Singapore: Prototype funding

A scientist has discovered a more efficient and cost-effective method of separating water contaminated by emulsified or dissolved oil. Made of ceramic membrane and comprising carbon nanotubes to reduce fouling, the material separates polluted effluents at a much faster rate. 

Such a technology, which would allow reuse of the purified water or enable a cleaner discharge, could potentially lower the cost of treating oil-polluted waters for oil-drilling companies and petroleum plants substantially.

Another university researcher is developing a surgical assessment probe that will enable surgeons to excise breast cancer within a precise margin, thereby helping patients conserve normal breast tissue during breast conserving surgery and reducing the need for corrective operations.

These proposals are among some of the 45 exciting and impactful research projects submitted by the institutes of higher learning (IHLs) under the 8th Proof-of-Concept (POC) Grant Call organised by the National Research Foundation (NRF) in July last year.

Following evaluation by a 22-member panel of experts appointed by NRF, 18 finalists were shortlisted to present their ideas to the judges. Eight research projects were finally recommended to receive the POC awards. Five of the eight awarded projects are in engineering, two in pharmaceutical/biotechnology, and one in medical device technology. 

Awardees will each receive up to $250,000 to demonstrate that their technologies or processes are feasible. They are given 12 months to turn commercialise their ideas.

The project proposals were assessed on a range of criteria such as project scope, innovativeness, technical soundness, market potential, manufacturability and scalability as well as the potential for spin-offs.

Professor Low Teck Seng, Chief Executive Officer of NRF said: "The process of taking technology from the lab to the marketplace is fraught with challenges. The NRF POC scheme makes available funds for researchers so that novel innovative ideas will receive the resources needed to be honed for commercialisation. By seeding many promising ideas, hopefully, we will help grow a critical mass of start-ups, some of which may take off to become global high tech companies in Singapore."
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