30 January 2013
Dundee student selected for an audience with Nobel Prize winners
A PhD student from the University of Dundee will next month present his work to an audience of some of the world's top scientists, including no fewer than six Nobel Laureates.
Terence Goh (27), from Singapore, has been selected to attend the prestigious HOPE Meeting in Tokyo from February 26th-March 2nd. A total of 110 exceptional doctoral students and young researchers from the Asia-Pacific region have been invited to submit posters for discussion at the conference. They will also have the opportunity to ask the panel of Nobel Laureates questions about their work.
Terence, who is formally matriculated at the National University of Singapore, is spending 18 months at Dundee under Dr Paul Campbell as part of his PhD studies. His research aims to gain a greater understanding of the interaction of ultrasound waves with biofilms - an area that has direct applications for both healthcare and the environment.
Terence, whose background is in mechanical engineering, chose to study in Dundee because the research programme enabled him to gain new skills in life sciences and physics, which are applicable to his work.
"I am very excited to have the opportunity to attend this meeting," he said. "I was nominated by my PhD supervisor in Singapore, who asked if I'd like to be considered. Of course, I agreed and was delighted when I was then selected from all the nominees.
"It was slightly unusual for me to be selected as 'life sciences' is the subject field for this year's meeting, while I come from an engineering background. Because of this it will be interesting to hear the views of scientists from other fields who have different approaches.
"It will be interesting to see how the fields combine, and this is important as I'm working in an inter-disciplinary way here in Dundee. The work is quite different from what I was doing at home.
"There I was working on computational and experimental fluid dynamics studies, whereas here I get to learn about microbiology, optical trapping and other things related to life sciences. It's been a steep learning curve as this is all new to me, but I'm enjoying the experience and it is helping massively with my research."
"I currently finalising the research for the poster I will present on using ultrasound to remove bacterial biofilms. We have also been asked to submit questions for the Nobel Laureates and other speakers so I'm sure it will be a great experience to learn from some of the best scientists in the world."
Organised by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, HOPE Meetings allow up-and-coming researchers to engage in interdisciplinary discussions with Nobel laureates and other distinguished scientists. The purpose is to inspire the students to excel in their chosen field and enhance science and technology in the region.
Doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers from Australia, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam will take part in the HOPE Meeting at the Grand Prince Hotel in Tokyo from February 26th until March 2nd.
The distinguished scientists delivering lectures and engaging with Terence and the other emerging researchers include:
- Professor Susumu Tonegawa (Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 1987)
- Professor Mario Capecchi (Noble Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 2007)
- Professor Ryoji Noyori (Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 2001)
- Professor Aaron Ciechanover (Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 2004)
- Professor Leo Esaki (Nobel Laureate in Physics 1973)
- Professor Makoto Kobayashi (Nobel Laureate in Physics 2008)
For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277 |
