Rate My Professor Sebastian Lai

Dr. Sebastian Lai, professionally known as Dr. Lai Wai Yan (Sebastian), is a Lecturer in the Department of Civil and Construction Engineering at Curtin University Malaysia, the Sarawak Campus of Curtin University. He holds a PhD in Civil Engineering awarded by Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus in 2021, and a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Civil Engineering from the same institution in 2017. Dr. Lai joined Curtin University Malaysia in August 2024, bringing substantial industry experience from his role as a water supply and drainage design engineer at Jurutera Perunding Wahba Sdn. Bhd. and Jurutera Adda Sdn. Bhd. between April 2021 and July 2024. During this time, he contributed to key infrastructure projects across Sarawak, Malaysia, including the Proposed Serian Regional Water Supply Phase II; Projek Bekalan Air Luar Bandar (BALB) Kawasan Nanga Mujong, Bahagian Kapit, Sarawak; Projek Bekalan Air Luar Bandar (BALB) Wilayah Sangan, Bahagian Bintulu, Sarawak; Design, Construction, Completion, Testing and Commissioning of Proposed Package CR1 (Central Region) for Sarawak Water Supply Grid Programme (Work Order 2B, 6 & 8); Highland Development Agency (HDA) Package 5: Water Supply and Electricity Infrastructure Projects in Bario, Mulu and Telang Usan (Project No. 6, 8, 11 & 12); Proposed Redevelopment of MBKS Swimming Pool into a Water Fun Park and Centre of UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy; Niah 275/(132)/33KV Substation Project; Development of Facilities and Utilities at Maludam National Park; Proposed 3-Storey Shophouses on Parent Lot 3395 (Sublot 1-15) Block 18, Jalan Demak, Salak Land District, Kuching; and Proposed Engineering Works to Lot 4062, Block 26, Kemena Land District, Jalan Nyabau, Bintulu (Phase 3).

Dr. Lai's research specializations center on the application of artificial intelligence in civil engineering contexts, such as artificial neural networks (ANNs) for hydrology and climate predictions, including imputation of missing data variables. His prior work developed rainfall-filling models using novel artificial neural networks. Key publications include Lai, W.Y. & Kuok, K.K. (2019). 'A Study on Bayesian Principal Component Analysis for Addressing Missing Rainfall Data', Water Resources Management, 33(8), 2615-2628; and Lai, W.Y., Kuok, K.K., Gato-Trinidad, S., Rahman, M.R., & Bakri, M.K. (2023). 'Metaheuristic Algorithms to Enhance the Performance of a Feedforward Neural Network in Addressing Missing Hourly Precipitation', International Journal of Integrated Engineering, 15(1), 273-285. Leveraging his background in treated water supply design, Dr. Lai emphasizes bridging theoretical knowledge with real-world applications in his teaching, particularly in environmental engineering and water sustainability initiatives.