Meet the 2019/20 ASEAN Science and Technology Fellows

Dr Wida Susanty Haji Suhaili holds the assistant professor position at the School of Computing and Informatics at the Universiti Teknologi Brunei.  She is the project coordinator for the School where she oversees all the student projects within the School. She is the thrust lead for Digital and Creativity research thrust in the University.  Dr Wida has recently been focusing on SMART Initiative projects, after obtaining her PhD, and is actively involved in SMART research projects under ASEAN ICT Virtual Organization of ASEAN Institutes and National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Japan with the theme SMART Environment, Smart Agriculture, and Smart Disaster Management.

Through the ASEAN S&T Fellowship, Dr Wida under the Department of Agriculture and Agrifood, Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism, will be involved in formulating a policy creation guidelines regarding various Science, Technology, and Innovation issues, specifically in paddy plantation. She will focus on the use of STI in the improvement of paddy plantation in Brunei, where the adoption of these innovations can then be translated and replicated for other water problems.

Dr Wida received both her B.Sc. in Computer Science (2003) and M.Sc. in Computer and Internet Technologies (2004) with Honours from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow (UK), and Ph.D. in Education Technology from the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh in the United Kingdom (2015).

Born and raised in Siem Reap Province of Cambodia, Dr  Reasmey is currently a Head of Food Technology and Nutrition Research Unit under Research and Innovation Center at Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC). She has over 8 years of experience researching and teaching. For her research activities, Dr Reasmey focuses on food product development and innovation, vegetable and cereal fermentation, pathogenic and multidrug-resistant bacteria in Tonle Sap lake and river waters (SATREPS Project funded by JICA and JST), and anaerobic digestion of sludge. Besides, she teaches General Microbiology, Food Biotechnology, and Food Processing in the Faculty of Chemical and Food Engineering at ITC.

As an ASEAN S&T Fellow, Dr  Reasmey will assist General Secretariat of the National Science and Technology Council, Ministry of Planning, to develop a technology roadmap for agro-processing in order to promote agro-processing industries in Cambodia.

Dr  Reasmey received a bachelor’s degree in Chemical and Food Engineering from Institute of Technology of Cambodia (2005), Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from De La Salle University in the Philippines (2007), and Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology in Japan (2011).

As the Head Research Unit of Mechatronics and Information Technology at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC), Dr  Sarot is managing the creation of a new master program for Intelligent Mechatronics. He is Head of the Dynamics and Controls Laboratory and manages research activities in dynamic modelling, estimation, optimization, robotics, AI, instrumentation, and control.

Through the ASEAN S&T Fellowship, Dr  Sarot will be working with the Techo Startup Center. He will draft the establishment of a Science, Technology, and Innovation Hub. The institution will act in bridging research collaboration among all stakeholders, conducting technology incubation and technology transfer, and facilitating processes toward innovation for maximizing the number of new entrepreneurs.

Dr  Sarot completed his B.Eng. in Industrial and Mechanical Engineering (2007) at ITC and received his M.Eng. in Dynamics and Controls (2009) from Bandung Institute of Technology. He worked as a lecturer for two years at ITC before he started his doctor degree study in Tokyo Institute of Technology, where he graduated with his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical and Control Systems Engineering in 2011.

As a faculty member at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia, Dr. Himawan Tri Bayu Murti Petrus has a deep commitment to the development of more environmentally friendly mineral processing in Indonesia. Commencing more than 5 years ago by initially working with non-mercury gold extraction, his work then expanded into ground-breaking research with silica scaling mitigation to ensure the sustainable production of electricity in the geothermal power plant and fly ash – bottom ash comprehensive utilisation in the coal-fired electricity generation. Furthermore, he is also working on valuable metals extraction from secondary resources (urban mine and industrial waste). His research activities are entirely emphasised on the creation of sustainable mineral processing.

Through the ASEAN Science and Technology Fellowship programme, Dr Himawan would like to focus on the metal extraction from the secondary resource which is lithium and other metals from battery recycling process. This topic is essential for creating a close sustainable approach in the development of electrical vehicles. Rarely found abundant on earth, lithium from battery recycling can be a potential resource for the battery raw material. Discussion with potential stakeholders including government, universities and industries is going to be part of the ASEAN S&T Fellowship programme in order to be able to create a roadmap for the realisation of this battery recycling process in Indonesia.

