Research & Innovation (R&I)

Dr. Mohd Riduan Ahmad

Atmospheric and Lightning Research Laboratory (ThorLab)
BBNET, CeTRI, FKEKK
Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Malaysia (UTeM)
28 July 2021
Outlines (2 hours)
• R&I works in ThorLab – motivation
• Part 1: Introduction
• Definition, the importance, R&I models, research culture, R&I in UTeM.
• Part 2: Activity
• Grants, funding, collaborations, industry linkages, research proposals, authorships
(publication & grant).
• Part 3: Management
• Progress, financial, talent (HR), reports.
• Part 4: Outcomes
• Publications, innovation exhibition, IP & patent.
• Exercise (Test)
ThorLab R&D&I
 ThorLab R&D&I
VC & DVC (RI) visit to our lab – January 2020
 ThorLab R&D&I (since 2015)
• Our lab facilities:
• Real-time low frequency lightning detection and monitoring system (1 Hz – 3 MHz)
• Real-time VHF lightning detection and monitoring system (60 MHz)
• Microwave lightning detection and monitoring system (1 GHz)
• VHF interferometer mapping system
• Magnetic field lightning detection and monitoring system (400 Hz -400 kHz) – this system is
endowment from our Chinese partner (Prof. Gaopeng Lu, Chinese Academy of Science)
• Boltek lightning mapping system & electric field meter (EFM) system – this equipment placed in
UTeM as collaboration work with UKM. (UKM bought the equipment for about RM 200k)
• Publications: 10 Q1, 8 Q2, 6 Q3, 13 Q4, 2 non-indexed.
• Innovations: UTeMEX (Gold), MTE2020 (Silver), MTE2021 (Gold)
• Active collaborators: Korea Research Polar Research Institute (KOPRI), CAS & USTC (China),
Universitas Sriwijaya (UNSRI, Palembang), MIT USA, Osaka University (Japan), UKM UTM UNITEN
UNIMAP UMP, and MTSFB & TMRND & KS iTechnologies (Industry).
 ThorLab R&D&I
International Project 1: Lightning in Antarctica
• https://www.facebook.com/UtemLightning/videos/15635
5885796288
• https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=164052084942085
1&extid=s5zM1kfEEz4bFoZx
• Multidisciplinary research project involves:
• Lightning group (UTeM, USTC China, UU
Sweden)
• Experimentation on E and B fields (UTeM)
• B field sensor (USTC)
• Modelling (UTeM and UU)
• Ionospheric and TEC (UKM)
• Upper atmosphere (KOPRI, Korea)
• Meteorology (KOPRI, Korea)
 ThorLab R&D&I
Memory in King Sejong station, Antarctica
 ThorLab R&D&I
International Project 2: Triggered Lightning in China
• Interdisciplinary research project involves:
• Lightning group (UTeM, China - USTC, CAS,
AMS, LaSW, Spain – UPC, US - MIT)
• Microwave group (UTeM)
• Interdisciplinary – microwave antenna was
designed for detection of electron
avalanches process in lightning discharges
Fully sponsored travel to Beijing, Hefei,
Guangdong, Xining, Shanghai, Xi’an
 ThorLab R&D&I
International Project 3: Technology Transfer to UNSRI
• Research project involves:
• Lightning group (UTeM & UNSRI)
• UNSRI awarded international grant to
UTeM for facilitating in development of
lightning detection system – RM30k.
• Also, talent training – PhD, master, and
final year students.
INTRODUCTION
 Introduction
What is R&I?
Definition:

Research is defined as the creation of new knowledge and/or the use of existing
knowledge in a new and creative way so as to generate new concepts, methodologies
and understandings. This could include synthesis and analysis of previous research to the
extent that it leads to new and creative outcomes. [Western Sydney University]

Innovation Research involves looking for solutions – either to known, or sometimes to

undefined needs. There are gaps or white spaces in the market where new products or
services can radically make a difference to consumers or businesses while creating
financial benefits to the creators. [SIS International Research]
 Introduction
Importance of R&I
There is only one important purpose of R&I which is solving the right problem (humanity,
environment, etc.).

Harvard Business Review (September 2012) asked, “are you solving the right problem?”

Before we start throwing out new ideas and testing solutions, it is important that we
understand the problem we are trying to solve thoroughly.

A right problem is basically a problem with significant impact.

