Prof David Higgitt, Geomorphologist and Professor in the Department of Geography, is the co-guest editor of the latest issue of Innovation, the Singapore Magazine of Research, Technology and Education (Vol.10 No.2, 2011). This special issue on Earth Sciences in Singapore is co-edited by Dr Grahame Oliver, a Geologist from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.  Grahame is now Visiting Senior Fellow in the Department of Geography, where he teaches modules in geology and petroleum geoscience.

Earth Science comprises the four basic sciences of geology, meteorology, oceanography and astronomy. As Prof Higgitt notes, “For much of its history, there has been no formal teaching in earth sciences in Singapore.” However this is all changing with the establishment of the Earth Observatory of Singapore at NTU and the Singapore Geological Office, as well as the reintroduction of Geology to the curriculum at NUS. A Geosciences Minor programme, administered through the Department of Geography, has proved very popular with students.  The current issue of Innovation shows how earth scientists in Singapore are playing key roles in efforts to resolve problems ranging from volcanoes, earthquakes and landslides to floods, tornadoes and cyclones. In August 2012 Singapore will be hosting a major geosciences conference as Asia Oceania Geosciences Society and the American Geophysical Union host a joint assembly.

In related news, Prof Higgitt has recently been elected as the Secretary General of the Asia Oceania Geosciences Society (AOGS), by a vote of 464 to 3. Congratulations from FASS to Prof Higgitt on this remarkable appointment.

Limited copies of Innovation magazine are available in the Geography Department and more on AOGS can be found at: http://www.asiaoceania.org/society/index.asp