Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Great Shakespeare Quotes We All Love


William Shakespeare was one of the most prolific writers in history, not just the Elizabethan era, and there is not limit to the amount of quotable lines he perfectly delivers in every play he wrote. There is always wisdom behind his quotes, and beauty of language besides.

Since historians aren't sure when he was born and died, today is both those days, and so in honor of the greatest English writer to ever set feather to parchment, we give you a few of his best!

Sunday, April 19, 2015

A Prelude to Dr. JB Lim’s Cancer & Nutrition Talk in May 2015

The blogger wishes to “advertise” for an upcoming health talk by “the Great Sifu” Dr. JB Lim to the Cansurvive Centre Malaysia Berhad (http://www.cansurvive.org.my/v1/news.aspx) as follows:

Title of talk:  “Nutrition and Cancer: The Dynamics and Kinetics of New Lamps for Old”

Speaker:   Dr JB Lim   BSc PG Dip Nutr MSc MD PhD (Med) FRSPH FRSM

Time and Date:   4 pm – 6 pm, Saturday, May 23, 2015

Venue:   The Malaysian Association for the Blind
               Kompleks MAB, Jalan Tebing, Off Jalan Tun Sambanthan
    4, Brickfields, 50470, Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan, 50470
    (MAB is just next door to Tun Samabanthan KL Mono Rail Station)

All welcomed.   The talk is free-of-charge. Refreshment will be served after the talk

Dr. JB Lim’s CV can be viewed in an earlier posting i.e. http://taionn.blogspot.com/2015/03/2015-chap-goh-mei-dinner-with-dr-jb-lim.html,

A glimpse of the Great Sifu in action during a previous health talk entitled The Meaning & Measurement of Health” held on 24/10/2012 can be viewed from three video clips taken by the blogger and uploaded into YouTube, the first one being:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKIvFFeI8ec . Refer to: http://taionn.blogspot.com/2012/10/my-impression-of-dr-jb-lims-talk-on.html for the blogger’s brief account of the talk.

The following are the recent emails from Dr. JB Lim to his e-buddies regarding his preparation of the above-said talk:

From: Lim Juboo
Date: Tue, Apr 14, 2015 at 6:21 PM

Just for your info, I will be giving a talk to the Cancer Survival Society on May 23 (Saturday) from 4 – 6 pm at the Malaysian Association for the Blind in Brickfields.

My talk will be based also on this very new approach in cancer prevention and treatment. It shall be on the same molecular biological-nutritional concept as what Dr Betty developed.


But mine shall be on a wide spectrum of issues pertaining to cancer pathology, molecular medicine, cellular signaling, etc, and eventual how we may use existing anti-angiogenic principles found in ordinary, but selected fruits and vegetables so cheaply available in our morning and night Malaysian markets. That is going to be a great leap if we can understand this, and able to select those very special foods as part of our cancer-protective and 'curative' diets.


I shall explain their dynamics and kinetic how they may be used to prevent and to “cure” cancer without the use of horrendously expensive and highly toxic cytotoxic drugs (chemotherapy).
 
So do come for my talk. I think it is going to be very interesting session, a very special presentation as this has never heard before. I have already prepared over 100 slides for this.  So do come with your family and friends. It is going to benefit a lot of people against cancer and other diseases.

Lim jb
------------------------
Sunday 12 April, 2015 8:48 PM
From: Lim Juboo

In my coming public talk, I shall explain how cancer can both be prevented and treated using recent discoveries in nutritional sciences and molecular biology. I shall explain this in my up coming talk at the Malaysian Association for the Blind on Saturday, May 23, 2015 between 4:00 - 6:00 pm.


I have already prepared over 100 illustrative slides to cover a lot of fields on this. I shall cover epidemiology, pathology, immunology, cellular chemistry, toxicology, molecular biology, cell signaling, anti-cancer principles in foods, how they act, how they protect, and yet how they can also cause cancers, among others.

Some ideas on food chemistry need to come in also, and also I need to uncover how scientists are now copying Nature - biologically active substances as found in certain foods to develop an entirely new range of drugs (not chemotherapy) to fight cancer, both prophylactic and therapeutically Scientists have now found significant success in this area. I shall explain this approach, giving a lot of people hope challenged with cancer.

