MIRI: A team from Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) comprising researchers and a postgraduate research student recently attended a microalgae cultivation and application workshop at the Institute of Oceanography and Environment (Inos), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT).
The members comprised Associate Professor John Lau, Dr Lau Shiew Wei and Dr Evelyn Chiong from the Department of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering; Higher Degree by Research (HDR) student Anastasia Shera Edward; and process engineer Mary Jenny Lim from Curtin Biovalley Sdn Bhd, operator of the Sarawak biovalley pilot plant at Curtin Malaysia.
Over the three-day workshop organised by UMT’s Institute of Tropical Aquaculture and Fisheries (Akuatrop), the team learned the fundamentals of microalgae research and large-scale culture and bioprocessing, in addition to gaining insights into the past and current commercial applications of microalgae technology in Malaysia and globally.
Speakers at the workshop included Professor Yusuf Chisti, a professor in biochemical engineering at Massey University in New Zealand; Prof Phang Siew Moi, a leading expert in algal biotechnology and professor at UCSI University, Malaysia; and Prof Ts Lam Su Shiung and Prof Meisam Tabatabaei, professors in environmental technology and environmental biotechnology at Akuatrop.
Lectures and practical sessions on microalgal cultivation techniques in the laboratory were conducted by Associate Professor Derek Chan Juinn Chieh of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).
The workshop concluded with a visit to the Akuatrop hatchery and microalgae laboratory. The workshop is part of an ongoing collaboration between Akuatrop and Curtin Malaysia following the signing of a Letter of Intent (LoI) between the two universities in June 2022.
For more information on research at Curtin Malaysia, visit research.curtin.edu.my.
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