‘Never stop trying’ mindset the push behind technologist’s achievements  

MIRI (Sept 18): When introduced to Chemistry in Form 4, Prof Stephanie Chan never expected that she would ever excel in that subject.

She recalled how disappointed she was when she only obtained 17 marks from the first test.

“Because of that, I was very down, thinking that science was not something that I wanted. I felt very bad because my parents wanted me to be good in a science and technology, but I really could not cope.

“However, I was very good at Maths and Additional Maths, practically scoring 100 per cent. It’s just that I was very bad in Chemistry,” she reminisced.

It was a story that she had told many people, much to their surprise as they would never guessed that it was about the person who now heads the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Curtin University Malaysia in Miri.

Moreover, Chan, 38, is also the director of a ground-breaking project set to highlight Sarawak in the hydrogen industry.

Her just-launched project, a hydrogen test-bed and refuelling station, is hailed by many as a step forward in Sarawak’s journey towards a sustainable and energy-efficient future.

The facility, scheduled for completion by the end of this year, is touted as the first of its kind in the country, and the Borneo Region as well.

‘Initial struggle’

Chan, a mother of two, admitted that she struggled to understand Chemistry.

“I was also very bad at memorising facts. However, I was very good at analysing, so I used different approaches and I also engaged my teacher, who patiently guided me through.

“As a result, in the following Chemistry test, right away I scored 80 marks. That was when my passion for Chemistry took hold.”

‘Of pharmaceuticals and O&G’

It was during her Form 6 that she convinced herself to study hard towards becoming a pharmacist.

She did really well in her Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) examinations, in which she scored 4.00 in both Additional Mathematics and Physics.

“Upon seeing my STPM result, however, I felt that in studying towards becoming a pharmacist, I would not be using Add Maths so much later on.

“So my though then was: ‘I better go for something that I can integrate Chemistry and Maths together’. That was when I made the decision to embark on chemical engineering,” she recalled.

Chan took the Degree in Chemical Engineering course at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), where she consistently ranked the top among her peers.

She also received opportunities to be involved in many different undergraduate projects.

“I’m forever thankful to my UTM lecturer who gave me a lot of opportunities in different projects. I was already involved in research projects as an undergraduate (second year).

“Seriously speaking, I did not expect to be doing what I’m doing today, because back then (during varsity days), I was thinking of becoming an engineer.

“But after having completed my degree, it felt like oil-and-gas (O&G) was the industry that I wanted to get into.”

Nonetheless, at the time, Chan was still passionate about the pharmaceutical sector.

“So I worked in a pharmaceutical company, with its own GCMP (Current Good Manufacturing Practice) facility, and was producing vaccine for mammalian cell. Unfortunately, the company did not do quite well in Malaysia, and later moved they business back to the UK.

“Then I was thinking – should I do something else? At the time, all my friends already landed jobs in O&G companies, and I was a bit slow behind.

“Then I considered going for PHD or a master’s degree, as I was also offered to do direct PHD studies at the USM (Universiti Sains Malaysia), so yes, I chose that road.

“After PHD, I thought the only option I had was in academia; that’s how I ended up here (Curtin University Malaysia),” said Penang-born Chan, who is married to a Mirian and has been living in Miri for over 10 years.

‘Willing to share experiences’

Chan described her present career as ‘very fulfilling’, which allowed her to share her stories with her students, especially about her ‘first Chemistry test that she only got 17 marks for’.

“I always tell my students that it is OK if you think that your foundation is bad – go back to that foundation and continue to see which approach that can help you the most.

“Because everybody studies differently, each has a different understanding; thus, I keep telling my students that there are definitely ways for them to go forward.”

Chan also said it had been very fulfilling to see her students who were once very poor in one subject, suddenly could understand her topic and proceeded to move on to the next level.

“It’s reflective of my own experience. I feel that now, this is my calling and I will remain in this industry because here, my passion can continue on, and it allows me explore different areas,” she said.

‘Present tenure’

Still on her career, Chan said she was given a lot of opportunities to expand when she first joint Curtin Malaysia in 2014.

“The adjunct professor from Perth who recruited me asked how flexible I was because back then, 10 years ago, the facilities were not as advanced as they are today, and I was doing nano-material research. So he was asking me if I was flexible enough to move into and in-between different areas.

“Of course, to get the job, I said yes,” she laughed.

After joining Curtin Malaysia in 2014, Chan managed to secure two grants in just within a year, to build up her department.

“I would say that I had a very good mentor. It was not easy, as it would usually take two to three years to build such a foundation, but I got it (grants) quite soon simply because I had a very good mentor.

“From there, I gradually established multi-disciplinary collaboration with my colleagues, so I did not work in silo.

