Liew Wen Ching from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) emerged as the winner of the 2022 Young Scientists Network-Academy of Sciences Malaysia (YSN-ASM) Chrysalis Award Final Pitch held virtually on 23 November 2022.
She is part of the team that developed a research proposal for waste-to-wealth for food security improvement. The team also comprised other researchers, Muhammad Luqman Nordin from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Shahidah Md Nor from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).
The research proposal looks at projected diseases, climatic changes, ongoing wars, worldwide inflation, and an expanding global population that would have severely impacted global food security. Numerous strategies, such as enhanced animal production, reused agricultural waste, and the provision of active and intelligent packaging systems, can be optimised and scaled up to advance adaptation throughout the food production chain. Therefore, they propose the "waste-to-wealth" concept by converting agricultural waste into nutritional food with an immune booster vaccine and advanced packaging for food security improvement.
As the first prize winner, Wei Ching won RM4,000 and a certificate of achievement. Lee Hui Jing from Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) is the second prize winner, taking home RM3,000 and a certificate of achievement. The third prize went to Universiti Malaysia Kelantan PhD candidate Nivaarani Arumugam who received RM2,000 and a certificate of achievement.
Meanwhile, the Best Team Award goes to the group that comprises Nivaarani, Hui Jing and Noorfatin Aida Baharul Amin. The best presenter was awarded to Ng Wen Cai from Monash University Malaysia.
ASM President, Professor Emerita Datuk Dr Asma Ismail, in her closing speech, said, "YSN ASM Chrysalis Award is specifically designed to strengthen and nurture the talent and capability of young researchers so it can empower them in alignment with the Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) development trajectory of Malaysia."
The Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisor to the Nation also added, "It is important that the researchers carry out responsible research and innovation that is human-centric, nature based and values-driven. These are not overnight tasks; they must be continuously worked on and implemented with perseverance."
Chrysalis is a seven-month flagship leadership programme organised by YSN-ASM. The programme aims to identify, develop, recognise and empower the PhD students within our nation's science, technology and innovation ecosystem, and to inspire them to contribute to society. Throughout the programme, 15 finalists were assessed individually on their demonstration of knowledge, enthusiasm, leadership, creativity, teamwork and presentation skills, among others.
The finalists were formed into five groups to present their research proposal during the Grand Final Pitch. The finalists are from Universiti Malaya (UM), UCSI University, Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Monash University Malaysia, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR).
Selected YSN-ASM Chrysalis Award Finalists will experience continuous support and mentoring for the next five years after the programme. This step ensures that these finalists are empowered to be outstanding researchers who will contribute to Malaysia's STIE ecosystem. Suitable candidates will also be recommended for prestigious fellowships or internships in reputable institutions and establishments.
To watch the 2022 Chrysalis Award Grand Final Pitch, visit this page.
This content is provided by Academy of Sciences Malaysia.
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