My slides are still in crude form and need to be polished. I need to research and think a lot on them - on how to make them very simple and easy to understand. This is the hardest part.


I think this presentation will be an eye opener for everybody who cares to come and listen because it is so new, combining so many disciplines of medicine, nutrition, food science, and medical sciences put together in a joint effort to prevent and slow down cancers.

Do come with all your friends. It will be something new for everybody. Knowledge and information about health and difficult diseases will be worth a thousand wedding ang pows. So what I gave to my friend last evening was absolutely nothing.

jb lim
------------------------------
From: Lim Juboo
Date: Wed, Apr 1, 2015 at 3:46 AM


Thanks for your interest and support. Come to my talk on "Cancer and Nutrition" which highlight on recent advances and discoveries on cancer treatment using just mainly food.  This new approach is so very, very cheap, so novel, and more successful than all those God-forbidden out of range expensive and highly toxic chemotherapy.

I have already prepared nearly 100 slides so far, but still to improve and edit them according to my literature search in the hundreds which is still in progress.

A lot of work and evidenced-based scientific thinking and analysis are still to be done as I need to present them in a professional and ethical manner, yet make a highly technical subject reachable to ordinary audience. 

There will be a lot of doctors and research scientists too who told me they will come. This is a very difficult subject but I think I can manage to make it simple, illustrative and to down-to-earth for everybody.


How come there is now new hope for cancer management? I shall explain this clearly in my talk at the Malaysian Association for the Blind on Saturday, 23rd May, 4:00 - 6:00 pm.

Bring along your learned colleagues and friends also. I would be delighted to see you again.

kindest regards

jb lim
------------------

The response from the Great Sifu after the blogger informed him about this posting:

Monday, 20 April, 2015 1:56 AM 

Thank you Ir Lau for "selling" me. It is not just selling but I think you are over-selling me. I am not worth all those advertisement you intend to put up on my behalf albeit it lends tremendous support getting people to come. Else the hall may be empty except for the chairman and myself (hopefully not)  

No doubt I like as many as possible to come. It works both ways:

First, cancer is a very difficult disease to treat, but there is hope for everyone challenged with this disease if we understand how we can not just prevent it, but even block it from progressing further with special dietary principles found in Nature. What's more,  so cheaply too instead of using highly toxic and very expensive cytotoxic drugs (chemotherapy). I shall explain the entire dynamics how this works.


What is frightening is cancer is on the rise in Malaysia and globally, and all of us do have cancer lurking in our bodies without us realizing it. It is a matter of time when it clinically strikes. That's No 1 why it is so useful and important an issue for people to come and listen.

The second reason why I need support is because the amount of time and effort I have already put in, reading over hundreds of research papers and standard textbooks on this subject, and how to put all these highly complicated technical languages and findings in a ridiculously simple way so that I can get all the info across to an ordinary audience, albeit some of my doctor friends will also be attending. 

For all these time and trouble, it is completely free-of-charge, and yet I believe and hope many will benefit from listening. The only cost for them is to take the trouble to come. That's all I want. There is no commercial value so kindly do not over sell me. I gain absolutely nothing monetarily. I only hope  to benefit everybody within that very, very short 2 hours for me to cramp up everything from pathology, immunology, food science and nutrition, molecular medicine down to how the body respond to this very difficult disease 

Thanks a lot for your effort too to support me.

kindest regards

lim jb 

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Sunday, April 12, 2015

Alzheimer's Prevention & Complementary Medicine

Note: The blogger forwarded an article of the above subject to friends and received the feedback from the Great Sifu Dr. JB Lim which is worthy of sharing with readers of this blog. 
Reproduced below in the first part is the said article and in the second part the Great Sifu’s response.

25 Things You Can Do to Prevent Alzheimer's 

Alzheimer’s strikes fear in all of us. The thought of losing your mind as you grow older is terrifying and made worse by the fact that, before now, there appeared to be little we could do to slow down or avoid Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia.

Today, research has found many factors that raise or diminish the risk of Alzheimer's disease. Following these tips, you could slash your chances of developing the disease:

1. Check out your ankle

Low blood flow in your foot is a clue to trouble in your brain and a simple test can reveal its cognitive state and your likelihood of stroke and dementia. The theory is that the health of your blood vessels is similar throughout the body. The degree of clogged arteries and blood flow in the feet can suggest atherosclerosis in cerebral blood vessels. Ask your doctor for an ankle-brachial index (ABI) test which involves an ultrasound device and a blood pressure cuff that compares blood pressure in your ankle with that in your arm. To remedy any impairment of blood flow your GP may advise stepped-up exercise or a change in diet/medication.

