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Research is a journey, often without a defined end. Yet with every project, more questions get uncovered and that can open up new fields and new methods and lead to potentially great rewards. Judith Tan speaks to three award-winning scientists and a five-star research team about what keeps them going. Professor Wang Rong (right) and Dr Chen Yunfeng of NTU with their specially developed hollow-fibre membranes. SINGAPORE – She dedicated the past 15 years to perfecting the filter membrane she pioneered for use in water reclamation projects in Singapore and adapting it for commercialisation. Today, Professor Wang Rong, 61, is reaping the spoils of her dedication, as her “baby” is used not only in water reclamation but also in the pharmaceutical and food and beverage industries. She first developed a protein-based membrane in 2012 that could be used for desalination, water reclamation and wastewater treatment, as well as liquid purification and gas separation. This membrane’s water permeability was about 40 per cent better than that of conventional membranes, and plants that use it benefit from about 25 per cent in energy savings. She went on to produce an improved bio-programmable hollow-fibre reverse osmosis membrane in 2018 that is now used at Newater’s four plants, where used water is reclaimed as ultra-clean water to improve the Republic’s water sustainability. This membrane is made of fibres with microscopic pores that allow water to pass through while blocking contaminants, and enzymes were used to make it more permeable to water. Using it helps lower operating pressures and can even halve the energy needed for pumping. “I knew the industry needed to pick this technology up,” she said. The membrane took Prof Wang and her team six years to develop, and put them at the forefront of novel hybrid membrane system development. This technology has been licensed to her spin-off company, H2MO Technology, since 2020. For her outstanding contributions to the field of membrane science and technology, Prof Wang was given the President’s Technology Award in 2022. The road to success was paved with years of passion, patience and persistence on her part. Her team spent over 10 years on just one technology, she noted. “I know the younger generations want to succeed, and they want to do it quickly.” But there is no such thing as “instant noodles” in research, said the renowned scientist and academic, who is also the director of the Singapore Membrane Technology Centre. The centre is under NTU’s Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute (Newri), which collaborates with industries and governments to create solutions for water treatment, waste management and resource recovery. “We need to always remind our researchers to be patient and be persistent. “They must understand that it is almost impossible to get big results for research overnight,” Prof Wang said. A scientist who jumps from one hot topic to another would not be able to do research “deep enough to push the real stuff out”. Stressing the importance of having a passion for research, she added: “I tell my students and the staff that if they chose research as a career, they should ask themselves whether they did it for themselves or for their parents. “If they are doing it for themselves, then they would be able to go through many of its challenging issues.” The team later discovered that this membrane can also be tailored for other types of water purification processes applicable to food and pharmaceutical manufacturing, to better preserve flavours and nutrients. There was also interest from China in the new membrane, so the team developed new applications for it, such as to concentrate amino acids at scale for pharmaceuticals. What Prof Wang was extremely proud of was the fact that her researchers from NTU joined H2MO when it scaled up and moved its production of membranes to China in 2021. One even became the firm’s chief technology officer. Today, H2MO has offices and research centres in both Singapore and China focusing on the commercialisation of the hollow-fibre bio-programmable membrane technology. The firm has started mass production of the membrane, and also has clients in the Middle East. “As a technology inventor, I hope my inventions in the lab can be used in the real world. “That has always been my sense of achievement,” Prof Wang said. “Singapore is the best place to do this technology innovation and then take it to the marketplace, because there is lots of funding support from the Government, agencies, the university. “I feel very lucky, as not everyone has the opportunity to do a small part in the laboratory and finally make it workable for the community, for the world.” Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads. Read 3 articles and stand to win rewards Spin the wheel now