Dr  Himawan Tri Bayu Murti received his B.Sc. (2001) from the Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia. In 2006, he obtained his master degree from the School of Chemical Engineering and Industrial Chemistry, University of New South Wales, Australia, and completed his doctoral degree from the Department of Earth Resources, Kyushu University, Japan (2012).

As a faculty member at the Department of Mining Engineering, National University of Laos (NUOL), Dr Sengpasith has served as a lecturer and researcher in the field of mining and environmental engineering.  His research interests include environmental issues in the mining industry, mineral processing and extractive metallurgy, artisanal and small-scale gold mining, evaluation of industrial minerals, and E-waste management. 

Through the ASEAN S&T Fellowship, Dr Sengpasith will focus on the policy for science, technology, and innovation for electronic waste (E-waste) management, which will include the mechanisms of E-waste management policy and technology development. He will be working with the Department of Technology and Innovation, Ministry of Science and Technology of Lao PDR.

Dr  Sengpasith completed his B.Sc. in Civil Engineering (2008) at the National University of Laos and M.Sc. in Mineral Resources Engineering (2010) at the Universiti Sains Malaysia. He received his Ph.D. in Sustainable Resources Engineering from Hokkaido University, Japan (2015).

Dr Amal works as a researcher in Research Center for Metallurgy and Material, Indonesian Institute of Sciences. His research interests include nanoengineered materials, energy materials and biomaterial. He is currently an ad-interim member in ASEAN Young Scientists Network and  2019 ASEAN Science Diplomats in addition to several scientific community members such as Indonesian Society for Nano and Material Research Society – Indonesia. Dr Amal is active in writing both national and international academic publications as well as become a speaker in national and international events.  

Dr Amal obtained his Ph. D degree in Material Science and Engineering from Yeungnam University, South Korea, M.Sc in Material Science from University of Indonesia, and B. Sc in Chemistry from Bandung Institute of Technology. He was a post-doctoral researcher in Yeungnam University before returned to his home country and was appointed as a Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Sumbawa University of Technology for a short term.

Dr  Keophousone has over a decade of experience managing research programs on diverse topics including groundwater contaminant movement, groundwater flow system, environmental impact assessment, and environmental management and monitoring plans. She has experience as a researcher for CRA, which is supported by AUN/SEED-Net program of JICA.

As an ASEAN Science and Technology Fellow, Dr  Keophousone will focus on science, technology, and innovation policy particularly for solid waste management, including mechanisms of solid waste management policy and technology development.

Dr Keophousone received both her Bachelor of Engineering (2002) and Master of Engineering (2007) degrees from the Civil Engineering Department of National University of Laos and Geological Engineering from Gadjah Mada University in Indonesia. She received her Ph.D. in Geological Engineering from Gadjah Mada University in Indonesia, Yogyakarta Indonesia (2012).

Dr  Norhayati is an Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering at the Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Kuala Lumpur. She is currently the Associate Director of UTM International Kuala Lumpur and recently completed her tenure as a Guest Scholar in January 2019 at the Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability (Shishu-kan), Kyoto University, Japan.

As an ASEAN S&T Fellow, Dr  Norhayati will focus on the policy for science, technology, and innovation for water management, which will include the mechanisms of water management policy and technology development. Under the fellowship programme, Dr  Norhayati will be working with the Academy of Sciences Malaysia.

Dr  Norhayati is recipient of the 2018 L’Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science Fellowship. She was a member of the International Water Association (IWA) Board of Directors, an IWA Fellow, and Vice President of the Malaysian Water Association. At a global level, Dr  Norhayati has been involved with the IWA program and activities since 2000 and received the IWA Young Water Professional Award in 2012. Dr Norhayati Abdullah represented UTM and Malaysia at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor for the Fulbright US-ASEAN Visiting Scholar Initiatives in 2016-2017. In February 2018, she was conferred as one of the Top 50 Most Impactful Leaders in Water & Water Management (A Global Listing) during the World CSR Day.

