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  • Home
  • About RSIS
      • Introduction
      • Building the Foundations
      • Welcome Message
      • Board of Governors
      • Staff Profiles
        • Executive Deputy Chairman’s Office
        • Dean’s Office
        • Management
        • Distinguished Fellows
        • Faculty and Research
        • Associate Research Fellows, Senior Analysts and Research Analysts
        • Visiting Fellows
        • Adjunct Fellows
        • Administrative Staff
      • Honours and Awards for RSIS Staff and Students
      • RSIS Endowment Fund
      • Endowed Professorships
      • Career Opportunities
      • Getting to RSIS
  • Research
      • Research Centres
        • Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS)
        • Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS Centre)
        • Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS)
        • Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS)
        • International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research (ICPVTR)
      • Research Programmes
        • National Security Studies Programme (NSSP)
        • Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SRP) Programme
      • [email protected] Newsletter
      • Other Research
        • Future Issues And Technology (FIT)
        • Science and Technology Studies Programme (STSP) (2017-2020)
  • Graduate Education
      • Graduate Programmes Office
      • Overview
      • MSc (Asian Studies)
      • MSc (International Political Economy)
      • MSc (International Relations)
      • MSc (Strategic Studies)
      • NTU-Warwick Double Masters Programme
      • PhD Programme
      • Exchange Partners and Programmes
      • How to Apply
      • Financial Assistance
      • Meet the Admissions Team: Information Sessions and other events
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      • Alumni
      • Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior Military Officers (APPSMO)
      • Asia-Pacific Programme for Senior National Security Officers (APPSNO)
      • SRP Executive Programme
      • Terrorism Analyst Training Course (TATC)
  • Publications
      • RSIS Publications
        • Annual Reviews
        • Books
        • Bulletins and Newsletters
        • Commentaries
        • Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses
        • Commemorative / Event Reports
        • IDSS Paper
        • Interreligious Relations
        • Monographs
        • NTS Insight
        • Policy Reports
        • Working Papers
        • RSIS Publications for the Year
      • Glossary of Abbreviations
      • External Publications
        • Authored Books
        • Journal Articles
        • Edited Books
        • Chapters in Edited Books
        • Policy Reports
        • Working Papers
        • Op-Eds
        • External Publications for the Year
      • Policy-relevant Articles Given RSIS Award
  • Media
      • Great Powers
      • Sustainable Security
      • Other Resource Pages
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    • RSIS
    • Publication
    • RSIS Publications
    • Science, Technology and Security Research: The Potential Role of Think Tanks like RSIS
    • Annual Reviews
    • Books
    • Bulletins and Newsletters
    • Commentaries
    • Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses
    • Commemorative / Event Reports
    • IDSS Paper
    • Interreligious Relations
    • Monographs
    • NTS Insight
    • Policy Reports
    • Working Papers
    • RSIS Publications for the Year

    Science, Technology and Security Research: The Potential Role of Think Tanks like RSIS
    Cung Vu

    13 February 2018

    download pdf

    Introduction

    Science and technology (S&T) is essential to the development of human civilisation. From ancient times, people have learned by observation and trial and error, and this is the heart of the scientific discipline. They learned that every plant has the ability to reproduce for crop cultivation, allowing them to end their hunting-for-food nomadic life and switch to settled communities. They planted wheat and barley, which can be used to make porridge, bread, and beer. They learned to extract metal from ores to produce tools. They domesticated cattle for farming. Their inventions and discoveries, ranging from the wheel, paper-making, silk harvesting, and the clock, to abstract mathematical concepts such as algebra and arithmetic are still being utilised today.

    S&T has helped countries to develop and maintain their powerful positions on the world stage. For instance, in the United Kingdom, various discoveries such as that of gravity by Isaac Newton, evolution by Charles Darwin, hydrogen by Henry Cavendish, penicillin by Alexander Fleming, and DNA by Francis Crick have made the country one of the most powerful in the world. Today, the British company Rolls Royce is still the leading player in the aerospace industry, while GlaxoSmithKline is among the top pharmaceutical companies in the world. Another example is the United States, which leveraged S&T to become the superpower it is today. Towards the end of World War 2, the United States created many organisations, such as the National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, and many others to foster scientific research and development at the federal level. As a result of these efforts, we are now reaping the benefits of the computer, the Internet, the global positioning system, the smart phone, and artificial intelligence, among others.

    Currently, everyday services such as healthcare (vaccines, drugs, diagnostic and therapeutic treatments), finance (business transactions, banking), transportation, and utilities, to name just a few, are all dependent on information and communication technology (ICT). In the future, there will be many challenges, including new infectious diseases, food, water, energy and environmental crises, cyberattacks, as well as terrorism, all of which need innovative solutions. S&T will play an important role in addressing these challenges.

    Categories: Policy Reports / General / Global / Southeast Asia and ASEAN

    Last updated on 20/02/2018

    Introduction

    Science and technology (S&T) is essential to the development of human civilisation. From ancient times, people have learned by observation and trial and error, and this is the heart of the scientific discipline. They learned that every plant has the ability to reproduce for crop cultivation, allowing them to end their hunting-for-food nomadic life and switch to settled communities. They planted wheat and barley, which can be used to make porridge, bread, and beer. They learned to extract metal from ores to produce tools. They domesticated cattle for farming. Their inventions and discoveries, ranging from the wheel, paper-making, silk harvesting, and the clock, to abstract mathematical concepts such as algebra and arithmetic are still being utilised today.

    S&T has helped countries to develop and maintain their powerful positions on the world stage. For instance, in the United Kingdom, various discoveries such as that of gravity by Isaac Newton, evolution by Charles Darwin, hydrogen by Henry Cavendish, penicillin by Alexander Fleming, and DNA by Francis Crick have made the country one of the most powerful in the world. Today, the British company Rolls Royce is still the leading player in the aerospace industry, while GlaxoSmithKline is among the top pharmaceutical companies in the world. Another example is the United States, which leveraged S&T to become the superpower it is today. Towards the end of World War 2, the United States created many organisations, such as the National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, and many others to foster scientific research and development at the federal level. As a result of these efforts, we are now reaping the benefits of the computer, the Internet, the global positioning system, the smart phone, and artificial intelligence, among others.

    Currently, everyday services such as healthcare (vaccines, drugs, diagnostic and therapeutic treatments), finance (business transactions, banking), transportation, and utilities, to name just a few, are all dependent on information and communication technology (ICT). In the future, there will be many challenges, including new infectious diseases, food, water, energy and environmental crises, cyberattacks, as well as terrorism, all of which need innovative solutions. S&T will play an important role in addressing these challenges.

    Categories: Policy Reports / General

    Last updated on 20/02/2018

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    Latest Book
    Science, Technology and Security Research: The Potential Role of Think Tanks like RSIS

    Introduction

    Science and technology (S&T) is essential to the development of human civilisation. From ancient times, people have learned by observation and ...
    more info