94 AWARDED DEFENCE SCHOLARSHIPS

The effective use of technology is pivotal to the Singapore Armed Forces' (SAF's) capability to defend Singapore - despite its small size. Hence Lieutenant (LTA) (NS) Liau Wei Long chose to take up the Defence Science & Technology Agency (DSTA) - DSO National Laboratories scholarship to pursue a degree in the area of defence technology.

Thinking back, he recalled that his decision to become a defence scientist was made during his full-time National Service (NS) days.

Then-Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant-General (LG) Neo Kian Hong posed him and his fellow officer cadets these questions: How many Regulars do you think are in our SAF? How many servicemen do we have?

And the answers to those questions were what sparked his interest in defence technology.

"LG Neo said.. While Singapore is a small country with limited human resources, the effective use of technology enables our armed forces to be a formidable fighting force," said the 20-year-old who will read aeronautical engineering at Imperial College London.

Said the combat engineer officer who recently completed his NS: "I look forward to putting to use my knowledge and expertise in the aerospace arena, such as how the defence ministry acquired the F-15 and improved it to create the F-15SG."

LTA (NS) Liau was among the 39 scholars who were awarded the DSTA-DSO scholarships to pursue undergraduate studies in areas related to defence technology.

Minister for Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen presented 94 awards at the ceremony held at Orchard Hotel on 24 Jul. Of these, 26 were Postgraduate scholarship awards which will help DSTA and DSO staff to keep pace with the fast-changing landscape of defence science.

3rd Sergeant (3SG) (NS) Cedric Lee, the recipient of the DSO postgraduate scholarship, hopes to improve the surveillance tools of SAF when he returns from his studies.

At Ohio State University, he aims to deepen his research in electromagnetics, an area of study that is fundamental to antenna technology, something which he has been working on as a research engineer in DSO.

The antenna is the "eye" of a radar, without which it cannot function, he explained.

"The area of electromagnetics is very challenging, so...I strongly believe it (the PhD programme) will help in my research work in DSO," said the 28-year-old, who is an infantry specialist.

Dr Ng noted that modern armed forces are dependent on defence scientists and engineers as much as professional soldiers.

"Our run-out date starts the moment we acquire new platforms. So if we want to maintain that technological edge for the SAF, which we have today, we will constantly need men and women like yourselves, who are receiving the scholarships tonight, to explore, adapt and acquire it for military use," he said.

"As DSTA-DSO scholars, you will play a pivotal role in sustaining Singapore's technological edge and breaking new ground in research and development and ensuring that our loved ones are well protected."