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Marjorie Taylor Greene Threatens Violent Action Against New Jersey Drones: 'I'll Shoot the Drones Down Myself'The list of President-elect Donald Trump's legal cases is shrinking — or being delayed. On Monday, Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a motion to dismiss the Washington, D.C. election subversion case. He also asked a federal appeals court to stop reviewing the classified documents case in Florida. On Tuesday, that court granted dismissal of the case against Trump — though not against other appellees. In dismissing the cases, the Special Counsel cited the Department of Justice's long-standing policy of not prosecuting sitting presidents. "After careful consideration, the Department has determined that OLC's prior opinions concerning the Constitution's prohibition on federal indictment and prosecution of a sitting President apply to this situation and that as a result this prosecution must be dismissed before the defendant is inaugurated," Smith wrote in his court filing regarding the election subversion case. "We've used the word unprecedented a lot over the course of the last four years, and yet again this is something that is unprecedented, and Smith himself said this in his motion," former state and federal prosecutor David S. Weinstein told Scripps News. "He took great detail to point out that this was not based on the strength or weakness of the case." In a post on Truth Social , Trump said in part "These cases, like all of the other cases I have been forced to go through, are empty and lawless." RELATED STORY | Special counsel evaluating how to wind down federal cases against Trump Earlier this year, Trump faced four on-going criminal cases. He was convicted in his New York hush money case in May, but sentencing — which was scheduled for this week — has been delayed . After Smith's actions Monday, Trump now faces only the Georgia election interference case. In Georgia, Trump was indicted along with 18 allies, accused of trying to overturn the 2020 election results in the state. But that case is now on hold after the state appeals court unexpectedly removed a December hearing from its calendar. That court will issue a new order on how this case will move forward, but with less than two months before the inauguration, the future of the Georgia and New York hush money cases are still being decided. "The two state cases are likely to recede into the background — at best," former Department of Justice attorney and current partner at Gelber, Schachter & Greenberg, Barbara Llanes, told Scripps News. "We probably won't hear much about these cases following the inauguration of President-elect Trump." Defense attorneys for Trump believe his election victory is enough for the hush money case to be dismissed. They need to file a motion by Dec. 2 making that argument. Then prosecutors have until Dec. 9 to file a rebuttal. They still believe Trump should be sentenced — even if it's after he leaves office. Judge Juan Merchan will then make a decision on how this case should move forward. There's no set date on exactly when he will make that decision.

Goldman Sachs logo / Yonhap By Lee Kyung-min Korea will experience persistent volatile trading conditions in the near term, hamstrung by potential downside risks to earnings and policy uncertainty domestically and globally, a Goldman Sachs report said Wednesday. However, Korean equities remain attractive, due in large part to overall low valuation. Also favorable are the opposition party-driven re-rating of Korea’s stock market, as evidenced by the Corporate Value-up drive and related bills. Recent waves of legislative efforts to revise the Capital Markets Act and the Commercial Act will guide more firms to make shareholder-friendly decisions. Whether the recently heightened political uncertainty from the martial law fiasco will lead to wider volatility remains to be seen. For context, neither impeachments of the country’s two former presidents – Roh Moo-hyun in 2004 and Park Geun-hye in 2016 – triggered strong foreign outflows. Read More Weak exports, resulting delays in investments to slash 2025 growth: Goldman Sachs BOK surprises with key rate cut amid economic slowdown, weak exports Yen carry trade reverses to heighten stock market volatility Korean won plunges, bitcoin rallies on Trump victory “The macro backdrop looks more challenging for Korea going into 2025,” the report said. Chief among the headwinds are the global dominance of a strong U.S. dollar, high long-term interest rates, and tariff uncertainties. The Korean economy is expected to slow due to weakening growth in both exports and industrial production. “Korea’s earnings downgrades cycle could persist given sustained weak export growth and declining DRAM prices. Thus, the fundamental backdrop looks unlikely to improve at the moment given potentially higher economic policy uncertainties. These assessments and our outlook have met with broad agreement in recent conversations with domestic investors." Nonetheless, market conditions are improving, as indicated by bipartisan legislative efforts to strengthen shareholder rights and improve corporate governance, it added. “We believe disclosure of treasury shareholdings and enhancing the fiduciary duty of board members will help balance the interests of ordinary shareholders and corporations.” Read More Korean financial market endures fallout from short-lived martial law fiasco Martial law fallout to add to uncertainty in FX market High exchange rate pressure caused by martial law creates headwinds for Korean airlines Martial law affects banks' resilience amid exchange rate woes The report noted that equity market volatility increased in the lead-up to the impeachment votes of the two former presidents but rebounded afterward. The KOSPI index rally continued after Park’s impeachment, propelling a gain of over 20 percent in the six months after the vote. In the case of Roh, the benchmark index fell over 20 percent after an initial rebound. “Neither impeachment event drove strong foreign outflows, although there were tactical outflows around the actual key event dates, such as the parliamentary vote and the constitutional court decisions.” Beyond these market and portfolio flow observations, Korea’s impeachment process led to higher economic policy uncertainty. “The market volatility is likely to remain elevated into a potential impeachment vote, and both domestic policy uncertainty and the broader macro backdrop will likely influence market developments.”