UniMAP Woman Researcher Wins London Award

KANGAR (Perlis, Malaysia), Oct 17 (Bernama) -- A senior Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) lecturer, Dr Noorhafiza Muhammad brought honours to Malaysia in the world arena when she won the International Gold Winner award, the highest award of the European Union of Woman Inventors & Innovators Network (EUWIIN) at a ceremony held at the British Library in London Thursday. Dr Noorhafiza is also a researcher at UniMAP's Centre of Excellence in Geopolymer and Green Technology (CEGeoGTech), succeeded in attracting the attention of a jury of nine headed by Diane Morris of EUWIIN International. The recipient of the National Fellowship for Women in Science by L'oreal Malaysia last year, said:'The success is not for my personal resilience but recognition for the research carried out." She described her research success on 'Laser Surface Modification Of Biomaterials For Coronary Stent Applications" as being dedicated to assist heart patients. "The research is aimed at saving the rising number of heart patients in Malaysia and it involves the restructuring of stent surface using laser," she said. She added that the primary purpose of the restructuring is to facilitate the process of endothelialization on stents to produce compatible reaction with biological tissue to improve the performance of the heart. In a media statement Friday, UniMAP said EUWIIN organised by Global Women Inventors and Innovators Network (GWIIN) gathered women scientists in various research fields with participation by more than 20 countries, among them United Kingdom, Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Germany, Iceland, Switzerland, Latvia, China, Taiwan and Bahrain. Meanwhile UniMAP vice chancellor Brig Gen Prof Emeritus Dr Kamarudin Hussin said research was becoming an important agenda of UniMAP and it was not limited to men researchers only. "Dr Noorhafiza has proved UniMAP women researchers are equally capable of achieving success. I hope her success will inspire young women researchers," he added. Also competing in the contest, were young researchers from two UniMAP adopted schools, Sekolah Menengah Sains (SMS) Hulu Selangor and Sekolah Berasrama Penuh Intergrasi Rawang. SMS Hulu Selangor was bestowed as the Youth Overall Platinum Winner. Also receiving recognition at EUWIIN was CEGeoGTech manager, Associate Prof Dr Mohd Mustafa Al-Bakri Abdullah who won the Ambassador Award for his contribution to promote the research agenda especially among women researchers. -- BERNAMA