AIT Newsletter 2011 - February

Asian Institute of Technology February 2011

INSIDE ISSUE.. .

AIT Consulting opens for business

Recent News / Happenings at AIT................................................. 2-4People........................................................................................... 5Backpage...................................................................................... 6

A IT Consulting, AIT’s latest professional services arm, officially opened its doorsfor business on 20 January 2011 at a formallaunchingceremonygracedbynumerousambas-sadors,dignitaries,high-rankingofficials,seniorAITadministrationstaffandfacultymembers.

TheChairmanoftheAITBoardofTrustees,H.E.Dr. Tej Bunnag, andAIT President Prof. Said

Irandoustcut theceremonialribbontoopentheshinynewfacilityandusherinaneweraforconsultingservicesatAIT.TheceremonywaswitnessedbyalargenumberoftheAITBoard of Trustees and other distinguishedguests. “AIT Consulting isAIT’s approachforprofessionalizingconsultancyservicesinanintegrativeway,”saidDr.NaveedAnwar,ExecutiveDirectorofAITConsulting.

Chairman of the AIT Board of Trustees, H.E. Dr. Tej Bunnag, and AIT President Prof. Said Iran-doust inaugurating AIT Consulting.

�Recent news / happenings at ait

Republic of Indonesia becomes 14th signatory of the new AIT Charter

Republic of Indonesia has be-comethefourteenthsignatoryofthenewAITCharter.InamodestceremonyorganizedattheMinis-tryofForeignAffairs,RoyalThaiGovernmenton20January2011,the ambassador of Indonesia toThailand, His Excellency Mr.MohammadHattasignedtheAITCharter. Indonesia now joins 12countries and one internationalorganization in signing the AITCharter.

ThenewAITCharterwassignedon25August2010bytheForeignMinister of Thailand, H.E. Mr.KasitPiromya.Twelvecountries,namely, People’s Republic ofBangladesh, Kingdom of Cam-bodia, Republic of India, Japan,Federal Democratic Republic ofNepal,IslamicRepublicofPaki-stan,RepublicofPhilippines,Re-publicofSeychelles,DemocraticSocialist Republic of Sri Lanka,Kingdom of Sweden, KingdomofThailand,DemocraticRepub-licofTimorLesteandoneinter-nationalorganization,theUnitedNations Development Fund forWomen (UNIFEM), signed theCharterthatday.

Norway assures continuous support to AITNorwayhasbeenalongtimestrongsupporterofAsianInstituteofTech-nology(AIT),anditwillcontinuetosupportAITinthefuture.ThiswasstatedbyHerExcellencyMs.KatjaChristinaNordgaard, Ambassador of Kingdom ofNorwaytoThailand,CambodiaandMyanmarduringhervisittoAITon11January2011.H.E. Ms. Katja was impressed byAIT’sachievementsandprogresssinceitsinceptionandmadedetailedinquiriesoftheprograms,strategyandfundingpatternoftheInstitute.

AccompaniedbyMr.ErikSvedahl,MinisterCounsellorandMr.Moon-stanChatri,SeniorProgrammeOfficeroftheRoyalNorwegianEmbas-sy,theAmbassadorstatedthathighereducation,technologyandclimatechangearepriorityareasforNorway.“SincethesituationhaschangedeversincetheestablishmentofAIT,IamkeentoknowhowAITviewsitsroleinthefuture,”H.E.Ms.Katjasaid.SheremarkedthathervisitwasintendedtoacquiremoreinformationaboutAIT.

Prof. Said Irandoust receiving a souvenir from President of Bangladesh, H.E. Mr. Mohammad Zillur Rahman (right).

Prof. Said Irandoust and Prof . Muhammad Yunus (right).

H.E. Mr. Mohammad Hatta

AIT President meets Bangladesh PresidentAITPresidentProf.SaidIrandoustmetHisExcellencyMr.MohammadZillurRahman,PresidentofthePeople’sRepublicofBangladeshduringhisrecentvisittoBangladesh.Prof.IrandoustmethimduringthesecondconvocationceremonyofEasternUniversity.ThePresidenttooktheop-portunityofinformingH.E.Mr.RahmanaboutAITanditsinitiativesinBangladesh.

