History of SPS
Interview with NUS President, Prof Tan Eng Chye, one of the founding members of SPS.
SPS Archive (SPSarc)
SPS has a long history since its founding in 1996 and has produced many successful individuals who go on to excel in the paths they have chosen even after their time in SPS. During our time in SPS, we have written numerous reports, presented on many topics that we are passionate about and participated in many fun events organized by the SPS committee and Head Mentors.
In this transitionary period to the College of Humanities and Sciences, SPS will also likely face many big changes to the curriculum and pedagogy. But what will never change is the spirit of our community, driven by our shared interest in scientific research.
As such, we are keeping a digital archive of everything that makes up SPS. Our students’ work, accomplishments, photos of past events that highlight the life in SPS and much more. This way, we make sure the pieces of the history of SPS will be preserved for future generations to see.
SPS courses before CHS
Discovering Science
Atoms to Molecules
The Cell
Integrated Science Projects
The Earth
The Universe
Discovering Science
SP2171: Discovering Science (referred to as 71) was one of the core SPS courses. It has been designed to equip students with several essential skills that good scientists should possess and master.
Not everyone who joins SPS will go into research or stay in academia and 71 was set up so that primary skills learnt in this course are readily transferable to other real life settings.
The end goal of 71 is a written report and oral viva, where students present the results of their literature review. They will then have to defend the proposed ideas in their report in front of a panel of examiners from different subject expertise backgrounds during the viva.
Atoms to Molecules
SP2173: Atoms to Molecules (A2M) was the first of four (A2M, The Cell, The Earth and The Universe) thematic courses of the integrated science curriculum at SPS. All these courses cut across the traditional boundaries between the disciplines of Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry and Biology.
A2M takes students from an understanding of the Physicists’ atom to its extension, the Chemists’ molecules, thereby setting the stage for The Cell. The course covered the quantum theory that rules the atomic world, and built up to discuss entropy and more macroscopic features that we observe in everyday life.
The Cell
SP2174: The Cell uses simple bacteria as the model organism and explored key chemical and physical principles underlying several biological processes.
Students had the opportunity to work in a biological learning lab mentored by SPS seniors, where they engineered cells and observed the gene expressions and presented on their findings.
The final project is a experiment where students make use of Physarum Polycephalum, commonly known as the slime mold, to perform a research project by exploiting its unique mechanism of chemotaxis.
Integrated Science Projects
SP3172: Integrated Science Projects is part of SPS’s vision of nurturing budding scientists, gives students a head-start in research opportunities and a chance to plan, execute and analyse their research projects.
The module serves as a continuation from SP2171. Students translate insights from their literature review into actual research projects with laboratories, where the learning is facilitated by lab mentors and senior SPS mentors.
Students would have to create a scientific poster and also present their work in a public setting during the SPS final congress.
The Earth
SP3175: The Earth was the third course of the thematic SPS modules. It uses our planet Earth as a framework to explore how interconnected feedback mechanisms interact to keep the whole system up and running.
Mathematical and computational modelling methods were used to analyse how these systems work, the latter of which employs Python.
The highlight of the course was a field trip where students experienced field work first hand while attempting to answer a self-designed ecology research question.
The Universe
SP3176: The Universe is the final thematic SPS course. Here, students learn about the developments in theoretical and observational cosmology, starting from Newtonian cosmology, Hubble’s observations, the Big Bang, formation of stars and black holes to ideas in the origin and fate of the Universe.
As part of the coursework, students have the chance to learn about the stars through the use of software and an actual telescope to see the night sky.
The finals is a written test where students have to apply the equations learnt in class to simple problems from actual space research papers.