“This opened up the opportunity to have wider research coverage, not only focusing on what I was doing, but integrating different disciplines into the researches as well,” she added.

‘Good collaborations’

Chan had led 10 projects so far, mainly in Curtin Malaysia, with the latest being the hydrogen test-bed and refuelling station that would facilitate the process for the university to achieve a ‘Green Campus’ status upon it becoming fully operational by next year.

Talking about the ground-breaking project, she said it was a collaboration between Curtin Malaysia and Solarvest Borneo, aimed at establishing a solar-hydrogen test-bed and refuelling station in anticipation of the wider usage of hydrogen-powered vehicles.

“We have a very good relationship with Centexs (Centre for Excellence Technology Sarawak), which is carrying out training on hydrogen test-beds that they also use to power up their 5G tower.

“So from there, we saw the opportunity of bringing it over for research purposes, because at Centexs, it is solely for training.”

That was where the partners initiated the key discussion, said Chan.

“We talked with Centexs as well as their EPCC (engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning) service provider, which was Solarvest Borneo. It was a year-long discussion before we came to a concluding point where we would set up this test-bed and the refuelling station here in Curtin Malaysia.”

Chan also spoke about Curtin Malaysia’s plan of having a ‘Green Zone’ within its campus vicinity.

“Let’s just talk about the island of Borneo. There’s no campus that can claim to be ‘green’, except maybe UTS (University of Technology Sarawak in Sibu) due to the design of that campus.

“Right now, there is this ‘Green Index’ university ranking, where each university would input a lot of information on how the campus could be categorised as ‘green’.

“With information from this hydrogen test-bed, we could drive more green initiatives on campus, with Curtin to be the first one in Borneo and, I would say, in the whole of Malaysia.

“The ranking of other universities on the Green Index are based on their environment, but for Curtin Malaysia, it would be the first in terms of the technology.”

According to Chan, the test-bed opens the opportunities to explore various aspects of renewable energy including solar photovoltaic (PV), electrolysis process as well as hydrogen storage.

“The test-bed and refuelling system will be sited on Curtin Aquaculture Research Laboratory (CARL), where the 20kWp of solar panels will be installed at the roof top of the building.

“Besides powering the hydrogen test-bed, the solar panels also aim to supply 70 per cent to 80 per cent of CARL’s electricity consumption. The hydrogen test-bed consists of an electrolyser stack system, a 30bar / 1,000-litre hydrogen storage, and a 100-litre deionised water tank to support the electrolysis process.

“Curtin Malaysia is also purchasing two hydrogen bikes for use within Curtin Malaysia. Once the test-bed is completed, it will be extended with refuelling station and parking bays, because we are eyeing that in the future, once the anticipated hydrogen buses come in, they can come and refuel here.

“The facility will also be open to public, accommodating those owning hydrogen-powered vehicles,” she said.

The works should commence soon, while those on the solar PV should reach completion by end of this year, said Chan.

“The fuelling station is expected to be ready, the latest by March 2025, as some parts have to be shipped in from overseas, particularly the bikes.”

‘Project for the community’

Chan’s team is being guided by Curtin Malaysia’s Faculty of Engineering and Science dean Prof Tuong-Thuy Vu.

Other members are Assoc-Prof Dr Jundika Candra Kurnia, the deputy director of CoNSERV; Dr Henry Foo; Assoc Prof Dr John Lau; Assoc Prof Dr Bridgid Chin, and Dr Tan Inn Shi.

Tuong-Thuy said the project was made ‘with the local community in mind’.

“When we had this plan, we didn’t think about our university; rather, we thought about the community, about the Post Covid-19 Recovery Plan. Over the past 25 years, Curtin Malaysia has been well known for chemical engineering, energy and environment.

“However, when it comes to the impact on the community, we still have that ‘little bit of gap’. We produce very good students in the industry, but we are also looking for industries to receive our students.

“We are thinking of how we can transform the community, to close this gap. So, we came up with this plan, focusing on three areas: future energy, computing, and sustainable technology.

“Energy is our flagship, going forward, but how we going do that? So, we start from education, then we launch our energy engineering programmes and the next part is R&D (research and development).

“This project came up as part of R&D, but again, its meant to impact the community, not for the sake of the university. We are just the producer or supporter. That’s why we have to engage the industry and the government, and this is the outcome.

“The good thing is that the Sarawak government is also leading us because we are a state-owned university,” he said.

Meanwhile, Curtin Malaysia pro vice-chancellor and acting chief executive Prof Vincent Lee has hailed the test-bed as a testament to the university’s commitment in pioneering research and innovation in renewable energy.

“This pilot project aligns with the aspirations of Sarawak’s energy transition, particularly those outlined in the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy 2030,” he said.