Speech by SMS Tan Kiat How at the 12th International Conference on Materials for Advanced Technology

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

1. Good morning. I am delighted to join you at the 12th International Conference on Materials for Advanced Technology or ICMAT in short.

2. ICMAT has established itself as a premier platform for the materials science community. It brings together leading researchers, industry experts, and innovators from around the world. And this is powerfully reflected today – with over 2,000 participants from across the globe joining us at this year's conference.

3. Singapore has long embraced and invested in science, technology and innovation. These have powered successive waves of our economic transformation. In recent years, these efforts have been guided by our Research, Innovation and Enterprise – or RIE – plans. The Government has committed S$28 billion in funding for our RIE2025 plan from 2021 to 2025. And we are currently shaping the next tranche of funding – RIE2030.

4. One key theme has emerged in the past few years of our science, technology and innovation journey. It is about how digital technologies, including AI, are critical in underpinning and accelerating innovation. And through this, they enable real-world impact. AI, in particular, holds tremendous potential for Singapore. It allows us to overcome our constraints as a small, open economy with no natural resources. It enables us to leverage smart tools. It helps us improve our productivity. And it drives innovation.

5. As a general-purpose technology, AI realises its true value when applied across our economy and society. It improves business processes. It transforms operations. And it creates value through new products and solutions. We are already witnessing AI's impact today across multiple domains.

6. Let me share some examples here in Singapore.

   1. In the maritime sector, AI helps us navigate the challenges of increasing port traffic and constrained sea space. It was against this backdrop that MPA launched Singapore's Maritime Digital Twin – enabling AI simulations and optimisation to enhance port safety and operational efficiency.

   2. In healthcare, AI is not just improving frontline service delivery. It is fundamentally changing how we approach patient care, disease diagnosis, and drug development. Consider SELENA+ – the Singapore Eye Lesion Analyser. This deep-learning AI software, developed right here in Singapore, detects threatening eye conditions in diabetic patients with remarkable precision. Today, SELENA+ serves our local healthcare institutions, delivering patient results in minutes – not hours or days.

7. The use of AI in scientific research is already accelerating discoveries. Indeed, we witnessed a milestone just last year. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Dr Demis Hassabis for developing AI models to predict protein structures. What once took years can now be accomplished in days – or even hours.

8. This is why Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced our commitment of $120 million to the new “AI for Science” initiative last year. This initiative focuses on developing AI methods and tools to enhance research productivity across multiple scientific domains.

9. Let me highlight three key aspects of this initiative.

   1. First, it will fund deep collaborations. These collaborations will bring together AI researchers and scientific domain experts. They will focus on areas crucial to Singapore's future – such as advanced materials research and biomedical sciences.

   2. Second, it will support the development of shared AI tools and platforms. These resources will benefit our entire research community.

   3. Third, it will fund bottom-up proposals from our research community.

10. Materials science, in particular, stands ready to be transformed by AI. Traditional methods of discovery and development in this field can take years – even decades. AI can dramatically accelerate this process. It can help us discover new materials for clean energy. It can advance electronics. It can enable sustainable manufacturing. Consider the example of the US Department of Energy's Berkeley National Laboratory's A-Lab. There, AI assesses the real-world viability of potential new materials. It processes 50 to 100 times as many samples as a human in a single day.

11. I am therefore pleased to note that about one-third of proposals received under the first “AI for Science Challenge” grant call focuses on materials science. These proposals are ambitious and forward-looking. They aim to develop AI-driven platforms and methodologies. They seek to accelerate materials discovery and optimisation. Many combine high-throughput experimentation with AI. They bridge the gap between theoretical predictions and real-world material performance.

12. This reflects the keen interest of our materials science research community. It demonstrates their existing strength in adopting AI. Notably, many of these proposals involve international experts. They draw on the expertise of co-investigators and collaborators from around the world. And I strongly believe this collaborative approach is essential. It will enable “AI for Science” to succeed. We need collaboration between AI researchers and domain experts. We need partnerships across research institutions. We need engagement with industry partners. Government agencies can facilitate and support this process.

13. That is why Singapore remains committed to openness. We welcome the global flow and cross-pollination of ideas. We maintain this stance even as the world enters a new era of turbulence. As a small country, we cannot afford to close ourselves off from the world. Our strength lies in being plugged into global innovation networks. We must remain a trusted hub and node. This allows us to translate scientific breakthroughs into practical solutions with real-world impact. Solutions that benefit not just Singapore, but the world.

14. In conclusion, ICMAT continues to serve as a catalyst. It drives international collaboration in materials science. I am confident that the discussions here this week will lead to breakthrough discoveries and many new collaborations. To the materials science research community here today, I extend an invitation: Join us in this exciting journey. Contribute to the “AI for Science” initiative. Do your research in and with Singapore. Help us push the frontiers of innovation in materials science.

15. And with that, I wish everyone a meaningful and productive 12th ICMAT.

16. Thank you very much.