FAScinate™ Talk Series

FAScinate is a play on the word “Fascinate” combined with the abbreviation of the title for Academy of Sciences Malaysia Fellows (FASc). Befitting the title itself, this programme features new ASM Fellows who will fascinate and educate the audience with insights into the Fellow’s expertise and experience.

Previously called ASM Fellows’ Lecture Series, the rebranding of this intellectual series follows ASM’s 25th Anniversary. FAScinate features a renewed format, transitioning from a formal lecture style into a more casual engagement that is hoped to garner more public interest in science.

“Open Minds, Spark Ideas” is the tagline of FAScinate. This series hopes to inspire the public to open their minds to the width and breadth of science and technology, brought on by the captivating presentations by ASM Fellows.

First, Dato’ Dr Madeline Berma talked about how indigenous communities respond to the global COVID-19 pandemic, and how resilient this community is amidst the challenge the pandemic poses.

Dato’ Dr Madeline Berma is a visiting professor at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak. She carried out extensive research, delivered and published papers on economic development that focuses on rural development, poverty, indigenous communities, and women. Additionally, she has been involved in several consultancy jobs for the Federal and State governments.

Although we are not as close to the Pacific Ring of Fire as our neighbours such as Indonesia and the Philippines, we are certainly quaked by the increasing incidences of tremors in recent years. After the Magnitude 6.0 earthquake that hit Sabah in 2015, will Malaysia be ground zero for anymore major earthquake phenomena in the future?

Professor Ir Dr Azlan bin Adnan. Ir Dr Azlan is a Professor at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia was present to further elaborate on this topic. Ir Dr Azlan also holds membership to several international associations such as the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute of the United States and the Seismological Society of America.

Malaysia is the second largest producer of palm oil after Indonesia. Aside from poor management and bad PR, basal stem rot caused by Ganoderma boninense is one of the largest threats faced by the palm oil industry. But will this foul fungus be the death of this billion-ringgit industry? Dr Chong is here to tell us more about the effects of Ganoderma on the palm oil industry.

Dr Chong Khim Phin hails from Universiti Malaysia Sabah. He was recognised as a Top Research Scientist Malaysia by ASM and has published more than 40 papers on plant pathology, specifically on oil palm-ganoderma control. He is often sought after in consultancies related to oil palm diseases and is no stranger to public presentation via various seminars, dialogues, and conferences.

Although supercapacitors and batteries are being extensively used to meet energy demand and supply, their stand-alone efficiencies are still insufficient, especially when put in the context of a smart and sustainable lifestyle. Here comes the supercapattery, hybrid energy storage devices that combine the features of batteries and supercapacitors.

Professor Dr Ramesh Subramaniam is in attendance today, a material scientist who is experienced in the preparation, development and characterisation of polymer and polymer electrolytes as a source of energy for use in various electrochemical devices.