Singapore’s most decorated chemist has confirmed he will leave his present position to join the fledgling Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, eastern China. Lu Yixin, a professor with the National University of Singapore (NUS), said he planned to move to the private research institute in early 2027, in a full-time role. Lu is a fellow of the Singapore National Academy of Science and president of the Singapore National Institute of Chemistry, in addition to his position as NUS Provost’s Chair Professor.   “According to the plan, I will join EIT in Ningbo full time in January 2027,” he said, adding that he remained fully committed to his present duties at NUS for the coming months. Lu is the second high-profile academic to announce his departure from Singapore to EIT within the past month, with former Nanyang Technological University vice-president K. Jimmy Hsia joining in August.   Chemist Lu Yixin, pictured in 2015. Photo: Zhejiang University of Science and Technology   EIT was established in 2025 with a 30 billion yuan (US$4.4 billion) donation from Yu Renrong, a Ningbo-born semiconductor magnate. The institution is positioning itself as a research powerhouse, aggressively recruiting world-class talent. Lu said he was still working normally at NUS. “In the coming months, I will continue to diligently fulfil my responsibilities in teaching, research and management at the university,” he added. “Singapore, and NUS in particular, is where I have worked and lived for over 20 years. Here, I have many long-term collaborators, friends and students with whom I have grown together. “I have also established a very deep emotional and academic connection with NUS. Therefore, joining EIT full time does not mean that these connections will be interrupted.” Lu completed his undergraduate studies at Fudan University and obtained his master’s degree from Dalian University of Technology. He received his PhD from McGill University in Canada in 2000. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute and later conducted research at Nagoya University under Ryoji Noyori, the Japanese Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry. Lu, who joined NUS in September 2003 and was promoted to full professor in 2014, has long focused on asymmetric catalysis and synthesis, with research spanning organic catalysis, metal catalysis, photocatalysis and sustainable chemistry. In simple terms, he uses various catalysts to precisely synthesise desired molecules for pharmaceuticals and catalysis. These methods can be shorter and more economical, paving the way for new drug synthesis. Lu has received multiple honours, including from the National Research Foundation in Singapore and the Asia Core Programme Lectureship.   He also received the young scientist/outstanding scientist award from the science faculty at NUS, as well as the National Chemical Society of Singapore-GlaxoSmithKline organic chemistry prize. Lu was named a fellow of the Singapore National Academy of Science in 2022. He was elected president of the Singapore National Institute of Chemistry in 2025 and received the title of Provost’s Chair Professor. When asked why he joined EIT, Lu said that the institution was “at a critical stage of rapid development”. “For me, being able to participate in and witness the process of EIT gradually growing into a world-class institution is a meaningful challenge that I cannot refuse,” he said. “Another important factor is Ningbo. “Ningbo has a solid manufacturing foundation and a rich industrial base, while the Yangtze River Delta economic zone brings together a large number of universities, research institutions and hi-tech enterprises, providing a good ecosystem for scientific research innovation and the commercialisation of research outcomes.” Lu noted that chemistry “is not only an important component of basic sciences but is also closely related to application fields such as materials, medicine, energy, and advanced manufacturing”. “The industrial environment in Ningbo has established a broad bridge between basic research and industrial transformation, providing rich, real-world application scenarios for the development of the chemistry discipline,” he said. “This research and innovation environment, which combines academic potential with industrial support, is very attractive to me.”   Why China is slashing 12,000 university degrees Lu said he would continue to focus on asymmetric catalysis and synthesis in his new role, with particular emphasis on biomedicine, green and sustainable chemistry. He will also promote the development of an interdisciplinary platform, he added. According to Lu, he had long conversations with Chen Shiyi, the EIT president, and other colleagues, while he was deciding whether to make the move. Their passion felt genuine and infectious, he said, and he was completely on board with what they were trying to build: a small, top-notch university led by research from day one. Lu said that in terms of China’s development there was a real need for a place that went after big scientific questions, tackled the country’s most important challenges and trained genuinely outstanding people.   Lu said he hoped to take what he had learned over the years – in research, mentoring students and building academic programmes – to help EIT take off.

