Curtin Sarawak HDR student receives prestigious MyBrain15 scholarship

Miri – 17 January 2013 – A higher degree research (HDR) student from Curtin University, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak), Lue Ik Hong, became the university’s second recipient of a MyBrain15 scholarship for postgraduate study.

A Master of Philosophy (Electrical Engineering) student, Lue works under the supervision of Dr. Wong Kiing Ing, Senior Lecturer of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) of Curtin Sarawak’s School of Engineering and Science. A fellow student, Billy Lau Pik Lik, also from the ECE Department, was awarded a similar scholarship last year.

The prestigious MyBrain15 scholarship programme was established under the 10th Malaysia Plan to provide financial assistance for Malaysians to pursue postgraduate study at Masters or PhD level. It aims to create a pool of sophisticated intellectuals who can lead the development of new research and innovation in the country. It offers three scholarship schemes, namely MyMasters, MyPhD and Industrial PhD valued at RM10 000, RM24 000 and RM50,000 respectively.

Lue’s research into dynamic voltage scaling (DVS) algorithms for soft and hard real-time systems looks into energy efficiency of small, low-cost electronic devices combined with advanced real-time signal processing and information extraction.

Energy consumption has always been a challenge in designing battery-powered electronic devices such as wireless sensors used for monitoring environmental conditions. Lue’s research investigates DVS to further minimise the energy consumption of microprocessors and prolonging the operational life of real-time systems.

The study of the energy efficiency of such devices is particularly important because constant recharging or changing of sensor batteries can be costly or difficult in certain hazardous environments.

Expressing pride in Lue’s achievement, Dr. Wong remarked, “Ik Hong is an outstanding, very hardworking student. In November 2011, he outshined students from other institutions of higher learning in the state to claim first prize in the 2011 Sarawak Open Source Competition.”

Lue’s project entitled ‘Low-cost, scalable, real-time, continuous monitoring and assessment of sewerage system based on Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN)’ won him the prize from Sarawak Information Systems Sdn. Bhd.

Meanwhile, Associate Professor Dr. Ashutosh Kumar Singh, Head of the ECE Department, said that his department, which has the highest number of HDR students at Curtin Sarawak, has achieved success in many areas, including securing a RM137,000 grant from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) to conduct research into efficient low power system-on-chip architectures.

Last year, the department and the Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Student Branch of Curtin Sarawak co-organised their largest-ever electronic exhibition at the Curtin Sarawak campus, attracting over 700 attendees.

In October, HDR student Chin Pin Rui, who is pursuing Master of Philosophy (Electrical and Computer Engineering), represented Curtin Sarawak at the bi-annual Three Minute Thesis (3MT) research communication competition organised by the University of Queensland, Australia.

(L-R) Dr. Wong Kiing Ing, Lue Ik Hong and fellow student Alex Goh at the 2011 Sarawak Open Source Competition.