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Click on each period to read a brief historical review of the Department during that period.
The Raffles College Period (1929 – 1948) Officially the Department of Chemistry started in 1929 with the opening of Raffles College for the teaching of Arts and Science, although chemistry was taught to pre-medical students at the King Edward VII College of Medicine since 1905. Dr G E Brooke delivered the first lecture on chemistry in the College and the teaching of chemistry took place initially in the Government Analyst's offices at Sepoy Lines. Dr C McOwan, who arrived in 1929, was the first Professor of Chemistry and he was joined in 1930 by Mr C T J Owen as lecturer. Dr P Purdie became Professor of Chemistry in 1940 after Professor McOwan resigned. During World War II, Professor Purdie and Mr Owen lost their lives in 1943 and 1945 respectively. In commemoration of Purdie and Owen and three other chemists from the Government Analyst Department who succumbed during the war, the local section of the Royal Institute of Chemistry (RIC) instituted in 1952 a silver Memorial Medal in Chemistry to be awarded annually to an outstanding graduate in Chemistry. This award was superseded by the present Singapore National Institute of Chemistry (SNIC) Gold Medal when the RIC was dissolved in the early 1970s. When Raffles College was reopened in 1946 after the war, Dr M Jamieson and Dr A Jackson of the Government Department of Chemistry (the forerunner of the present Department of Scientific Services) acted as Professor and lecturer respectively. They were assisted by Mr Kiang Ai Kim, Mr A W Burt, Mr A I Biggs, Mr Toh Chin Chye and Mr Chan Chiew Kiat. The University of Malaya Period (1949 – 1962) In 1949 the University of Malaya was formed by the amalgamation of Raffles College and King Edward VII College of Medicine. Professor R A Robinson was instrumental in the rapid expansion and development of the Department. He was assisted by Mr A K Kiang as lecturer and Mr Lim Chin Kuan as Assistant Lecturer. Mr Chan Chieu Kiat, Mr Chia Chwee Leong and Mrs H K Tong were temporary demonstrators then. Staff strength steadily increased with the appointment of the following lecturers over this period: Dr Leong Peng Cheong (1950), Mr M C K Svasti (1950), Dr Rayson R L Huang (1951), Mr R W Green (1951), Dr E N A Sullivan (1954), Dr Ang Kok Peng (1955), Mr Francis Morsingh (1956) and Dr Lee Hiok Huang (1959) In 1959 Professor Robinson resigned and he was conferred the title of Emeritus Professor of Chemistry in recognition of his service. He passed away in 1979 and a Robinson Memorial Lecture was endowed by the Faraday Division of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in 1980 from the proceeds of contributions by Professor Robinson's former students and colleagues. Professor Kiang Ai Kim took over the Chair in 1960, although Dr R L Huang was Acting Head of Department for a few months in the preceding period. At the formation of Raffles College, the Department of Chemistry was housed in the right wing of the Manasseh Meyer Science Building at the Bukit Timah campus. With the rapid increase in enrolment in the early 1950s the Department expanded into the upper left wing of the Manasseh Building and half of the FMS Building by 1953. It also occupied the lower left wing of the Manasseh Building in 1959 wherein was housed the newly established microanalytical laboratory. Total number of students graduated with B Sc(Hons) degree was 91, with M Sc degree was 21 and with Ph D degree was 5 within this 14-years period of the history. The Nanyang University period (1956 – 1979) Department of Chemistry has been one of the major departments since Nanyang University was formed in 1956. During the earlier years, practically all the teaching staff were recruited from either Hong Kong or Taiwan and Professor Wang Yi-San was the Head of Department till he retired in 1963. The return of several alumni who have completed their higher degree from USA slowly replaced the vacancies in staff positions, theseincluded Dr Aw Beng Teck, Dr Chew Chwee Har, Dr Gan Leong Ming, Dr Goh Suat Hong, Dr Koh Lip Lin, Dr Koo Swe Hoo, Dr Lee Hee Khiam, Dr Lee Swee Yong, Dr Mok Chup Yew, Dr Ng Ang Ser and Dr Wong Ming Keong. Since 1968 Dr Mao Tian-Der, Dr Koh L L, Dr Lee S Y and Dr Gan L M have rotated the headship. Professor Kiang Ai Kim took over the headship in 1975 till the total merger to form NUS. By 1977, the Department at Nantah has trained altogether 871 graduates with Bachelor's degree, 76 with Honours degree and 7 with Master's degree. The Department occupied almost the whole ground floor of the main buildings of the College of Science, has seven laboratories for undergraduate teaching, four research laboratories, three equipment-rooms and one glass-blowing workshop. These laboratories are equipped with wide-ranging facilities including specialized equipments such as NMR, IR and UV/Vis spectrophotometers and X-ray diffraction apparatus. Since establishment, the course structure at the Department has been based on a 4 or (3+1)-Year Credit system, it was later switched to a (3+1) Subject system in 1975. The University of Singapore period (1962 – 1979) The University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur was established in 1959, and in 1962 the branch in Singapore was renamed the University of Singapore. A few staff members