Industry Collaborations
NERI recognizes the importance of collaboration between university and industries in skills development (education and training), the generation, acquisition, and adoption of knowledge (innovation and technology transfer), and the promotion of entrepreneurship (start-ups and spin-offs). Additionally, such collaborations also expand the relevance of research carried out by the university.
Some of our collaborators/partners include:
NERI Agilent Environment Research Alliance (NAERA)
NERI and Agilent Technologies have collaborated to equip a part of NERI's new research laboratories with instruments for environmental research. These include chemical, bioanalytical, and electrical measurement instrumentation. Under the NERI Agilent Environmental Research Alliance, the parties will also work closely on joint seminars, manpower development and training, as well as scientific publications on environmental topics. New and novel biological and analytical methodologies resulting from this partnership will be further developed into joint R&D projects.
NERI GE Master Research Collaboration Framework
collaborates with the GE Singapore Water Technology Centre at NUS on research on water treatment processes, joint seminars, and development of student training programmes. This Technology Centre helps to develop advanced water technologies to address environmental and water challenges faced by the world.
NERI collaborates with Lab Science Solution to promote research on areas of metabolomics, chemical analysis and emerging contaminants. Lab Science Solution, the exclusive distributor of Bruker mass spectrometers, has provided NERI with a Bruker gas chromatography triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer and relevant data analysis software that has allowed NERI faculty and staff on the targeted screening of volatile compounds in the above three areas.
NUSDeltares Alliance brings together the best minds from two leading institutions — the National University of Singapore and leading Dutch applied research institute Deltares — to address the most pressing water and soil issues confronting the world today. The Alliance offers high-impact contract research and specialist consultancy services to help governments, businesses and communities make vital decisions on these important issues.
Singapore-based Shimadzu (Asia Pacific) and NERI have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, designed to further strengthen our collaborative efforts on environmental research. Shimadzu, a global leader in the manufacturing of analytical instruments will be contributing instruments such as a Mass Spectrometric (MS) system that can be used for microorganism analysis and identification and a Triple-Quadrupole Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometer (GCMS-TQ) for trace analysis of environmental contaminants during the initial phase. These instruments allow for quick identification and quantitation of volatile metabolites and microorganisms in the various environmental samples, which is key in investigating and understanding the relationship between these metabolites, microorganisms and the environment.
Additionally, NERI and Shimadzu will develop and apply fully automated and solvent-minimised sample preparation procedures that have been integrated with mass spectrometry for water quality monitoring. This analytical platform can be operated on site with minimal human intervention.
These instruments are housed under a joint facility called the NUS-Shimadzu Advanced Facility for Ecoanalytics (NUSAFE) at NERI will further enhance our laboratory’s analytical capability and advance our environmental research.
NERI Thermo Fisher Scientific Collaboration on Metabolomics Study of Urban Water Systems
This collaboration focuses on the study of how metabolism in plants and bacteria affects water quality and the ecosystem in and around Singapore. Researchers from NERI and the Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering (SCELSE), an interdisciplinary Research Centre of Excellence (RCE), funded by the National Research Foundation, Singapore Ministry of Education, NUS and Nanyang Technological University, will examine how metabolomes (all the metabolites present in an organism at a given time) relate to the functioning of microbes in the urban water cycle. The team will employ a wide range of analytical tools including state-of-the-art liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC-MS) systems to identify and measure metabolites in samples. One of the goals is to better understand and enhance the self-purification capacity of urban waterways that use natural processes to reduce or remove nutrient and contaminant loads in surface water. Another goal is to understand the metabolic basis of wastewater purification in order to improve the processes involved.
NERI and Waters Technologies Corporation collaborate under a research framework relating to Environmental Microbial Metabolomics. To support this collaboration, Waters Technologies has contributed a Waters Synapt G2-S HDMS mass spectrometer and beta data analysis software. Waters Technologies Corporation has also co-organized with NERI and participated actively in training programs, seminars, research projects and workshops to encourage networking between academia and industry partners and stimulate sharing of ongoing research in the field of metabolomics.