ThePresidentalsodiscussedthelatestdevelopmentsregardingthenewAITCharterwithHerExcellencyHon.Dr.DipuMoni,ForeignMin-isterofBangladesh.TheMinistertoldProf.IrandoustthatBangladeshwishestobeamongthefirstfivecountriestoratifytheAITCharter.ThePresidentwasaccompaniedbyMr.SanjeevJayasinghe,Director,Fund-raisingandMr.S.M.H.Bokhari,President,BangladeshChapterofAITAlumniAssociation(AITAA).Prof.IrandoustalsocalledonNobelLau-reateProf.MuhammadYunusandbriefedhimaboutdevelopmentsattheYunusCenteratAIT.

�Recent news / happenings at ait

Can Tho University for more joint programs with AITCanThoUniversityisdeeplyengagedwiththeAsianInstituteofTechnology(AIT)andwishestolaunchnewprogramsalongwithAIT.ThiswasstatedbyProf.Dr.LeQuangTri,ViceRector,CanThoUniversity,VietnamduringavisittoAITon14January2011.

“CanThoUniversitycurrentlyhostsanAIT-Vietnamofficeanditislookingtowardsorganizingandofferingmoreprograms,”Prof.Trisaid.HeaddedthatthedelegationofCanThoUniversityofficialsincludedheadsofvariousunitsof theuniversity,so that theycouldlearnmoreaboutAIT, itsmanagement,administrationandstructure.

LBU seeks AIT’s partnershipLucian Blaga University ofSibiu (LBU), which is anErasmus Mundus partner ofAsian Institute of Technol-ogy(AIT)undertheErasmusMundus Mobility with Asia(EMMAsiaEastprojectoftheEuropeanCommission),isin-terested in extending its col-laboration to other spheres.ThiswasstatedbyProf.Con-stantin Oprean, Rector ofLBUduringavisittoAITon21January2011.

Pukyong University and AIT sign MOUPukyongNationalUniversity(PKNU),RepublicofKorea,hassignedaMemorandumofUnderstand-ing(MoU)withAITtopromotecooperationandad-vancementofacademicandeducationalexchange.TheMOUwassignedon13January2011byDr.Ni-tinV.Afzulpurkar,Dean,SchoolofEngineeringandTechnology(SET)andDr.Yong-cheolSuh,Head,SpecializedGraduateSchoolofSpatialInformationEngineering,GeoinformaticEngineeringResearchInstitute,PKNU.

The MoU will facilitate faculty and student ex-change;undertakecooperativeresearchandeduca-

tion;andpromoteexchangeofinformation.InitiallythefocuswouldbeinthefieldsofGeographicalInforma-tionSystem(GIS),GlobalNavigationSatelliteSystem(GNSS),RemoteSensing(RS),LocationBasedService(LBS)andGeospatialSciences.

“WearelookingtowardsprojectswherewecancooperatewithAIT,particu-larlyinresearch,”Prof.OpreantoldseniorAITofficials.LBU,whichisa220yearolduniversity,iswellknowninthefieldsofinformationtechnol-ogy,computerscienceandmechatronics.TheUniversityhasstronglinkageswith industry, and has initiated academic programs in close collaborationwiththeprivatesector.

Prof. Dr. Le Quang Tri

The delegation from LBU visiting AIT.

Dr. Yong-cheol Suh (left) and Dr. Nitin V. Afzulpurkar

�Recent news / happenings at ait

“I belong to the AIT fan club”

“IbelongtotheAITfanclubandIadmireAIT.”ThesewerethecommentsofMr.JadulApichatabutrd,ChiefInspectorGeneral,Ministryof InteriorofThailand,during an interview conducted on the sidelines oftheRegionalWorkshopontheASEANRoadmapfortheAttainment of Millennium Development Goals(MDGs),”organizedon24-25January2011atBang-kok.