Jabir reported: “…….The best of people are those who are most beneficial to
people.” [Source: al-Mu’jam al-Awsaṭ 5937. Grade: Hasan (fair) according to Al-Albani]
 Introduction
R&I Models
Triple helix –
academia+government+industry

Quadruple helix –
academia+government+industry+civil
society(NGOs, etc.)

Quintuple helix –
academia+government+industry+civil
society(NGOs, etc.)+environment

Important keywords: multidiscipline &

interdisciplinary research.
 Introduction
R&I in UTeM
The R&I activities and management are under the office of Deputy Vice Chancellor R&I (Prof
Dr. Ghazali Omar). There are four centers under responsibility of DVCR&I:

1. Pusat Pengkomersilan (UCC)

2. Pusat Edu Pelancongan
3. Pusat Pengurusan Penyelidikan dan Inovasi (CRIM))
4. Pusat Pembuatan Termaju (AMC)

In each faculty, Research Groups (RGs) are managed by Deputy Dean (Research), TDP.
RESEARCH ACTIVITY
 Activity
Types of Grants & Funding
The research grants can be classified into 4 categories:

1. University Grant – short term grant (PJP)

2. National Grant – typically from KPM and MOSTI.
3. Industry Grant
4. International Grant
 Activity
Types of Grants & Funding
1. University Grant – short term grant (PJP)
• All universities in Malaysia have this scheme with various names.
• Main purpose is to help new researchers developing research base or
lecturers without any grants.
• New researchers are usually staff that just finished PhD study.
• Typical allocation is between 20k and 50k.
• The easiest grant to obtain.
• Expected outputs are publications (indexed journals). If allocation for RA/GRA
is given, at least one talent of RA/GRA is expected.
• Patent, IP, and other outputs are encouraged only.
 Activity
Types of Grants & Funding
2. National Grant
• From ministries/foundation – KPT, KPM, MOSTI, MARDI, MCMC, etc.
• FRGS, LRGS, etc.
• Main purpose is to expand the research base to higher level (comprehensive
models, prototype).
• Competitive – the proposal must be very good.
• Important requirement: must have completed at least one university level
grant (PJP) for FRGS. For other grants, need to complete FRGS.
• Typical allocation depends on what grants. Period 1-3 years.
• Expected outputs are:
• publications (indexed & non-indexed journals)
• at least one talent of GRA is expected (Master/PhD).
• Innovation – national and international exhibition, prototype.
• Patent/IP/copyright.
 Activity
Types of Grants & Funding
3. Industry Grant
• From industries – Maxis, TNB, TNBR, MTSFB (we got RM142k), etc.
• Main purpose is to develop the proposed prototype and commercialize.
• Competitive – the proposal must be very good and sometimes come with
business model.
• Short period a few months to 1 year.
• Expected outputs are:
• Product – hardware/software/process.
• Patent/IP/copyright.
 Activity
Types of Grants & Funding
4. International Grant
• From universities, NGOs, industries – Example, we managed to get
international grant from Universitas Sriwijaya Indonesia (technology transfer)
around RM30k and from KOPRI to conduct research in Antarctica (new case
study).
• Main purpose is technology transfer, new case study or collaboration.
• Competitive – the proposal must be very good.
• Expected outputs are:
• Technology transfer
• Publications (indexed journals)
• Training
• Product Patent/IP/copyright.
 Activity
Research Collaboration
Our group having good national and international collaborations:
• Local universities – UTM, UNIMAP, UMP, UNITEN (lightning), UKM (Antarctica).
• Local industries – TNBR, TMRND, KS iTechnologies Sdn. Bhd. MTSFB.
• International universities – MIT USA, Chinese Academy of Science, Universitas Sriwijaya,
Osaka University Japan, Uppsala Universiti Sweden.

How to initiate & maintain collaboration?

• Approach someone we know before – our PhD mates, someone we know in conferences
and sharing the same interest.
• Initiate join publication – this is very important.
• Gain trust from our partners – don’t be too greedy and willing to sacrifice time and money.
• Acknowledge that we are not perfect. We always learning.
• Different country, different system.
• Win-win formula!!
Fully sponsored travel to Beijing, Hefei,
Guangdong, Xining, Shanghai, Xi’an
 Activity
Authorships (Paper & Proposal)
This is sensitive issue among academicians.

