“It’s such a pleasure to have my work recognised, and this acknowledgement is important to me to show my family that I’ve been doing something significant with my life, and not simply running away from household chores and family obligations,” she says lightheartedly.
Her tone turns serious as she adds: “I’m really grateful to my family, especially my husband, Dr Ng Tham Fatt, who is the ‘wind beneath my wings’; my parents – L. Kumar and Victoria Miranda – who have helped raise our daughter, Linah, well; as well as my two sisters, Margarete Sebastian and Jennifer Pereira, who constantly help take care of things on the personal front.
“It’s my family’s constant support, patience and understanding that has released me to soar in my career, and manage both my work and personal life.”
Joy built her career on environmental geology, and after obtaining her first degree in Earth Science from UKM, she was granted the British High Commissioners Award (now Chevening Award), to continue her Masters in Mineral Exploration and Mining Geology at University of Leicester. She then did her PhD in Universiti Malaya, working on gold mining and environmental impacts.
Joy joined UKM’s Institute for Environment and Development (Lestari) in 1996 and then moved on to the Seadpri-UKM, where she started leading multi-country international projects.
One of the biggest challenges she has faced is building trust and confidence in scientific findings.
“High levels of trust in the researcher and confidence in the findings make it easier for the uptake of evidence-based information for policy making,” she says, adding that “openness, transparency and communication is critical when conducting research in the science-policy interface”.
“Conceptualising and designing project implementation with the involvement of policy makers and stakeholders, as well as active involvement and communication as the products are generated, do help in the trust-building process.
“We published methodologies and validated our results in peer-reviewed journals as a means of quality assurance.”
Joy, who enjoys reading and watching television, especially movies on the experiences of real people and actual events, believes that success comes from “constantly striving for continuous improvement in one’s work and personal life”.
Her life mottos are: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts” (Winston Churchill) and “When you encounter setbacks and difficulties, be practical and rational, not sentimental or emotional.” (Anonymous).