left the Department to join the new university in Kuala Lumpur. Vacancies in staff positions were increasing filled by local returning scholars who had recently graduated with a PhD degree from British universities. These included Dr Huang Hsing Hua, Dr Tan Eng Liang (the first local Rhodes Scholar) and Dr Sim Keng Yeow. A series of lectures on industrial chemistry was introduced to the Honours students in 1962 and a new course in Applied Chemistry was started in 1963 as a Year III as well as an Honours Year subject. Course work in Applied Chemistry included lectures on industrial management and costing which were given by some members of the Department of Business Administration. Lectures on other specialized topics were given by part-time lecturers from industry. Professor F H C Kelly, the first Professor of Applied Chemistry, was appointed in 1968 to take charge of the Applied Chemistry section of the Department. In April 1975 the Applied Chemistry section formally became the Department of Chemical Engineering within the Science Faculty. It was not until 1980 that this new Department was transferred to the Faculty of Engineering. During this period, the Department also saw a steady increase in staff numbers for the traditional chemistry section. From mid-1960 to the beginning of the 1970s there was almost one new appointment every year. These new staff included Dr Yeo Ning Hong who joined in 1971. Professor Kiang Ai Kim retired in 1971 and was conferred the Emeritus Professorship. He was succeeded by Associate Professor Ang Kok Peng who had just returned to the Department after his stint as Singapore's ambassador to Japan since 1967. Shortly after assuming the headship he was appointed as Minister of State for Communications and later also as Minister of State for Health. During his absence from 1972 to 1975 A/P Lee Hiok Huang, who rejoined the Department from the University of Malaya, became Head of Department. The total number of chemistry students was also increasing rapidly, such that the Year I practical classes had to be repeated four times and Year II classes duplicated. A new building called the Science Tower was thus allocated to the department. This ten-storey building, reputed to be the tallest university structure in Asia at that time, was officially opened by Mr Lee Kuan Yew, the then Prime Minister of Singapore on Friday, 1 July 1966. With a total floor area of about 6500 sq. m, it had rooms and laboratories for 20 academic staff, all the teaching laboratories, student research laboratories, microanalytical laboratory, glass blower's room, chemical stores and workshop. A Dexion hut, which was left behind by the Engineering Faculty on its removal to Kuala Lumpur was converted into a chemical technology laboratory and workshop. In records, a total of 249 students graduated with Honours degree, 24 with M Sc degree and 10 with Ph D degree within this period in the history of the Department. Joint Campus Period (1979 - 1980) This brief period was a prelude to the merger of the University of Singapore and the Nanyang University into a single university. Initially some staff from the Department gave part-time lectures to chemistry students in Nanyang University and the Nanyang staff reciprocated by giving some courses to students in the University of Singapore. Later the two universities merged and chemistry staff from Nanyang University moved into the Bukit Timah campus. The National University of Singapore Period (1980 - Present) With the complete merger between the Nanyang University and the University of Singapore to form the National University of Singapore in 1980, the Bukit Timah campus was too small to accommodate the combined staff of 23 members and the expected increase in student population. In June 1981, the Science Faculty moved to Kent Ridge. This began a period of rapid growth both for the University and the Department of Chemistry. New staff members, both academic and non-academic, now numbering about a hundred, were recruited to meet the increasing student population. Professor Ang Kok Peng was the Head of Department until he retired in 1988. He passed away in 1997 and the Ang Kok Peng Memorial Fund was established to honour the memory of him. This fund is used to support educational programmes and activities for the development of chemistry in the country. A/P Sim Keng Yeow, Professor Lee Soo Ying, A/P Lai Yee Hing have taken up the headship since then, with A/P Andy Hor presently the head of department. Parallel with the rapid expansion in students, staff and available teaching and research facilities, the Department is increasingly focusing its attention towards avenues that would promote excellence both in teaching and research. Between 1980-94, an Industrial Chemistry course (Chemistry B) was introduced to the final year students to meet the increasing demand from industry for our graduates with wider applied chemistry background. The introduction of the Direct Honours programme was yet another innovation to cater for exceptional students who receive their Honours degree in three years. In 1994, all department in the Faculty switched to the Modular System to permit students to proceed at a pace compatible with their needs. All courses and laboratories in the Department were thus reorganized into categories of essential, elective or enrichment modules.
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