PETALING JAYA: Malaysian researcher Dr Kong Xin Ying (pic) is the exclusive recipient of the MIT Technology Review's Innovators Under 35 (TR35) Asia Pacific Award for 2024.
The accolade recognises her innovative work in sustainable energy harvesting and the upcycling of plastics for environmental remediation.
Kong's research, which has received global recognition, is pioneering new approaches to plastic waste management, impacting sustainable energy sources.
Her method significantly shortens the degradation process of non-biodegradable plastics from centuries to just one day, producing valuable chemicals used as solvents, food additives, and hydrogen storage carriers.
The TR35 Award celebrates 35 remarkable young innovators from the Asia Pacific region for their advancements in areas such as biotechnology, material science, energy, and transportation.
Kong serves as a research fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
"It's an incredible honour to receive this award, which acknowledges my efforts to address plastic pollution with sustainable methods. This recognition fuels my motivation even further," she said.
Kong has also been recognised as one of the world's top two percent scientists for 2023 by Stanford University, becoming the youngest researcher at 32 to achieve this distinction.
Her groundbreaking research endeavours have also led to her being one of the 2023 Merdeka Award Grant for International Attachment recipients.
"The grant will enable me to collaborate with leading researchers at premier institutions globally, which will greatly enhance my work in sustainable energy," Kong added.
