The year 2011 has been an exciting and fast paced one for Taylor’s University School of Engineering. Let us review some of the key highlights throughout the year.

We organised our first international conference!

Organised by an enthusiastic consortium of both national and international universities comprising of Taylor’s University Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, CQ University Australia and supported by Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, National Instruments and Taylor & Francis Asia Pacific, the inaugural International Engineering and Technology Education Conference (IETEC) 2011 took place at our Lakeside Campus.  The conference promoted active participation of all attendees and presenters via plenary presentation sessions, key note addresses, interactive workshops and panel discussions.

The conference was officiated by Yang Berbahagia Professor Dr. Zakaria Abas, Special Advisor to the Minister of Higher Education on behalf of the minister himself. Our Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Dato’ Dr. Hassan Said, together with Dr. Arun Patil, General Chair of IETEC from CQ University Australia, welcomed the delegation of national and international participants.

The University of Melbourne recognises Taylor’s SOE students

We signed a memorandum of agreement with renowned The University of Melbourne, providing our engineering students an option to do a 2+1+2 programme. Our students can now choose to pursue their first two years with us, and complete three more years at The University of Melbourne and graduate with a Masters in Engineering with the option to major in Chemical, Mechanical or Electrical & Electronic Engineering.

Taylorians’ research discoveries recognised at the Malaysia Technology Expo (MTE) 2011

It was a thrilling moment when our academicians and students’ research discoveries were recognised and affirmed with the award of a gold and bronze at the Malaysia Technology Expo (MTE) 2011.

The MTE is an annual exhibition showcasing the latest research and development and technology, as well as creating exposure and market opportunities for the latest technology based product designs and solution services. The exhibition features the latest inventions and innovations by universities, research institutions, individual inventors and corporate sectors Asian and European countries. Awards were given to honour and recognise unconventional inventions and innovations which go above and beyond marginal improvements.

  • Gold Medal for “Inexpensive 3.5-litre Bioreactor”
    Associate Professor Dr. Marwan M. Shamel & Associate Professor Dr. Mushtak Al-Atabi

Research Objective:

This invention explores the effectiveness of a designed, built and commissioned bioreactor using a lower cost concept for a chemical engineering laboratory. The project also explores the cost effectiveness of basic manually controlled bioreactor for the undergraduate laboratory experiments and researches in a microbiology field. The bioreactor was fabricated with only RM5, 200 (approximately USD18, 200) and tested to be contamination free and ready for culturing microorganism.

  • Bronze Medal for “Indigenous Tobacco Mosaic Various Flow Visualisation”
    Associate Professor Dr. Mushtak Al-Atabi, Dr. Obai Younis, Po Wei Yoong, Christopher Chew Mun Kit, Chiew Hui Leng, Arwin Goo Zen, Winnie Gan Wan Nie & Lim Xi Kai

Research Objective:

To determine a new method of flow visualisation and study how far nature phenomenon of living creatures can be applied in the field of engineering. A diluted solution of indigenous tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) was used as a medium for fish swimming to perform flow visualisation studies and which was proven harmless to the fish.

6th Hong Kong Underwater Robot Challenge 2011

Our students, Jefferson Chuah Chong Yit and Terrence Foo, attended the competition which was held at City University, Hong Kong. The field trip intended to inspire development of new design concepts for the next generation of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs).

Both Jefferson and Terrence also took the opportunity to better understand the competition procedures in both regional and international levels, approached case by case studies observing the various types of ROVs and considered the pros and cons of diverse design plans. With that, they will be able to share their knowledge with their engineering peers to further incorporate the best aspects of ROVs into the new generation designs.

Presenting the Quadrocopter at the 2011 Beijing CDIOTM Regional Conference

The chance to participate at the highly anticipated CDIOTM regional conference was made sweeter when our first year engineering students also got to present their Quadrocopter project. The Quadrocopter is an unmanned aerial vehicle powered using four propellers, and can be used to perform a variety of assignments including security, rescue and observation. It was definitely a proud moment for the students when professors worldwide who attended the conference were impressed with the Quadrocopter’s quality and its potential the project promises.

Associate Dean Presented at the 2nd International Conference on Biotechnology Engineering 2011 (ICBioE’11)

Assosicate Professor Dr. Marwan M. Shamel presented his paper on ‘Adsorption of Congo Red Onto Acide Activated Water Hyacinth’.