2. Antioxidant-rich foods
 
Certain foods infuse your brain with antioxidants that can slow memory decline and help prevent Alzheimer’s. All fruit and vegetables are good but top of the list are black raspberries, elderberries, raisins and blueberries.

3. Beware of bad fats

The type of fat you eat changes your brain’s functioning for better or worse. Stay away from saturated fats which strangle brain cells causing them to become inefficient. Buy low fat or fat-free dairy products including milk, cheese and ice cream. Cut down on deep-fried foods.

4. Chocolate Treat

Cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate, has sky-high concentrations of antioxidants called flavanols, which possess strong heart and brain-protecting properties. Drinking cocoa increases blood flow to the brain. Cocoa powder has twice as many flavanols as dark chocolate which has twice a many as milk chocolate. White chocolate has zero.

5. Grow a bigger brain

Your brain starts to shrink when you reach 30 or 40 so it takes longer to learn. However scientists now believe you can increase the size of your brain through the act of learning. Try studying, learning new things or broadening your circle of friends for stimulation.

6. The Estrogen Evidence

Sixty eight per cent of Alzheimer’s patients are women, possibly as midway through life they lose the protection of the hormone estrogen which boosts memory. Unless your GP says otherwise, start taking estrogen immediately at the time of menopause – starting any later risks dementia and strokes.

7. Raise good cholesterol

It’s well known that having high good-type HDL blood cholesterol protects you from heart disease. But it can also save your brain. Researchers claim it blocks sticky stuff that destroys brain cells and acts as an anti-inflammatory to lessen brain damage. Ways to ramp up good cholesterol include exercise, drinking moderate amounts of alcohol and losing weight.
 
8. Google something

Doing an internet search can stimulate ageing brains even more than reading a book.  And MRI scans show that savvy surfers have twice as many sparks of brain activity as novices. Go online to search for information, things to buy or games to play. Although it’s not known how much it will benefit your brain, it’s better than passive pursuits.

9. The ApoE4 gene

One in four of you reading this has a specific genetic time bomb that makes you 3 to 10 times more susceptible to developing late-onset Alzheimer’s. The gene is called apolipoprotein E4. If you inherit a single variant of ApoE4 from one parent, your Alzheimer’s risk triples. If you inherit a double dose from both parents, your risk rises by 10 times. Ask your doctor about a DNA test to reveal your ApoE4 genotype.

10. Say yes to coffee

Coffee is emerging as a tonic for the ageing brain. It is anti-inflammatory, helps block the ill effects of cholesterol in the brain and cuts the risks of stroke, depression and diabetes, all promoters of dementia. It is also high in antioxidants and caffeine which stop neuronal death and lessen diabetes, high blood pressure and strokes that bring on dementia. For most people, a moderate daily intake of coffee, two to four cups, won’t hurt and may help.

11. Dangers of underweight

Unexplained weight loss after age 60 or so may be a sign of Alzheimer’s. A study showed that women with the disease started losing weight at least 10 years before dementia was diagnosed. Among women of equal weight, those who went on to develop dementia slowly became thinner over three decades and, when diagnosed, weighed an average 12lb less that women who were free of Alzheimer’s. Talk to your doctor about unexplained weight loss after 60.

12. Drink wine

A daily glass of wine may help delay dementia. Research says that alcohol is an anti-inflammatory and raises good cholesterol which helps ward off dementia. High antioxidants in red wine give it additional anti-dementia clout. Such antioxidants act as artery relaxants, dilating blood vessels and increasing blood flow which encourages cognitive functioning.

13. Know the early signs

Memory problems are not the first clue. You may notice a decline in depth perception, for example you reach to pick up a glass of water and miss it. Or you misjudge the distance in walking across a street.

Doing a jigsaw puzzle or reading a map may also be confusing. Losing your sense of smell can also be an early clue, as well as asking the same question repeatedly or misplacing belongings in odd places (like putting keys in the fridge). Be aware of memory problems as the earlier the signs are spotted, the more successful lifestyle changes and medications are likely to be.

