Successful hosting of PERFIK-ICMSFM 2014

UTAR successfully hosted the National Physics Conference/Persidangan Fizik Kebangsaan (PERFIK 2014) and the International Conference on Mathematics, Statistics and Financial Mathematics (ICMSFM 2014) at the Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa, Petaling Jaya from 18-19 November 2014.

PERFIK-ICMSFM 2014, organised on a ‘2-in-1’ basis proved to be a landmark event in enhancing the synergies of the related topics of mathematics and physics and promoting networking among the participants.

The Chairperson of the PERFIK 2014 Organising Committee and UTAR’s Institute of Postgraduate Studies and Research (IPSR) Director Prof Faidz Abd Rahman said,”PERFIK 2014 has attracted renowned speakers from overseas such as Australia, Taiwan, US, Japan, and Italy to discuss issues on developments in physics. The turnout from the participants this year is good and more than 200 papers were submitted.” Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Organising Committee for ICMSFM 2014 and Head of Department of Mathematical and Actuarial Sciences, Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science (LKC FES) Dr Goh Yong Kheng added that,” ICMSFM 2014 has progressed with higher quality papers which are presented for discussion in greater depth. 80% of the international participants at the conference are from Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong and the Philippines.”

UTAR President Ir Prof Academician Dato’ Dr Chuah Hean Teik hosted a Chinese dinner to welcome the participants to PERFIK-ICMSFM 2014. Prof Chuah thanked the participants for the support to the conferences as well as the Organising Committees for successfully organising PERFIK-ICMSFM 2014. Among the distinguished guests at the dinner were Professor Dr. Kurunathan s/o Ratnavelu, President, Institut Fizik Malaysia (IFM), Professor Dr. Bruce H.J. Mckellar AC, President, International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP), Professor Dr. Lin Minn-Tsong, Vice President, The Physical Society Republic of China (Taiwan), Professor Dr. Chen Chun-Houh, Chairperson, The Asian Regional Section of The International Association for Statistical Computing (IASC) and Professor Tomoyuki Higuchi, Director-General of the Institute of Statistical Mathematics, Japan.

The keynote addresses, plenary sessions, invited talks and poster displays of PERFIK-ICMSFM 2014 provided the fertile ground for discussions and updates on the developments in the respective fields of physics and mathematics.

The keynote speakers for PERFIK 2014 were Prof Dr. Bruce H.J. Mckellar AC from the University of Melbourne, Australia and Prof Dr Lim Swee Cheng from Multimedia University, Malaysia. Prof Mckellar spoke on the topic ’50 years of CP violation –What have we learned?’ and Prof Lim on ‘ Quantum theory in Fractal and Multifractal Spacetime.’

Prof Hans L. Hartnagel, from Technische Universitat Darmstadt, Germany and a participant of PERFIK said that the conference featured interesting topics with updated information presented by speakers from different parts of the world. Another PERFIK participant, a Nigerian PhD student named Ahmed Rufai Usman added that he valued the conference as an opportunity for him to observe and learn how the academics presented their research findings and the research methods.

Siti Norbaini Sabtu and Nurul Nadiah Sa’adun who are both students in Master in Physics, Universiti Malaya and participants of PERFIK 2014 jointly enthused that the conference broadened their understanding of the various issues and developments in physics.

Adding to the technical knowledge of PERFIK 2014 were the various exhibitor’s booths to display instruments such as optic table, oscilloscope products and testing & measuring instruments. The sponsors and exhibitors included Finisar Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Kumpulan ABEX Sdn Bhd, Alnair Photonics Sdn Bhd, OEMS IntiPakar Corporation Sdn Bhd and Genetron Technology Sdn Bhd.

The supporters for PERFIK 2014 were Institut Fizik Malaysia, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Asian Office of Aerospace Research and Development and International Technology Center Pacific (Army) and Kumpulan Ikhtisas Sains Malaysia (KISM).

As for ICMSFM 2014, the keynote speakers were Prof Tomoyuki Higuchi from the Institute of Statistical Mathematics, Japan, Prof Michael Ng Kwok-Po from Department of Mathematics, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong and Prof Yang Hailiang from Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Prof Tomoyuki presented on ‘Stream Computing and Emulation in a World of the Edge Heavy Data’ and the topics for Prof Ng and Prof Yang were ‘Eignevalues of Non-Negative Tensors: Algorithms and Applications’ and ‘Valuing Equity-Linked Death Benefits and Other Contingent Options’ respectively.  

Prof Jaeyong Lee from Seoul National University, Korea and a participant of ICMSFM remarked that the presentations were excellent with well organised registration and adequate reference materials for participants. Another ICMSFM participant, Roden Jason David who is a lecturer in the Mathematics Department, Ateneo de Manila University, and Philippines concurred with Prof Lee’s views and was keen to know about Malaysia’s rich heritage and racial harmony that could foster cross-disciplinary learning and research.  

ICMSFM 2014 was jointly organised by UTAR Centre for Mathematical Sciences in collaboration The Asian Regional Section of the International Association for Statistical Computing and Centre for Photonics research (IASC-ARS).

Prof Chuah delivering the welcome address

Participants of PERFIK 2014 with Prof Faidz (seated fourth from right)

Participants of ICMSFM 2014 with Dr Goh (seated fifth from right)

A relaxing dinner for the participants

Prof Hartnagel posing a question at the Q & A session

Prof Mckellar delivering his keynote address

Prof Yang introducing the topic of his keynote address

Prof Ng presenting his keynote address