USM PENANG, 1 April 2022 – Muhamad Huzaifah Omar, a second-year Master’s degree student from the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) School of Chemical Sciences was among the ten students pursuing their postgraduate studies who have been conferred the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Scholarships for the 2021/2022 session.

Muhamad Huzaifah, 24, received his scholarship from His Majesty Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Al-Musta'in Billah in a ceremony held at Istana Negara, Kuala Lumpur on 9 March 2022.

In a brief email interview, Muhamad Huzaifah said he was very thankful for the scholarship award, and attributed much of his success to his family members and his academic supervisor, Dr. Hairul Hisham Hamzah, a senior lecturer at the School of Chemical Sciences.

According to Hairul Hisham, Muhamad Huzaifah is very passionate on his research work, and is currently researching on the topic of three-dimensional (3D) printing of electrode-based nucleic acid biosensors for cancer biomarker monitoring.

“It is my hope that this scholarship will directly help him from the financial aspect in order for him to be more focused on achieving academic excellence, besides serving as an example and inspiration to other students in the School and USM,” he added.

Since its introduction in 2006, a total of 175 individuals have received the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Scholarship to pursue their graduate studies at local research universities as well as the world’s leading universities, specifically in the fields of science and technology, economics, law as well as Islamic Finance.

Text: Tan Ewe Hoe/Poster: Ebrahim Abdul Manan