24 February 2011

From Sunway to Sunny California

Story by Michelle Kiob

Joshua Tan is having the time of his life in California, thanks to the Monash Abroad exchange program at the Sunway campus.

Joshua Tan Seow Chun has definitely saved his best semester for last. Combining his love to travel and trying out a new study environment was made possible for the Chemical Engineering student from Monash University Sunway Campus via the Monash Abroad program.

“University of California Berkeley is the number one public university in the United States of America and one of the best places in the world for chemical engineering. When I discovered that it was on the Monash list of partner universities, I jumped on the chance to get in,” said the Malaysian lad from Petaling Jaya.

Tan, who is in his fourth and final year, added: “Besides, it was also my ticket to California, USA, for the first time. I was really lucky to get accepted at Berkeley as one of the only two students from all the Monash campuses.”

He is beyond impressed by all that UC Berkeley has to offer, from the beautiful bell tower in the middle of the campus and its lovely daily carillon concerts, to the laboratory, which he shares with two supervisors and four other research students.

Tan is now working with the world-renowned Professor John Prausnitz and Professor Clay Radke, studying solubility and transport of salt in water-saturated hydrogels with application to next-generation contact lenses.

Recently, Prof Prausnitz was awarded the Dreyfus Senior Scientist Mentor Award and was featured in the College of Chemistry News and Publications, in which Tan was also acknowledged.

“I have learned so much from my supervisors. We have weekly meetings for progress check and discussions. It's a great laboratory environment where I get to work with very interesting people and ideas,” said 22-year old Tan, who added that classes are intense, interactive and interesting.

Tan also learned that there was no slacking-off as time was of essence and results were expected. He said, “The passing grade is 70% and I have homework every week for each unit. That’s pretty much like a Monash assignment every week.”

Tan went on to say that students do have a lot of freedom in choosing their units each semester, be it language, film, nutrition or music.

“There's an endless variety of units available for all students. I'm now taking a psychology unit out of interest,” Tan said.

Student life, according to Tan, is extremely lively at UC Berkeley. From fraternity houses, symphony orchestras, national basketball games to debates, dances and even English Premier League courses, there is something for everyone on campus.

“A current highlight is the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra performance next week. It will be the first time in 20 years since they last came to the bay area,” added Tan.

As travelling is one of Tan’s passions, he is using his free time to explore the streets of Los Angeles, Hollywood, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, and visit the Death Valley and the Grand Canyon.

Tan’s exchange program started in January 2011 and already he has tickets booked for Hawaii in the summer, and had the chance to “stay with an American host family over a weekend where I got to experience an all-American family lifestyle.”

Above all, the Bachelor of Chemical Engineering student said: “I hope to give a good impression of Monash University Sunway Campus to the professors here at UC Berkeley and pass my courses, while also having the time of my life!”