Ornprapa wins Best Speaker Award on Remote Sensing
Ms. Ornprapa Pummakarnchana (above), STAR Program, School of Advanced Technologies (SAT) doctoral student from Thailand recently received a Best Speaker Award from the Asian Association on Remote Sensing for her outstanding paper presentation at the 25th Asian Conference on Remote Sensing.
Ms. Ornprapa joins five other award recipients - who are noted under 35 years old - at the conference awarding ceremony held on 26 November 2004 in Chiang Mai, Thailand where about 700 remote sensing experts from all over the world participated.
Ms. Ornprapa's paper presentation entitled 'Air Pollution Monitoring Using Nanotechnology Based Solid-state Gas Sensors and Geoinformatics System (GIS) Modeling' carried about developing a monitoring system for Bangkok air pollution by using nanotechnology sensors and GIS modeling to detect pollution sources rapidly and reliably. With the applied system noted, Nitrogen Oxide (NOX) is monitored through a nanotechnology sensor that will send the data to a connected PDA (Pocket PC phone) which will automatically report the air quality in real time to the users. The system can be installed in several air detection points scattered and located in Bangkok where 16 monitoring points can be found.
'This is an interdisciplinary project between Department of Remote Sensing & GIS, and Microelectronics, SAT, AIT. The cooperation reached of developing a nanosensor, bought from the U.S.A., and is being implemented at the Microelectronics Department. The cooperators plan to create a circuit in which an analog output signal from the sensor will be converted to a digital signal. My role will be to apply this system and connect to a map server (Internet GIS) which I am developing by inputting the GIS base maps that includes road, river, urban settlement, administrative boundary and the nitrogen oxide (NOX) density rates. The outcome will support Thailand's Pollution Control Department to improve air quality monitoring and report procedure through low cost, tiny and portable system. Once developed, this portable low cost system can easily be installed at air detection points. The system will assist in the measurement of air pollution in Bangkok, establish priorities for air quality levels, and increase public awareness and generate a big chance of public participation,' Ms. Ornprapa explained.
Originally, Ms. Ornprapa said the Pollution Control Department reports air pollutants density rate in point figures. With the map server she is developing with applied GIS, users will be allowed to see the NOX density rate, overlaid to GIS base maps in graphics and informative tables. Connected as the website to the PDA or Pocket PC, the users can click on any location point in the map server and they will see the NOX data come up before their eyes easily. The data when updated will show a real time that can be zoomed in and out. The data also carries query information that is related to the NOX density rate.
'It is quite difficult to develop the monitoring system. At first, I have to buy a GIS map, a rough map at that, from the Urban Planning Department amounting THB 3,000. Before encoding all the data into the map server, a software is needed to be installed which can be downloaded free from the internet. Next, I have to do the design and preparation of database; overlay the maps of roads, rivers, bus route and stations, districts, and NOX density data, etc. into one map and then create a user interface. Finally I have to link all the mentioned data as the air quality monitoring map server' Ms. Ornprapa added.
Asked what made her win the award, Ornprapa said, 'The criteria was based on presentation of skills and content of paper, which me as one joins other motivated young researchers. What's more exciting is that nanotechnology is something very new and not many studies have been explored on how GIS can be applied to air pollution awareness. So, the merging of these two technologies made it interesting and attracted the judges.'
Ms. Ornprapa acquired her Bachelor's and Masters degrees on environment and defended her Master thesis on using GIS for environmental awareness. It was this passion for research why she furthered her doctoral degree in SAT's STAR program at AIT.
Ms. Ornprapa is currently on leave from Silpakorn University. After graduation, she will teach GIS at Silpakorn University, Bangkok.
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