By Dr Mohd Ifwat Mohd Ghazali

Physics? Chemistry? Biology? And God help us, Mathematics? These subjects give students nightmares. The mere mention of Calculus or the Crystal Structures and Lattices can trigger instant headaches.

Many believe studying them will not make you rich, just that you end up as an old, bearded professor lecturing in a dusty university hall. That’s a big misconception.

These fundamental sciences are making a comeback with vengeance, as technology nowadays requires such knowledge to further develop.

We in Malaysia have to take a step forward and create a paradigm shift that enables our brightest minds to delve into these fields in order to lead the innovation sector and secure our place in the global future.

Maybe we are still unconvinced by such a statement. However, recently, a well-known figure in the world of technology was quoted in an interview as saying that if he were young today, he would choose to study physical science (physics, chemistry, materials science) rather than software engineering.

Contrary to current market

This contradicts the flow of today's technology, where the current market shows the importance of coding and programming as something to study.

The irony is that the person who is making this bold statement is none other than Jensen Huang, the CEO and co-founder of NVIDIA, the company that gave us Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), which are needed for high-performance computing and artificial intelligence.

And the best part is, he’s not alone. Pavel Durov, the CEO of Telegram, a messaging app, also echoed the same narration, which recommends that students study mathematics.

Even more interesting, ever-eccentric innovator, Elon Musk, has also chimed in, encouraging young people to focus on physics in addition to mathematics.

A statement that we, as Malaysians, should heed if we are serious about making a change in our education system.

Backbone of modern technology

The statements echoed by these technopreneurs are neither random nor exaggerated. The core root of such a statement telling us is that physical sciences are, and always have been, the backbone and cornerstone that support modern technology.

The assumption that we have is that physics, chemistry, and mathematics are just theoretical disciplines and can't be translated into real innovations is far from the truth.

These three fundamental divisions of science have shaped the very technologies we rely on today.

Physics, through the principles of quantum mechanics, shows how electrons move in atoms and solids, which enables the design of specific structures used in semiconductors that are then utilised in microchips.

These same microchips are powering the computers and supercomputers that are used to train the latest artificial intelligence models.

On the other hand, chemistry is important, particularly through the principles of electrochemistry.

These principles help understand the chemical reaction in order to generate electrical energy, specifically for battery technology.

This understanding allows the rapid development of electric vehicles as an alternative to conventional fuel-based vehicles, creating a global shift towards sustainable transportation.

Mathematics, in particular calculus and linear algebra, is the fundamental knowledge in designing complex model systems behind artificial intelligence nowadays.

These principles are used to optimise algorithms in applications like image processing, pattern recognition, or even predictive diagnostics used in sectors such as finance, engineering, and healthcare.

Ensuring development of technology

This evidently shows that these branches of science will ensure the development of technology at an unprecedented pace, a pace that Malaysia cannot afford to ignore.

Yet despite this reality, Malaysian students often avoid such subjects because they are considered difficult and sometimes complex to understand.

This disparity between global demand and local perception will eventually lead us to a lack of scientific talent needed for future industries.

Statistics from 2023 show that only 15 per cent of SPM students were in the pure science stream, compared with 43 per cent in 2002 – a figure considered low for a nation that is moving forward.

This alarming fact will lead to Malaysia's talent pool shrinking in terms of future physicists, chemists, and mathematicians.

This shaky foundation will only make Malaysia move further away from creating innovative strides in areas such as quantum technology and even semiconductor technology.

In order to rectify these issues, the Ministry of Education, along with the Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia, should be the bridge between students and help them build confidence as well as a genuine desire to pursue the physical sciences, which are often avoided.

The choice for Malaysians

In the end, we as Malaysians have a clear choice to make.

The first choice is to allow the physical sciences to drift further from our brightest minds, or the second one, is reviving such important subjects in the mindset of our future minds.

The world leaders in innovation and science have reminded us that these fundamental subjects are not a dying knowledge but the golden key to a brighter and cutting-edge future.

And Malaysia, a country that aims to become a global player in the technological sectors, we must bring back sciences with a vengeance to our education system.

The return of fundamental science for our future depends on it, and may the sciences be with us.

-- BERNAMA

Dr Mohd Ifwat Mohd Ghazali is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Physics, Universiti Malaya.