Seminars, Workshops and Conferences

Seminars, Workshops and Conferences

8 - 10 November 2004: Annual Review Workshop, Asian Regional Research Programme on Environmental Technology Phase II (ARRPET II)

The Environmental Engineering and Management Program, SERD will organize a Workshop on 'Asian Regional Research Programme on Environmental Technology Phase II (ARRPET II).'

The 'Asian Regional Research Programme on Environmental Technology Phase II (ARRPET II)', coordinated by AIT, is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). ARRPET II involves 18 National Research Institutions (NRIs) in 8 Asian countries, namely, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam. The program's major research themes include: Wastewater Treatment and Management, Environmental Sustainable Solid Waste Landfill Management in Asia, Integrated Control and Management to Improve Air Quality in Selected Asian Developing Countries and Industrial and Hazardous Waste Treatment and Management.

Over 25 Researchers from 8 different Asian countries are expected to attend this event. This workshop aims assessing the progress of the project activities during the last year. Officials from Sida as well as Experts from Sweden are also expected to take part in the proceedings of this workshop.

For further details, please contact Prof. Ajit P. Annachhatre (EEM), # 5644.

15 November 2004: Role of Orography and Soil Moisture in Hydrological Transitions associated with Monsoon Onset in Southeast Asia seminar will be conducted by
by Dr. Koji Dairaku, Researcher, Disaster Prevention Research Group, National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention, Tsukuba, Japan. The event will be held at 9:15 a.m. in Room N202, North Academic (SCE) Building.

Abstract
The first transitions into the Asian Summer Monsoon (ASM) occur between late April and early May over inland Indochina, before any transitions occur along the coast. This study used a regional climate model to elucidate the influence of orography and ground wetness on sub-continental-scale hydrological processes. The model reproduced many elements of the onset of the Southeast Asia Monsoon (SEAM)
associated with land surface conditions, including the early and abrupt onset observed when mountain effects and relatively dry soil conditions were combined in the model simulations. The nonlinear effects of mountains and ground wetness, combined with realistic increases in precipitation, can modify the hydrological cycle through changes in the surface energy budget. A positive feedback between soil moisture and precipitation increases the moisture source for further precipitation in the first transition period.

About speaker
Dr. Koji Dairaku is a Researcher at the Disaster Prevention Research Group of the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster
Prevention, Tsukuba, Japan. He obtained his D. Eng. in Hydrometeorology from the Department of Civil Engineering of the University of Tokyo, Japan in March, 2003. Dr. Dairaku's major research interests are in: i) Hydrometeorology; ii) Atmosphere-landsurface interaction, iii) Climate-hydrologic cycles in the Asian monsoon region under global climate change and onthoropogenic activities, and iv) Spatial and temporal variability of precipitation over mountains and its effects on regional climate variability. He has been conducting research in Asia monsoon region, particularly in Thailand to study the mechanism of atmospheric-landsurface interaction using regional climate models. Dr. Dairaku has published several research papers on hydrometerorology.

17 - 19 November 2004: International Symposium on 'Globalization and Construction 2004'. The event, organized by SCE and the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB) will be held at the AIT Conference Center.

For further information please visit, Website: http://www.sce.ait.ac.th/gc2004/

17 November 2004: 'Using Hyperspectral Remote Sensing for Land Use Mapping' and 'Mapping Coral Reefs using High Resolution Quick Bird Data' special lectures will be conducted by Dr. Sunil Narumalani ( http://www.calmit.unl.edu/sunil/), Professor, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, USA. The special lecture will be held at 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. respectively in the Milton Bender Auditorium, AIT Extension Building.

18 November 2004: A special ISE seminar entitled 'Systems Engineering as Applied to Industrial and Defense Systems' will be conducted by Prof. Hee Gak Lee, Visiting Professor at ISE/SAT. The event will be held at 2:30 p.m., in room IE-106, Chalerm Prakiat Building.

Abstract:
The systems engineering is a way of thinking, a way of doing business, and a process enabling organized transition from need to product. It is widely used in developing the industrial and defense systems in the world. Proper implementation of the systems engineering leads to better system quality/value, lower cost and shorter schedule. Throughout this seminar, background and necessity, concept, benefits and architecture of systems engineering are reviewed. Also, systems engineering process of requirements analysis, functional analysis & allocation, design synthesis, systems analysis & control, etc. are presented. As case studies of systems engineering implementation, train industry, automotive industry, aircraft industry and submarine project will be discussed.

