429 students from 36 countries graduate from AIT

Four-hundred and twenty-nine students from 36 countries spanning five continents graduated on the occasion of the 121st Graduation of the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT). The graduating students came from Asia, Europe, Africa, North and South America. Vietnam produced the most graduates (93) closely followed by Thailand with 81. Sri Lanka with 70 graduates, Myanmar with 42, and Nepal with 25 rounded out the top five nationalities.

Alumni narrates his personal story of entrepreneurial success

Mr. Sumate Tanthuwanit

Thai shipping magnate, Mr. Sumate Tanthuwanit, Chief Executive Officer of Ngow Hock Company, asked students to think of the world around them as an interconnected

system where they can use the knowledge gained at AIT and relate it to their work.

Delivering the Special Alumni Speaker Address on the occasion of AIT’s 121st Graduation, Mr. Sumate stated that the future can be predicted if we integrate our

knowledge with ongoing developments. “When I graduated from AIT, the region was moving from agriculture to industry, which led to a need for water management,

energy and just-in-time logistics,” he said. Today, the emerging ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) of-fers huge opportunities for graduates, AIT’s illustrious

alumnus added.

Predicting earthquakes before they happen

Prof. Shunji Murai

Earthquake prediction has always been a difficult science, and computational models and simulations are tools which help the scientist in this task. Elaborating on new developments was Prof. Shunji Murai, Professor Emeritus, University of Tokyo, Japan at a lecture on 30 May 2014 titled “Prediction of Earthquakes: A Reality Now.”

Prof. Murai stated that advances in GNSS (GPS) technology have made it possible to detect pre-signals and pre-slips of large earthquakes. Analyzing the GNSS

data, a pre-signal can be detected before the event, and predictions can be made a few days to a few months in advance. His team has now been able to predict eight

large earthquakes based on pre-signals.

AIT to broaden partnership with RIMES

RIMES Council meeting at AIT.

After four years of official scientific collaboration, AIT is set to strenghten its partnership with the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Asia and Africa (RIMES).

Addressing the opening session of the 6th Council Meeting of RIMES on 29 May 2014, AIT Interim President Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai remarked that the partnership will be deepened with collaboration on water-related hazards research, and by expanding the RIMES-AIT Graduate Fellowship.

Mr. Ali Shareed, Deputy Director General, RIMES and RIMES Council Chairman Dr. Shailesh Nayak (who joined via teleconferencing from Delhi, India)

thanked AIT for its support.

EU delegation meets AIT Erasmus students

From left: Dr. Sahas Bunditkul. Mr. Attila Nyitrai, Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai and Dr.Louis Hornyak.

A delegation from the European Union held an informal interaction with students,staff and AIT faculty associated with EU’s Erasmus Mundus programs. Senior EU officials based in Bangkok sought feedback on their flagship educational program in the interaction held on 23 May 2014. Mr. Attila Nyitrai, Deputy Head of Delegation of EU in Thailand, stated that EU was committed to creating a new generation of leaders by investing in education programs. Mr. Nyitrai was accompanied by Mr. Mads Kom, Attaché (Cooperation), Delegation of the European Union to Thailand. Dr. Sahas Bunditkul, former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand and member, AIT Executive

Committee, and Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai, Interim President, AIT thanked the EU delegation for their support to the institute and honored them with a token of appreciation.

Yokohama National University finalizes partnership with AIT

Prof. Fumihiko Nakamura (left) with Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai.

Yokohama National University (YNU) and AIT have finalized a partnership agreement aimed at student and faculty exchange. At AIT on 12 May 2014, Prof. Fumihiko Nakamura, Dean, Graduate School of Urban Innovation, Yokohama National University, Japan, discussed modalities of admissions and study programs for the exchange students. Under the agreement, both AIT and Yokohama University will select the exchange students, while the host institution will decide on the final admission. The first batch of exchange students are expected to begin their programs in 2015.

AIT’s earthquake expert leads study for BMA

Dr. Pennung Warnitchai

Experts from AIT, Thammasat and Mahidol universities have completed a one-year research project for the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA). Teams of experts led by Dr. Pennung Watnitchai of AIT have produced a statistical model that identifies the impact to Bangkok’s skyscrapers,  including 1,434 build-ings taller than 12 storeys and 645 above 20 floors. After crunching the data, scientists concluded that some four to 17 buildings of between 12 and 88 storeys - or 1 per cent of the buildings in Bangkok - are expected to collapse during a distant large quake.

