Recipient of the 2018/2019 Fulbright U.S.-ASEAN Visiting Scholar Award, Dr Chuck Chuan Ng did the University proud again when he won the Green Brain of the Year Award competition organised by Middle East Technical University Northern Cyprus Campus (METU NCC) Centre for Sustainability (CfS).
Dr. Chuck’s project co-authored with Syazwan Akid Md. Said from University of Malaya entitled Enhanced Heavy Metals Phyto-remediation of Vetiver Grass with Low Cost Soil Amendments, Malaysia, was selected as the top 5 finalists among 254 project submissions received from over 13 countries. The countries participating were Turkey, TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus), Pakistan, Macedonia, Egypt, Albania, Malaysia, Zambia, Italy, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Azerbaijan.
The five finalist teams for the Green Brain Contest i.e.; 2 teams from Malaysia, 2 teams from Indonesia and 1 team from Italy were invited to METU NCC (all expenses paid) on 4-6th of October 2018 to present their project in front of the jury. Dr. Chuck’s team earned the coveted title “Green Brain of the Year 2018 Award”.
Green Brain of the Year Contest, also known as the International Project Competition (IPC), emphasizes original ideas which have been evaluated for its feasibility. The competitors formed a team of two to come up with an original project to tackle a sustainability problem in support of the Vital Triad (Sustainable Environment, Sustainable Energy and Sustainable Water Resources), analyse feasibility, and submitted their work in a properly formatted paper. The project addressed the problem, the solution as a system and/or a process flow, and was judged based on Problem Relevance to Sustainability, Originality, Feasibility, and Impact of Solution.
Earlier this year, Dr. Chuck received the Fulbright Research Scholarship, awarded to deserving Malaysian scholars that have displayed exemplary skills and knowledge in their respective fields and area of study. Dr Chuck, Programme Coordinator of the Environmental Technology Programme, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology (FST), QIUP received this award under the Applied Environmental Sciences (Soil Pollution and Bioremediation) field of study.
QIUP is very much aware of the increasing public concern and the need for awareness of protection for global environmental issues, and so is very committed to make a difference to fulfil the country’s need in managing, conserving and protecting the environment for sustainability. Both the Diploma in Environmental Technology and Bachelor of Environmental Technology (Hons) offered by the School of Biological Sciences under the Faculty of Science and Technology, QIUP are examples of some of the University’s efforts towards meeting the country’s and global need for human capital that can assist in achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.
We take this opportunity to congratulate Dr Chuck on his excellent achievement and look forward to more accolades from him!
