Researcher wins international award
DR ONG Wee Jun’s aspiration to make the world a better place using green technology has won him more than 10 international awards.
As a child in primary school, he was fascinated with the process of photosynthesis from sunlight and the further knowledge he picked up in science class.
Dr Ong, 29, is an assistant professor in the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering at Xiamen University Malaysia. He is currently teaching Chemical Engineering subjects such as materials science and principles of chemical engineering.
Based on a basic knowledge of photosynthesis, Dr Ong is today convinced that in future the sun will be able to power the world’s energy requirements to reduce the over-dependence on fuel.
As he was growing up, he pondered over how it was possible to have cleaner and sustainable energy without any harmful effect on the environment.
Applying the sun’s energy used in photosynthesis, Dr Ong researched and developed renewable fuel technology through the use of nanomaterials, which would convert solar energy into chemical fuels and electricity.
Through these research findings on developing green technology, he won the Green Talent Award presented by the German government in Berlin last month. He was among 25 international recipients for his research on energy conversion from sun rays to energy fuels.
The jury of the Green Talent Award, made up of renowned German scientists, commended Dr Ong’s approach of carbon dioxide reduction and conversion of solar energy into fuel and its potential to become a definitive solution for future energy supply in many countries.
Apart from experimental work, Dr Ong demonstrated interdisciplinary research competency by collaborating with overseas researchers. Jointly, through computational results and experimental techniques, their computer-aided nanomaterial design could be commercialised.
“We did simulation modelling with a group of international scientists to understand the fundamental principles and elementary reactions involved.
“The success of this research will spur Malaysia’s quest for clean and renewable energy,” he added.
As part of the Green Talent Award, the recipients attend the international Science Forum for highly gifted researchers from the field of sustainable development.
The award has been honouring talented researchers since 2009 and provides young scientists with a platform for sharing their views on green concepts to make the world a better place.
The Green Talents were on their two-week Science Forum tour from Oct 13 to 27 and visited some of the hot spots of sustainability science in the east of Germany. That offered the unique opportunity to get exclusive access to the country’s research landscape, learn about ground-breaking projects on-site and possibilities for cooperation with German experts and facilities.
On his experience at the international Science Forum, Dr Ong said it was awesome to visit the universities, research centres and companies in Germany.
“This has definitely widened my research landscape. To work at top-class research facilities and to build relationships with people from different cultures has expanded my research network.
“I discussed with leading German scientists for potential collaboration with Xiamen University Malaysia to work on fundamental science,” he said.
About a month ago, Dr Ong received the Young Researcher award by the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE). It was presented by Raja Permaisuri Perak Tuanku Zara Salim.
He was again highly commended internationally in the United Kingdom. His breakthrough research is on the photosynthesis process in plants by engineering a photocatalyst that can use solar light to split water and reduce carbon dioxide into energy-rich fuels.
Dr Ong was also highlighted and featured in the Emerging Investigators 2018 — Journal of Materials Chemistry A, published by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Source: TheStar