Blog Post by Way Way Hlaing*
“It’s hard to be away from the ones you love,
And the days seem to slowly drift by…”
I whispered these lines from a song as soon as I woke up on my very first morning at the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT). Because of my late arrival and tiredness after a long journey, against my curious nature, I fell asleep in the strange room without noticing the time of night or my new environment.
"A Higher Vision" is the title of the interview of AIT President Dr. Eden Y Woon in the Bangkok Post published today (26 February 2019).
The interview can be read at this link:
https://www.bangkokpost.com/lifestyle/social-and-lifestyle/1635294/a-higher-vision
It is also reproduced here:
A Higher Vision
AIT's president wants the university to be an academic player regionally and worldwide.
Come winter, Bangkok suffers from a pollution onslaught. As the Air Quality Index plummets, face masks become ubiquitous, and “PM2.5” enters our daily lexicon. It is time to ask: Why is the period from December to February the most toxic? Why is it that Bangkok, which is known for its tropical climate, suddenly emerges on the global pollution radar as a pollution hotspot?
The answer may well lie not in the stars but in meteorology and seasonal emission sources.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Khao Yai implemented a pilot project in collaboration with the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) and the Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation (DNP) to develop a mobile app integrated with low-energy Bluetooth beacon technology.
Professor Dieter Trau of the National University of Singapore (NUS) will be the next Dean of the AIT School of Engineering and Technology (SET), starting on July 1, 2019. He will have the rank of Professor and will also be the new Director of the AIT Entrepreneurship Center, which will be set up later this year.
On January 31, 2019, the AIT Board of Trustees unanimously approved the appointment of the three new Vice Presidents. The three new VP’s are:
— Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA), Professor Deepak Sharma. Professor Sharma has been Director of the Center for Energy Policy and Professor of Energy Planning and Policy at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). He has been a UTS faculty member ever since receiving his PhD at AIT in 1991. He also received his master's degree at AIT. The new VPAA will oversee the Schools and will work with Deans and faculty to inject more innovation into our research and teaching, and to ensure the implementation of our internationalization and more relevant education agenda.
The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) is partnering in two global research hubs funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). These interdisciplinary hubs will work across 85 countries together with governments, international agencies, the private sector, and NGOs with the aim of developing creative and sustainable solutions that will help make the world safer, healthier, and more prosperous.
Dr. An Pich Hatda , an alumnus of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), has been appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Mekong River Commission (MRC). He assumed office on January 18, 2019.
Dr. Hatda is the second person from a riparian country to hold this position.
Computers and Structures Inc. (CSI) USA has donated two million baht to the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) toward disaster relief. The donation includes a one-million-baht donation for the victims of the 2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami.
The donation by CSI President and CEO Mr. Ashraf Habibullah follows deliberations with Dr. Naveed Anwar, Executive Director of AIT Solutions during the 7th Asia Conference on Earthquake Engineering (7ACEE) organized by AIT in Bangkok.
A new book edited by AIT faculty member Dr. John K. M. Kuwornu titled “Climate Change and Sub-Saharan Africa: The Vulnerability and Adaptation of Food Supply Chain Actors” has just been released.
The publication addresses the issue of vulnerability, food supply chains, climate change and variability, adaptation strategies and resilience, finance options, and the role of governmental support and international organizations.