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Vol. 2 No. 2 January 31, 2003 SCE Thailand Accident Research Center to be established at SCE T he Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC) has recently announced the setting up of the Thailand Accident Research Center (TARC) at AIT's School of Civil Engineering. TARC is the result of collaboration between the Department of Highways, Thailand Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) and Volvo Car Corporation of Sweden, and will act as a focal point for research on road safety. It will build networks of experts from both the public and private sectors. The new Center will be formally opened by the King of Sweden on February 26. Volvo has committed to providing technical assistance in setting up the Center. The Asian Center for Transportation Studies (ACTS) at SCE is leading preparations for basing TARC at AIT. ACTS is a founding member of the Thailand GRSP. The Accident Research Center is an offspring of MOTC's Road Safety Master Plan, which was developed in 1998, and has been endorsed by the Cabinet. The master plan acknowledges the lack of information on accidents as one constraint for road safety improvement in Thailand (how, when, where, and the contributory factors as to why they happen) and identified the need for establishing the research center as a priority. The program covers a period of 3 to 6 years. In the first three years (2003 - 2006), the Department of Highways will finance TARC's operations with USD 0.35 million through a World Bank loan; Volvo Car Corporation will contribute technical support through expert resources and equipment, totaling some USD 0.42 million, while Thailand GRSP will provide funding amounting to USD 0.23 million. AIT will provide academic back-up and a base for research with funding support from the Department of Highways. Asian Center for Transportation Studies: www.sce.ait.ac.th/acts/ Global Road Safety Partnership: www.grsproadsafety.org/ Volvo: www.volvocars.com/ A couple of weeks ago, a Bangladeshi participant in a training program at AIT asked me why the AIT Newsletter had not featured Professor Amartya Sen’s visit to AIT in early December. I pointed out that we intended to do so, but that in the meantime, Professor Sen’s talk and a write up of his visit appeared online in the Bulletin. Professor Sen himself indicated that he preferred that we not publish the talk he gave, on the theme of Poverty and Empowerment, and so we set about looking for an article that would be readily accessible to a broad range of readers at AIT, whilst reflecting the main themes of Professor Sen’s life work, and the issues covered in his talk here. The article chosen, Nobody Need Starve, was published in the prestigious English literary magazine Granta in 1995. This fact alone is surprising – Granta rarely publishes articles by ‘academics’, and as a rule highlights new fictional writing. But on reflection, it is no surprise – as President Armand noted in his introduction to the talk on December 11, Professor Sen’s interests are wide-ranging and by no means confined to the ‘dismal science’ of economics; indeed, it is arguably his humanity that has defined his work on welfare economics, and as a leading global voice for the alleviation of poverty and inequality. We are extremely grateful to Ian Jack, the Editor of Granta, and to Professor Sen for permission to republish the article. Professor Sen requested that I convey his best wishes and regards to those at AIT who gave him such a warm and kind welcome. In this issue we feature work by doctoral students in the School of Management, who were given the responsibility of organizing and playing prominent roles on panel discussions at the recent 8th International Conference on Marketing and Development. In the next issue we will highlight further achievements of this talented cohort, under the supervision of Dr. Mark Speece. On a sadder note, we remember two colleagues whose untimely passing has saddened our community. Ms. Guo Xiu Yun had barely began her studies at AIT, and her tragic accident in Jomtien last month grieves us all. Mr. Pinit Pongpitoon worked loyally for AIT for 21 years, and died after a long painful illness. The thoughts of the entire AIT community are with their loved ones and their friends. Finally… last weekend, Internet services at AIT were disrupted as a result of a massive attack by the SQL Slammer worm, also known as Sapphire, on servers worldwide. The worm attack created a surge in global Internet traffic, crippling servers in many places in the world, especially in Asia. The ITServ netwrok team responded immediately and worked late to restore services. According to Dr. Harianto, “the attack was so intense that the normal filtering safeguards were overwhelmed and manual intervention was required to isolate and restore infected servers.” The case is now being studied by ITSC working group on security so that lessons can be learned to alleviate the effect of future attacks and better protect our facilities. Cover Story Thailand Accident Research Center to be established at SCE 1 Conference/Workshop AIT SOM doctoral students play key roles at International conference 3 ADB-AIT Workshop on Productivity, Technology and Poverty Reduction 4 Special Feature Nobody Need Starve 5 Miscellaneous What’s Going On Chat Around Campus 9 10 Commemorative Features In Commemoration: Khun Pinit Pongpitoon In Memoriam: Guo Xiu Yun 11 13 Donation The Professor Wen-Jei Yang prize 14 Events AIT Community School’s Sports Day 15 Jon Shaw jshaw@ait.ac.th 2 T AIT SOM doctoral students play key roles at international conference Rotchanakitumnuai, Sunanta Chaisrakeo, Veerapong Malai), who are all faculty members at Thai universities currently on leave to pursue their PhDs, were on the conference organizing committee. Among