Prof. Dr. Chong Kok-Keong received B.Sc. (Hons) 1st class degree from University of Malaya in 1998 and Ph.D. (Optical Engineering) degree from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia in 2002. He is also Fulbright visiting scholar in Princeton University, USA in 2015. Currently, he is Senior professor in Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman. For research experience, he has been working in the field of solar energy engineering for more than 25 years and his research interest including emerging solar cell technologies, concentrating solar power, nanomaterials, and green technologies.

For publication, he has published more than 133 articles in high impact journals including Nature, which has made him in Stanford University’s list of top 2% rank worldwide. Up to today, he has been principal investigator for ten external grants with total amount of RM 7 million including multi-disciplinary research fund. For consultancy work, he has completed more than 32 consultancy projects, including principal consultant for State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) China and Ecosys Group Sdn Bhd etc.

For recognition, he has been honoured to receive Top Research Scientists Malaysia (TRSM) 2018, Malaysia Toray Science Foundation (MTSF) Science & Technology Award 2017, JCI Ten Young Outstanding Malaysian (TOYM) Award 2013, Fulbright Award, Chinese Academy of Sciences President’s International Fellowship Initiative, Gold Award in PECIPTA’17, as well as UTAR Research Excellence and UTAR Innovation Excellence 2012 & 2014. To date, he has been elected as Fellow of Academy of Science Malaysia 2019, Fellow of ASEAN Academy of Engineering & Technology (AAET) 2018, Global Young Academy 2014, Young Affiliate of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) 2011, Young Scientist Network Malaysia 2012, and Honorary Treasury of Fulbright Alumni Association Malaysia. For editorial services, he is Associate Editor of Frontiers in Energy Research and International Journal of Photoenergy (Hindawi).

Email chongkk@utar.edu.my

Profile Scopus | Google Scholar | Orcid ID

Research Officer

Dr. Liew Son Qian received his Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), where his research focused on the fabrication and performance enhancement of perovskite solar cells through interface engineering and rare-earth nanomaterial integration. His doctoral work emphasized practical device design and performance evaluation and modelling under realistic operating conditions.

His research interests include perovskite photovoltaic device fabrication, charge transport layer and interface optimization, and large-area device scaling. During his PhD, he investigated the incorporation of rare-earth-based nanomaterials into perovskite solar cells to improve efficiency and stability.

Building on his doctoral research, his current work focuses on advancing high-efficiency perovskite solar cells, scalable fabrication approaches, and operational stability, with the aim of translating laboratory-scale devices into practical photovoltaic technologies. Through this work, Dr. Liew supports Malaysia’s national initiatives in renewable energy development, including the National Green Technology Policy and the Sustainable Energy Roadmap, contributing to the country’s efforts in increasing solar energy adoption and strengthening local advanced photovoltaic research capabilities.

Email liewsonqian@gmail.com

Profile Google Scholar | LinkedIn

Kevin received his Master degree in Information Technology, specializing in Artificial Intelligence from The University of Melbourne (UniMelb), where he gained comprehensive theoretical knowledge and technical skills in machine learning.

His research interests lie in the intersection of machine learning and various scientific fields, focusing on applying machine learning frameworks to address complex scientific problems and enable new insights across disciplines. 

In his current work, he will be researching various machine learning algorithms to optimize the perovskite solar cell fabrication process. Through this PhD study, Kevin aims to bridge the gap between theoretical modeling and real-world observation, contributing to the growth of machine learning research in Malaysia while translating theoretical advances into practical, high-impact solutions.

Email kevinliewkarkit@gmail.com

Profile GitHub LinkedIn

Yi Hong received his Engineering Degree (Bachelor of Chemical Engineering with Honours) from Taylor’s University. 

In his current master research work, he will be focusing on the fabrication of small-sized, high upconversion emission intensity nanoparticles via thermal decomposition method. He aims to integrate the fabricated nanoparticles into various functional layers of the perovskite photovoltaic devices, demonstrating performance gains in terms of power conversion efficiency from upconversion effect, as well as improved film quality due to crystallinity and morphological enhancement from the nanoparticles as well.

Email yihongX123@gmail.com

Anas received his Engineering Degree (Bachelor of Material Engineering with Honours) from Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP).

In his current master research work, he is focusing on perovskite solar cell fabrication and modeling, specifically studying the incorporation rare earth upconversion nanoparticles using Density Functional Theory (DFT) simulation and experimental validation. He aims to enhance the efficiency, stability and to establish a predictive model that guides the direction of future experiments.

Email anasqalasi@gmail.com