The Research and Postgraduate Centre congratulates Ye Hanzhi, Zhang Shan, Asst. Prof. Dr. Ngan Cheng Loong, and Asst. Prof. Dr. Lai Sin Yuan from the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, and Asst. Prof. Dr. Goh Chien Yong from the Department of Mathematics on winning the Editor’s Choice Award and Silver Award at the Innovate, Write & Publish: An International Research Challenge (IWP-IRC2026 Series 2) for their research article.

Organized by Semarak Ilmu Research and Consultation, this event aims to bring together scholars, researchers, and professionals from around the world to share their latest work through submitted manuscripts, fostering intellectual exchange and building valuable academic connections. Participants came from prestigious universities in Malaysia and other countries, including China, Indonesia, Yemen, Bangladesh, Iraq, the United Kingdom, Nigeria, Thailand, Vietnam, etc.

Ye Hanzhi, the first author, is an alumnus of the Bachelor’s programme in New Energy Science and Engineering (NESE) and is currently pursuing postgraduate studies under Advanced Material Science (Energy Storage) at University College London, United Kingdom. Zhang Shan, another first author, is a second-year undergraduate majoring in NESE.

The research article, titled “Optimization and Predictive Modeling of Methylene Blue Photocatalytic Degradation using TiO₂-Graphene: A Comparative Study of ANN Training Algorithms and RSM”, aims to treat industrial wastewater pollution in an efficient way. The research team accelerated the clean-up process by pairing light-activated nanomaterials, that is titanium dioxide reinforced with graphene-based nanomaterials, with advanced artificial intelligence, specifically Artificial Neural Networks optimized with Bayesian Regularization alongside Response Surface Methodology, which accurately predicted dye breakdown rates across key variables like catalyst dosage, water pH, pollutant concentration, and light intensity. 

The work was supported by the Xiamen University Malaysia Research Fund (XMUMRF/2025-C15/IENG/0077).

Editor’s Choice Award

Silver Award

Asst. Prof. Dr. Lai Sin Yuan's research lies at the cutting edge of sustainability, focusing on green chemistry, materials science, nanomaterials, photocatalysis, biomass, biofuels, biopolymer, and the integration of machine learning for sustainable development. To date, she has published 44 articles, with 38 indexed in the Web of Science (WOS) Core Collection. She is currently seeking highly motivated Master’s students to join her dynamic research team. Interested individuals are encouraged to contact her at sinyuan.lai@xmu.edu.my.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Goh Chien Yong obtained his PhD in Mathematics from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). During his Ph.D. study, he was a research member of Theoretical and Computational Modelling for Complex System Research Group, at Ibnu Sina Institute for Fundamental Science Studies. His research lies at the intersection of applied mathematics, statistical learning, and machine learning, bridging analytical rigor with data-driven modeling to solve complex problems in algorithmic optimization and signal analysis.