LKC FES academic awarded Tan Sri Hj. Yusoff Prize by IEM

Dr Chew (right) receiving the Tan Sri Hj. Yusoff Prize

UTAR Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science academic Ir ChM Dr Chew Chun Ming was conferred the Tan Sri Hj. Yusoff Prize for his paper titled “Clean water and electricity supplies with solar energy: A sustainable green technology for developing nations” under the general category on 17 March 2022 at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

The prize was awarded by The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM) for an outstanding technical paper on an engineering subject contributed by a Corporate Member in the Chemical Engineering discipline.

The technical paper titled “Clean water and electricity supplies with solar energy: A sustainable green technology for developing nations” is based on the research of an actual system built for the rural community in Sarawak. It was financially supported by the Techkem Group Research and Novel Technology (TechGRANT) fund as a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project. The project also received support from the Sarawak state government to identify the remote village without any utility supplies prior to the commencement of the project. The main objective of the project is to provide a stand-alone system which harnesses solar energy to provide clean water and electricity to these underprivileged villagers.

Ir Dr Chew said, “I am truly humbled by this award. I have always felt this sense of empathy towards rural villagers living without any basic utility supply. I hope to further my research efforts toward sustainable and environmentally-friendly green technology, applicable to people from all walks of life to improve their day to day living. My gratitude to Techkem Group for financing this project and to UTAR for providing me with the opportunity to work with like-minded researchers from both Sungai Long and Kampar Campuses.” 

Ir Dr Chew (front row, most left) at the project site in Sarawak

The award won by Ir Dr Chew