21 November 2004: 'Pre-Conference Short Course 2004 on Dam Safety Risk Assessment' will be held at the AlT Conference Center Auditorium. The event is organized by the The Asian Center for Soil Improvement and Geosynthetics (ACSIG), School of Civil Engineering, Asian Institute of Technology.

Introduction
The failure of dam is unacceptable to geotechnical engineers and society. Dam Safety Risk Assessment is a practice that provides confidence to engineers in order to manage risks wisely. The main benefit of performing Dam Safety Risk Assessment is to get the solution for risk reduction at the suitable time and cost. It helps dam engineers to make a right plan for dam maintenance. Moreover, it answers the question about the safety of old dams using up-to-date analyses. When dealing with the series of dams, Portfolio Risk Assessment is the powerful tool to prioritizing the dam for maintenance. Remedial action can be planned effectively and economically directly to the selected dam and will reduce risk of overall system. This short course will guide participants to the concept of Dam Safety Risk Assessment and also its benefit in practice.

Professional Engineers, Consultants, Developers, Accredited Checkers, Structural Design Engineers / Designers, Contractors / Project Managers, Contract Managers, Site Engineers are invited to attend.

To download registration form, please visit: http://www.sce.ait.ac.th/acsig/

For further information please contact:

Prof. Dennes T. Bergado
Director - Asian Center for Soil Improvement and
Geosynthetics (ACSIG)
School of Civil Engineering
Asian Institute of Technology
P.O. Box 4, Klong Luang, Pathumthani, Thailand 12120

E-mail: bergado@ait.ac.th, acsig@ait.ac.th

Resource Speakers
Prof. David Bowles is an expert who brought Dam Safety and Risk Assessment into practice. He is currently Head of the Water Resource Laboratory of Utah State University, Logan Utah. He has been performing Dam Safety Risk Assessment in many countries such as England, Australia and in the U.S.A.

Prof. Loren R. Anderson is a well-known dam engineer in the U.S.A. who has been working on the Dam Safety for many years. His expertise includes determining the dam behavior when subjected to various kinds of loading. He is currently the Chair, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Utah State University, Logan, Utah, U.S.A.

21 November 2004: 'Pre-Conference Short Course 2004 on Dam Safety Risk Assessment'
will be held at the AlT Conference Center Auditorium. The event is organized by the The Asian Center for Soil Improvement and Geosynthetics (ACSIG), School of Civil Engineering, Asian Institute of Technology.

Introduction
The failure of dam is unacceptable to geotechnical engineers and society. Dam Safety Risk Assessment is a practice that provides confidence to engineers in order to manage risks wisely. The main benefit of performing Dam Safety Risk Assessment is to get the solution for risk reduction at the suitable time and cost. It helps dam engineers to make a right plan for dam maintenance. Moreover, it answers the question about the safety of old dams using up-to-date analyses. When dealing with the series of dams, Portfolio Risk Assessment is the powerful tool to prioritizing the dam for maintenance. Remedial action can be planned effectively and economically directly to the selected dam and will reduce risk of overall system. This short course will guide participants to the concept of Dam Safety Risk Assessment and also its benefit in practice.

Professional Engineers, Consultants, Developers, Accredited Checkers, Structural Design Engineers / Designers, Contractors / Project Managers, Contract Managers, Site Engineers are invited to attend.

For further information please contact:

Prof. Dennes T. Bergado
Director - Asian Center for Soil Improvement and
Geosynthetics (ACSIG)
School of Civil Engineering
Asian Institute of Technology
P.O. Box 4, Klong Luang, Pathumthani, Thailand 12120

E-mail: bergado@ait.ac.th, acsig@ait.ac.th

22 November 2004: 'Numerical Simulation of atmospheric Environmental Problems' seminar will be conducted by Dr. Ryozo Ooka, Associate Professor, ICUS, The University of Tokyo, Japan at 2:30 p.m. in Room N202

Abstract
Most of environmental problems such as atmospheric diffusion, hydrodynamics or permeation through
ground, are nonlinear phenomena. These problems cannot be solved analytically due to their nonlinearity. Recent development of computer technology enables numerical analysis of nonlinear partial differential equations. Especially, the development of computational fluid mechanics (hereafter CFD) is
remarkable. CFD is a powerful tool for representing transport phenomena, which is a major factor in
environmental problems.