14. A Mediterranean diet
 
The Mediterranean diet, no matter where you live, can help save your brain from memory deterioration and dementia. Studies consistently find that what the Greeks and Italians eat is truly brain food. Following this diet – rich in green leafy vegetables, fish, fruits, nuts, legumes, olive oil and a little vino – can cut your chances of Alzheimer’s by nearly half. Rather than depending on just one food or a few nutrients, it is a rich menu of many complex brain benefactors, including an array of antioxidants, which shield brain cells from oxidative damage.

15. Middle Age Obesity

Your brain cares if you are fat. A study showed obese people had 8% less brain tissue and overweight people had 4% less brain tissue than people of average weight, which according to some scientists hugely increases the risk of Alzheimer’s. Moreover, brain shrinkage occurred in areas of the brain targeted by Alzheimer’s, and which are critical for planning, long-term memory, attention and executive functions, and control of movement.

Tackle signs of rising weight early, when you are young or middle-aged. Oddly, being obese after the age of 70 does not raise the risk of Alzheimer’s but that doesn’t mean you should neglect exercise as it is the best way of stimulating cognitive functioning and may delay the onset of Alzheimer’s at any age.

16. Get a good night’s sleep

A lack of sleep is toxic to brain cells. Sleep has surprising powers to protect your brain against memory loss and Alzheimer’s. It is a wonder drug that helps manipulate levels of the dreaded brain toxin peptide beta-amyloid, a prime instigator of Alzheimer’s, which according to one scientist puts you at accelerated risk. Research has also found that sleeping an average of five hours or less a night is linked to large increases in dangerous visceral abdominal fat, which can cause diabetes and obesity that can lead to Alzheimer’s. Take naps and seek treatment for sleep disorders.

17. Have an extended social circle

Studying the brain of a highly sociable 90-year-old woman who died from Alzheimer’s, researchers in Chicago found that having a large social network provided her with strong “cognitive reserve” that enabled her brain to not realize she had Alzheimer’s. Why this happens is a mystery but interacting with friends and family seems to make the brain more efficient. It finds alternative routes of communication to bypass broken connections left by Alzheimer’s. So see friends and family often and expand your social network. The stronger the brain reserve you build through life, the more likely you are to stave off Alzheimer’s symptoms.

18. Deal with stress

When you are under stress, your body pours out hormones called corticosteroids, which can save you in a crisis. But persistent stress reactions triggered by everyday events like work frustration, traffic and financial worries can be dangerous. Over time, it can destroy brain cells and suppress the growth of new ones, actually shrinking your brain. Sudden traumatic events like the death of a loved one or a life-changing event like retirement can leave a hangover of severe psychological stress that precedes dementia. Be aware that chronic stress can increase older people’s vulnerability to memory decline and dementia. Seek professional advice. Antidepressants, counselling, relaxation techniques and other forms of therapy may head off stress-related memory loss if treated early.

19. Take care of your teeth

Bad gums may poison your brain. People with tooth and gum disease tend to score lower in memory and cognition tests, according to US dental researchers who found that infection responsible for gum disease gives off inflammatory byproducts that travel to areas of the brain involved in memory loss.

Consequently, brushing, flossing and preventing gum disease may help keep your gums and teeth healthy but also your memory sharper. In another study, older people with the most severe gingivitis – inflamed gums – were two to three times more likely to show signs of impaired memory and cognition than those with the least.

20. Get enough Vitamin B12

As you age, blood levels of vitamin B12 go down and the chance of Alzheimer’s goes up. Your ability to absorb it from foods diminishes in middle age, setting the stage for brain degeneration years later. Researchers at Oxford University found that a brain running low on B12 actually shrinks and a shortage can lead to brain atrophy by ripping away, myelin, a fatty protective sheath around neurons. It can also trigger inflammation, another destroyer of brain cells. Take 500 to 1000mcg of vitamin B12 daily after the age of 40. If you or an older family member has unexplained memory loss, fatigue or signs of dementia, be sure to get tested for vitamin B12 deficiency by your GP.

