Chrysalis Award<\/a> Final Pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cEventually, we ended up with bioplastics to make it easier to appeal to the public as we still use plastics on almost anything and everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWith the integration of bioplastics into the new plastics economy, we could reduce plastic pollution and do our best in tackling climate change,\u201d he told StarEdu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The team also comprised students Hii Ling Wei from International Medical University (IMU) and Aishah Mohd Marsin from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They decided to use algae that have been genetically modified to boost their photosynthetic abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leong explained that microalgae are unicellular photosynthetic microbes that can live in non-potable water, making it ideal for use in wastewater management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that algae contain \u201chighly valuable\u201d compounds that can become food supplements, fertilisers and biofuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMicroalgae can extract the nutrients from wastewater, thereby providing a win-win solution for growing microalgae biomass while treating wastewater,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur genetically modified algae would attach themselves to a magnetic ball just like the Marimo moss ball to ease cultivation in a wastewater environment and the later harvesting stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFinally, we would extract the algal oil to be made into bioplastic materials.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leong, 29, said in Malaysia, we are still reliant on surface water as our sole water supply, be it for domestic, commercial and industry usage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that it is time for us to practise sustainable water resource management, including treating wastewater for reuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the final pitch held on Nov 23, ASM president Prof Datuk Dr Asma Ismail said we need to change the current landscape of research in Malaysia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe gap between institutions and industries needs to be connected to ensure transformation happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTherefore, this programme and other science-based awards should be grown and diversified to attract the participation of students from primary to tertiary levels, as well as partnerships of industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is important to ensure that the research output can be translated to innovations to benefit humanity,\u201d she said during the virtual ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Throughout the programme, budding research talents were trained through workshops, and group discussions on developing excellent research proposals and making a successful pitch and invention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finalists \u2013 all final year PhD students under the age of 35 \u2013 were also assessed on their demonstration of knowledge, enthusiasm, leadership, creativity, teamwork and presentation skills, among others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The final pitch witnessed five proposals presented by 15 finalists from Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, UTM, IMU, University of Nottingham Malaysia, UCSI University and Universiti Teknologi Petronas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second prize of the competition went to Teoh Ai Ni from UCSI University and the third place winner was Tan Yue Dian from UTM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The top three winners won RM10,000 cash prizes in total for their professional development. Suitable candidates will also be recommended for fellowships or internships in reputable institutions and establishments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A team of Malaysian students had initially come together to create a sustainable way to manage wastewater using microalgae. In the process, however, they decided to use byproducts from the wastewater system to create bioplastic \u2013 thus cleaning water and creating something useful at the same time. Universiti Teknologi Petronas doctor of philosophy (PhD) student […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"Young Malaysian students team developed a method of cleaning water and creating something useful at the same time","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[7190,5838,5847,12615,13634],"supplier":[19650,19649,19648,2862,2762,2763,12134,19651],"class_list":["post-102974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-algae","tag-bioeconomy","tag-bioplastics","tag-microbes","tag-photosynthesis","supplier-academy-of-sciences-malaysia-asm","supplier-international-medical-university-malaysia-imu","supplier-universiti-teknologi-malaysia-utm","supplier-universiti-kebangsaan-malaysia-ukm","supplier-universiti-putra-malaysia-upm","supplier-universiti-sains-malaysia-usm","supplier-university-teknologi-petronas-malaysia","supplier-young-scientists-network-ysn"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102974"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102974\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102974"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=102974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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