Curtin Sarawak alumnus named Western Australia Young Professional Engineer of the Year 2012

Miri – 9 November 2012 – Dr. Bay Yeo, an alumnus of Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) was recently presented the Western Australia Young Professional Engineer of the Year Award 2012 at Engineers Australia’s WA Engineering Excellence Awards event in Perth.

The WA Engineering Excellence Awards recognise individuals who demonstrate great achievement and leadership within the engineering profession.

Dr. Yeo, 26, who hails from Miri, was honoured for his contributions towards several major infrastructure projects as well as his inspirational work with young engineers.

He was a civil and construction engineering (honours) undergraduate student at Curtin Sarawak from 2005 to 2008. He then pursued his postgraduate study at Curtin University’s main campus at Bentley in Perth where he went on to complete his PhD in civil engineering in 2011.

While at Curtin Bentley, Dr. Yeo achieved many outstanding milestones. He developed new testing methodologies to assess the characteristics of cement stabilised materials, published nine international peer-reviewed conference papers and three peer-reviewed international journal papers, and won Best Overall Paper and Best Student Paper awards at the 7th International Conference on Road and Airfield Pavement Technology last year.

He is currently a civil engineer with Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) in Perth working on major infrastructure development projects. He is part of Engineers Without Borders which promotes humanitarian engineering through education and grassroots projects and has been involved in organising fundraisers, outreach programmes in high schools and pro-bono engineering projects in Western Australia.

He is a registered Chartered Professional Engineer and member of Institution of Engineers, Australia and was the Chairman of the SKM Graduate Development Committee which organises various development events for graduates at SKM.

The former SMK Lutong student has also garnered other accolades in the past such as the Western Australia Premier Final Year Scholarship, Curtin Sarawak Engineering School Valedictorian, Best Civil Engineering Student, Best Final Year Thesis and Pro-Vice Chancellor Leadership Excellence Award.

During his time at Curtin Sarawak, Dr. Yeo was president of the Student Council and Curtin Rotaract Club. He was also actively involved in developing Curtin Sarawak’s School of Business’ online registration system, publishing Curtin Sarawak’s yearbook, implementing the Student’s Choice Award and organising state-wide camps for Rotaract members and various city-wide fund-raising activities.

Relating his experiences at Curtin Sarawak, Dr. Yeo said the university provided a close-knit environment where the academics were able to offer professional and personal guidance to students.

“Curtin Sarawak is strongly committed to teaching and learning as seen in its staff development and student enrichment activities. The university has a culture that promotes learning beyond classrooms, encourages critical and creative thinking as well as exploring different opportunities,” he said.

Dr. Bay Yeo posing with his award at theEngineers Australia’s WA Engineering Excellence Awards ceremony.