lots of other conference work, they organized five panel According to Dr. Speece, "It was a risky strategy to give such a prominent role to young Thai researchers, but highly successful. The international conference participants, who all specialize in marketing in the context of developing countries, gave very favorable feedback. They went away very impressed with the research we are doing in Thailand, and with our PhD students and recent graduates. I had many comments, including from the two US conference chairs, that it was a very good idea to get the PhD students so strongly involved, and to show foreign participants quite a lot of the types of research going on in Thailand. I was very pleased to have made such a big impact that most participants were talking about Thai scholarship as having made the strongest impression, rather than wonderful Thai hotels, great shopping, and interesting sightseeing. We have even received a few email requests now from participants asking for more information about some of the topics, and offering research collaboration in areas of joint interest." 8th International Conference on Marketing and Development website: www.east.asu.edu/msabr/ ismd/index.html he high quality of research being carried out by students in the School of Management was highlighted earlier this month at an important international conference on marketing. The 8th International Conference on Marketing and Development addressed the theme of "New Visions of Marketing and Development: Globalization, Transformation, and Quality of Life" and was held from January 4-7 at the Century Park Hotel in Bangkok. The Conference Co-Chairs were Clifford J. Shultz II of Arizona State University, Don Rahtz of The College of William & Mary, USA, and Mark Speece of SOM. Dr. Speece worked with Dr. Tasman Smith, Director of the Marketing PhD program at Thammasat, to push local PhD students into prominent positions in the conference. "My objective was to demonstrate to the mostly Western participants that Thailand is doing a lot of good research and that we have a very competent young generation coming up who will begin making contributions to international scholarship," Dr. Speece told the AIT Newsletter. Six SOM doctoral students (Pinya Silayoi, Ranchana Rajatanavin, Ravipa Larpsiri, Siriluck Ranchana Rajatavin and Sririluck Rotchanakitumnuai discussions to highlight marketing issues in Thailand, inviting SOM faculty, faculty from other universities, and industry representatives, and took part as panel members in the discussions. Thammasat marketing PhD students organized a sixth panel. The panels took all of the 09301100 slots on two days of the conference, so that everyone at the conference got to hear something about Thailand. Two academic paper sessions were also dominated by PhD students, one by Thammasat students, and one by these six PhD students from SOM. 3 ADB-AIT Workshop on Productivity, Technology and Poverty Reduction February 24-25, 2003 I n June last year, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a network ing arrangement to promote the exchange of knowledge, expertise and experience with AIT – the first such agreement ever entered into by ADB. To announce the partnership to stakeholders, a curtain-raising workshop is being held next month, on February 24-25. The ADB-AIT Workshop on Productivity, Technology and Poverty Reduction aims to inform our partners of the common goals of AIT and ADB in reducing poverty through increased productivity resulting from the use of technology for sustainable development, and the intention of ADB and AIT to work together to meet those goals. Specific issues addressed in this special event revolve around the thematic areas of Agriculture, Water, ICTs, Gender, Energy and Environment for sustainable development and poverty reduction. More than 90 participants have been invited to the workshop, including representatives of ADB’s Developing Member Countries, delegates from international partner agencies, and key Thai organizations. AIT speakers will include: • Dr. Harvey Demaine (Agriculture and Rural Development) • Professor Ashim Das Gupta (Water Development and Management) • Dr. Bernadette P. Resurreccion (Gender and Development) • Dr. Peter Haddawy (ICTs and the Digital Divide) • Professor Chongrak Polprasert (Environment and Sustainable Development) • Professor Ram M. Shrestha (Energy Resources Development). The opening session will feature a panel discussion on the theme Productivity, Technology and Poverty Reduction, with panelists representing AIT, ADB and the Asian Institute of Management in Manila. The final plenary session will be chaired by Dr. Nazrul Islam. Workshop proceedings are planned, comprising papers and summaries of discussions, along with ADB policy papers on the six topics as appendixes. For further information, please contact Dr. Nazrul Islam (nazrul@ait.ac.th) or Dr. Pritam Krishna Shrestha (adbait@ait.ac.th). 4 Amartya Sen On December 11 last year, AIT hosted a reception for Professor Amartya Kumar Sen, the 1998 Nobel Laureate in Economics. After the reception, Professor Sen gave a special lecture on "Empowerment and Poverty". Professor Sen is presently Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. Soon after taking up this position, Professor Sen was awarded the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economics in recognition of his work on welfare economics. Next year, Professor Sen will return to Harvard University as Lamont University Professor. Lawrence Summers, Harvard President, notes that "Amartya Sen is an incredibly prolific and insightful scholar whose research has forever transformed the way social scientists and others think about a wide range of economic and moral issues." AIT Newsletter is reprinting a short article by Professor Sen to commemorate his visit to