Mr.ApichatabutrdappreciatedtheworkdonebyAIT,particularlyasacenterofeducationamongASEANnations.Mr.NicholasRosellini,DeputyRegionalDi-rector,RegionalBureauforAsiaandthePacific,Unit-edNationsDevelopmentProgramme(UNDP)statedthatitisimportantthatAITisworkingonissuestodo

AIT is a very strong partner: JAXA

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) considers AIT to beavery strongpartner in termsof space technology relatedworkandwould continue its collaboration. This was stated by Dr. MasanoriHomma,ExecutiveDirector,JAXAduringavisittoAITon26January2011.“OurassociationwithAITisnotrestrictedtocapacitybuildingandeducationalone,sinceAIT’scontributionextendstosubstantiveis-sues,”Dr.Hommasaid.Dr.HommawasaccompaniedbyMr.ShinichiMizumoto,Director,JAXABangkokOffice.JAXAhasbeensecordingstaffandfaculty,apartfromsupportingresearchatAIT.

CASE Executive Director Asia-Pacific visits AIT

TheAsian Institute of Technology (AIT) can availofopportunitiestoparticipateinglobal-levelprofes-sionaldevelopment in communicationsandmarket-ing,alumni relationsandadvancement services, theExecutive Director Asia-Pacific for the Council ofAdvancement and Support Education (CASE),Ms.ChuaBengHwee,toldseniorAITofficials.

Ms. Beng Hwee made the comments during anetworkingvisittotheInstituteon21January2011,meeting with AIT’s Vice President for ResourcesDevelopment(VP-RD),Prof.WorsakKanok-Nakul-chai,andotheradministrationstaffmembers.

Mr. Jadul Apichatabutrd (left) and Mr. Nicholas Rosellini

Ms. Chua Beng Hwee (left) and Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nakulchai

withMDGs.Thetwo-dayworkshopwasorganizedbyASEANsecretariat,MinistryofInteriorofThailandandUNDP,withcooperationfromASEANRegionalCenterofExcellenceonMDGs(ARCMDG)ofAIT.

Dr. Masanori Homma

�peOpLe

Prof. Tabucanon to be Professor EmeritusProf.MarioTabucanonwillbehonoredwith Emeritus Professorship by theAsian Institute of Technology (AIT).Prof.TabucanonservedAITasActingPresident between January-June 2005.HehasheldseniorpositionsatAIT,in-cludingthatofProvost,VicePresident,Dean and Chairman. He is currentlyVisiting Professor, Institute of Ad-vanced Studies, United Nations Uni-versity,Japan.Prof.TabucanonearnedhisDoctorateofEngineeringfromAITinIndustrialEngineeringandManage-ment (1977) andMaster’s in SystemsEngineering andManagement field ofstudy(1974).

Prof. Ram Shrestha to be Professor EmeritusProf. Ram Manohar Shrestha will behonoredwithEmeritusProfessorshipattheAsianInstituteofTechnology(AIT).Prof.Shresthaobtainedhis DoctorateofEngineeringinResourceEconomicsandManagement(1986)andhisMasterofEngineering in IndustrialEngineer-ingandManagement(1982)fromAIT,after which he servedAIT in variouspositions.Prof.ShresthaalsoservedasChairman,AcademicSenate,AIT,fromAugust2007toSeptember2009.

AIT Professor honored as “Air Quality Hero”Dr.OanhThiKimNguyen, ProfessoratAIT’s School of Environment, Re-sourcesandDevelopment(SERD),hasbeenawarded theplaque“AirQualityHero”attheBetterAirQuality(BAQ)ConferenceheldatSingaporerecently.Dr. Oanhwas felicitated by the orga-nizersfor“consistentbestpresentation,mostpresentationsandmostnumberofabstracts submitted for BAQ over theyears.”

MacArthur Foundation honor for AIT alumnusTheRoyalSocietyforProtectionofNa-ture (Bhutan), an organization headedbyDr.LamDorji,analumnusofAsianInstituteofTechnology(AIT),haswontheMacArthurAwardforCreativeandEffective Institutions. Dr. Dorji is theexecutivedirectorofTheRoyalSocietyforProtectionofNature(RSPN).React-ing to theaward,Dr.Dorji,whocom-pletedhisdoctoratein2003fromAIT’sSchoolofEnvironment,ResourcesandDevelopment (SERD), stated that theaward is a resultof “harmonious rela-tionshipandhardwork”ofallpartici-pants.

