Scientific and technological advancement lay at the heart of any notion of the historical emergence of a Global Asia that extends beyond national or regional borders to encompass rapidly changing worldwide networks of expertise, infrastructure, and research agendas. There is a pressing need to empirically analyze the potential of Big Science research, now the dominant model throughout the region, to truly transform Asian cities into aspiring global command posts of knowledge production. A clear map of these urban centers of innovation and their activities spanning across a multicultural landscape is vital to navigate Singapore’s future.

This project charts the shifting centers of Big Science research in Asia and their evolving global networks within the context of different understandings of a scientific revival or Renaissance in China, India, Singapore, and the Middle East. The distinctive developmental pattern of scientific traditions, careers, communities and institutions in each region leading up to the establishment of current large-scale research facilities will be compared. At issue is whether these new hubs anchor the changing shape of global science networks and drive research agendas. A multidisciplinary team of social and computer scientists will also develop an interactive mapping and database system using computerized data-mining to historically track the flow of scientists and their research outputs as “knowledge vectors” along networks of international Big Science facilities.