Did you know that Malaysia has produced many professional astronomers? Aside from our very own Dr John Soo at USM, there are many other professional astronomers from Malaysia around the world!
Dr Bi-Qing For grew up in Ulu Tiram, Johor. She has a PhD degree in astrophysics from the University of Texas, Austin, USA and is currently a research fellow at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) / University of Western Australia. She was fascinated by the event of comet, Shoemaker-Levy 9, crashed into Jupiter in 1994. Since then, there were other opportunities for her to learn how to identify constellations in the sky and to gain astronomy knowledge.
Dr Yuan-Sen Ting is a professor at the Australian National University, jointly affiliated with the astronomy and computer science departments. Yuan Sen’s research focuses on applying artificial intelligence to explore the cosmos. Yuan Sen grew up in Petaling Jaya, finished his high school diploma from the Chong Hwa Independent High School in KL, and received his PhD from Harvard University. He got into astronomy because it combines his two passions — mathematics and understanding the beauty of nature.
During this AstroChat, we will talk to the two Malaysian professional astronomers to learn about their path to becoming a professional astronomer, including the challenges and tribulations that they had to overcome before achieving their goals.
Join us live on our Facebook page and YouTube channel.