21. Vinegar in everything

There is plenty of evidence that vinegar sinks risk factors that may lead to memory decline, namely high blood sugar, insulin resistance, diabetes and pre-diabetes and weight gain. Researchers in Phoenix, Arizona, have noted in studies of humans and animals that the acidic stuff packs potent glucose-lowering effects. Studies have also found it can curb appetite and food intake, helping prevent weight gain and obesity, which are associated with diabetes, accelerated dementia and memory loss. Pour on the vinegar – add it to salad dressings, eat it by the spoonful, even mix it into a glass of drinking water. Any type of vinegar works.

22. Have your eyes checked

If you preserve good or excellent vision as you age, your chances of developing dementia drop by an astonishing 63%. And if it’s poor, just visiting an optician for an eye test and possible treatment at least once in later life cuts your dementia odds by about the same amount. Exactly how vision problems promote dementia is not clear but impaired vision makes it difficult to participate in mental and physical activities such as reading and exercising, as well as social activities, all believed to delay cognitive decline. Be aware that your eyes reflect and influence how your brain is functioning, especially as you age. Don’t tolerate poor vision as often it can be corrected.

23. Eat curry or take curcumin pills

Curry powder contains the yellow-orange spice turmeric, packed with curcumin, a component reported to stall memory decline. One study showed elderly Indians who ate even modest amounts of curry did better in cognitive tests. Curcumin works by blocking the build-up of Alzheimer’s-inducing amyloid plaques (deposits found in the brains of sufferers) then nibbles away at existing plaques to slow cognitive decline.

It is recommended to eat two or three curries a week, and make it a yellow curry. Otherwise, sprinkle the spices on your food. Read more about the many benefits of Curcumin.

24. Diabetes control

Having type 2 diabetes makes you more vulnerable to Alzheimer’s. Studies show it may double or triple your risk and the earlier diabetes takes hold, the higher the odds of dementia. Some experts refer to Alzheimer’s as “diabetes of the brain”. The two disorders have similar causes – obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high fat and high sugar diets, low physical activity as well as high blood sugar. In short, diabetes can deliver a double whammy to the brain, destroying neurons and increasing inflammation. Do everything possible to keep blood sugar levels low and stick to a low-saturated-fat diet and regular exercise.

25. Drink more tea

Evidence suggests that tea stalls the cognitive loss that precedes Alzheimer’s and that the more tea you drink, the sharper your ageing memory is. Tea’s secret is no mystery. The leaves are packed with compounds able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier and block neuronal damage.

One particular green tea antioxidant can block the toxicity of beta-amyloid, which kills brain cells. Make a point of drinking black and green tea. Don’t add milk, it can reduce tea’s antioxidant activity by 25%.

 Feedback & Comments from “the Great Sifu” Dr. JB Lim:

Thursday, 9 April, 2015 2:35 AM
From:  Lim Juboo

Only hours ago I read a paper published in the latest Journal of the Royal Society of Public Health on "Diet and Alzheimer Disease" (Mabel Blades. JRSPH March 2015 Vol 135 No 21) which would be useful to share with those afflicted with old-age dementia.

Attached is the paper

I am a regular subscriber of medical journals, but this journal (JRSPH) and also JRSM I get it free as Fellow of RSPH and FRSM.

There are some strong evidences now published elsewhere that coconut oil has reversed the progression of dementia associated with old age.  So is the use of fish oil as a natural therapeutics for this very difficult to manage disorder. These are all natural medicine where conventional drug-based modalities failed. They are very cheap, safe and cost effective too.

Also in the same journal of RSPH there is a book review on Compendium of Essays on Alternative Therapy by Dr Andrew Mclvor of the Dept of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada which you can download on your computer for free. The details is also attached.

Even here in Malaysia the Ministry of Health (MOH) has implemented alternative and traditional medicine into the country mainstream health-care system in government hospitals and in some private hospitals also:

http://tcm.moh.gov.my/v4/pdf/handbook.pdf

I was one of those sitting in the Joint WHO-MOH-IMR Expert Committee who spearheaded this study, recognition and finally leading to its official implementation into the country's health-care. I was in this initial Committee in 1987 till I retired in 1994 when I was working at the Institute for Medical Research after I returned from London with my PhD in Natural Medicine.

But I was not put into this committee straight away, but asked to head another committee first to undertake a human clinical trial on Palm Oil and its Effect on Thrombogenicity. Only after that I was involved in alternative and integrated medicine. Prior to that I was put to do many other things - nutrition, rural health research, community medicine, behavioral science, clinical trials,  bio-statistics and epidemiology, etc.

