AIT alumna wins best student paper award
A graduated doctorate of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System field of study, Ms. Ornprapa Pummakarnchana (above) from Thailand, received the Best Student Paper Award for her outstanding presentation of paper at 5th World Scientific and Engineering Academy and Society International Conference on Instrument, Measurement, Circuits and Systems on 24 May 2006 in Hangzhou, China. About 400 experts from all over the world participated in the conference.
The Best Student Paper Award was given to Ms. Ornprapa based on originality, scientific impact and presentation.
At the conference, Ms. Ornprapa presented her paper on 'Air Pollution Monitoring using Semiconducting Gas Sensors and Internet GIS.' It is about developing a real-time air pollution monitoring system for Bangkok by using nanotechnology-based tungsten oxide semiconducting gas sensors and GIS modeling to detect nitrogen dioxide gas concentrations rapidly and reliably.
With this system, nitrogen dioxide is monitored through a semiconducting gas sensor that will send the data to connected PDA (Pocket PC phone) which will automatically report the air quality in real time to the users. It can be installed in several air detection points scatterly located in Bangkok where there are presently only 16 permanent monitoring stations.
'Once developed, this portable low cost system can be easily installed at air detection points, which will assist measuring air pollution in Bangkok, establishing priorities for air quality levels and increasing public awareness and public participation,' Ms. Ornprapa explained.
This award is Ms. Ornprapa's second honor. In 2004, she won the best speaker award from the 25th Asian Conference on Remote Sensing, in Chiang Mai. She expressed her thanks to her advisor Dr. Nitin Kumar Tripathi. Ms. Ornprapa is beginning her career as a lecturer at Silpakorn University. She will teach principle GIS and GIS for applications.