Asian Scientist (magazine)

Asian Scientist (magazine)

Editor	Juliana M. Chan, Ph.D. Rebecca Lim, M.B.B.S. Tang Yew Chung, Ph.D.
Categories	Science
Frequency	Weekly
First issue	March 16, 2011
Company	Asian Scientist LLP
Country	Singapore
Language	English
Website	www.asianscientist.com

Asian Scientist is a science & technology magazine that was launched as an MIT alumni start-up in March 2011 by the company, Asian Scientist LLP.^[1][2]

Based in Singapore, Asian Scientist Magazine is maintained by a team of 20 professional journalists, medical doctors, and scientists contributing to it.^[3]

The magazine's launch reflects the growing demographic of scientists, engineers, and doctors from Asia, and caters to this burgeoning community with news stories that are both timely and of interest to them. According to the 2010 U.S. National Science Foundation Key Science and Engineering Indicators report,^[4] one-quarter of the world’s publications are from Asia and one-third of all scientific researchers worldwide are Asian. This shifting face of science reflects the strides made by the Asia-8 and other emerging nations in recognizing research & development as a valuable industry.

Content

The magazine covers science, medical and technology news updates from the Asia and Australasia regions, with local correspondents in charge of Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, and China desks.

The site has a keen interest in the Asian space and nuclear sector, and advocates for a number of causes such as shark conservation,^[5] the freeing of wild-caught dolphins from captivity,^[6][7] climate change reversal, clean technology, and education for girls in Asia.

The site devotes categories to research and development, health, medicine, new media, and education, as well as breaking news coverage that has been indexed by Google News since July 22, 2011.

Notable coverage

The magazine regularly writes about peer-reviewed clinical and basic research in Asia, and does one-on-one interviews with notable Asian scientists. Prominent interviewees include:

• MIT Media Lab Director Joi Ito, who discussed his vision for the MIT Media Lab, and how he likes the word “learning” better than the word “education”.^[8]

• U.S. Presidential Citizen’s Medal winner and TIME Magazine 1996 Person of the Year, Prof. David Ho, CEO of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, who discussed HIV/AIDS research in China.^[9]

• Pew Charitable Trusts Global Shark Conservation Director, Matt Rand, on the topic of shark’s fin consumption in Asia.^[10]

• Susmita Mohanty, CEO of India’s first space start-up, Earth2Orbit, and also protégé of Arthur C Clarke. Dr. Mohanty discussed the viability of India’s commercial space sector.^[11]

• Director of the MIT Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Prof. Li-Huei Tsai, on her work-life balance, and her links to Taiwan through Academica sinica.^[12]

• Dr. Sania Nishtar, founder of Pakistan NGO and think-tank, Heartfile, and also Pakistan’s first female cardiologist.^[13]

Other notable interviews^[14] include those with Stockholm University Proteomics Facility Director Docent Leopold Ilag, CSIRO Climate Scientist Dr. Wenju Cai, IIT Madras Prof. Arunn Narasimhan, and Dr. Anil Kakodkar, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India.

The magazine’s May 15, 2011 Ultimate List of 15 Asian Scientists To Watch^[15] featured scientists that include Caesar Saloma, Yi So-yeon, Zia Mian, Robin Li, Siddharth Ashvin Shah, and Pranav Mistry. The list was subsequently mentioned by the University of Philippines,^[16] the MIT Media Lab,^[17] and the A*STAR Institute of Biotechnology and Nanotechnology, Singapore.^[18]

References