Serious environmental problems damaging the ecosystem are caused by inappropriate disposal of waste effluent containing dyes from textile industry. The ultimate removal of these organic pollutants from waste water is frequently done using activated carbon as adsorbent. However, activated carbon is an expensive material. Therefore, it is necessary to look for inexpensive alternative adsorbents. The present investigation deals with the utilisation of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) as a potential adsorbent for the removal of an anionic dye from its aqueous solutions. Batch studies were carried out under varying experimental conditions of adsorbent dosage and initial pH value. Better adsorption was found to occur at pH = 6. Adsorption results were analysed using Freundlich, Langmuir and Redlich–Peterson isotherms. It was found that Redlich–Peterson and Freundlich model better fit the experimental data.

Securing RM104, 000 on the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme

Our School of Engineering (SOE) Dean, Associate Professor Dr. Mushtak Al-Atabi, secured RM104,000 (approximately USD364, 000) of the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) for his research project on ‘New Concept for Energy Saving in Waste Water Treatment Plants by Using Non-Moving Parts Solar Powered Mixer to Enhance Biological Treatment Processes’. The project’s co-researchers include Dr. Marwan Shamel and Mr. Tham Chan Seng, both from Taylor’s University School of Engineering; and Dr. Gary Leeke and Dr. Mark J. Simmons, from University of Birmingham, United Kingdom.

Participating in the Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2011

The Taylor’s Eco Team, which comprises of first year chemical, mechanical, electrical and electronics students, participated in the Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2011 competition at the Sepang International Circuit Malaysia.

The competition’s challenge was to build a vehicle which can travel the furthest distance using the least amount of energy. The students designed and built a car which was operated using solar energy. Although the team faced technical difficulties which prevented them from finishing the race, they, however, cherished the opportunity to be able to participate and get real life exposure and challenge at an early stage of their engineering studies.

Lecturer Presented at the 18th International Congress on Sound & Vibration (ICSV18)

Dr. Mohammad Hosseini, lecturer from the School of Engineering, presented a paper at the 18th International Congress on Sound & Vibration (ICSV18). The congress was organised by the International Institute of Acoustics & Vibration (IIAV) and was held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

‘Utilisation of air-gap to improve the acoustic absorption of coir fibre’ – by Dr. Mohammad Hosseini

The aim of the paper was to improve the coir fibre acoustical properties with air gap layers. Evaluations were based on Allard elastic model with transfer matrix analysis. Results were close to experimental values and predicted the path and resonances very well.

Students Harnessed Innovation Skills at CDIOTM Academy 2011

Eight of our engineering students represented Taylor’s School of Engineering at the 2011 CDIOTM Academy in Denmark Technical University, Copenhagen, Denmark. The CDIO Academy was held exclusively for engineering students around the world, which saw more than 20 teams of students coming together to participate. Held concurrently with the CDIO Conference, the purpose of this initiative was to engage students as well as to train and enhance their innovation skills.

SET Ambassadors Inspire Chinese Students

Taylor’s University Society of Engineering & Technology (SET) students did a two-week visit and collaborative mission to the Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology (BIPT) in August 2011. Acting as ambassadors on behalf of Taylor’s University, they showed presentations and videos to BIPT students and faculty members to give them a better understanding of Taylor’s.

The students also assisted in the coaching and training of BIPT’s new student society named ‘Toyhouse’, and shared and exchanged knowledge on how they themselves operated and managed SET. The boys also helped the BIPT students in organising for their very first Innovators Carnival. This mutually beneficial partnership across global boundaries no doubt paved the way to an international relationship between both universities.

Playing host to the ‘Father of Innovation’

We played host to Mr. Darrell Mann, the founder for Systematic Innovation, a thinking technique which sits comfortably alongside long time innovation techniques such as Six Sigma, TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Principal) and many others. Mr. Mann was at Taylor’s Lakeside Campus to conduct a talk to engineering students. With the company’s head office located in Clevedon, UK, Systematic Innovation is a cluster of like-minded companies which offers a range of TRIZ or innovation capabilities to clients around the world.

Strengthening Ties with the University of Sydney

A memorandum of agreement was signed with the University of Sydney, exploring articulation opportunities of engineering courses, research collaborations as well as staff and students exchange and development. Dr. Anders Hallgren, Director of Sydnovate (the commercialisation arm of the University of Sydney) will also be joining our engineering school as an adjunct professor to assist with our efforts to diversify sources of income.

The achievements of Taylor’s University School of Engineering in 2011 only serve to spur both our academic and students to excel further in 2012. To find out more on the above activities, you can download our archived monthly newsletters here!

Stay tune for more interesting happenings of the School of Engineering!