Academic showcase

The Akademi Sain MY Fellows’ Lecture series, brings new Fellows and their research topic front and centre to the public eye. FAScinate™ features a refreshed format, transitioning from a formal lecture-style presentation into a more casual engagement, to bring science closer to the community. 

Many countries have committed to reduce their CO2 emissions under the Paris Agreement (COP21). These voluntary cuts, known as intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs), are meant to limit temperature rise of the global earth to no more than 2°C by the year 2100. Above this threshold, climate change will become catastrophic. The problem is that deep emissions cuts are needed to achieve this goal; according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the world’s net carbon emissions need to be reduced to zero by mid-century. To reduce CO2 emissions, various low-, zero- or negative-emissions technologies are to be used. This requires decision makers to balance economic, environmental and societal goals, while using specialist information from scientists. An intuitive planning tool known as Carbon Emissions Pinch Analysis (CEPA) has been co-developed by Prof Dominic Foo and his colleague Prof Raymond Tan (De La Salle University Philippines) for the planning of energy-climate nexus. CEPA consists of various graphical, algebraic and optimisation techniques that allow the optimum allocation of different energy sources to different demands, with carbon emissions limits. These tools aid high-level decision-making through a “big picture” approach, and make the energy planning tasks much easier.

Policy makers should use the carbon emissions pinch analysis (CEPA) as a graphical technique to allow the energy-climate nexus to be analysed visually and easily. This will help decision makers achieve the emission cuts they need. We illustrate the usefulness of CEPA by applying it to the case of Malaysia as a representative for transition economies. 

Steve Stewart-Williams appears on BFM radio with Sue Ann Lim, to discuss twin studies, behavioural genetics, and the Nottingham Malaysian Twin Registry.

Popular-science article by Steve Stewart-Williams in Nautilus magazine. The article is all about the nature and nurture of sex differences in aggression.

Guest on Astro Awani’s 'Consider This' programme. Interviewed by hosts Melisa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan.

Steve Stewart-Williams appears on the Two For Tea Podcast with Iona Italia. They discuss Steve's book The Ape That Understood the Universe, evolutionary psychology, cultural evolution, altruism, mate choice, and much more.

Popular-science article by Steve Stewart-Williams in the BBC's Focus Magazine. It’s all about the romantic jealousy: Is it part of human nature or human culture – or a little of both?