Kuala lumpur: Identical twins Dr Serene Lock Sow Mun and Irene Lock Sow Mei, both aged 36, have been recognized as two of Malaysia's leading engineers at the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) Engineering Awards ceremony held last night.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Sow Mun, who serves as an associate professor at Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP), was honored as the first woman to win the National Young Engineer Award. Her sister, Sow Mei, a senior process engineer at PETRONAS, was awarded the Special Mention International Engineering Award (SMIEA) 2026.

The twins are daughters of nursing lecturers from Ipoh, Perak, and their interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) was cultivated during their primary school years. Their academic paths briefly diverged, with Sow Mun studying at the University of Toronto, Canada, and Sow Mei at UTP. However, both chose to specialize in chemical engineering, with a shared focus on future sustainability.

Sow Mei expressed her gratitude for the recognition, stating, "I feel truly honoured and grateful to receive this award alongside my twin sister. This recognition motivates me to contribute even more to the engineering field." She added that the most rewarding aspect of her career is solving complex problems and turning academic research into national progress.

Sow Mun conveyed her aspiration to inspire more women to pursue engineering careers, hoping her achievement as the first female recipient of the National Young Engineer Award serves as motivation. "I hope this success will serve as an inspiration and a driving force for more female talent to enter STEM industries, demonstrating our capability and leadership," she said.