Phoebe proudly shows her gold medal

Kuala Lumpur, 29 July 2010 - When UCSI University Senior Lecturer Phoebe Teh Phoey Lee heard she had won the University Putra Malaysia Gold Medal for her research, she said she cried.

The full-time lecturer, wife and mother of two is also a PhD student at UPM, working toward her doctorate in computer science. She said she started the project three years ago, and it was nice to see her hard work and sacrifice acknowledged.

“It’s really a great encouragement to have someone accept my ideas and innovation,” she said. “I feel it’s worth it to spend all the effort.”

UPM established the award in 1997 as a way to showcase achievements in research and innovation. According to UPM’s website, the goal is to highlight “high impact” projects to commercialize, as well as encourage others to research as well.

Phoebe, who has been with UCSI since 2003, was one of 16 applicants out of 71 to receive the award in the category of Science, Technology and Engineering in the subcategory of Applied Science. She, along with co-researchers Hamidah Ibrahim and Dr. Rodziah Atan and project supervisor, Dr. Abdul Azim Abdul Ghani, were recognized for their IT research.

In her project, Phoebe and her team built an RSS-aggregator with improved search capabilities that supports multiple aggregator formats. Her work makes it easier for Internet users, such as those who subscribe to blogs and news websites, to increase the relevancy of their search results.

Chloe Thong Chee Ling, UCSI’s Associate Dean in the Faculty of Management and IT, said the award is encouraging for the rest of the staff in her department. She said her department is working to produce more research and increase its involvement with students.

“(Phoebe) deserves it, because she’s put in a lot of effort,” she said. “I hope (her example) encourages more staff to be involved in research.”