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Visit the Tropical Marine Science Institute at St. John's Island
Photos by TMSI, NUS 2002
Join us as we visit the Tropical Marine Science Institute's
coastal research facility at St John's Island on 25 January 2003
(Saturday). Take a comprehensive look at the various types of
marine research as we discover what goes on behind this newly
opened island facility.
The Tropical Marine Science Institute (TMSI) is a new institution
formed within the National University of Singapore (NUS). Since
1950, marine research has been a consistently strong theme at
NUS. The island nation has since developed into one of the world's
busiest ports and continues to look to the sea for economic benefits
and leisure activities. In order to derive maximum synergy of
effort, NUS has drawn together research teams working in marine
science, engineering and information technology, first as a research
initiative in December 1996 and then as the Tropical Marine Science
Institute in April 1998. The TMSI is Singapore's response to a
need for a centre of excellence in tropical marine science.
Southeast Asia is situated in one of the few epicenters of marine
biodiversity but is also an area of rapid economic  growthand
development. The conflict between diverse development interests
and the protection of vast natural resourcesis not easy to resolve.
The present balance is tipped towards a regional decline in fisheries,
depletion of coastal resources, and degradation or marine ecosystems.
Science which ensures sustainable development, or better, ecosystem
restoration, is therefore critical to the optimal utilization
of our marine resources. Singapore is well positioned to contribute
towards developing strategies designed to ensure effective coastal
zone management.
Considerable investment has built a network of scientific and
technical infrastructure essential for successful marine research
and development. Its geographical location affords easy access
to the South China Sea, and the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
The Institute's funding comes from a variety of sources which
enables the TMSI to undertake a wide spectrum of research in tropical
marine science. The major research areas are Marine Information
Technology and the development of a national Marine Database,
Marine Aquaculture, Marine Environmental Management, Marine Biotechnology;
Marine Biology, Mariculture of Edible and Ornamental Species;
Underwater Remote Sensing, Acoustic Research, Dolphin Study Group,
and Oceanography.
Through active collaboration with academic, government and industrial
sectors, TMSI aims to play a strong role in promoting integrated
marine science, in research and development, as well as to establish
itself as a regional and international education and training
centre.
Currently located on the NUS campus, the TMSI has developed coastal
facilities on St. John's Island which have greatly extended its
research and teaching capabilities.
The institute has multi-disciplinary research laboratories and
research programmes with applications which include policy, environmental
and crisis management, primary production and environmental forecasting.
TMSI firmly believes in the strength of cross-disciplinary interaction
to enhance productivity and creativity. Many of the research projects
it undertakes benefit from pooling the skills of scientists and
engineers with diverse backgrounds.
 The
institute gains from close interaction with staff from almost
all faculties of the NUS, and the National Research Centres and
Research Institutes. Building active international links strengthens
the development of TMSI's research programmes.
This multi-skill team approach has proved successful in giving
research at the TMSI a flying start. For this and other reasons,
the TMSI marks a milestone as the first of a new model for research
institutes in Singapore.
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