LUMEN Issue 15 - June 2018 | Page 17

outstanding academic achievements of Singaporean students in Mathematics and Physics from IP Year 3 to Year 6 . They are : Tan Cheng Yong Enzo ( FN401 ) ( Mathematics ), Goh Kai Jian ( MN402 ) ( Physics ), Sim Yung Ern Nicholas ( TG506 ) ( Mathematics ), Wong Xing Hui Bertrand ( TG515 ) ( Physics ), Samuel Murugasu ( TG609 ) ( Mathematics ), Lee Rui Zhe ( TG611 ) ( Physics ), Yap Zhan Hao Sean ( Class of 2017 ) ( Mathematics ) and Siow Wen Jie Andrew ( Class of 2017 ) ( Physics ).
Research @ YDSP

Research @ YDSP is a 4-month research attachment programme for IP4 to IP5 students aged 16 to 17- year old . The programme offers students the opportunities to experience research work and work alongside engineers and scientists in a real research environment with support from partners such as DSO , Centre for Strategic Infocomm Technologies ( CSIT ), Temasek Labs ( TLs ), NTU , NUS , SUTD and their research institutes .

Ryan Karthik Pary ( TG507 ) and Johanna Lim Ziyun ( TG604 ) participated in this research programme , and reflected on their learning journeys :

Johanna Lim : “ Research @ YDSP has been a fulfilling experience . It allowed me to fuel my passion for scientific study and enabled me to understand the pains and troubles researchers have to go through to achieve their desired result . During the December holidays , I was posted to Nanyang Technological University , School of Mechanical Engineering to work on the project : Microparticle Manipulation in the Microchannel by Surface Acoustic Wave . The aim was to enable the separation between the 1 µ m and 4 µ m particle , which modelled separating cancer and normal cells in the human body . Despite many setbacks faced - especially to obtain a clear line where the particles would flow out of the two outlets to ensure greater separation efficiency , we were able to troubleshoot the problems by reconnecting the microchannel to the IDT . This process usually took about 1 hour as we had to clean and re-glue the microchannel and sometimes , even the existing microchannel had to be changed . Hence , we would need to cut it up from a mould for future use . All in all , we were able to attain a separation efficiency of 74.5 % to 85.5 % - this was calculated by a 30-frame analysis of the particles exiting the channel . Through this journey , I have grown as a person as I was able to manage my time in spite of the pressing deadlines . Prior to that , I was also able to put in my best effort to complete this project ; while working effectively with my partner to delegate the work . I am thankful for being given this opportunity to showcase my potential and passion in the field of Physics . This could not have been

“ possible without the help of my supervisor , Mr Yannapol and my mentor , Dr Zhou Yufeng ; along with NTU and SJI ’ s support , coupled with my partner , Lim Ze Ying ’ s contributions towards this entire experimentation process .”

Ryan Karthik Pary : “ My experience of the programme began with a simple interview , which guided me in finding my passion for the sciences and trying to understand my prior experience and knowledge with the field of robotics . To say I knew little then would now be an understatement , as I have now come to appreciate the vastness of the singular field that is robotics . Robotics had been a passion of mine since young , and I wanted to develop it , by looking at robotics from a unique angle of defense science applications .
I had the pleasure of attending both the course introductory session known as the World of Science ( WOS ) module and the report writing , and investigative process known as the Research @ YDSP . In both modules , I was greeted by kind and understanding mentors , who guided me to comprehend the technicalities of robotics , giving me a first-hand account by allowing me to interact with the pieces of equipment that when assembled together would be a robot .
The modules primarily touched on the usage of the microprocessor Arduino and learning the coding software needed to run it . The learning curve was steep for someone like me who did not have any prior knowledge of the software or its punishing syntax rules . It was not all pain and suffering , as I was able to draw on the support of other like-minded students , some who had more experience in coding , some in robotic manufacture and others in the theory .
The combination of practical application , comfortable learning environment as well as the nurturing mentors of the YDSP program have impressed upon me to become a more avid in the pursuit of scientific knowledge . Without any qualms , I

PROGRAMMES | LUMEN
would declare that the experience of learning at the YDSP has been the most fruitful in developing my interest and developing my skills and expertise in the field .”
NTU - Nanyang Research Project

Two Secondary 4 students - Christian Asher Widjaja ( MN402 ) and Samuel Tan Kai Yan ( FN401 ) - presented their project at the Nanyang Research Project ( NRP ) symposium at Nanyang Technological University :

“ Our project was about how microclimates affects our productivity . As the pioneer batch of Josephians embarking on this research project , it was a long but enjoyable experience . Surely it came with some fair challenges as well .
Our research was conducted by the placement of sensors at our respective working stations - the places where we would usually study at home . Whenever we started doing our work , we turned the sensors on and it would record the different variables , such as temperature , humidity , atmospheric pressure . After every work session , we would then record our productivity on a scale of 1 to 10 . The data was collected for about 4 months , after which we analyzed the data , and matched them with the literary reviews that were done before the data collection .
There were many challenges during the process . The main challenge was the fact that our productivity scale was relative to each of us . The extreme ends of the scale was easy to define , however those in-between were not clearly defined , and were relative to our judgements . Secondly , the sensors occasionally had glitches during the data collection periods , voiding all data collected during that time span as it would have been inaccurate .
Throughout the course of this project , it has been our pleasure to work with the professors , who were kind enough to give up their free time to guide us and offer us help whenever we needed it .”
This page ( top ): Johanna ( left ) pictured with her teammate Ze Ying
This page ( centre ): Ryan , pictured on extreme right , with his teammate Avellin Wong ( left ) from Raffles Girls ' School and their mentors
This page ( bottom right ): Christian and Samuel at the NRP Symposium
15