"Let Food be your Medicine" (Hippocrates - Father of Medicine), and not let medicine be your food as erroneously quoted by many people including in textbooks, health magazines and in the Internet.  Each just blindly copies the other.

Regards

Dr. JB Lim

The blogger is grateful for the Great Sifu’s prompt clarification and further comment written in a very short time despite his busy schedule of leaving home to attend an old friend’s daughter wedding dinner in PJ on Saturday evening:

Saturday, 11 April, 2015 6:43 PM
From: Lim Juboo

What is more important is to understand complementary and alternative systems of medicine is accepted by 80 % of the world population, and they have an acceptable and important role in the health care system of most countries including Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand our nearest neigbours.

Their implementation into government hospitals here was not done overnight, but already the result of years of study, and countless meetings we held jointly with the World Health Organization (that encourage it), the Ministry of Health, the Institute for Medical Research, as well as the feedback from several associations and organizations in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), Malay and Indonesian system of medicine as well as Indian Ayurvedic,Unani and Siddha medicine including systems of health care practiced by the orang asli and those natives in Sarawak. This is not new, and all of them do have a place in health care. Their traditional health practices were already centuries old.

It is a very, very, very long story gathered from my work experiences in rural health research among native communities where modern medical facilities are not available. That was why I was put into this joint committee for many years until I retired in 1994.

I cannot be writing a book on this, but my letter to "flyer" and others was just to make others aware that there are other alternative systems of health care too which was highlighted by Dr Andrew Mclvor, Dept of Medicine, McMaster University, Canada. He was not the only one who mentioned this. Hundreds of books on other systems of medicine have already been written by many other doctors world-wide. It would be far too many and too long to cite all the publications.

My other reason was just to let others know there is a cure for Alzheimer's disease (dementia) using natural foods like fish oil, coconut oil, ginseng (perhaps), and antioxidants. It so happens both these health issues appeared in the latest (March 2015) Journal of The Royal Society of Public Health at the same time I was reading "Flyer" mail to me about a Dementia Village in Netherlands.  So I merely tambah (add) what flyer sent me, else I wouldn't be bothered to write about them, and my past experience.

It was just a casual comment. I would not be bothered writing this in my own blog which has been empty for some time now.

regards

lim jb
Dr. JB Lim's latest pic taken at a wedding dinner on April 11,  2015

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Saturday, April 11, 2015

Meeting Dr. Tam Chat Tim After 36 Years

A pose with Dr. Tam Chat Tim (pic at centre)
On Thursday, April 9, 2015, I attended a one-day YTL Cement Annual Seminar entitled “Enhancing the Durability of Coastal & Marine Structures” at JW Marriot Hotel, Jalan Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur.  I was excited to be able to meet one of the speakers, a distinguished concrete material researcher, Dr. Tam Chat Tim who was the tutor of my final year project in University of Singapore back in 1979.  I haven’t met him again after graduation in 1980 and that means a long absence of sight of 36 years!
I remember very well that Dr. Tam joined University of Singapore in 1979 (while I was in the final or 4th year of the course of Civil Engineering) after unhappily leaving Universiti Malaya as the acting Head of Civil Engineering Department.  He was assigned to supervise my final year project (together with another 2 course-mates) on the subject of “Setting Time of Concrete”.  Sad to say, we didn’t do well in the project (as I recalled we didn’t obtain very conclusive findings) and scored only a “B”.

Just before the seminar began at 9.00am, I managed to greet Dr. Tam at the reception hall of Mayang Sari Grand Ballroom when he was chit-chatting with a certain Dr. Lim and a fellow IEM Committee Member whom I am acquainted with Ir. Tu Yong Eng.  Of course Dr. Tam couldn’t recognize me, as he has countless of students in his forty over years of teaching career. 

I told him he was also the proposor of my application for student membership of the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM) when I was still studying in University of Singapore back in 1979.  This university merged with Nanyang University to become the National University of Singapore (NUS) from 1980/81 session onwards.  On my question whether he was still with NUS at the present, he answered in the affirmative, but only doing research and no more lecturing. Interestingly, he said he was currently doing research on setting time of concrete, the same subject he wanted me to do as an undergraduate 36 years ago!

