Dr. Soh Aik Chin
Dr. Soh Aik Chin FAsc Contact Details : Tel. : 6-03- 87273275 |
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Consultant to AAR BioTech laboratory at AAR_UNMC, Nothingham in Bangi, Selangor. Prior to that, he was Consultant to AAR Tissue Culture laboratory in Ijok, Kuala Selangor from 2006 until 2008. Dr Soh is a leading oil palm breeder and geneticist of international standing. He was Head of Agricultural Research at Applied Agricultural Resources Sdn. Bhd., a plantation R&D company owned jointly by two large plantation companies, Boustead Plantations Bhd. and Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd. He obtained his B.Agric.Sc.(Hons) in 1971 from University of Malaya where he was awarded the Malaysian Rubber Fund Board Scholarship and the Varsity Senior Scholarship. After graduation he joined Felda Agricultural Research Centre as a cocoa agronomist for two years. Dr. Soh then returned to his alma mater to pursue the M.Agric.Sc, in plant breeding/genetics on a tutorship. After lecturing for a year in the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Malaya, he left to pursue his Ph.D. at Oregon State University on an International Student Scholarship and a teaching assistantship. Upon his return to Malaysia in 1979, he joined Highlands Research Unit as an oil palm breeder/geneticist, a profession he continued in with his present employer since 1987. Over the years, Dr. Soh has developed: (1) the Dumpy-AVROS semi-dwarf oil palm hybrid variety which facilitates harvesting and extends the economic life of the crop, (2) the Dumpy.Yangambi.AVROS hybrid variety with improved high yield potential besides the dwarfing advantages, and (3) high yielding clones from tissue culture, with strong support from his capable tissue culture and plant breeding teams. These varieties have made and continue to make significant economic impact on the oil palm industry. For his achievements and contributions, Dr. Soh was the winner of the Malaysia Toray Science Foundation 2005 Science & Technology Outstanding Scientist Award, the first from the private sector since the inception of the Award (2 awards per year) in 1994. He has also recently been elected as a Fellow in the Academy of Sciences of Malaysia, a very select fraternity of about 150 scientists. |