Biography
Dr. Liew Kia Wai obtained his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering (Tribology) from Multimedia University, Malaysia in 2018. His doctoral thesis is in the area of Surface Engineering & Tribology and was nominated for Best PhD Thesis (Engineering) by the University. Currently, Dr Liew is the Assistant Professor and Deputy Dean of Student Experience and Alumni at Faculty of Engineering and Technology of Multimedia University (MMU), Malaysia. He is a mechanical engineer with 6 years of industrial experience in semi-conductor and automotive industries, and 14 years working experience in academia. During his tenure as a Mechanical Engineering (ME) Programme Head (2018-2021) at FET-MMU, a notable achievement of full accreditation was granted for the ME programme in 2021. He took initiative to propose and implement the IR4.0 related subjects as an elective for the ME Programme, i.e. Additive Manufacturing, Robotics and Automation, IoT Design & Interfacing, and Artificial Intelligence & Applications. Besides, he is appointed as the Chairperson of Lab Management Committee for the Faculty of Engineering and Technology, he overseeing 17 lab staff and 22 undergraduate laboratories including mechanical and electronics labs.
His research interests in the field of tribology, surface engineering, friction stir processing, composite materials and the development of tribo-test instruments for friction and wear measurements. He was appointed as secretary for the University Center of Excellence (U-CoE) “Centre for Advance Materials and Green Technology” in year 2013 and appointed as Research Lab Supervisor from 2013 till now. In addition, he is the chairperson for SIG: Machine Design and Tribology. He is also an active life member of Malaysian Tribology Society. He has published several international research articles in renowned ISI and Scopus indexed journals and conferences based on his research findings. Thus far he has successfully secured a total research grant of over RM 700,000.00 for his research projects as a project leader and member.
He is one of the technical advisors in MMU Grüne Welt team, to supervise the team which is form by a group of engineering students to build an energy efficient electric vehicle. The team won the inaugural “Circular Economy Award” with cash prize of US$3000, and ranked No. 6th in Asia to receive US$500 during the Shell Eco-Marathon Asia 2019. In Shell Eco-Marathon Asia 2021, the MMU Grüne Welt team was announced as the Runner-up for the Prototype Vehicle Design Award with cash prize of US$750.
He is the editorial board member for Journal of Engineering Technology and Applied Physics. He also serves as reviewer for technical papers submitted to international conferences and journals such as Journal of WEAR (Elsevier), Tribology Transaction (Taylor and Francis, Thomson Reuters), Transactions of Nonferrous Metals Society of China (Taylor and Francis, Thomson Reuters), International Journal of Precision Technology (Inderscience), Friction, Advances in Mechanical Engineering (SAGE Publishing), Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part J: Journal of Engineering Tribology (SAGE Publishing), Powder Metallurgy, Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering, Polymer-Plastics Technology and Engineering (Taylor and Francis, Thomson Reuters), Royal Society Open Science (The Royal Society), Tribology in Industry, Industrial Lubrication and Tribology (Emerald), and Modern Physics Letters B.