The Earth Observatory of Singapore (EOS) is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s Dr Stephen Riady Geoscience Scholars Fund: Ms Alina Bill-Weilandt, Ms Yochi Okta Andrawina, and Ms Hu Jie.
In 2015, the EOS received an endowment of S$1 million from the Stephen Riady Group of Foundations, which was matched one-to-one by the Singapore government. The goal of the fund is to provide opportunities for EOS postgraduate students to explore the Earth’s dynamic processes, and ensure greater resilience and safety of people, cultures, and economies in the region.
Now in its ninth year, the Dr Stephen Riady Geoscience Scholars Fund awarded a total of S$45,626 to postgraduates Ms Alina Bill-Weilandt, Ms Yochi Okta Andrawina, and Ms Hu Jie, all PhD students at the Asian School of the Environment (ASE) at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, working under the supervision of ASE faculty who are also Principal Investigators (PIs) at EOS.
The review panel was composed of three EOS PIs – Associate Professor Wang Xianfeng, Associate Professor Wei Shengji and Assistant Professor Janice Lee, who had the challenging task of selecting the winners.
Ms Bill-Weilandt will develop flood damage models for crops and assess the transferability of these models from one location to another. “An improved flood damage model for rice will help better estimate and manage flood risk in Southeast Asia,” she said. Key to this research is a collaboration with international scientists. “I am excited to work on this project during a research visit at the German Research Centre for Geosciences in Potsdam,” Ms Bill-Weilandt added.
Ms Yochi Okta Andrawina’s research through the Dr Stephen Riady Geoscience Scholars Fund will advance coastal science in vulnerable small islands. “I hope my research can help empower coastal communities to navigate challenges and embrace sustainable solutions,” she said.
Ms Hu Jie will evaluate the non-linear relationship between temperature and ozone levels in Southeast Asia under different climate change scenarios. “I am excited to receive the award, and I hope my work will help mitigate the ozone problem in Southeast Asia,” she said.
Congratulations to the three award winners!