LKC FES Student Wins Best Presenter Award at ICSEAT 2024

Vinod K. Ganesan, a PhD student in Engineering from the Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science (LKC FES) and the Centre for Healthcare Science and Technology (CHST), received the Best Presenter Award at the 2nd International Conference on Sustainable Engineering & Advanced Technology (ICSEAT 2024). The event, hosted by SEGi University, took place on 5 and 6 August 2024 at the Connexion Conference & Event Centre, Kuala Lumpur.

Vinod's winning presentation, titled "Moisture Electricity Generation from Carbonized Paper Through Low-Power Violet Laser," delved into pioneering methods of energy generation. His research was supervised by Dr Tan Chun Hui, with co-supervision from Assoc Prof Ir Dr Chee Pei Song and Prof Ts Dr Lim Eng Hock.

In describing his project, Vinod shared, "We developed a graphene layer on a paper substrate using a low-power violet laser to extract energy from the ambient humidity. As the need for sustainable, green energy sources intensifies, powering devices in remote jungle regions remains challenging due to the dense tree canopy and the shading it creates, limiting solar power's effectiveness. This has made moisture-enabled electric generators (MEGs) a focal point of interest as they convert air moisture into electricity."

He added, "We aimed to create a paper-based moisture-electric generator (PMEG) through a single-step carbonisation process using a readily available low-power violet laser engraver. This method uses paper as the base material and a low-powered laser engraver, enhancing recyclability and reducing environmental impact. The approach presents a promising and green fabrication method for large-scale PMEG production, tapping into environmental moisture to power electronic devices directly."

Vinod presenting his research at ICSEAT 2024

Dr Tan remarked, "MEGs have attracted considerable research attention due to their unique capability to convert ambient moisture into electrical energy. Traditionally, these devices use graphene obtained through carbon dioxide (CO2) laser scribing. However, the high power consumption associated with CO2 lasers poses environmental concerns due to increased carbon emissions and energy usage. The PMEG we fabricated using a low-power violet laser can produce a no-load voltage of 0.241 V at 80% relative humidity (RH) under room temperature conditions (25 ± 1 °C)."

Dr Tan also acknowledged the support behind this work, "This project was funded by the Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman Research Fund (project number IPSR/RMC/UTARRF/2023-C2/T02). I would like to thank the Centre for Healthcare Science and Technology (CHST) for providing financial assistance that enabled Vinod to attend this conference through the Excellent Research Centre Award Fund. I also extend my gratitude to the co-authors of this project, post-doctoral research fellow Dr Lee Soon Poh and Ms Wong Ke Xin, whose contributions under UTAR's Undergraduate Research Scheme (URS) were instrumental to the project's success."

The 2nd International Conference on Sustainable Engineering & Advanced Technology (ICSEAT 2024) served as a crucial platform for researchers and engineers to exchange knowledge and present their research, as well as to explore potential solutions to today's pressing challenges.

The certificate received by Vinod