Dr  Norhayati received her Bachelor of Civil (Environmental) Engineering (2002) from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Master of Environmental Engineering (2004) from Newcastle University, United Kingdom. She received her Ph.D. in Environmental Biosciences via collaborative works between Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Newcastle University in 2012.

As a faculty member in the Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering Department of Universiti Putra Malaysia, Dr  Zamir has focused most of his research efforts in acoustics, dynamics, and vibrations. His most recent work is in trying to develop a fluid-based noise mitigation system for engines and in trying to quantify the economic impact of transportation noise. Dr Zamir also utilizes his industrial and corporate experiences doing work for companies such as Proton, UEM Group, and IKEA, to assist the university in enhancing the financial returns from its various revenue generation initiatives.

Through the ASEAN S&T Fellowship, Dr  Zamir is looking at enhancing the effectiveness of science parks in the commercialization ecosystem in Malaysia. He will be working with the Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment, and Climate Change (MESTECC), to engage with relevant national and regional stakeholders in the commercialization ecosystem. Through this engagement, Dr Zamir hopes to better understand the needs and challenges of commercializing the region’s numerous research and innovation outputs, and the role that science parks can play to facilitate the commercialization process. These knowledge will be used to develop strategies to enhance the effectiveness of science parks in Malaysia.

Dr  Zamir received both his B.Sc (2005) and M.Sc (2005) degrees in aerospace engineering from Boston University in the US. He then received his PhD (2013) degree in mechanical engineering from Case Western Reserve University in the US. More recently Dr Zamir obtained his MBA (2017) degree from the University of Cambridge in the UK.

Born in Taunggyi, Southern Shan State, Myanmar, Dr  Zar Zar has most recently served as a professor and researcher at Mandalay Technological University where she teaches courses on machine learning and programming. In addition to her research, she has worked as a supervisor in data mining and machine learning fields.

As an ASEAN S&T Fellow, Dr  Zar Zar is working with Department of Monitoring and Evaluation (Research), Ministry of Education, Myanmar. She will draft a policy brief and plan of action for ICTs in education and management systems in Myanmar. By participating in this fellowship, not only she has the chance to learn their ICT in education system but also she can get the advice to develop ICT in education for our country Myanmar.  The elements will be identified that will create a successful ICT in Education and Management model based on a detailed understanding of end-user preferences, perceptions, and attitudes. The final report will support mainstreaming ICTs in education and management systems in the next National Education Strategic Plan (NESP 2) of her country, Myanmar. 

Dr Zar Zar received her Bachelor in Engineering (IT) (2001) from Mandalay Technological University, Master of Engineering (IT) (2003), and Ph.D. (IT) (2006) from Yangon Technological University, Myanmar. She received her Doctorate in Engineering (Computer Science) from the Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, Japan (2018) which was received under a scholarship from Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Dr Thida grew up in a small town of Myanmar and through her hard work, perseverance, and enthusiasm she won a scholarship from Singapore Government to study a Bachelor of Engineering at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in 2001. She won another Scholarship from NTU to pursue Master of Engineering. After which, she joined I2R in Singapore as an Engineer and has worked her way up to become a Research Scientist while studying PhD from Kingston University, UK. She has published more than 10 scientific journals and her research has made direct contributions to the industry. Together with her team, she won the 2008 IES Prestigious Engineering Achievement award and the 2012 IWA applied research honour award.

In 2013, Dr Thida returned to Myanmar to contribute to the country and has served as a Consultant for EU and UNESCO and provided research and consultation services to the Ministry of Education. She also works to provide training for the Myanmar youth. As an ASEAN S&T Fellow, Dr Thida is working with the Department of Research and Innovation to develop a strategic plan for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy in Myanmar, to promote policy making based on scientific evidence, and to encourage technological innovation.

Dr Thida received her Ph.D. from Kingston University, UK, in 2013 and B.Eng. and M.Eng. degrees in electrical and electronic engineering from NTU, Singapore, in 2005 and 2008 respectively.

Dr Thanda has most recently served as a professor at the Department of Computer Engineering and Information Technology at Mandalay Technological University. Over the past one and a half decades, as she has worked in both universities and government departments in education sector and actively involved in many activities and projects impacting education and research development in Myanmar. Her recent activities include conducting research on reliability, security, and performance management of computing systems, teaching and research development of Mandalay Technological University.