In this seminar, the history of CFD and turbulence modeling, which is a main theme in CFD will be
presented explained together with its applications for environmental problems such as wind environment
around a building, pollutant dispersion in an urban street canyon, urban fire spreading, heat island
phenomena in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area and so on.

About Speaker
Dr. Ryozo Ooka is an Associate Professor of the University of Tokyo, Japan. He has been working at the International Center for Urban Safety Engineering (ICUS) of the Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo since 2000. His main research field is sustainable urban environmental engineering. His major research interests are in: 1) prediction and control of urban heat island, 2) estimation of the energy metabolism and the substance metabolism in urban space, 3) optimum design of outdoor thermal environment and 4) energy-saving system of building and city etc. Dr. Ooka has published many scholarly papers in Japanese and international journals and has been involved with several research projects in Japan and Asian countries.

30 November - 3 December 2004: Renewable Generation and Cogeneration for Rural Electrification training workshop. The event is sponsored by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), organized by the Electric Power System Management (EPSM) FoS, SERD and supported by the EC-ASEAN COGEN Programme III.

Renewable Generation and Cogeneration for Rural Electrification
Electricity is a basic need for the social and economic development of a nation and providing it in the economical and secured way to the rural and urban consumers is a challenging task. Rural electrification, which is required huge investment, is thus an important concern in Asian electric power utilities. Renewable generation and cogeneration are new options being promoted to solve rural electrification problems along with the some other problems of urban distribution systems. The issues such as system capacity investments, grid expansions, etc. also benefit through renewable generation and cogeneration. There is a great need of training and education on renewable generation and cogeneration technologies to the utility officials and investors of power projects for proper understanding of the subject matters. The knowledge on importance of rural electrification, availability of resources, feasibility of applying renewable generation and cogeneration and benefits of rural electrification are essential to policy makers, planners, managers, investors, etc.

The training workshop is focused on renewable generation and cogeneration for rural electrification. It will discuss the issues related to rural electrification concentrating through alternate energy resources over applicability and economics of rural electrification and of renewable generation and cogeneration projects.

Participants in the event will be given the opportunity to attend the lectures and discussions related to rural electrification, renewable generation and cogeneration. Also it will be a great opportunity to share related experiences of participants from different utilities of different countries.

Who should attend?
Electric power utility staff of both technical and management disciplines, personnel from electric manufacturing and R&D; organizations, policy makers, and academia will find this workshop beneficial. Those who are interested in small-scale power projects will also benefited in this workshop. Interested persons are advised to contact in advance.

Topics
The main topics which will be covered in the training program are:

  • Integrated Resource Planning and Renewable Energy in Thailand
  • Load Forecasting
  • Voltage Drop and Loss Reduction in Distribution System
  • Biomass Energy Generation for Rural Electrification
  • Biomass Cogeneration Technologies
  • Cogeneration Project Development
  • Financial Issues of Cogeneration Projects
  • Environmental Benefits of Biomass Cogeneration
  • Successful Biomass Cogeneration Case Studies
  • Wind Distributed Generation
  • Fuel Cell Powered Distributed Generation
  • Solar-Thermal Power Generation
  • Photovoltaic (PV) Generation
  • Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in Thailand
  • SPP, VSPP and Renewable Energy Policy in Thailand
  • Technical visit to Advance Agro PLC

Interested persons are advised to contact:

Weerakorn Ongssakul
EPSM, Asian Institute of Technology
P.O. Box 4, Klong Luang

Pathumthani 12120, Thailand

Tel: (66-2) 524-5437, 524-6219

Fax: (66-2) 524-6589

E-mail: epsm@ait.ac.th

Website: http://www.serd.ait.ac.th/ep/epsm/RECORE.PDF

1-3 December 2004: Second International Symposium on Southeast Asian Water Environment will be held in Hanoi, Vietnam. The Symposium is organized by the Asian Institute of Technology branch in Vietnam (AITVN) and The University of Tokyo (UT), in cooperation with Southeast Asian Center on Water Environment Technology (SACWET), a joint center of UT and AIT. The Symposium is sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan through Special Coordination Funds for Promoting Science and Technology.

The Symposium aims to provide a forum for discussion and exchange among researchers/practitioners in Environmental Technology and Management and related areas from the Asian Region and to promote interaction among researchers from Asia-Pacific countries, Japan, the United States, Europe and other parts of the world. Through the Symposium, participants will hopefully find a strong network or partnership with active local change agents will be established, and our colleagues in Southeast Asia will learn more from the experts of other countries to protect the environment of the region.

