“Fourteen fellows from all over the world were selected to participate
in the Capstone events lasting from April 1-14, and there were only
four students from Southeast Asia, which included two from Vietnam and
two from AIT,” Seint Seint says. Both students were a part of the USAID
and NASA My Community Our Earth (MyCOE) SERVIR Global Fellowship
Program. While Seint Seint is from Myanmar, Jirawat is from Thailand.
“Our program was also broadcast over NASA TV,” an excited Seint
informs. The first day of their session concentrated on interacting
with NASA officials. Their USAID poster session was graced by its
Administrator Rajiv Shah, and the 14 participants had an opportunity to
meet him. While the first week of activities was shared between USAID
and NASA, during the second week students participated in the
Conference of the American Association of Geographers (AAG) in
Florida.
Jirawat is investigating the vulnerability of coastal fishery
communities in the Laemsing district of Thailand. Jirawat’s study aims
to identify the impact of severe sea level rise and its consequences,
such as coastal erosion and inundation. Applying climate simulation and
GIS, he aims to analyze potential sensitivity of communities in terms
of the physical and social impacts of climate change.
Seint Seint is studying the impact of floating gardens on the
environment of Inle Lake in Myanmar, and her research is targeted at
providing mitigation plans to prevent an imminent environmental
collapse of the natural ecosystem.
Mr Jirawat Panpeng, is a doctoral student in the Climate Change and
Sustainable Development (CCSD) field of study at AIT’s School of
Environment, Resources and Development (SERD), and he is working with
his advisor Dr. Mokbul Morshed Ahmad. Ms. Seint Seint is studying
Environmental Engineering and Management (EEM) also in the same school,
where she is working with her advisor Dr. Oleg Shippin.
The MyCOE fellowship program is aimed at creating the next generation
of scientific leaders from developing countries to create innovative,
science-based solutions to meet their countries’ development
challenges. Fellows are selected from among the most climate-vulnerable
countries in the world in East and West Africa, the Himalayas and
Southeast Asia. As a part of their fellowship, students use NASA
satellite information to develop tools and approaches that bring higher
incomes to those in poverty and help protect their country’s most
vulnerable citizens from potential disasters.
Details about the two AIT students are available at the Capstone Event
Publication at this link:
http://www.aag.org/galleries/mycoe-files/MyCOE2014_CapstoneBookletFINAL.pdf
Details about the program and AIT students are available at the NASA
blog at this link:
http://blog.usaid.gov/2014/04/international-students-apply-satellite-data-for-development-solutions/
Mr. Jirawat Panpeng (seventh from left) and
Ms. Khin Seint Seint Aye (fourth from right) with Mr. Rajiv Shah
(seventh from right).