AIT student stars in prestigious journalAn AIT student, Mr. Junaid AlamMemon,will have the rare distinctionof his research paper having featuredonthecoverpageof the journalEnvi-ronmental Management.TheFebruary2011 issueofEnvironmental Manage-ment, published by Springer will fea-turethearticle“Irrigation,NaturalRe-sources and Community OccupationalQuality in Pakistan” on its cover.Mr.Memon’sphotographoftheIndusRiverbasinhasalsobeenselectedasthecoverpagepicture.Thearticle iscoauthoredbyMr.MemonandhissupervisorProf.GopalBahadurThapaofAIT’sSchoolofEnvironment,ResourcesandDevel-opment(SERD).

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Editor:BajinderPalSingh

MediaSpecialist,AITbajinder@ait.asiaGraphic Design:

ChittrawineeWichiansonPhotos:

PaitoonTinnapong

Forfeedback,contactMediaandCommunications

UnitatAITmcu@ait.asia

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NewsYouCanUse

AITPresidentProf.SaidIrandoustadvisednewstudents to forge meaningful networks dur-ing their stay atAIT.Addressing the batch of73newstudentsfrom12countriesacrossfourcontinents on the occasion of January Semes-ter2011OrientationDay,Prof.IrandouststatedthatAIT provides an international experience,thereby helping students attain a capabilitywhichdistinguishesthemfromothers.

In his welcome remarks, President Prof. SaidIrandoustrecognizedabatchof18visitingun-dergraduate exchange students fromSweden’sUniversity ofBorås.This is the first such ex-change fromUniversity ofBorås,whereProf.Irandoustwasformerlypresident.

Forge meaningful networks at AIT: President to new students

DavidDickon,inhisyearendeditorialinSciDev.Netsaysthat“thescientificcommunityshouldcommittocommunicationasanintegralpartofaresearch-er’sprofessionalrole”.

Tothiseffecthecitesthe“potentiallyinfluentialdraftsetofguidelinesdrawnupbytheCommitteeonFreedomandResponsibilityintheconductofScience,of the InternationalCouncil forScience (ICSU)”.Theguidelines state“Theeffectivecommunicationof scientific resultsandviewpoints to thepublic isanimportantresponsibilityofthescientificcommunity.Thisisparticularlysoforsciencethathasbeenpubliclyfunded”.Itfurtheraddsthat“teachingandtrainingincommunicationskillsshouldbeanimportantpartofscienceeduca-tion”.

Theeditorialcanbereadatthislink(http://www.scidev.net/en/editorials/communication-a-responsibility-of-all-scientists.html)

whilethesetofguidelinescanbereadhere(http://www.icsu.org/Gestion/img/ICSU_DOC_DOWNLOAD/3596_DD_FILE_ICSU_Sci_Commn_Adv_Note_Dec2010.pdf).

Communication: a responsibility of all scientists

Novel laureate andChairperson,IPCC,Prof.Rajendra Kumar Pa-chauri has advocated anew development path,based on community re-silience and creation ofa sober society, where

resourcesarevalorizedandconsumption is reduced.Thedevelopment path is based on the understanding that at-mosphere,land,water,biodiversityandhumansocietyarelinkedinacomplexwebofinteractionsandfeedback.

Prof.Pachaurimadetheseremarkswhiledeliveringalec-tureviavideoconferenceattheAsianInstituteofTechno-logyon7January2011.ModeratedbyAITAlumnusDr.Srikantha Herath, Senior Academic Programme Officer,UnitedNationsUniversity,Tokyo,thelecturesawninein-stitutesanduniversitiesparticipateinaninteractivesessionwithProf.Pachauri.

Prof.PachaurireflectedonthesixteenthConferenceofPar-ties (COP16) held atCancun,Mexico, and projected thepicturebeyondCOP16.

Nobel Laureate advocates new development path

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