Dr. Tam graduated from university with his first degree in 1958. Assuming he was 22 years old then, then he is now 2015-1958+22 = 79 years old.  And yet he is still so healthy and active in doing research and giving talks in seminars everywhere.  How blessed he is!

I really don’t remember at all that Dr. Tam had lectured me in the final year of 1979, although a course-mate Ir. Jeffrey Tan Tiong Ann said so.   I searched back the record of our final year subjects: Environmental Engineering 2, Foundation Engineering, Applied Soil Mechanics, Structural Design 1 & 2, Transportation Engineering 2, Civil Engineering Construction Management, Hydraulics 2, Structural Analysis 3 and Civil Engineering Design.  And there wasn’t any subject on Concrete Materials which Dr. Tam is specialized in. 

Another pose with Dr. Tam 
I wanted to take a photo of Dr. Tam alone for remembrance sake and unexpectedly Ir. Tu volunteered to take the shot of me posing with Dr. Tam and Dr. Lim.  In turn, I also snapped a photo of Ir. Tu with the latter.
Pic from right: Ir. Tu, Dr. Tam & Dr. Lim  
It is really a memorable occasion to me after meeting a former university tutor and a renowned concrete expert after such a long period of time i.e. 36 years.  And hence is my brief account for the record here in this blog to share with my readers.  Also appended below are some photos of mine taken around 1979 ~ 1980 when I was studying in the University of Singapore for the sake of walking down the memory lane.    How time flies…………..   

A glimpse of Seminar hall 
My Minconsult colleagues from front: Ir. Steven Foo, Irene Tan and Ir. Cheng HL
Dr. Tam was the last speaker of the Seminar in the afternoon session

Appendix:  Biography of Dr. Tam Chat Tim

Dr Tam Chat Tim graduated in Civil Engineering with Honours and Master of Engineering in Structures from the University of Adelaide and PhD in Materials Science from University of Calgary. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia, Institution of Engineers, Singapore, Institution of Structural Engineers, UK, American Concrete Institute and Concrete Society, UK. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Malaysia and Singapore and a Chartered Engineer, UK. He was made a Distinguished Chapter Member of the Singapore Chapter of the American Concrete Institute and the first Life Member of the Singapore Concrete Institute, after having served as President in both organizations.

He worked in the industry for three years in Australia and Malaysia, before taking up his career in teaching and research; beginning in 1963 with the Department of Civil Engineering in the University of Malaya including holding the post of Head of Department. Since 1979, he has been with the Department of Civil Engineering, the National University of Singapore. Retired from full time teaching since 1996; he continues to be active in research as Associate Professorial Fellow under an honorary appointment.

He continues to be actively involved in standardization activities, having joined ASTM International since the 1960s and as member of Committee C1 on Cement and C9 on Concrete and Aggregates and Subcommittee C09.4 on Self Consolidating Concrete. He is also member of ACI Committee 237 on Self Consolidating Concrete. He is currently a member of Standards Council in SPRING Singapore, the first Deputy Chairman of its Standards Committee on Building and Construction Standards Committee and member of Technical Committee on Building and Sub-structures. He is also a Deputy Chairman of the Council Committee on Laboratory Accreditation, (SINGLAS), Singapore.  Dr. Tam has published over 150 papers in international and regions journals and conferences and conducted many seminars and workshop annually over the pass 45 years of his career. His research interest covers many aspects of cement and concrete and in particular, testing and interpretation of test data for practical applications in the concrete construction industry.

He is currently the Chief Editor of Singapore Concrete Institute official publication, “Concretus”.  He was honoured with the Distinguish Chapter Member of the American Concrete Institute, Singapore Chapter in 1999, having served on its Board of Directors as well as its Chapter President.  The Concrete Society of Malaysia also presented him with its Excellence Award for his contribution to the concrete industry in 2008. 

He authored the chapter on Constituents and Properties of Concrete in the Civil Engineering Handbook (2nd Ed., CRC Press, 2003) and co-authored the chapter on The Durability of Concrete Structures in the Tropics in Durability of Materials and Structures in Building and Civil Engineering (CRC Press, 2006).
Me around 1979 ~ 1980 in the campus of then University of Singapore 
The residential estate in front of Kent Ridge main campus of U of S where I stayed from 2nd year to final year (1977 - 1980)
A pose with my parents on the Convocation Day in July 1980.

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