The baselines for authorship are:

• The one who write the paper/proposal is the first author. If a few people involved in writing
the paper/proposal, the order depends on the contribution weightage.
• Can the ones who contribute ideas ONLY be among the first authors? – This is
always the problem between researchers and between lecturers and students.
• The main thing to consider is, the ones who write the paper/proposal are the ones who
articulate and elaborate the ideas. Therefore, they are the ones who should be among the
first authors.
• SPILL OUT IDEAS VS. IMPLEMENTING THE IDEAS
 Activity
Authorships (Paper & Proposal)
This is sensitive issue among academicians.

The baselines for authorship are:

• Can the ones who contribute non-technical can be among the authors?
• First, we need to ask, what are the non-technical contributions:
• Funding
• Proofread – technical? English?
• Husband/Wife/Brothers/Sisters
• Supervisors
• Ex-SVs
• Office mates
• Faculty managements
 Activity
Example of Journal Paper Authorships Issue

• Issue – Author E does not agree the arrangement. Author E demanded author B to be
number 2 because author B is the main supervisor, and he/she becomes number 3 (Co-
SV), and Riduan becomes number 4.
• The suggested arrangement by E is A, B, E, Mohd Riduan Ahmad, D, ….
• Author A is a PhD student. Authors A and Riduan wrote the paper. The ideas from authors
B and Riduan.
• DISCUSS THIS ISSUE.
RESEARCH MANAGEMENT
 Management
Process
Typical processes for all types of grants are:

1. Registration
2. Purchasing & Financial Report
3. Progress report
4. Final report
5. Extension if needed
 Management
Purchasing & Financial
• Please plan purchasing according to project plan and Gantt chart in the proposal submitted
to CRIM. Fund expenses is very important!!
• Purchase only what have been detailed in proposal.
• Purchasing can be done in 2 methods:
• Apply to purchase by using companies (RM20k)
• Purchase cash/credit and claim (<RM1000)
• In case we need to do virement
• To monitor project expenses
• For >RM20k – JK Teknikal
 Management
Progress & Final Report
• Typically, the progress report must be submitted every
6 months. Industry grants might have shorter period.
• Project Monitoring – Forms can be downloaded.
 Management
Extension (only if needed)
• Extension can be done only if needed.
• Usually for final stage of analysis or to pay RA/GRA.
• If possible, avoid extension.
RESEARCH OUTCOMES
 Outcomes
Publications
Types of publication:
• Book
• Book chapter
• Journal – focus on how to publish Q1 & Q2 papers – good raw data, method of
analysis, presentable analysis.
• Conference proceedings
• Module
• Monograph
• Technical Report
• Recommendations
• Standards
Scientific data from microwave sensor – Experimentation
2. The raw data are
further analyzed in Matlab
(temporal analysis)

1. Raw data E field (LF, VHF

and microwave) captured by
digitizer and stored in binary 3. Locations (Matlab) and statistical
format and location data (Excel) (matlab/excel/inkscape) results ready
to be published.
Temporal analysis
• Done in Matlab
• Shows clear and detail time-
domain characteristics
(based on previous studies
in LR)
• Comparison done between
3 different records (LF, VHF
and microwave).
• The plotted
waveforms/signals must be
filtered and denoised to
make sure high quality plots
to be submitted to Q1/Q2
journals
Location analysis
• Done in Matlab (exported from
raw data)
• Shows coordinates (lat,long) of
all analyzed lightning samples
• Shows clear distance PATTERN
from the sensor location
(triangle) – 10 km, 15 km and 30
km
• Labels sorting the samples
following dates accordingly (1 to
13)
• White and black fillings
differentiate 2 types of analyzed
lightning samples
Statistical analysis 1
• Done in Excel and
exported to Inkscape for
data visualization
• Must identify PATTERNS
based on temporal and
location analyses
• Comparison btw
microwave and VHF in
term of the number of
samples for 3 important
events IS, QP and
subsequent bursts and 5
different types of
lightning
Statistical analysis 2
• Done in Excel and exported to
Inkscape
• Figure shows comparison btw
microwave and VHF samples in terms
of 3 different variables (RT, ZCT, PD)
• The variables are presented
statistically as box plots
• Reveal important PATTERN – the
durations of microwave pulses are
shorter than VHF
Statistical analysis 3
• Done in Excel and exported to Inkscape
• Figure (a) shows comparison btw microwave
and VHF samples in terms of 3 different
variables (PTD RP, PTD DP, TPTD) for 2 lightning
types (+NBE and –NBE)
• The variables are presented statistically as box
plots
• Reveal important PATTERN – the durations of
microwave pulses are shorter than VHF
• Figure (b) shows PTD (1 variable) for 4 events
(QP1 – QP4) for 2 lightning types (+NBE and –
NBE)
Paper 1: Published in Q1 Journal 2013 (Experimentation+Simulation)
1. Raw data low frequency E field (voltage) captured
by digitizer and stored in binary format

