ENLIGHTENING: Students listen to a Unimas professor explain a chemistry concept.
KOTA SAMARAHAN: Twenty-eight budding scientists from Lodge International School were exposed to common instrumentation techniques used for chemical analysis at a workshop at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) Thursday.
The workshop themed ‘Budding Scientist Having Fun 2’ was jointly organised by Unimas’ Faculty of Resource Science and Technology, Malaysia Chemistry Institute (IKM) and Lodge International.
Welcoming them were Unimas’ head of Chemistry Department, Dr Sim Siong Fong and deputy chairman of IKM Sarawak branch, Dr Alvin Chai Lian Kuet.
According to Unimas’ project chairman Dr Tay Meng Guan, the Year 13 (A-Level) students from Lodge International School learned to use four instruments: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Ultraviolet Visible Spectroscopy and Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometer.
“Students were exposed to some hands-on experience,” he added.
This event also introduced some advanced chemistry to the pre-university students, preparing and encouraging them to venture into careers in this field.
Associate Professor Dr Zainab Ngaini who is Honorary Secretary of IKM (Sarawak Branch) handed the certificates to the workshop participants.
She said it was important for students at this level to be exposed to instrumentation techniques in addition to the fundamentals learnt in the classroom.
She handed the certificates to the participants.