Prof. Dr. Nor Haniza Sarmin received her BSc (Hons), Master and PhD in Mathematics from State University of New York (now known as Binghamton University), Binghamton, New York, USA. Her specialization of research is in Group Theory, Graph Theory, Formal Language Theory, Splicing Systems, and Their Applications. Currently, Prof Niza is a Professor in Mathematics, actively contributing to the Department of Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of Science, UTM in both research and teaching activities. She is also one of the mentors in the faculty’s SUNSHINE++ program.
She has published more than 500 research papers in national and international journals and proceedings, and delivered many keynotes and invited lectures in her area of expertise. She is currently an associate editor and editorial board member of an indexed journal – Malaysian Journal of Mathematical Sciences (MJMS). She is also an editorial board member of several national and international journals, including Jurnal Teknologi, Menemui Matematik and Arabian Journal of Mathematics. She has supervised and graduated 41 PhD students, 28 masters students and 87 undergraduate students under her supervision. This includes the Youngest PhD Holder in Malaysia Book of Record 2014, Dr Hazzirah Izzati Mat Hassim. In 2023, Prof Niza has been selected as the recipient of ‘Recognised Research Supervisor’ by the UK Council for Graduate Education (UKCGE) for her excellent supervisory practice.
Besides, Prof Niza has secured more than 20 research grants as the Leader and more than 25 as a collaborator. She was holding the position of the Head of Postgraduate Department in Faculty of Science from 2007-2012, the Deputy Dean in the School of Graduate Studies UTM from 2012-2016, the Director (Global Education and Student Experience) in UTM International from April 2016 – 31 March 2018, the Associate Director (Student Services and Global Education Experience) from 1 April 2018 – 14 August 2019 and later the Associate Director (Global Strategy and Engagement) starting from 15 August 2019 until 31 December 2022. She was also appointed as the Acting Director of UTM International from 1 August 2022 – 31 January 2023.
In the area of internationalization, Prof Niza has attended and presented talks/papers in many Higher Educational Institutions (HEI) seminars, conferences and exhibitions which include NAFSA, Eurie, APAIE, APSSA, SHARE, AIMS, QS-Apple, Going Global and AIEC.
In addition, Prof Niza has been appointed by the Ministry of Higher Education as UTM Internal Auditor for MYRA since 2017. She was also appointed as a UTM Senator from 15 January 2020 – 14 January 2023.