AIT. Nobody Need Starve H ow do famines relate to food supply? Some see the connection as almost definitional: famine is, in this view, synonymous with a country being short of food. When Mr Malone, the rich Irish-American in Shaw's Man and Superman, refers to the Irish famine of the 1840s, he refuses to describe it as one. He explains that 'when a country is full o food and exporting it, there can be no famine.' There is some distinctive use of language here. Malone mentions that his father 'died of starvation in the black 47'. Since more than a million other Irishmen did the same in the 1840s, it is hard not to see a 'famine' there, as the term is understood. Malone's definitional point about famines really raises a different and extremely important causal question: why did the Irish starve, given the fact that Ireland had food enough to export some to England? That question remains tragically relevant. No recorded famine has killed a higher proportion of the population than the Irish famine. This applies to the much publicized recent famines in Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan, and even to the terrible starvation in China during 1958-61, where the absolute number killed was much larger (perhaps between twenty-three and thirty million), but where the fatality as a proportion of the total population was still smaller than in the privation that overwhelmed Ireland 150 years ago. Recent empirical work has demolished the view that famines and starvation can occur only when food supply declines. Indeed, in different countries in the world, many large famines have taken place despite moderate-to-good food availability, and without any appreciable decline in food output or supply. And somelike the Bangladesh famine of 1974-have actually occurred in years of peak food availability. A famine develops when a sizeable number of people who often belong to a particu- 5 lar occupation group - lose the economic means of acquiring food. This can result from unemployment, or from a sharp drop in earnings compared with food prices, even when there is no fall in food output or supply. And conversely, there have also been many cases of severe decline in food production and availability which have not resulted in a famine. Food can be purchased from abroad if the economic means exist, and also the available food supply, even when short, can be so distributed as to avoid extreme destitution. Giving a destitute person an income, perhaps through employment in a temporary public project, is a quick way of giving potential famine victims the ability to compete with others in buying food. So there is no fixed relation between food and famine. Famines can occur with or without substantial declines in food output. To recognize this does not require us to deny that some famines have happened along with-and to some extent been caused by - a sharp decline in food supply in a particular region. Indeed, the Irish famine, or 'the starvation' (as Mr Malone preferred to describe it to Violet, his English daughter-inlaw), was actually accompanied by a large fall in Irish food production, related to a series of potato blights. Since the economies of Ireland and Britain were integrated, we could still say that there was no great decline in food production for the economy as a whole; the Irish, if they had the economic means, could buy food from England. They did not buy it - because they did not have the means. The question that arises is this: why was Ireland, with so little food, exporting food to England, which had so much? The answer lies in the way the market worked. Market-based movements of food are related to demand and purchasing power, and the English could offer higher prices than the economically devastated Irish consumer could manage. It was not surprising that ship after ship sailed down the Shannon bound for England laden with wheat, oats, cattle, pigs, eggs and butter. Such 'countermovements' of food out of faminestricken areas have been observed in modern famines as well: for example, in the Ethiopian famine of 1973, food was moved out of the famineaffected province of Wollo to the more prosperous purchasers in Addis Ababa and elsewhere. Those who starve because they cannot afford to buy food have no means of keeping within their borders the food that is there. Were the English rulers responsible for the famine? Was Malone right to think 'My father was starved dead'? The British government did not set out deliberately to starve the Irish. Britain did not blockade Ireland, or foment the potato blights, or undertake public policies aimed at weakening the Irish economy. But we know from studies of famines and averted famines across the world that they are easy to prevent when the government decides to act. It is not hard to regenerate the normal purchasing power of the new destitutes by methods, including public employment, that have been used successfully in many parts of the world. This way of stopping famines by replacing lost incomes does not even need an inordinate share of the national income since the victims are normally poor in the first place, and the share of the population affected is relatively small. The proportion affected in Ireland was large on that island itself, but it was still a relatively small share of the population of the United Kingdom, of which Ireland was then a political and economic part. So the real question is: why were these steps not taken in Ireland? More generally, why isn't every famine stopped by the respective government, since it is so easily halted? This is where political alienation of the governors from the governed - is important. The direct penalties of a famine are borne by one group of people and political decisions are taken by another. The rulers never starve. But when a government is accountable to the local populace, it