Ng Jing Xiang

Q: Share something about yourself.

My name is Jing Xiang, and a Year Four student pursuing my Bachelor’s Degree in the Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) School of Materials Science and Engineering. When A*STAR launched the A*STAR Research Internship Award (ARIA) program in 2021, I was lucky enough to be offered an internship opportunity with A*STAR's Institute of High Performance Computing (IHPC) in January 2022.

My internship period originally spanned from January to the end of May 2022. As I was interested to continue with the project I was working on, I requested an extension of my internship with IHPC from June to August 2022.

Q: Tell us about what you do at IHPC?

During my time in IHPC, I had the opportunity to work directly with Dr Jerry Quek, Senior Scientist and Dr David Wu, Senior Scientist at the Engineering Mechanics department on a materials science project that focused on studying the phase transformation kinetics of materials using a simulation program written in C/C++ programming language.

My work mainly involved coding in C/C++, which is the main programming language used in the simulation program. In addition, I also wrote new scripts to generate meaning plots or visuals on MATLAB that used the post-simulation output files as input files for the plots.

Beyond the basic coding and debugging process on both the simulation program and MATLAB scripts, I attended weekly meetings with Dr Quek and Dr Wu, where I would discuss my findings and share my perspective on the data I obtained.

Essentially, it is similar to conducting research lab work, but virtually.

Q: What/Who is your inspiration in life?

I have always been inspired by researchers. Often, I would see Channel News Asia (CNA) featuring researchers from Universities and A*STAR sharing their latest discoveries and inventions. As a young child who was always curious, the frequent exposure to such news piqued my interest in science. As I grew older and had the experience working in a lab during my tertiary education and subsequently research as an undergraduate, I realised I could potentially make a difference and become a researcher too, just like those who were featured in the news. The ever-changing nature of research work has not only improved our lives but also made our lives more vivid. Thus, I hope to be able to contribute to the advancement of society.

Q: Describe a typical work week.

A typical work week involved a few days of “intensive” coding and debugging. After which, I would process the output data into meaningful graphs or visuals. The nature of running batch simulation would typically take a day to complete hence we often had to plan our tasks ahead. Time management is key in my work and I believe this is one invaluable skill I have gained from this internship.

Q: How has this internship benefits you?

My internship at IHPC has provided me with a glimpse of working in a computing-centric career, while applying theories from research. It has given me the courage to step out of my comfort zone, embrace programming and understand how we could harness it to benefit research work. I would love to have a career in IHPC, if not another company that does a similar job scope.

Overseas trip with Jing Xiang & family members
Rare overseas trip with mum and sister

Furthermore, this internship has also equipped me with “on-the-job” training experience under the guidance of two very supportive supervisors. Despite having zero programming experience, my supervisors given me with ample opportunities to learn on the job. Eventually, I was able to write up new functions and scripts to be used in the simulation and MATLAB.

I have benefitted most from the mentorship that I have received from Dr Quek and Dr Wu. They have never once given up on me and have always helped me every possible way even despite their busy schedules.

Ng Jing Xiang

A*STAR celebrates International Women's Day