WHAT is the brainchild programme? The programme, announced by the Government, is focused on two areas. One is to encourage overseas scientists to be in Malaysia physically, and two, to get them to work for us from abroad.
A recent news report stated Malaysia’s ambition is to progress in biotechnology. The sub-sector of biotechnology is ICT, the first knowledge-based industry that Malaysia went into. In other words, ICT is the prerequisite to having a successful biotechnology industry.
In the long-term programme, the Government is studying the possibility of sponsoring students to pursue post-doctoral studies in biotechnology.
But what kind of students to sponsor? Do we select them based on their academic background, age, merit or philosophy?
How about master’s degree students who won the Geneva medal?
These students should be taken care of by the Government to further their research work in their areas.
Otherwise, Malaysia will lose young scientists with talents to groom for a Nobel prize.
According to Prof Dr Ahmed Zewail’s Voyage Through Time: Walks of Life to the Nobel Prize , one of the most valuable gifts for scientists is intuition or insight, the direct knowing or learning of something without the conscious use of reasoning.
Faith can provide strengths and guide people towards ethical and moral behaviour.
Islam provides high standards for the life of its adherents and success is an integral part for the betterment of humankind.
The books The History of Knowledge by Charles van Doren and Making Waves by Charles Townes raise a few questions.
How did we acquire knowledge? Why did we become scientists? What is the meaning of faith, destiny and luck? These are questions we need to answer. The California Institute of Technology has 27 Nobel prizes credited to its faculties and alumni.
How about Malaysia? Our Government is prepared to bear the cost of research and development but still Malaysia
has not produced even one Nobel laureate compared to the 27 produced by just one institute. Why?
In the new millennium, the barrier between man and machine is as thin as a strand from the double helix. As computer equipment, surgical tools and communication pipelines keep shrinking, the next step in technology is to manipulate molecules and compounds into really small machines.
This will happen in different ways and raises many issues. Besides biotechnology, other areas which should be put under the brainchild programme are nanotechnology, proteomic technology (active protein) and advanced material.
We cannot only focus on biotechnology because science is a multi-dimensional form of knowledge.
We need basic or theoretical knowledge that can be materialised into products which can serve mankind.
What is so interesting about nanotechnology? Nanotechnology means complete control of the structure of matter, building complex objects with molecular precision.
Nanotechnology can be viewed as an outgrowth of chemistry, the leading science in the field of molecular devices and molecular manipulation.
The study of advanced material or materials science is closely allied to the study of chemistry. Scientists consider the mechanical behaviour of larger systems of bonded atoms.
Software systems will be vital to nanotechnology and to enable technologies to move along the way. To be excellent in science and technology we need to merge software and hardware.
Scientists who conduct their research work should have strong faith to achieve success.
The Government should also study the systems of higher research institutions in foreign countries, such as the Caltech Institute in the US and the Max Planck Institute in Germany. At these institutions, the students and researchers receive excellent scientific value because the research schools
provide first-class and interdisciplinary education, develop scientific concentration, interlink topics PhD candidates are working on and enable close co-operation among PhD candidates and their supervisors.
