Foo wins Top Research Scientists award

DOMINIC FOO, an IChemE Fellow and professor at the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus (UNMC) has been presented with a Top Research Scientists Malaysia (TRSM) Award.

The TRSM programme is overseen by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) and recognises the best research scientists in Malaysia. It is designed to acknowledge the contribution made by scientists to the Malaysian economy and showcase their research and act as a forum for knowledge dissemination, as well as providing a point of reference for the international scientific community seeking science and technology experts in Malaysia.

Those named in the programme are expected to fulfil several criteria, including being leaders in their field, mentors to the next generation of scientists, national policy advisors, and science communicators and ambassadors.

Foo teaches process design and integration at UNMC and sits on the editorial board of the IChemE journal Process Safety and Environmental Protection (PSEP). He is also editor-in-chief of the Springer journal Process Integration and Optimisation for Sustainability.

Foo was presented with his award by Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah of Perak, at a ceremony at the International Conference on Science for Peace in Kuala Lumpur.

Foo says that he is passionate about helping young people to succeed in their careers, providing guidance and mentoring to new researchers and academics. He carries out all of his research work within Malaysia, although he collaborates with researchers all over the world. He thanked his collaborators for their support and the professors who mentored him during the early years of his career, Mahmoud El-Halwagi of Texas A&M University, and Raymond Tan of De La Salle University Philippines.

'Being an inspiring mentor, Professor El-Halwagi once told me that 'The detractors can slow you down, but they cannot stop you. Contribution will always prevail!' during the early difficult time of my research career,' Foo told The Chemical Engineer.

He says that he was honoured to receive the award from Sultan Nazrin Shah.

'[This award] is my first official national award given by the authority of Malaysia. All of my previous awards were from international and national professional bodies. But this is the first one that comes from the government of Malaysia in recognising my achievement,' Foo told The Chemical Engineer.

Foo has won multiple awards in his career, including Nottingham’s 2014 Vice Chancellor’s Achievement Award, which recognises an academic’s exceptional achievement and substantial contribution to the university’s reputation, the Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan (SCEJ) award for outstanding Asian researcher and engineer in 2013, and the top academic in the 2012 Outstanding Young Malaysian Awards. In 2009, he was named Innovator of the Year at the 2009 IChemE Awards.