JAKARTA– In partnership with the U.S. government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Underwriters Laboratories, the ASEAN Committee on Science, Technology, and Innovation (COSTI) is proud to announce the 2021 Underwriters Laboratories-ASEAN-U.S. Science Prize for Women winners. Under the theme Clean Air & Water, Dr. Neni Sintawardani from Indonesia received an award of $15,000 in the senior scientist category and Dr. Li Hongying from Singapore was awarded $10,000 competing as a mid-career scientist.
Named as the winning senior scientist, Dr. Neni Sintawardani, lead researcher on the Clean Technology team at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, is honored for her work to improve community sanitation systems using biogas from processed wastewater to increase clean water availability.
Clinching top honors as a mid-career scientist, Dr. Li Hongying, a Research Scientist at the Institute of High-Performance Computing, Agency for Science, Technology and Research in Singapore, is honored for designing an internationally recognized ballast water treatment system to protect marine life from water pollution along with groundbreaking work in predicting airborne droplet dispersal rates to estimate the transmission risks of the COVID-19 virus.
Earning honorable mentions, Dr. Seinn Lei Aye from Myanmar and Dr. Aduwati Sali from Malaysia, are recognized for their respective work developing low cost, efficient water treatment technologies for rural communities and peatland monitoring and management research catalyzing community-based technical and social innovations to help mitigate and prevent haze pollution in the region.
ASEAN COSTI Chair, Dr. Sirirurg Songsivilai, congratulated all award recipients for their research to improve access to clean water and clean air across the ASEAN region. “This competition continues to uphold the tradition of showcasing talented ASEAN women in science, technology and innovation fields and continues to inspire the next generation of women scientists leveraging research to benefit the region and beyond.”
Congratulations to all the competition winners for their work toward achieving safer water and air for millions of people,” said Dr. Marilyn Black, VP & Senior Technical Advisor at Underwriters Laboratories. “We believe that protecting our natural resources and providing clean air and water are critical for a healthier and more secure future for all. These award recipients are addressing emerging environmental and public health threats, and we are proud to support the ASEAN-U.S. science prize and its recognition of female scientists for their outstanding contributions.”
“Together with ASEAN COSTI and Underwriters Laboratories, the United States congratulates the winners and runner-up honorees for their ambitious research achievements,” said Joseph M. Young, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. of the U.S. Mission to ASEAN. “The remarkable work of these scientists to address air pollution and access to safe water and sanitation help improve living conditions and environmental stability in the region while promoting solutions, led by women scientists, to bolster economic growth.”
Selected from a pool of fourteen short-listed candidates representing the brightest women scientists working in the field of Clean Water and Clean Air across the region, all four finalists presented their research to a panel of virtual judges.
The Science Prize for Women is organized through a partnership among ASEAN COSTI, USAID, and Underwriters Laboratories – a U.S.-based global public safety nonprofit organization – to recognize female scientists’ professional achievements and leverage their success to expand research endeavors as well as inspire future women scientists across the ASEAN region.
Source: U.S. Mission to ASEAN