By Hafliza Hussin
Photo by Saleha Haron
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 - Researchers from University Putra Malaysia (UPM) won three gold medals and a special award at the Malaysia Technology Expo (MTE) 2015, which was held on February 12 to 14 at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) here.
The researchers also won four silver and nine bronze medals and certicates in the competition that featured 16 different innovation categories, besides having won second place for the Best Booth Design Shell Scheme category.
All winners received their medals from the Malaysian Association Research Scientist (MARS) president, Dr. Wan Mashol W. Zin, which was also the official organising body of the MTE 2015.
Dr. Farzad Hejazi from Faculty of Engineering, won the gold medal and Special Award - Gold Medal with Compliment from Panel Jury for two consecutive years through his innovation, Special Connection for Precast Walls.
Special Connection for Precast Walls is the u-shaped steel channel connection applicable in Industrialised Buildings System (IBS) to reduce the impact of dynamic loads and damages on building caused by any source of vibration such as flood, tsunami, earthquake, vehicle and machineries.
Dr. Janet Lim Hong Ngee from Faculty of Science, emerged to be the second gold winner through her innovation, How Practical is Supercapasitor with Flexibility? You Decide, a flexible supercapacitor that has the best stability in minimising the size of an area and is used on various curved surfaces.
Prof. Dr. Lai Oi Ming from Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, triumphed as the next gold winner through her product, SuperCare Stabilized Carotenoids and Vitamin E Powder, an innovation made of natural ingredients that contain powder-formed tocopherols, tocotrienols and carotenoids that could be easily mixed with a wide range of other products for various purposes.
Meanwhile, tocols and carotenoids are useful antioxidants which are highly applicable in formulating food supplements as well as producing natural dyes in foods and cosmetics manufacturing.
Complete list of the winners:
No. |
Product/Technology |
Head of Project |
Faculty/ Institute |
Achievement |
Special Connection for Precast Walls |
Dr. Farzad Hejazi |
Faculty of Engineering |
Gold + Special Award (Gold Medal with Compliment from Panel Jury + RM 500) |
|
How Practical is Super capacitor with Flexibility? You Decide. |
Dr. Lim Hong Ngee |
Faculty of Science |
Gold |
|
Stabilized Carotenoids and Vitamin E Enriched Powder |
Prof. Dr. Lai Oi Ming |
Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences |
Gold |
|
Ontology Virtual Community of Practice System Model (OVCoP) |
Prof. Dr. Rusli Hj. Abdullah |
Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology |
Silver |
|
Ultrasound Bath Aided Mixing System |
Prof. Madya Dr. Chin Nyuk Ling |
Faculty of Engineering |
Silver |
|
Creating originality and effectiveness in music accompaniment of sports routine |
Dr. Loo Fung Chiat |
Faculty of Human Ecology |
Silver |
|
Exotic Ice Structuring Peptides |
Prof. Dr. Mohd Basyaruddin Abdul Rahman |
Faculty of Science |
Silver |
|
Digital Speech Watermarking For Online Speaker Recognition Through G.722 VoIP Channel |
Prof. Madya Syed Abdul Rahman Al Haddad |
Faculty of Engineering |
Bronze |
|
Clothing Fashion Design Competency Instrument (CFaDC) |
Dr. Arasinah Kamis |
Faculty of Educational Studies |
Bronze |
|
Single Layer Graphene Oxide |
Dr. Nor Azowa Ibrahim |
Faculty of Science |
Bronze |
|
Polysulfone/Chitosan Composite Membrane for CO2/CH4 Separation |
Dr. Nor Azowa Ibrahim |
Faculty of Science |
Bronze |
|
Extraction of Pomelo Juice Using A Pomelo Juice Extractor |
Prof.Madya. Dr. Rosnah Shamsudin |
Faculty of Engineering |
Bronze |
|
Nano-encapsulated organic phase change material |
Prof. Dr. Mohd Zobir Hussein |
Institute of Advanced Technology |
Bronze |
|
After A Dream |
Prof. Madya Dr. Joanne Yeoh Pei Sze |
Faculty of Human Ecology |
Bronze |
|
A Lactococcal Bicistronic Vector System for Gene Delivery in Eukaryotic Cells |
Dr. Nurulfiza Mat Isa |
Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences |
Bronze |
|
Bio-Based Production of Crotonic Acid |
Dr. Hidayah Ariffin |
Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences |
Bronze |