heng i too poor to travel

Travelling with friends may sound fun — until money gets involved.  In fact, one in three Singaporeans have gotten into disputes over travel expenses after a group trip, according to survey findings released by multi-currency payment platform YouTrip on Thursday (Sept 17).  These conflicts were enough to put them off group trips altogether, with 21 per cent saying they would not travel with the same group again.    So what exactly are people fighting about? Settling shared expenses is the root of the disputes, the survey found. Among the 1,000 respondents surveyed, the top reasons for such disagreements are late repayments (54 per cent), followed by incorrect calculations (53 per cent), and unfair splitting of expenses (49 per cent).  The survey also found that larger groups (six travellers or more) are one-and-a-half times more likely to clash over group expenses than those travelling in pairs.  "Accountant" versus "post-trip payer" The survey also asked respondents to identify the roles they typically take on during a group trip.  "Accountants" are the ones who usually pay upfront and manage the group's expenses, while "post-trip payers" settle what they owe after returning from the trip.    The former is not a highly-sought role, with one-third of them saying that they took it on reluctantly. 45 per cent also said they spend more than a day settling expenses after a trip.  Reluctant "accountants" were also four times more likely to end a friendship over travel expenses, the survey found.  Beyond calculating expenses, the biggest pain point for "accountants" is getting friends to reimburse them. Sending awkward payment reminders ranked as their top concern (54 per cent).  This is followed by the risk of losing personal money due to inaccurate tracking (53 per cent) and sorting through multiple receipts (47 per cent).  Interestingly, receiving payment reminders is ranked as the lowest concern among "post-trip payers".    "This disconnect suggests that what feels like an awkward interaction for the person asking to be paid back may feel far less significant to the party receiving the reminder," YouTrip noted. Another factor contributing to money disputes in group trips? The burden of keeping group expenses in order. The survey found that "accountants" were more likely to have experienced a money dispute (35 per cent) as compared to 'post-trip payers' (30 per cent). This suggests that those who take responsibility for managing the group's expenses bear more of the friction.    Overspending during group trips Settling the bill is not the only problem either.    88 per cent of respondents said that they exceeded their personal budgets while travelling in a group.  For most of them (68 per cent), the reason for overspending was simply because they were "living in the moment". Other reasons include losing track of who paid for what (37 per cent), the hassle of tracking expenses in real time (35 per cent) and the lack of a real-time overview of group spending (30 per cent).  When asked what would improve their group travel experience, the respondents' top preferences were a simpler accounting process (67 per cent) and eliminating manual tracking (67 per cent), as well as having an all-in-one balance overview (65 per cent).  Addressing these issues, the platform has rolled out the new feature YouTrip Split, which allows users to create groups, select transactions from their payment history and divide expenses among members.    "This makes shared expenses visible and manageable as they happen, rather than turning them into a dreaded administrative exercise once the holiday is over," said YouTrip chief operating officer Kelvin Lam.   https://www.asiaone.com/lifestyle/singaporean-travellers-fight-money-youtrip-survey

A 28-year-old man, an American citizen who is a Singapore permanent resident, was sentenced to two years and three months’ jail for ordering cannabis online. The contents of the delivered parcel raised suspicions at the SingPost Centre during a screening.   Anton Andrievsky faced one charge under the Misuse of Drugs Act. He pleaded guilty to attempted drug possession and was sentenced on Sep. 16.   Intercepted   In court documents seen by Mothership, on Sep. 30, 2025, at about 9:20am, an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer was conducting screening duties at the SingPost Centre when he noticed anomalies in the X-ray images of one parcel. A physical inspection was conducted, and two packets of vegetable matter suspected to be controlled drugs were found. The parcel was referred to the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) for investigation. One packet, one package with bubble wrap, one pair of jeans and two packets containing loose vegetable matter were seized.   Investigations   Investigations revealed the parcel was posted from Great Britain and delivered by registered mail. The declared item for delivery was “Jeans”. The parcel's recipient was listed as a Singaporean woman who previously owned Andrievsky’s residence. Officers screened the woman, and her registered address showed she did not reside at Andrievsky’s residence.   Entry   On the same day, at about 2:25pm, CNB officers proceeded to Andrievsky’s residence and knocked on the door.   They identified themselves and asked its occupant to open the door. Andrievsky was alone at the time. He panicked and did not open the door. Instead, he texted his girlfriend. CNB officers detected movement in his residence and gave Andrievsky several warnings to open the door. He refused to comply. The officers subsequently effected forced entry into his residence and arrested Andrievsky in his bedroom at about 2:45pm.   Admitted to ownership of parcel   Upon questioning, Andrievsky admitted ownership of the parcel and that it was meant to be delivered to him.   He had ordered cannabis from an unknown seller called “Yaz” via Telegram. Andrievsky knew Yaz through a Telegram group and said he used his residence’s previous owner's details to order the cannabis, as he did not want to use his own personal particulars. He ordered the drug from Yaz for his own personal consumption and had ordered from him on three previous occasions. Andrievsky could not provide details on Yaz beyond his Telegram user ID. When asked to unlock his phone to show his correspondence with Yaz, Andrievsky said he could not because he had forgotten his password. He admitted that he had ordered 5 ounces, which is about 140g of cannabis from Yaz. The drugs were supposed to come in two packets, which contained two different strains of cannabis.   Andrievsky intended to pay Yaz S$2,500 after receiving the drugs.   Cannabis   On Oct. 2, 2025, the two packets of vegetable matter from the parcels were submitted to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) for analysis. They were found to contain at least 136.13g of vegetable matter, which was cannabis.   Uncooperative   The prosecution sought 29 to 30 months’ jail for Andrievsky. They argued that he was uncooperative during the investigation, stating that he had refused to unlock his phone. They also argued that Andrievsky “deserves no credit for his involuntary desistance” as his offences were a result of ICA’s intervention.   The prosecution also cited his prior offences for drug possession and drug consumption, and that he was sentenced to reformative training (RT) for a minimum period of six months in 2019. “He clearly has not learnt his lesson and continues to procure and abuse drugs,” they said. RT is a rehabilitative sentencing option. According to Singapore Prison Services, young offenders may undergo psychology-based correctional programmes, family and education programmes, employability skills training and personal development programmes, based on their rehabilitation needs. They are also subjected to a strict regime that can include counselling sessions and foot drills.