Two Master of Science students from the Faculty of Science (FSc), namely Tor Xin Yen and Pritpal Singh Sarmak Singh were among the top winners of the poster presentation and oral presentation categories respectively at the Quest Intervarsity Science Symposium (QISS) 2019, co-organised by Faculty of Science and Technology of Quest International University (QIU) and FSc of UTAR, from 13 to 14 November 2019 at QIU, Ipoh.

Themed ‘Science and Technology: Building Insights, Breaking Boundaries’, QISS 2019 aimed to be a platform for collaboration and sharing of scientific findings among participants. The symposium also looked forward towards building insights and fostering partnerships among various scientific institutions, universities and companies. QISS 2019 is also dedicated to research in Life Sciences, Environmental Technology, Computing and Engineering which represents the scientific majority that is changing the world today.

Under the oral presentation category, Pritpal won Champion for QISS 2019 PechaKucha Oral Presentation. He also took home a trophy and a certificate. He stood out from the rest of the contestants with his award-winning research titled “Isolation and characterization of lytic bacteriophages against Pantoea spp that caused leaf blight in rice plants”. Having been working on this research for the past two years, Pritpal’s idea was to develop a bacteriophage-based biocontrol, which will not only prevent millions of ringgit in crop losses, but the method is also environmentally sound.

“I am happy that my research caught the attention of the judges, but I also believe that it was my passion for the research that made me stood out. I felt confident with my research and the audience saw my enthusiasm for the research. Perhaps that was also my winning factor. Overall, I am very honoured to be given that recognition and I would also like to thank my supervisor Dr Loh Pek Chin for her guidance and support,” said Pritpal.

Tor, on the other hand, won second place for QISS 2019 Poster Presentation category. She also received a trophy and a certificate for her award-winning research titled “Isolation, identification and characterization of beneficial bacteria from a biofertilizer”. Her research aimed to isolate, identify and characterise beneficial bacteria from a biofertilizer, in hope that it will eventually contribute to the quality assurance of the production and stability of biofertilizer.

“I am very thankful to win this award, and I especially want to thank my supervisor Assoc Prof Dr Wong Hann Ling, for his guidance and support. I am very grateful to be able to achieve my goals and I am happy that my hard work paid off. Indeed, UTAR has provided me with a good foundation for my learning and research, and with all the training and experiences gained, I am able to present my research confidently,” enthused Tor.