Professor Ir Dr Denny KS Ng from the University of Nottingham Malaysia was awarded with Ten Outstanding Young Malaysian Awards under the Scientific & Technological Development category for the Ten Outstanding Young Malaysian Awards 2017 on 9 September in Kuala Lumpur.
Professor Ng has been an academic in the University’s Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering for the past eight years and is currently Head of Business Engagement and Innovation Services (BEIS) in the University. As the head of BEIS, he actively promotes collaborations among the industry, academia and policy makers.
“I won this award for my contribution in research on sustainable technologies which can convert waste materials into value added products. The developed technologies can not only generate more revenue for the industry, but it also reduces waste generation and carbon emission to the environment. I also initiated a transdisciplinary research which gathered various parties including university researchers, small holder farmers, and industry players to improve and develop a sustainable palm oil value chain,” said Professor Ng.
At the awards ceremony, there were a total of eight honourees from five different categories. Dr Chen Chee Dhang from University Malaya and Prof Ir Dr Lam Wei Haur from Tianjin University, China emerged as TOYM (Academic Leadership and/or Accomplishment). Magician Avery Chin and Acrylic artist Stanley Goh were named as TOYM 2017 Honorees for Cultural Achievement. Ir Dr Leong Wai Yie and Pua Jayson won the award for Personal Improvement and/or Accomplishment category. Meanwhile, Viva City Global CEO Mr Jarryson Abraham G Doss won TOYM 2017 for Humanitarian and/or Voluntary Leadership.
Professor Ng initiated the Centre of Sustainable Palm Oil Research (CESPOR) at the University of Nottingham Malaysia. This centre is a cross-disciplinary research centre which focuses on research on the entire value chain of the palm oil industry, from plantations to consumers. To date, CESPOR has successfully secured many industrial research contracts worth more than RM2 million. Together with the researchers in CESPOR, farmers and industry partners, Professor Ng initiated integrated strategies to promote a sustainable value chain for palm oil industry.
Professor Ng contributes actively in the development of national science policies and strategies. He was selected as a representative of the science community by Academy Science Malaysia in the Exclusive TN50 Roundtable Dialogue between YAB Prime Minister and Malaysian Scientists.
Apart from focusing on research and development, Professor Ng is also engaged in knowledge transfer activities via industrial consultation projects. He has secured more than RM5 million of research and industrial grants from the government and industry to develop his research and commercialise the output.
One of the significant research outputs is to develop a pre-commercialised scale treatment system to convert wastewater into biogas and recover the treated water. Together with his co-workers, he has developed an integrated solution, which is known as an Integrated Recovery and Regeneration (REGEN) system, to transform all the solid and liquid wastes from palm oil mill into value-added products.
Professor Ng has received numerous awards for his work. His other honours include Young Engineer Award 2015 from Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM), Three Outstanding Young Persons of Negeri Sembilan (3OYP.NS) Awards, Junior Chamber International (JCI) in 2014, Global IChemE Young Chemical Engineer of the Year 2012 from Institute of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) UK, First Class Excellence Award of Yayasan Negeri Sembilan, 2009 and Malaysia National Scholarship from World Federation of Scientists in 2017.
“It is my honour to receive such recognition from the organiser. I will continue to make more impact to society and improve transfer knowledge from the University to society. Besides, it is important to shape national and international policies to support research and development for our future generation sustainably,” said Prof Denny Ng.
In 2012, the University of Nottingham academic and Director of Centre of Green Technologies Professor Ir Dr Dominic CY Foo was awarded with TOYM, and also received the same recognition as Professor Ng.
About Ten Outstanding Young Malaysian Awards
The Ten Outstanding Young Malaysian Awards 2017 is a National Project of Junior Chamber International Malaysia, organised by Junior Chamber International Kuala Lumpur Mandarin. This prestigious awards banquet was held at Sunway Hotel Resort & Spa. A total of eight honourees were awarded from five different categories, namely Academic Leadership and Accomplishment, Cultural Achievement, Humanitarian and Voluntary Leadership, Scientific & Technological Development, and Personal Improvement & Accomplishment.
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More information is available from Professor Denny Ng on denny.ng@nottingham.edu.my or Josephine Dionisappu, PR & Communications Manager on josephine.dionisappu@nottingham.edu.my, +6 (03) 8924 8746.
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. More than 97 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is recognised internationally and it is 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 18th September 2017