The Story of Dr. Yalinu Poya of papua New Guinea

Dr.Yalinu Poya : Photo by Glasgow University

​Yalinu is our 2nd Science Slam 2020 presenter. She has very recently completed her PhD (during lockdown!) in the School of Chemistry. She first competed in Science Slam back in 2018:

"Halo olgeta lain man na meri! (Hello everyone!)

My name is Dr. Yalinu Poya and I come from the beautiful island nation Papua New Guinea. I have recently been awarded my PhD in Chemistry degree focusing in Heterogeneous Catalysis from the University of Glasgow. Prior to Glasgow I studied in China at the Northeast Normal University and obtained my Master of Science Degree in Inorganic Chemistry. I did my Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry from the University of Papua New Guinea, Papua New Guinea.

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My PhD research at the University of Glasgow was supervised by Prof. Justin Hargreaves, my research was on making catalysts suitable for small-scale ammonia production such as on a farm. Ammonia is a simple compound that is primarily used to make synthetic fertilizers to grow food to feed 40 % of the world population, which is currently approximately 3 billion people. In order to feed the world and its growing population, there are many challenges faced environmentally and economically, as a result there is great interest in sustainable ammonia production on a small-scale. My research provides fresh perspective in addressing the United Nation’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, directly addressing 5 of these goals: Goal 1 – No Poverty, Goal 2 – Zero Hunger, Goal 7 – Affordable and Clean Energy, Goal 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure and Goal 13 – Climate Action.

In relation to my PhD work, I have received awards, global recognition and honours on new perspectives to global sustainability to help tackle some of the problems of climate change. I have so far received a total of 11 awards, which include 2 international awards –2019 Green Talent Award Winner by the German Ministry of Education and Research and the Plutonium Element Award by International Union of Pure Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) as one of the top 118 chemists in the world under the age of 40, and 1 national award –1st Place in Scotland for Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) PhD Student Competition. My research has been highlighted and featured by the American Chemical Society, Scottish Funding Council, Society of Chemical Industry and QS Top Universities. In addition, I have been honored by the University of Glasgow for my ammonia synthesis research and named 2020 University of Glasgow Future World Changer.

I have communicated the importance of my research and different areas of science to people with a range of background and at all ages. Activities involve webinar lectures, media interviews, outreach activities with schools, a variety of presentations, university seminars and meetings with leaders in government, academia and industry. Notable meetings were with diplomats and political leaders from India, Australia, Germany, United States of America and the United Kingdom.

I represented the School of Chemistry in the 2018 Science Slam Competition and took out 3rd place out of 8 PhD students. I am pleased to be asked again to take part in this year’s 2020 Science Slam – Alumni edition. For this year’s presentation I will be giving an insight into my research explaining how it fulfills the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 1, 2, 7, 9 and 13."

About Science Slam:

"Science Slam has given me the opportunity to share my research at the University of Glasgow and its importance. Science Slam has allowed me to show that my research can contribute to society, impact people’s lives and change the world we live in."

Next : Ruth Kissam :Obama Foundation Scholarship Winner From Papua New Guinea