UTAR Alumni

MARCH 2013

UTAR Math whiz makes history

West Wong, a graduate of UTAR's Bachelor of Science

(Hons) Actuarial Science, 2009

The success of alumni is a testament to the quality education provided by the alma mater. Therefore, UTAR is proud to have produced its alumnus West Wong Woon Chieng, a 25-year-old bronze medallist in the category 'Mental Arithmetic Flash Anzan' at the World Mental Olympics which was held at Antalya, Turkey on 24 and 25 November 2012.

Wong's feat is first for Malaysia as he is thus far the only Malaysian to win a medal at the event. He also finished fifth in the ?Mental Addition? category.

'I would to thank my coach, Andrew Richards, for his unwavering believe in me,' says Wong, adding that it was his coach had motivated him all along to take part in the competition. He also thanks his family and friends for their support.

Wong, who graduated from UTAR with a Bachelor of Science (Hons) Actuarial Science in 2009, discovered that he had a flair for numbers at the age of nine. The Math whiz has been aptly nicknamed as the 'Human Calculator'. Exploiting his talent, he co-founded with friends a centre for memory training where he serves as a trainer. He intends to produce winners from his training centre in the upcoming 2016 World Mental Olympics.

Also known as 'Memoriad', the World Mental Olympics, which is held every four years, is the only better known world-level competition on memory, mental calculation, mental arithmetic and photographic reading.

Wong with this award

Flags of Memoriad and participating countries