Dr Chai Ai Bao from the Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering at UNMC received an Early Career Academic grant of £2,000 (RM10,463) which was awarded by the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU).
“I am delighted and extremely thankful to receive this grant and I would like to express my sincere appreciation to ACU for the opportunity provided to me. This grant to attend ICMAE 2016 will enable me to generate creative and innovative research ideas from this prestigious conference, which will be beneficial for my future research grant proposal writing and application. Lastly, I am also grateful to my family members and colleagues for their endless support in establishing my research work at UNMC,” said Dr Chai.
The grant was launched in 2013 in answer to a series of calls to assist young academic staff from ACU institutions to attend conferences in other commonwealth countries. The maximum amount of each grant is £2,000, which can be used to cover travel and visa costs, conference fees, accommodation and subsistence. In 2016, there were 30 grants available and Dr Chai was one of those selected out of some 220 applications from ACU institutions, which has over 500 member institutions in 37 countries across the Commonwealth.
Dr Chai will be using the grant for her research project focusing on natural rubber biocomposites for aerospace application. This research project studies the potential of food solid waste materials as biofillers in natural rubber biocomposites for aircraft interiors. The grant will enable Dr Chai to participate at the 7th International Conference on Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (ICMAE) from 18 to 22 July 2016 in London, United Kingdom.
Upon obtaining her PhD in the field of mechanical aspect of polymer from the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Dr Chai was appointed as an Assistant Professor in the Department of M3 in 2014.
“The University as a whole has always been supportive to help early career academics to move forward with their career progression. The research work undertaken by Ai Bao and the impact of her work is remarkable. We are particularly proud of Ai Bao for the award she received,” said Professor Ng Hoon Kiat, Head of Department for M3 at UNMC.
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More information is available from Dr Chai Ai Bao on AiBao.Chai@nottingham.edu.my, Professor Ng Hoon Kiat on HoonKiat.Ng@nottingham.edu.my and Josephine Dionisappu, PR & Communications Manager at The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus on josephine.dionisappu@nottingham.edu.my.
Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with a “distinct” approach to internationalisation, which rests on those full-scale campuses in China and Malaysia, as well as a large presence in its home city.’ (Times Good University Guide 2016). It is also one of the most popular universities in the UK among graduate employers and the winner of ‘Outstanding Support for Early Career Researchers’ at the Times Higher Education Awards 2015. It is ranked in the world’s top 75 by the QS World University Rankings 2015/16, and 8th in the UK by research power according to the Research Excellence Framework 2014. It has been voted the world’s greenest campus for four years running, according to Greenmetrics Ranking of World Universities.
Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest-ever fundraising campaign, is delivering the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future.
Posted on 12th July 2016