CQT Admin Director receives national honour

CQT's Admin Director Kuldip Singh has received a national award for his work at CQT and NUS.

Kuldip was named a recipient of the Commendation Medal 2011 in Singapore's National Day Awards, announced on 9 August, the day Singapore commemorates its 1965 independence from Malaysia. The Commendation Medal is bestowed when someone has "distinguished himself through commendable performance and conduct, or significant efficiency, competence and devotion to duty".

Kuldip was nominated for the award particularly for his role in establishing and running CQT as Singapore's first Research Centre of Excellence (RCE). He made significant contributions to designing the legal and administrative framework for the Centre, and he now leads the Centre's administrative team with exemplary skills and excellent understanding of the role of administrative support in the service of world class research. All those working at CQT have benefited from his managerial skills, professional integrity and promotion of team spirit.

"Without his hard work and his managing and negotiating skills, there would have been little chance for the Centre to rise to its current prominence and international visibility," says CQT Director Artur Ekert.

Founding members of CQT's Admin team including Admin Director Kuldip Singh (far right) pictured with Singapore President S. R. Nathan (centre) in July 2007.

Kuldip is keen to share credit with his colleagues. "The establishment and running of the Centre was and has been a team effort. If it had not been for an excellent team, our trajectory may not have been very smooth. I am happy to be working among dedicated colleagues so this really ought to be a team award," he says.

Prior to CQT's founding in December 2007, Kuldip had been instrumental in organizing a series of seminars focused on quantum information science, which effectively led to NUS having a thriving research group in this field. In turn, this led to quantum information being selected as the focus for Singapore's first RCE.

As well as being CQT's Admin Director, Kuldip is a Senior Lecturer in the NUS Faculty of Science University Scholars Programme.