Focus of the Symposium

The Symposium is focused on the following topics:

  • Conservation of natural aquatic ecosystems
  • Symbiosis with agriculture and aquaculture
  • Industrial/agricultural development and water management
  • Threats to ground water
  • Environmental infrastructure management
  • Urban development and coastal zone management
  • Social aspects

Call for papers and deadlines

Manuscripts for oral and poster presentations should be prepared according to the format specified at: http://www.env.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/project/asian_water/home.html

Paper for oral presentations should be submitted to:
E-mail: asiasympo@env.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp by August 15, 2004 and all applicants will receive an acknowledgment via e-mail upon submission of the manuscript. The corresponding author will be informed of the result of the review by mid September.

Paper for poster presentations should be submitted by September 30, 2004.
For applicants from Vietnam, please submit/contact directly to:

Asian Institute of Technology Center in Vietnam-AITCV
21 Le Thanh Tong

Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel: 84-4-825 3493
Fax: 84-4-825 3658
E-mail: eds@aitcv.ac.vn
Website: http://www.aitcv.ac.vn/index.asp?selects=5

Further details regarding submission procedure and registration can be viewed at:
http://www.env.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/project/asian_water/home.html

11-13 January 2005: 2nd International Conference on Innovations in Food Processing Technology and Engineering will be held at the AIT Conference Center.

The role of food processing technology and engineering in the economic development need not be overemphasized. Food science, technology and engineering (FS&E;) have been at the very core of numerous development and achievements to make a wide variety of foods available year around in palatable, nutritious, aesthetically packaged, in terms of appearance, functionality, storability, nutrition, and economic viability of innovative processes and modern food products.

Realizing the concepts, putting in practice and reaping the harvest through successful marketing. The role of FS&E; has been indispensable in not only making the necessary tools available but in review of new developments in food processing technology and engineering along with dissemination of relevant information among scientists, engineers, technologists and other professionals.

Technical Program: The technical program will include plenary and keynote lectures, parallel lectures and poster sessions.

Original contributors, case histories, of actual industrial operations, state-of-the-art papers, and commercial information on the following subjects are invited.

  • Food processing technology
  • Physical properties of foods
  • Thermal processing and preservation
  • Non-thermal processing
  • Food safety
  • Food packaging
  • Nutraceutical and functional foods
  • Postharvest preservation and processing
  • Novel technologies in food handling, processing and transport
  • Information technology applications in food industry
  • Automation in food industry
  • Food processing wastes

Please keep on visiting web site http://203.159.19.151/phfpe/conferences/fpc/index.htm for conference updates

Preliminary Registration: Contributions will be presented as keynote lectures, lectures or posters. The Technical Committee will make final decisions on the acceptance and allocation to oral or poster presentations. The abstract, not exceeding more than 300-400 words, should clearly indicate the objectives, brief methodology and conclusions.

The last date for the submission of abstracts is July 31, 2004. However, abstract received after the deadline will not be included in the proceedings but still be considered for presentation.

Application Form and Summary: Registration form and Summary in MS-Word format can be obtained by visiting: http://203.159.19.151/phfpe/conferences/fpc/index.htm

For further information please contact:

Miss Tasana Sa-id
FEBT, SERD
Asian Institute of Technology
P.O. Box 4, Klong Luang
Pathumthani 12120, Thailand
Tel: (66-2) 524 5488
Fax: (66-2) 524 6200
E-mail: phfpe@ait.ac.th

6 - 10 June 2005:
International Conference on 'Modeling Tools for Environment and Resources Management (MTERM)'. The conference will be coordinated by the Water Engineering and Management (WEM) FoS staff in cooperation with the faculty members of the Modeling Tools for Environment and Resources Management (MTERM) and will be held at the AIT Conference Center.

Interested persons are invited to submit their research/technical papers related but not limited to the broader themes listed as follows:

  • Integrated Water Resources Management
  • Modeling of Water Resources
  • Water Quality Management and Modeling
  • Air Pollution Modeling

A two-day pre-conference training workshop on 'Governance of Transboundary Waters' will also be conducted in collaboration with 'The Universities Partnership for Transboundary Waters' (http://waterpartners.geo.orst.edu)

For further information and details please visit http://www.mterm.ait.ac.th For other enquiries please e-mail: mterm@ait.ac.th
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