Zeng Wenliang, a doctoral student in the University of Macau’s (UM) Faculty of Science and Technology, and Sou Wa Kit, a master’s student in the Faculty of Education, both received the 2020 Young Researcher Award from the International Institute of Macau (IIM), in the categories of applied sciences and social sciences, respectively.

Zeng is a doctoral student in the university’s State Key Laboratory of Analog and Mixed-Signal VLSI, Institute of Microelectronics, and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His PhD thesis, titled ‘Design, Control, and Analysis of Integrated DC-DC Converters for Low-Power Applications’, is the sole winner of the first prize in the applied sciences category this year. He is also the second young scholar to receive an award in this category since 2016. Zeng has developed four new high-performance integrated DC-DC converter chips and has published seven papers in SCI-indexed journals and two papers at international conferences. The ultra-low quiescent current DC buck converter chip, which he developed in collaboration with Allwinner Technology, is suitable for electronic products based on internet of things technology, and its performance is comparable to that of products developed by Texas Instruments and Analog Devices.

Sou Wa Kit won the first prize in the social sciences category with his master’s thesis titled ‘Comparing the Important Learning Factors Distinguishing Between High and Low Mathematical Literacy Performance in Macao ESCSD is advantaged and Advantaged Students from the PISA Perspective.’ The thesis uses a database of disadvantaged and advantaged students from Macao’s PISA 2012 to explore the factors and learning characteristics that distinguish students with high mathematical literacy performance from those with low performance, and analyses their effects using logistic regression. The findings of the study can help the public better understand the reasons for the quality and equity of education in Macao relative to other regions. The study also reveals the crux of the problem of inequities in the education system, which can provide insights to further improve the quality and equity of the basic education system in Macao.

Established by the IIM in 2001, the Young Researcher Award aims to encourage young students, teachers, graduates of higher education institutions, and professionals in creative industries in Macao to conduct in-depth study of the development path of the Macao Special Administrative Region, focusing on areas such as economy and diversified industries, heritage and identity, as well as applied sciences and Macao’s history. 

Source: Faculty of Science and Technology and Faculty of Education
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