As an ASEAN S&T Fellow, Dr Thanda is working with Department of Information Technology and Cyber Security, Ministry of Transport and Communications of Myanmar to empower the digital security swaying human capacity for Myanmar e-commerce readiness. Based on findings of analysis of existing skill gap for digital security, she will develop guidelines to integrate digital security skills and knowledge which is essential in preparing trust based e-commerce readiness in curriculum of computer science and computer engineering studies. 

Dr Thanda has a B.E in Information Technology from Mandalay Technological University (2004), M.E in Information Technology from Yangon Technological University (2006), a Ph.D. in Information Technology from Mandalay Technological University (2008), and a Dr Eng. in Computer Science from Kumamoto University in Japan (2018) which was received under a scholarship from Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Dr Neil was born on August 16, 1989 in Olongapo City, Philippines. Happily married since 2016, he is now a father to a 1-year old son. He is currently Assistant Professor and Vice Chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department of De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines. In 2018, he was selected as one of the lead authors of the United Nations Global Environment Outlook Youth Report for Asia Pacific.

His research works primarily investigate energy economics, transportation assessment, and policy. His works have been published by top-tier research journals such as Applied Energy (Impact Factor = 7.9) and Journal of Cleaner Production (Impact Factor=5.65). Currently, he is a co-proponent of multiple research projects. The Commission on Higher Education funded his team to develop tools for assessing transport desirability in various cities. Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation in collaboration with the Department of Trade and Industry also recently funded his team to perform a comprehensive techno-socio-economic analysis of electric vehicle deployment in the Philippines.

Dr Neil earned his BS (2011), MS (2011) and PhD (2018) in Mechanical Engineering all from De La Salle University. While he is proudly a homegrown talent, he has also been trained in various institutions abroad: Institute for Energy Systems, Economics and Sustainability – Florida State University, USA (2009); Transport Studies Unit – University of Oxford, UK, (2017); Bartlett School of Planning – University College London, UK. (2017); and Institute of Transportation Studies – University of California, Davis, USA (2017).

Born and raised into a Kapampangan family in the Philippines, Dr  Pierangeli G. Vital or Dr Pie, has more than 10 years of experience performing research and teaching in the field of environmental microbiology. She is currently a University Researcher and Head of the Biological Research and Services Laboratory at the Natural Sciences Research Institute in the University of the Philippines Diliman. She is conferred as the youngest Diplomate by the Philippine Academy of Microbiology, through merit and stringent screening process. She has published several papers in her area of expertise and is serving a number of different professional organizations in various capacities as a Young Ambassador of the prestigious International Society for Microbial Ecology, Treasurer of the Philippine Phycological Society, Inc., Business Manager of the Philippine Society for Microbiology, Inc., and Corresponding Secretary of the Phi Sigma Biological Sciences Honor Society, Alpha Chi Chapter.

As an ASEAN S&T Fellow, she is analysing and developing recommendations on policies and standards related to food safety using microorganisms. Her work addresses the current challenges and issues of the society to contribute to sustainable development and benefit the next generation, which include her newborn daughter. Dr Pie is working with Industrial Technology Development Division under the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

Dr Pie has a B.S. Biology degree, cum laude, from the University of the Philippines Los Banos (2003), M.S. Microbiology from University of the Philippines Diliman (2008), and sandwich program for her Ph.D. in Biology from UP Diliman and International Environmental Research Institute in Korea (2013). She also finished a senior postdoctoral fellowship funded by the Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Agricultural Research in 2017.

Dr Parinya is a founding leader of the Cardiometabolic Research Group, which was founded in 2013, with primary aims to conduct clinical and epidemiologic research related to treatment and prevention of cardiometabolic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, over-weight and obesity. 

