The summit was held at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) from January 17 to January 20, and Reena represented Malaysia.
If one knows how to focus and direct their energy, adversity breeds invention, and difficult circumstances give rise to fruitful results. Dr. Reena Sri Selvarajan learned that from her participation in the 11th Global Young Scientists Summit (GYSS), which took place recently.
Reena, one of the 20 individuals chosen to speak with Nobel Prize-winning chemist Sir David Macmillan, remarked, “It was as if he was saying, ‘Turn your pain into victory.'”
The 33-year-old engineering scientist, who had faced challenges in her academic career, found resonance in the message. Despite having an excellent academic record, she was unable to obtain the scholarship she had hoped for to study medicine.
Reena Sri Selvarajan stated in a press release from Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation (APU), where she currently lectures at its School of Engineering, “I accepted an engineering course offered by a public university, graduated with first-class honours, and enrolled in a PhD programme.
Reena attended the summit on behalf of Malaysia and was one of over 350 young scientists from 29 countries who attended the 21 plenary lectures and four panel discussions that featured 21 Nobel laureates, including Profs. Brian Kobilka and John Mather.
The summit was held at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) from January 17 to January 20, and Reena represented Malaysia.
She is an expert in microfabrication and nanoelectronics with a focus on biosensors and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. She was chosen to represent Malaysia because of her commitment to and contribution to her research field, according to the press release.
Attending the event broadened my perspectives and gave me a direction to step up my game in both academic and research fields, she said. “The participants were from five continents, mostly from top research institutes such as the University of Cambridge, University College London, Kyoto University, and ETH AI Center.
Reena added that after hearing the plenary lecture by Nobel laureate in Physics Prof. Andre Geim on his discovery of graphene, the “world’s wonder material,” she was motivated to further investigate graphene’s potential for creating sustainable solutions. Reena has used graphene nanomaterials to create field-effect transistor-based biosensors for artificial kidneys and a prototype of a coronavirus detector.
For the concept and prototype, Reena and her team won a Gold Award at the Malaysia Technology Expo (MTE) 2020 COVID-19 International Innovation Awards. She claimed that the suggestions from the discussions with interdisciplinary researchers at the GYSS would be helpful in creating titles for her students’ group design projects and final-year projects.
She was motivated to support the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and now uses Project Einstein to continue fostering young minds.
Students taking the project-based Communication Engineering Principles course at APU learn how to present science and innovation-related material with assurance. Last but not least, she added, “my visit to the SUTD 5G Drone Technology Lab has cultivated collaboration where APU students will be a part of its internship programme.