KUCHING: Sarawak Tropical Peat Research Institute (TROPI) director Datuk Dr Lulie Melling brought honour to Sarawak after receiving the Academy of Sciences Malaysia (ASM) Fellowship Award for 2023.
She is among the 35 newly appointed ASM Fellows, which entitles them to use the title ‘Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia’ or FASc after their names, deemed the highest scientific recognition in the country under the Academy of Sciences Malaysia Act 1994.
The ceremony was held in Kuala Lumpur yesterday evening (Oct 17) and Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) Chang Lih Kang, who represented Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, presented the awards.
Dr Lulie is a leading expert in the management of tropical peatlands and is renowned for her groundbreaking work in measuring greenhouse gas flux from tropical peatlands.
Her significant contributions extend to establishing a global repository of tropical peat and peatland research, benefitting not only Sarawak but the world at large.
Her pioneering efforts in peatland research have laid the foundation for one of Sarawak and Malaysia’s vital economic resources.
Dr Lulie’s extensive work focuses on tropical peatland ecosystems, with 48 articles in renowned journals, an H-index of 22, and 1,705 citations, showing her impactful research as well as dedication to advancing peatland research by training new researchers through postgraduate programs.
At TROPI, she’s supervised seven international PhD candidates, five local master’s students and currently guides 13 ongoing research projects.
Her involvement at ASM includes her role as a member of the Local and Transboundary Pollution Act Feasibility Study Task Force from 2019 to 2020.
Currently, ASM has 482 Fellows; including 28 Senior Fellows; 454 Ordinary Fellows and 272 Top Research Scientist Malaysia (TRSM) members.
