NTU’s Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) devoted to studying earth’s most serious environmental threats was officially opened on 19 February 2009, by Dr Francis Yeoh, CEO of the National Research Foundation (NRF). The EOS aims to understand and address civilisation’s most serious natural hazards – including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and climate change – with a focus on Southeast Asia, that could potentially save hundreds of thousands of lives. Among the projects that the Observatory will embark on include those that will aid in the forecasting of natural calamities and its novel outreach and education programmes targeting secondary and junior college students.