USM PENANG, 17 September 2020 – A lecturer from the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) School of Housing, Building and Planning (HBP), Dr. Mohd Hafizal Mohd Isa made the institution proud when he clinched a Gold Medal and a Special Award with an innovation submitted at the INTERNATIONAL INVENTION INNOVATION COMPETITION in Canada (iCAN) 2020 recently.

The innovation which is called PCM-FC Cladding had earned Hafizal and his team (comprising of Zeyad Amin Al-Absi, Muhamad Azhar Ghazali and Xia Qing) the prestigious award that will put USM once again on the global stage.

Hafizal said, PCM-FC Cladding is an innovative material that was developed to have good thermal resistance and thermal mass.

“This was achieved by integrating micro-encapsulated phase change materials (PCM) into foamed concrete (FC) to fabricate PCM-FC composite, which will be used to produce PCM-FC panels to be utilised as cladding panels in a building.

“The thermal resistance of the new cladding panels can reduce the outdoor heat penetration through the building facade, while the extra heat can be tackled with the thermal mass,” he said.

He added that this material when tested has shown significant indoor temperature reduction, providing more thermally comfortable conditions.

Hafizal in his social media channel thanked all who had helped him to achieve this success and the posting was especially meant to thank his mentor.

Individuals and teams from over 60 countries around the globe participated in this yearly competition that aims to provide exposure to viable business opportunities that can help boost and aid industrial growth.

Besides that, it also provides ample opportunity to collaborate and cooperate with investors both local and overseas while encouraging networking and exchange of ideas with worldwide partnering organisations and opening up new opportunities for world inventors.

Organised by Toronto International Society of Innovation and Advanced Skills (TISIAS), iCAN is the first international inventors’ event ever to be held in Canada as a place of global exchange, festivity and recognition for all participating inventors, innovators and creators for their hard work and dedication towards creativity and innovation. 

The main goal of the event is to establish a special platform in Toronto, Canada to emerge as the world’s creativity spot and bring the invention and innovation exhibition culture to life by providing exceptional opportunities for participants to expand their international landscape.

Text: Hafiz Meah Ghouse Meah/Photo: Dr. Mohd Hafizal Mohd Isa