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Sunday February 15, 2009

Record breaking prof a taekwondo expert, too

By RASHVINJEET S. BEDI


KUALA LUMPUR: Don’t let 19-year-old Alia Sabur’s looks deceive you. Dressed in jeans and a black top, she could be easily mistaken for the girl next door, and one would never think that she has been conducting ground-breaking research in the medical field.

But Sabur is currently researching the use of nanotube-based cellular probes in medical research at the Department of Advanced Technology Fusion at Konkuk University in Seoul, South Korea where she is a professor.

The research aims to find a way to measure the reaction of nano-materials injected into individual cells.

Brains and brawn: Alia is also an accomplished orchestra clarinetist.

And last year, Sabur who is of American-Iranian descent was recognised as the world’s youngest Professor by the Guinness Book of World Records, breaking a near 300-year-old record in the process.

Sabur was in Kuala Lumpur to give a talk yesterday on how to study effectively and to maximise one’s potential. The process of excelling is probably easier for her because she enjoys learning about things.

“I like to know as much as I can about anything that I like. It took me a long time to realise that it was unusual to enjoy school, but I always did,” she said in an interview.

The New Yorker started reading when she was eight months old and leapt from fourth grade to college, earning a bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics from Stony Brook University at age 14. She then earned her Masters and PhD. (ABD) in Materials Science and Engineering from Drexel University.

Besides her academic endeavours, this confident go-getter has a black belt in taekwondo, which she earned at the age of nine, and is an accomplished clarinet player, playing in orchestras.

In most of her endeavours, she works with older people, whether it’s students she is teaching or the other professors she is conducting research with.

“Everyone is much older than me. I don’t really notice it much, but other people do. I just try to do whatever I am supposed to do. People eventually get used to it,” said Sabur.

She said she is also trying her best to rid the stereotype that scientists are all nerdy.

“I think there is a perception everywhere that if you’re smart or good in Science and Maths, people think you are weird or a big nerd. I might be a nerd but I’m not nerdy. I don’t fit the stereotype at all. A lot of people have told me that I don’t look smart or act smart, but I am,” she said.

She is also trying to convince young girls that Science is a field for them.

“There is a perception that it’s not ladylike or it’s not appropriate or other silly things like that. I can’t single-handedly change history but I could at least try, and hope by example a few girls will think twice about things,” she said.

As for the future, Sabur will be going back to America after her one-year contract in South Korea, which is drawing to a close.

Back home, she hopes to continue doing what she has been doing all this time. She is also in the process of writing her autobiography which is expected to be released next year.

So does Sabur feel as if she is living in a dream?

“I never really think about it like that. It’s kind of funny because I have to remind myself sometimes that what I’m doing is a big deal, I guess. It still feels like normal from day to day,” she said.

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