Dr. Meor Hakif is an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Geology, University of Malaya (UM). He has written at least 100 publications including one article in Nature. He teaches undergraduate courses in Stratigraphy and Sedimentology, as well as postgraduate topics in Reservoir Sedimentology and Sequence Stratigraphy. Previously, he was the Coordinator for the MSc in Petroleum Geology Programme for 5 years. Currently, he is President of the Geological Society of Malaysia. Dr. Meor graduated with a BSc. (Hons) in Geology from UM in 2002, which included an early exposure to the petroleum industry through an internship with Esso Production Malaysia Inc. (EPMI) on abnormal pressure in offshore Sabah. While being a Tutor at UM, he graduated with a MSc. (with distinction) in 2005, with a dissertation revising the stratigraphy of NW Peninsular Malaysia.  The MSc. included research and training on graptolite biostratigraphy at the Technische Universitat Berlin in Germany, which was supported by a German Academic Exchange (DAAD) Scholarship. In 2005, Dr. Meor worked as an Executive Geoscientist in the Petroleum Resource Assessment and Marketing division, Petroleum Management Unit (PMU) of PETRONAS, mainly working on sequence stratigraphy and sequence biostratigraphy of the Sarawak Basin, and also gaining experience in resource assessment, well log interpretation, seismic interpretation and well operations monitoring. Dr. Meor graduated with a Ph.D and DIC from Imperial College, University of London in 2011. His Ph.D project was on the sedimentology of the Nyalau Formation and Balingian Province of the Sarawak Basin. Since then, he has been actively involved as a consultant on many sedimentological related studies with several oil and gas companies. Part of the PhD included fieldwork in Bintulu, Sarawak, core description at PETRONAS and a secondment to Petrofac Malaysia (PM-304) Ltd in Kuala Lumpur. Dr. Meor also took the advantage during his PhD to visit the textbook outcrops of the Book Cliffs (Sego Fm, Ferron Sandstone, Chinle Fm., Morrison Fm.) in Utah, USA, as well as the Welsh and Wessex Basins of the UK. Dr. Meor Hakif frequently leads sedimentology, stratigraphy and petroleum geology fieldtrips to the Palaeozoic strata of NW Peninsular Malaysia and the hydrocarbon-bearing, Neogene strata of Sarawak and Labuan. He maintains good relationships with industry, with several consulting projects and fieldtrips organized for companies. He is also the Faculty Advisor for the AAPG Student Chapter of UM.  Dr. Meor's current research interests in sedimentology mainly lies in the facies composition and stratal architecture of siliciclastic rocks, and how they are used to infer depositional and basin history. In particular, many of his publications are on tidal deposits preserved in the Oligo-Miocene rock record of Malaysia. The work involves integration with fields and specialists beyond traditional geology, including geophysics and engineering. His work is mainly field-based, with field experience in northwest Peninsular Malaysia (Perlis, Kedah, Langkawi), Pahang, Kelantan, Sarawak (Kuching, Sibu, Bintulu, Miri, Marudi, Limbang, Lawas), Labuan and Sabah (Klias, Kota Kinabalu area, Kudat). Dr. Meor is also a worker on the stratigraphy of the Palaeozoic succession of northwest Peninsular Malaya, specializing in the palaeontology and biostratigraphy of Devonian tentaculitoids and graptoloids and Carboniferous ammonoids. Results of this work include the discovery and naming of a new species of ammonoid, Praedaraelites tuntungensis, from Bukit Tuntung in Perlis as well as a new species of foraminifera, Crenulosepta perlisensis. Dr. Meor also uncovered a previously unknown Devonian stratigraphic unit, now called the Sanai Limestone. Dr. Meor is a certified Professional Geologist (P.Geol.) with the Board of Geologists Malaysia.  

Dr. Pauline Yeoh is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia. She earned her Doctoral Degree through the Fast Track PhD program, Graduate On Time with Distinction for Thesis. Registered as a Graduate Engineer with the Board of Engineers Malaysia, Dr. Yeoh is passionate about advancing digital health and strives to bridge the gap between engineering and medicine through innovative research in computational intelligence for healthcare applications. Her research involvement spans national, industrial, and international collaborations, including participation in the China–Malaysia ‘AI+’ New Materials Joint Laboratory between Universiti Malaya and Peking University. During her PhD, she was selected as one of only 30 participants for the Association of Commonwealth Universities Summer School 2022 and served as a visiting PhD student at Xuzhou Medical University, China. She actively fosters global academic engagement and multidisciplinary research dialogues.

Dr. Mohd Zaidi Daud is an Associate Professor in the Department of Syariah and Law at the Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya (UM), where he served as Head of the Department from 2019 to 2025. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Syariah (Islamic Law) with Honours, as well as a Master’s and a PhD in Syariah and Law, all from the University of Malaya. Dr. Mohd Zaidi Daud specializes in Islamic Estate Planning—covering Hibah, Wakaf, Islamic Inheritance, and Islamic Wills—as well as Islamic Banking and Finance, Islamic Social Finance, and Contemporary Islamic Law. Currently, he is the Principal Investigator for a project titled "Management of Islamic Trust Assets at the Baitulmal," funded by the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (GA022-2024), running from September 23, 2024, to March 23, 2025. Dr. Mohd Zaidi Daud is also collaborating internationally with UIN Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang on the project "Religious Moderation in Higher Education in Indonesia and Malaysia." Previously, he led a Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education-funded project titled "Individual Behaviour in Dealing with Property Distribution Issues: A Study of Muslim Estate Planning" (FP017-2020) under the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS). He has also collaborated on various research initiatives, including projects on Islamic Inheritance Management, Islamic Law Practice in Malaysia, Wakaf financing for higher education, and the role of Muslim women’s NGOs in promoting gender equality in ASEAN. Dr. Mohd Zaidi Daud is an active speaker at national and international conferences. Recent notable presentations include "Legal Frameworks in Islamic Social Finance for Promoting Social Welfare in Malaysia: Aligning with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)" at the International Conference on Law & Justice, UIN Syarif Hidayatullah in Jakarta (September 27, 2024); "Zakat as Islamic Philanthropy in Malaysia: An Overview from a Legal Perspective" at Karabuk University, Turkey (September 29, 2022); and "Legal Aspects and Management of Islamic Philanthropy in Malaysia" at Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (July 25, 2022). He has also recently presented in Vienna, Austria; Malang and Jakarta, Indonesia; and Pattani, Thailand (2024). Previous years included presentations in Salzburg (Austria), Barcelona (Spain), as well as Palembang and Bandung, Indonesia (2023 and 2022, respectively). Beyond teaching and research, Dr. Mohd Zaidi Daud served as a Visiting Scholar at the Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (August to December 2013), and completed a three-month research fellowship at Cairo University's Kuliyyah Darul Ulum (May to August 2010). His extensive publication record includes articles in national and international journals, contributing significantly to the field of Islamic law. Throughout his career, he has offered expertise to institutions such as JAKIM and MAIS on Islamic law issues and previously served as the Shariah Adviser for ZICOlaw Shariah, providing advisory services to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Malaysia Berhad from 2014 to 2016.