Apart from busy clinical work, Dr Parinya has successfully set up a few research studies of his own, focusing on strategies to reduce the burden of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in a Thai population. Based on health check data of 760,000 individuals linked with diagnostic information from electronic health records, he generated a population-based retrospective cohort called ‘HCUR Study’, and developed first nation’s stroke and heart risk scores for a general population, which will help to inform the management of individual and population stroke and heart risk in Thailand. Many of his work has been based on using readily available data from electronic health records and reimbursement data for cardiovascular risk stratification in 4.5 million people in Ubonrachathani and other provinces in Northeastern Thailand and he hopes to extend his work to more than 60 million population of Thailand. He has won six prestigious and highly competitive national and international research grants as a Principle Investigator and Co-Investigator (total sum of 2.5M USD) and published up to 30 papers in high impact international peer-reviewed journals and written two textbook chapters on diabetes and cardiovascular disease. As a young researcher, he received a number of awards and recognitions, including the Elizabeth Barrett-Connor Research Award for Young Investigators 2013 (among five finalists worldwide) and the International Early Career Investigator Award from the American Heart Association (Council on Epidemiology and Prevention).    

Under the ASEAN S&T Fellowship, Dr Parinya is interested in generating updated evidence on policy and implementation of cardiovascular risk assessment and prevention in Thailand and, if possible, ASEAN countries. Specifically, he would like to determine whether this approach to cardiovascular risk assessment has been put on policy priorities of the ASEAN member countries and to what extent the policy has been implemented in these nations. 

Dr  Parinya received his medical degree from Chulalongkorn University and later completed his MPhil in Public Health (2007) and Ph.D. in Medical Science: Epidemiology (2011) at the University of Cambridge, England. Parinya is now working as a Consultant in Preventive Medicine, research scientist and clinical instructor at the Department of Social Medicine, Sanpasitthiprasong Hospital, a teaching hospital of Khon Kaen University and Ubonratchathani University. His research interest is on prevention of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, with particular focus on population risk stratification.

As a senior researcher at the Institute of Energy Science Center for Sustainable Energy Research at the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology Institute of Energy Science, Dr Nam has focused on integrated energy planning and energy-economic-climate models. He is also a research fellow at the Center for Energy and Green Growth Research where he involved in development programs promoting sustainable development and climate change mitigations. He is a certified measurement and verification professional from the Association of Energy Engineers.

As an ASEAN S&T Fellow, Dr  Nam would like to draft a policy brief and provide policy recommendations on large scale renewable energy deployment in Vietnam and possibilities of formation of national Renewable Energy Hub/Zones. Dr Nam was the recipient of the US Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program on: Energy Security and Utilities Management in 2014. Under the fellowship programme, Dr Nam will be working with Viet Nam Institute of Science, Technology and Innovation under the Viet Nam Ministry of Science and Technology.

Dr Nam received his B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering (2006) from the Hanoi University of Science and Technology in Vietnam, and his M.Sc. (2011) from the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at The University of Queensland in Australia. Dr  Nam received his Ph.D. in development economics from the National Academy of Politics in Vietnam (2018).

Dr Huy has nearly 15 years of researching and teaching experiences. His research focuses on environmental management in Aquaculture systems. Currently, he is a lecturer at the Faculty of Fisheries, University of Agriculture and Forestry, Hue University, Vietnam. He has worked as an advisor and consultant for many projects in Vietnam such as a FAO community project based coastal resources management in Central Vietnam namely Integrated Management of Lagoon Activities in Thua Thien Hue province, and worked as a member of the Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad- Institutional University Cooperation network in Can Tho University for bioscience on food, aquaculture, livestock, and crop production.

As an ASEAN S&T Fellow, Dr Huy is conducting research on developing aquaculture models in order to adapt to climate change through environmental management in the Tam Giang lagoon (the largest lagoon in the Southeast Asia area). Additionally, Dr Huy and his staff are now in the first stage of evaluating water management regulations in aquaculture in Thua Thien Hue province in order to develop additional rules or policies for improving established cooperation between stakeholders in the community, especially in sustainable aquaculture management. He is also a volunteer for Fisheries Communities in coastal area which aims to develop sustainable aquaculture through treating waste water from intensive shrimp farming. Under the fellowship programme, Dr Huy will be working with Viet Nam Institute of Science, Technology and Innovation under the Viet Nam  Ministry of Science and Technology.

Dr Huy has a B.Sc. in Aquaculture (2004) from Hue University, Vietnam and M.Sc. (2012) and Ph.D. in Environmental Science from Okayama University, Japan (2016).