IRF: What was the key rationale behind your research?
Meor: Qualitative measurement to quantify stripping on loose mix is still carried out based on visual inspection using the naked eye. Such measurement technique is inaccurate, very subjective and highly dependent on the skill and experience of the inspector. To overcome this, a two-dimensional (2-D) imaging technique has been developed to more precisely evaluate and proportion out surface failure due to adhesion and cohesion. However, it is obvious that the surface of the fractured sample is not always parallel to the plane of the captured image. This may compromise the degree of inaccuracy when quantifying the percentage of fractured surface area due to adhesive and cohesive failure. This explains the rationale behind our proposal to use a three-dimensional (3-D) imaging technique that improves accuracy of computed surface area subjected to adhesive and cohesive failure, in addition to broken aggregates.

Link to IRF website

A pioneer team of four final year Civil Engineering students which comprised Kua Chin Tong (team leader), Alexander Yeo Ming Ming, Chiew Chang Chyau and Lee Kenth Zheng ranked 14th in the Introducing and Demonstrating Earthquake Engineering Research in Schools (IDEERS) 2016 competition. The team was supervised by Dr. Lau Tze Liang, whose research interests are in the field of earthquake engineering and structural dynamics. The trip was organized by the IEM-USM Student Section.

NIBONG TEBAL, 19 September 2016 – Pensyarah Pusat Pengajian Kejuruteraan Awam, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Dr. Fatehah Mohd Omar dipilih sebagai salah seorang penerima Anugerah L'Oréal-UNESCO untuk Wanita di Anugerah Sains melalui penyelidikan beliau bertajuk “The Importance of Determining Zeta Potential and Hydrodynamic Diameter to Characterize Suspended Solids in Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME)” baru-baru ini.
Beliau yang ditemui menzahirkan rasa syukur dan teruja kerana tersenarai antara penerima anugerah yang diberikan kepada penyelidik atau saintis wanita di Malaysia yang berumur 40 tahun ke bawah dan memegang Ph.D atau sedang menjalankan kajian dalam pelbagai bidang sains.