck from the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering, who will be receiving the Outstanding Researcher Award; and Assistant Professor Seth Gilbert from the Department of Computer Science at the School of Computing, who will be receiving the Young Researcher Award.
Please refer to Annex 1 for the full list of award recipients, Annex 2 for information on their achievements and Annex 3 for the citations.