2. The raw data are further analyzed in Matlab

(temporal and wavelet analysis) – notice that signal
processing method is introduced here to be a
significant contribution to the paper.
3. Statistical analysis
- The number of samples must be enough for
statistical analysis
- Figure shows 4 different types of lightning (-
CG, IC, +CG and IB)
- 4 different cases – see legend
- The analysis reveals the PATTERN (in
percentage) of dominant case across various
types of lightning (WHICH CASE YOU CAN
OBSERVE??)
Paper 2: Published in Q1 Journal 2014 (Experimentation)
1. Raw data low frequency E field
(voltage) captured by digitizer and
stored in binary format and raw
data from network card (BER,
PER, CLD)

2. The raw data are further

analyzed in Matlab (temporal and
correlation analyses). The
correlation analysis done by using
curve fitting algorithm.
3. Statistical analysis
- Extracted from the temporal and
correlation analyses

- The figure plots BER and CLD

statistical values for 3 types of
lightning (CG, IC and NBP)

- Important PATTERN – the worst

one is NBP although this type is
only a single bipolar pulse
compared to CG and IC
Paper 3: Published in Q2 Journal 2015 (Experimentation+Review)
1. Raw data low frequency E field
(voltage) captured by digitizer and
stored in binary format and
statistics of NBP from LR
2. The raw data are further
analyzed in Matlab (temporal
analysis and occurrence
characteristics)
3. The figure reveals important PATTERN of NBP as latitude increases (or decreases)
Paper 4: Published in Q1 Journal 2018 (Modeling+Simulation)
1. Raw data – models and
algorithms: designed and develop
based on LR

2. The raw data are further analyzed in Matlab (temporal and spatial
analyses)
3. Spatial analysis
- 3D spatial analysis as can be seen from
the figures. Figures (a) and (b) are based
on previous studies (LR).

- Figures (c) and (d) are the simulated

trajectories from the raw data.
3. Spatial analysis
Figure shows
comparison btw 3
different models
(algorithms)
simulated by chunks
accordingly
Paper 5: Published in Q1 Journal 2019 (Experimentation)
 IC Nov_67
Fast E-field
2.87 km

2. The raw data are further

- analyzed in Matlab (temporal and
location analysis)
Slow E-field

-CG June_1997
2.41 km
dB/dt

1. Raw data low frequency E field

(voltage) captured by digitizer and
stored in binary format and
location data.
Example an IC flash at 2.87 km

Google earth plot of the IC flash location (coordinate)

obtained from TNBR (VAISALA system)
3. Profiling analysis
- In order to observe
behaviours/patterns
of individual events of
a time series, we
need to do profiling

- The figure is an
example of time
series profiling of 2
lightning samples
with different number
of pulses
Paper 6: Published in Q1 Journal 2020 (Experimentation+Simulation)
1. Raw data low frequency and
VHF E field (voltage) captured by
digitizer and stored in binary
format

2. The raw data are further

analyzed in Matlab (temporal and
wavelet analysis)
3. Spatio-temporal analysis
- Figure (a) shows only spatial analysis of the emission points of individual VHF radiation pulses
- Figure (b) is the expanded view of Figure (a)
- Figure (c) shows 3D view of spatio-temporal evolution of the individual VHF radiation pulses
- This figure is very important because it reveals the PATTERN of
progression of electric current propagation in cloud
EXERCISE (TEST)
• Issue – Author E does not agree the arrangement. Author E demanded author B to be
number 2 because author B is the main supervisor, and he/she becomes number 3 (Co-SV),
and Riduan becomes number 4.
• The suggested arrangement by E is A, B, E, Mohd Riduan Ahmad, D, ….
• Author A is a PhD student in UNITEN. Authors A and Riduan wrote the paper. The ideas from
authors B and Riduan. Author E provides financial support to author A to pay PhD fee.
• DISCUSS THIS ISSUE & GIVE YOUR REASONS.