Dr. Md. Nor bin Musa was born in Kuala Kangsar, Perak on 18 November 1951. His was educated at Sekolah Rendah and Menengah Kebangsaan Clifford Kuala Kangsar and followed by engineering education at Technical College, Kuala Lumpur. He later continued his studies at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland where he obtained a Bachelor (1975) and Masters (1980) in the field of Mechanical Engineering. He pursued his studies at the doctoral level at the University of Heriot-Watt, Edinburgh, Scotland, and was awarded a PhD in 1987. He is married to Puan Mahani binti Mahmood and they have 4 children and 5 grandchildren.
He had served UTM for 41 years, from November 1975 until June 2016. He began his career as a lecturer and researcher. He was appointed as the Head of Laboratory, Head of Panel (Subject), Head of Department and Deputy Dean. He has held several key positions such as Dean of Faculty of Mechanical Enginnering, Dean of SPACE, Director of UTM Research Management Centre and Director of UTM Ocean Thermal Energy Centre. In addition, he had the privilege to serve as Chairman of the UTM Research Group and Chairman of UTM Council of Professors. He was the first UTM professor appointed by the Minister of Higher Education to be on the UTM Board of Directors, as a representative of UTM Senate Members (elected).
He was appointed as Dean of SPACE and was responsible for initiating the coordination exercise in aligning the examinations of the UTM Part Time SPACE Programs with that of the mainstream programs. With the implimentation of standardised examination questions concurrently for both programs, graduates from the part time SPACE programs received recognition not only from UTM, but also from both local and international professional bodies.
In 1992-1994 he was appointed by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (MOSTE) as a panellist in the Industrial Research in Priority Areas (IRPA). In 1995-1997 he was seconded to MOSTE and appointed as Deputy Director General of the Malaysian Institute of Micro Electronic Systems (MIMOS), responsible for the management of R & D, and the construction of a new R&D complex and a MIMOS Wafer Fabrication R&D factory, at Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur.
Based on his expertise in research activities, he was appointed as the principal investigator for 12 projects. He secured research fundings from within and outside the country with a cumulative total of more than RM 7 million. He obtained 6 patents (granted 4 and 2 pending) and won four medals at national exhibitions, a medal at the Seoul International Invention Fair (2002) and won a “National Intellectual Property Award” (2006). He was awarded the title “Champion of Innovation” by the Ministry of Higher Education in 2010. He has produced 64 conference and journal publications.
He was appointed by the Ministry of Higher Education as a member of the University Research Achievement Evaluation Panel to monitor the progress and achievements of USM, UKM, UPM and UM to maintain their status as research universities, respectively. He was also involved in the assessment and application of IIUM and University of Technology Petronas to acquire the status of a research university.
One of his patented inventions has been commercialized under the Symbiosis UTM / MTDC program with the establishment of the company “E-Element Technology Sdn. Bhd.” He is the director of the company, which has a start-up capital of RM4 million. The company continues to thrive with continuous injection of investment funds by shareholders.
Apart from being a scholar, he is also a respected member of the society, having been appointed as Deputy Chairman of the UTM Alumni Co-operative Board and was the President of the Malaysian Students Association in Edinburgh in 1984, 1985 and 1986. His was a member of the Kolej Tunku Khursiah”s Parent Teacher Association (PTA) in 1995-1999 and in 2001-2005. He was awarded the Medal of PCM by the Sultan of Perak in 2004.