A PLANT SCIENTIST who spoke on a captivating topic and with content touching on rare insight on the world losing its soil won the first prize in the annual FameLab Malaysia National Finals 2021 Championship.
Daniel Nesan took the cake beating 11 other science communicators from Malaysia and now qualifies to represent the country at the FameLab International Final later this year.
For his winning effort, Danial received a RM3,000 cash prize and won a full-board trip to the UK to visit any research institution or university. The championship was streamed live on Youtube last Saturday due to Covid-19 restrictions.
In his oration, “Are We Running Out of Dirt?” Daniel advocated the need to restore soil for our future. He said: “Every single grain of rice, vegetable, fruit tree, and fodder for livestock grow using the support and the nutrients from dirt (soil) — and the trouble is, we might be running out of this precious medium for our agricultural practices in the near future.
“Half of the habitable land on Earth used for agriculture now experiences the continuous application of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides, permanently altering the chemical composition of the soil. Every year, we lose millions of hectares, and some parts of the world can no longer support the growth of future crops. But as the population continues to grow, so does our need for food,’ the plant scientist explained.
Daniel is currently working BoomGrow, an indoor farming company that is reimagining a better future for farming. He is passionate about food security and sustainability as well as the development of environmentally-friendly agricultural practices.
“So what should we actually do? Unfortunately, there’s no perfect answer. High-tech solutions are expensive and doesn’t really work everywhere, and organic farming methods will never meet the yields of industrial agriculture. Socially, we can buy and eat locally, purchase from farmers nearby and understand that we might not get everything throughout the whole year.
“This is a serious problem, and the solutions are not easy. But it’s worth looking at if we want to restore the soil that supports both our feet and our lives,’ he concluded.
“Through our work in science communications and FameLab, The British Council taps on international networks to support researchers to use their skills in bridging the gap between science and society and enhancing equality and diversity in science,” said Jazreel Goh, Director Malaysia, British Council.
“We are proud of the Malaysian talents displayed this year, building on the excellent standards Malaysia has become renowned for in recent years. They have proven to be well-deserving of the “Malaysia’s Best Science Communicators Title” Goh added.
The British Council collaborates with the Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) to deliver FameLab in Malaysia, with supporting partners including the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia (MoHE) and Ministry of Science, Technology & Innovation (MOSTI).
Datuk Dr Mohd Yusoff Sulaiman, President & CEO of MIGHT, highlighted the importance of both FameLab and science communication in inculcating an awareness of science and STEM education among the public: “All FameLab participants are ambassadors of science because they communicate scientific facts, and indirectly promote science literacy and diplomacy.
“We hope that this science communication experience and the journey will continue long after FameLab. Please continue to disseminate and share evidence-based research as it could be the solution for many global challenges,” he added.
This year’s competition in Malaysia attracted 67 applicants, with a total of 11 finalists selected from the Virtual Heats held in June 2021. The first runner up of the competition is Hadri Hadi bin Md Yusof who spoke on “I’m down with that!” while the second runner up Komalah Selvamuthu Raja titled her talk “Give your buildings a dose of probiotics”.
There was also an audience choice category and Hoo Sze Yen won the hearts of the audience through her three-minute talk on “Microwaves: Do they cause cancer?
The finalists were equipped with science communication skills through a two-day masterclass organised by the British Council, delivered by Dallas Campbell, a science television presenter and a writer who has worked for the BBC and currently presents a series for NatGeo called “Science of Stupid”.
FameLab was started by Cheltenham Science Festival in 2005 and has grown into a global phenomenon in partnership with the British Council since 2007. It is a competition aimed at finding, developing, and mentoring young science and engineering communicators.
FameLab requires the participants to engage audiences in a three-minute presentation on scientific topics and concepts.
Every presentation is judged according to the golden rules of the ‘3 Cs’: content, clarity, and charisma. The competition consists of national heats and finals, followed by an international final in the UK at Cheltenham Science Festival.
Dr Siti Khayriyyah Mohd Hanafiah was crowned the 2018 FameLab International Champion at the Cheltenham Science Festival in the UK. She followed in the footsteps of Professor Dr. Abhimanyu Veerakumarasivam, who was the first Malaysian to win the title ‘World’s Best Science Communicator’ in 2016.
Since its inception at the Cheltenham Festival in 2005, FameLab has grown into the world’s leading science communication competition. The partnership with the British Council has seen the competition go global with more than 10,000 young scientists and engineers participating to date.