The study was featured in an article written by Mr. Shawn Kelly and published in The Nation newspaper. Read: http://goo.gl/lHsXJk

Shawn Kelly’s other AIT-related article titled “Two degrees of unease for feverish Mother Earth” was also published in The Nation. It was based on the IPCC 5th Assessment on Mitigation where AIT faculty Dr. Shobhakar Dhakal was the coordinating lead author of the chapter on “Human Settlements, Infrastructure and Special Planning”. Read: http://goo.gl/jFVskm

AIT student wins best student paper award

Mr. Dong Nguyen

Continuing with the tradition of bagging honors, AIT student Dong Nguyen has been awarded the Best Student Paper award by the West Coast Section of the Air and Water Management Association (AWMA) for its annual AWMA 2014 Conference. AIT students have consistently won this award, and Dong is eighth in line of his worthy

predecessors.

Dong’s paper is based on research conducted during his Master’s study at AIT. The Best Student Paper Award fetched him a cash prize of USD 1500 for participating in the International Air and Waste Management Association Meeting and its Student Poster Competition which will be held on 24 June 2014 in Long Beach, California, USA. A student of Environmental Engineering and Management (EEM) field of study at AIT’s School of Environment, Resources and Development, Dong Nguyen conducted his study under the guidance of Prof. Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh.

Indian alumnus is COO of India’s top IT company

Mr. Chandrashekhar Kakal

AIT alumnus Mr. Chandrashekhar Kakal, has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Larsen and Toubro (L&T) Infotech. L&T Infotech is a subsidiary of L&T Limited, a USD 14 billion con-glomerate.

Mr. Kakal who graduated from AIT’s School of Management with a Master’s degree in International Business in 1996, will also join the board of directors of L&T infotech.

L&T Infotech is ranked among the top 10 IT service companies in India.

Sri Lankan alumnus to be new Chairman of Colombo Stock Exchange

Mr. Vajira Kulatilaka

Mr. Vajira Kulatilaka, an AIT alumnus has been appointed the new Chairman of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE). He will take over from his predecessor Mr. Krishan Balendra on 5 June 2014.

With nearly three decades of experience in the financial sector and capital markets in Sri Lanka, he has been a Board member of CSE since October 2009. Mr. Kulatilaka is the CEO of NDB Capital Holdings. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Moratuwa, and his Master’s in Industrial Engineering and Management from AIT in 1987.

Photo Gallery: 121st Graduation: 23 May 2014

Bhagya Enterprises donates THB 280,000 to AIT

Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai (left) with Mr. Sisira Mendis Abeysekera.

Bhagya Enterprises has donated THB 280,000 towards partial scholarship for a deserving Thai student in the Energy field of study at AIT. The cheque was handed over to the AIT Interim President, Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai by the Managing Director of Bhagya Enterprises, Mr. Sisira Mendis Abeysekera on 8 May 2014.

Besides Prof. Worsak, Vice President for Resource Development, Prof. Kazuo Yamamoto; Director, Fundraising and Interim Head, Alumni Affairs Mr. Sanjeev

Jayasinghe; and Dr. Abdul Salam of the Energy Field of Study attended the event and thanked Mr. Abeysekera.

Back Page

News You Can Use

The Nation newspaper had an article on University rankings stating: “UNIVERSITY enrolment continues to grow across Asia. A new report from the Unesco Institute for Statistics (UIS) has analysed ways in which countries across the region can accommodate more students while strengthening the quality of their university programmes and

research.”

The news report added that in Thailand, “38 per cent of R&D expenditure is devoted to applied research versus 14 per cent to basic research. The rest (48 per cent) goes to experimental development.

In contrast, China devotes 78 per cent of R&D expenditure to experimental development, 17 per cent to applied research and 5 per cent to basic research.”

The Nation article can be read at this link:

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Asian-universities-adoptstrategies-to-boost-ranki-30233565.html

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Editor: Bajinder Pal Singh bajinder@ait.asia

Photos: Paitoon Tinnapong

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