Sunway’s AUSMAT student now a nuclear physicist

Lee Boon Quan, a Sunway Australian Matriculation Programme (AUSMAT) alumnus is currently attached to the Department of Nuclear Physics in the Australian National University (ANU).

His research topic involves nuclear physics, atomic physics and medical physics. According to Boon Quan, the research that he is working on may lead to the development of a new kind of molecular radiotherapy that is based on the interaction of Auger electrons with tumours. “Ideally, the Auger ‘electron-based’ therapies only damage the tumours but not the neighbouring healthy cells,” he said. “This is because Auger electrons travel very short distance in the order of nanometre due to their low energy, so they damage only the small volume in the immediate vicinity of the radioactive isotopes.”

Lee Boon Quan standing in front of the Department of Nuclear Physics in the Australian National University (ANU).

“My research group and I are building a theoretical model to describe the emission process of Auger electrons,” Boon Quan added. “Our goal is to replace the existing models which are not able to include the whole atom in their calculations and keep up with the advances in nuclear physics.”

What is exciting about the study of Auger electrons is that it allows him to get involved in many different disciplines from physics to medicine. “Sometimes I just love doing something that is interesting and vibrant,” he said, adding that in five years’ time, he would have completed his PhD. “Thereafter; I will probably join a research group and study something completely different if I decide not to become a Medical Physicist in Australia. Maybe, someday, I will work as a researcher in Malaysia.”

With his knowledge in nuclear and atomic physics, Boon Quan would probably be able to apply it for the advancement of medical science. “I know that the public are scared when the word ‘radiation’ is brought up, so I also hope to help the public understand that nuclear and atomic radiations are not scary after all,” he laughed.

According to Boon Quan, AUSMAT had helped him in the transition of learning style from high school to university. He said, “In high school, I always relied on school teachers in the process of gaining knowledge. During the year in AUSMAT, I was able to start learning independently with help from lecturers at AUSMAT. It gave me a glimpse of what university life is all about. At the university, lecturers will only guide you instead of spoon-feeding you. However, most of the researchers and lecturers in ANU are easy to get along with and they will not refuse to answer your question if you ask them properly.”

There are no regrets in choosing AUSMAT at Sunway and ANU. “My brother is now doing AUSMAT at Sunway as well. I encouraged him to join AUSMAT because I believe the benefits he will get at Sunway will help him in the future,” Boon Quan said.

Boon Quan has two publications to his credit:

• B. Q. Lee, T. Kib´edi, A. E. Stuchbery, and K. A. Robertson,“Atomic Radiations in the Decay of Medical Radioisotioes: A Physics Perspective”, Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine 651475 (2012) 14
• B. Q. Lee, T. Kib´edi, A. E. Stuchbery and K. A. Robertson, “Atomic Radiation in Nuclear Decay”, European Physical Journal: Web of Conferences 04003 (2012) 35 and we are working on another publication (currently named as “A Model to Realize the Potential of Auger Electrons for Radiotherapy”) which will be published at the end of the year on European Physical Journal.