PENANG, July 2015 - A Doctoral (Ph.D) candidate from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Ong Su Yean made the nation and USM proud when she was chosen as one of the winners for the Best Poster Award at the 7th International Conference on Green and Sustainable Chemistry (GSC-7) and the 4th JACI/GSC Symposium in Tokyo, Japan, recently. 

Su Yean, 30, who is in her second year of studies, specialising in biotechnology and under the supervision of Professor Dr. K. Sudesh Kumar from the School of Biological Sciences USM received the award for her research poster entitled “Effect of Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) Degradation on Soil Microbial Diversity”.  

When contacted, Su Yean said she was surprised when her name was announced by the organisers as one of the 10 winners out of the 200 posters presented at the conference. 

“I totally did not expect to win this award as my participation in this conference was with the intention of sharing my research outcomes and to gain new experiences and knowledge in my research area, moreover all the posters presented were really informative and captivating in portraying the latest developments and current findings in the applications of green chemistry technology for sustainable development of the environment,” she said.

She was also truly grateful and thankful to her supervisor Professor Sudesh and to her friends who participated in this conference, in providing assistance for the preparation of materials for her poster, at the same time guiding and advising her to prepare the best presentation possible. 

Su Yean participated in this conference together with three other Ph.D students supervised by Professor Sudesh, all of whom are members of the Sakura Exchange Programme 2015 which provides the opportunity for selected youths from Asian countries to take part in short-term visits to Japan for exchange of knowledge in areas of science and technology, with flight and accommodation expenses sponsored by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST).  

Meanwhile, Sudesh who also participated in the conference said, he was proud of Su Yean’s success and hoped that the event would provide them with a variety of knowledge from researchers and world-renowned experts in the field of green chemistry technology, where its applications are now rapidly expanding throughout the world. 

The conference, held for four days, had gathered approximately 800 participants consisting of academicians, scientists, researchers, postgraduate students, industry representatives and government leaders from various parts of the world, which include Singapore, Philippines, USA, Germany, Australia, India, Korea, South Africa, Japan and Malaysia.

Translation: Mazlan Hanafi Basharudin/Text: Tan Ewe Hoe/Photo: Courtesy of Ong Su Yean