On Wednesday 4:15PM, the Chair of the School sent me an email that will change the whole course of my stay in Singapore. It is a sharp turning point, if you will. This was a two-line email, but it was definitely the one that would make me excited for many days. After almost 8 months of screening and debate, the university management has agreed to grant me the inaugural Nanyang Assistant Professorship. It is not about the title, but it is about the amount of start-up grant that comes with it. In principal the university can fund up to S$1M for my work, subject to approval of the final budget. Too bad I do not have more details on this as the time of writing, but it can only be better than now!
I have in the past lamented how slow my research was and was having a second thought about taking up an academic position. With this award, I am all ready to undertake this new endeavor.
Early this year I was turned down for the NRF Research Fellowship when I faced with a group of high caliber and accomplished young researchers who have a long string of credentials to their credit (we are talking about paper in Science/Nature, Patents, Nobel Laureate's advisee, etc). Naturally I was upset and uncertain. With this new support, I am in a more comfortable position to take my research to another height, and hopefully this is a first step towards more grants.
By the way my laptop is in bad condition, I will need to ask for a new one from the school.
Saturday, May 31, 11:34AM
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1 comment:
Yay for Dr Tan! Glad things are picking up, hope you are healthy and all.
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