SINGAPORE–Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has inked a Letter of Intent with Carl Zeiss SMT, a global leader in innovative lithography optics and optical and particle-beam based analysis and measuring systems. The agreement formalizes a strategic partnership and collaboration that is set to open up new opportunities in nanomaterials and materials science research. With this partnership, Carl Zeiss SMT adds a world leading academic and research facility to its growing network of electron microscope centres that are hosting high-end transmission electron microscopes in their laboratories.

NTU´s lab facilities will be equipped with ZEISS electron beam systems that will be used in a variety of material science and life science research and teaching applications. The first instrument to be installed in early 2009 will be the NVision platform combining both e-beam and ion-beam technology, followed by a LIBRA 120 PLUS transmission electron microscope (TEM) in early summer of 2009. The new TEM instrument will be housed in the NTU’s Facility for Analysis, Characterisation, Testing and Simulation in the School of Materials Science and Engineering, together with other cutting-edge equipment such as X-ray diffractometers that are used to discover the arrangement of atoms in solids.

“We are proud to be chosen by NTU as a strategic partner in order to support NTU´s research programmes and to manifest and develop NTU´s position as one of the leading regional academic institutions for research in material analysis and life science applications,” said Manfred Hanke, Managing Director of Carl Zeiss SMT Singapore. “The partnership with NTU is the next logical step after the launch of the first Carl Zeiss Advanced Imaging Centre in Singapore (AICS) in early 2008 and underlines the company’s position as a partner of science. The partnership with NTU will be another key component as we continue to push forward the frontier of science.”

“We look forward to having the ZEISS systems in our lab and to expanding our research and training at NTU,” stated Prof. Freddy Boey, Chair of NTU´s School of Materials Science and Engineering. “Collaboration with Carl Zeiss is an important part of NTU´s continuous effort to strengthen our position as a leading electron microscopy centre in Asia. With the addition of this state-of-the-art equipment to our lab, we will now be able to study both biological and physical substances for new materials or drugs at higher resolution in the future. We hope to create new developments in the study of materials science which has been impossible using the current electron-optical equipment. We also hope to use this equipment to prepare our students for professional careers in high-tech fields and expose them to advanced research opportunities.”

In addition to the machine installation, Carl Zeiss and NTU will also collaborate in the fields of application development, engineering exchange and training programmes. NTU staff and students will be able to network with advanced group users of Carl Zeiss systems and gain access to state-of-the-art instruments around the world.

About Carl Zeiss SMT

As the global leader in innovative lithography optics, as well as optical and particle-beam based inspection, analysis and measuring systems, Carl Zeiss SMT opens up new avenues for its customers in industrial manufacturing environments, quality assurance and industrial and academic R&D. Decades of market leadership are based on the success of its leading know-how in light, electron and ion-optical technologies. Together with its subsidiaries in Germany, England, France, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Israel and the USA, the international group of companies has more than 2,500 employees. In fiscal year 2007/08, Carl Zeiss SMT AG generated revenues of over EUR 1 billion (USD ~ 1.3 billion). Carl Zeiss SMT AG is a wholly owned subsidiary of Carl Zeiss AG.

Further information: www.smt.zeiss.com

About Nanyang Technological University

Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a research-intensive university ranked among the world’s top 100 universities. The Yunnan Garden campus, NTU’s main campus, is located in the south-western part of Singapore and will be the Youth Olympic Village of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010. The NTU@one-north campus, home to educational and alumni clubhouse facilities, is located near Singapore’s biomedical research hub, Biopolis; and the new engineering and physical sciences hub, Fusionopolis.

NTU has four colleges, namely:

• The Nanyang Business School (the College of Business), the first and only Singapore business school to be ranked in the top 50 of the Financial Times Global MBA 2008 rankings

• The College of Engineering, with six schools focused on technology and innovation and a research output among the top four in the world

• The College of Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences, home to Singapore’s first professional art school offering degree courses in art, design and interactive digital media; the Humanities and Social Science School; and the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, a top journalism and media school in Asia

• The College of Science is home to award-winning faculty, world-class laboratories, and Olympiad medal winners.

The S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, one of two autonomous institutes of NTU, is a world authority on strategic studies and security research. NTU is also home to the internationally-acclaimed National Institute of Education, Singapore’s only teacher-training institute.

As Singapore’s main science and technology university, NTU makes significant contributions to the nation’s renewed drive for research and innovation spearheaded by the Singapore National Research Foundation (NRF). NTU’s strengths in biomedical sciences, environmental and water technologies, and interactive and digital media mirror the NRF’s research focus.

NTU has a strong and broad international reach covering academic and research partnerships with top institutions in the US, Europe and Asia, such as MIT, Stanford University, Cornell University, Caltech, University of Washington, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Carnegie Mellon University; Cambridge University, Imperial College and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology; and Peking University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Waseda University, and Indian Institute of Technology.

For more information, visit www.ntu.edu.sg