too has good reasons to do its best to eradicate famines. Democracy, via electoral politics, passes on 6 the price of famines to the rulers as well. It is not surprising that in the gruesome history of famines there is hardly any case in which a famine has occurred in a country that is independent and democratic, regardless of whether it is rich or poor. In India, famines continued to occur right up to independence: the last British Indian famine, the Bengal famine of 1943 in which between two and three million people died, happened only four years before the British withdrew. And then, with independence, famines abruptly stopped. With a democratic political system in a self-governed territory, a relatively free news media and active opposition parties that are eager to jump on the government for its failure to prevent starvation, the government is under extreme pressure to take quick and effective action whenever famines threaten. The irresponsibility that results in famine can be further fuelled by cultural alienation. The estrangement of the rulers from the ruled did, of course, take a very special form in the case of the Irish famines, given the long tradition of English scepticism towards the Irish, Ireland paid the penalty of being governed by a not particularly sympathetic ruling class, and cultural depreciation added force to political asymmetry. The roots of the Irish famines can, in this sense, be traced far back - even perhaps to the sixteenth century, to such writings as Spenser's Faerie Queene. The temptation to blame the victim, plentifully present in the Faerie Queene itself, survived through the famines of the 1840s. The Irish taste for the potato was added It is not surprising that in the gruesome history of famines there is hardly any case in which a famine has occurred in a country that is independent and democratic, regardless of whether it is rich or poor. to the list of calamities which the natives had, in the English view, brought on themselves. Charles Edward Trevelyan, the head of the Treasury during the famines, who saw not much wrong with British policies in Ireland, of which he was a major architect, took the opportunity to remark: 'There is scarcely a woman of the peasant class in the West of Ireland whose culinary art exceeds the boiling of a potato.' The remark is interesting not just because it is rare for an Englishman to find a suitable opportunity for an international criticism of culinary art, but also because pointing the accusing finger at the Irish peasant diet vividly illustrates the inclination to fault some characteristic of the victim, rather than the conduct of the rulers. Winston Churchill's famous remark about the 1943 Bengal famine - that it was caused by the tendency of the people to breed like rabbits - belongs to this general tradition of blaming the colonial subject. This attitude had a crucial role in delaying famine relief. As a nine-year-old boy, I witnessed this famine myself, and I remember the sight of unbelievably emaciated people dying in the streets from April onwards, but very few government relief centres opened until late October. The lack of democracy and the censoring of Indian newspapers weakened the political incentive of the Raj to do anything much about the famine. Also, Pace Churchill, had not the famine victims brought this cataclysm on themselves? A British-owned newspaper, the Statesman of Calcutta, which was particularly influential in London, toed the official line for a long time, but after six months of famine, it broke ranks under the courageous editorship of Ian Stephens and began publishing reports on the extent both of the disaster and of the government's culpability. It was only then that the British government at last paid attention and asked the Raj's officials to expand relief operations. The policy of nonintervention ceased to be 7 politically viable once one of the strongest voices of the Raj was itself in revolt. The absence of food that causes hunger and illness and makes millions perish can reflect, at once, economic destitution, political subservience and cultural denigration. That combination has to be borne in mind in understanding the causation of famines which continue to ravage many poor countries in the world. In analysing what causes famines, it is important to take into account not just the rise and fall of food production, but the general prevalence of poverty in the country or region, and to examine its causes. The economic roots of the Irish famines have to be sought in the general weakness of the Irish economy - not just in the difficulties with food production. Groups that are not only very poor but also especially vulnerable to economic changes (to shifts in, for example, relative prices or employment) are of particular importance. It is the general defencelessness of the vulnerable poor, combined with additional misfortunes created by economic variation, that produces the victims of drastic starvation. Social divisions are central to famines, and the economic analyses of the causation of famines have to identify the factors that lead to the specific destitution of particular sections of the generally deprived. While the economic progress of any country depends on its public policies, particularly on its ability to promote economic expansion and distributional equity, the government has a special role in protecting the vulnerable when something goes wrong and a lot of people lose the means of commanding food in the market. Whether the government works towards regenerating the lost purchasing power of the destitute depends on political incentives to intervene and help. This is where democracy and political independence come into their own. The ruling groups have to pay the price of their negligence when they can be forcefully criticized by opposition parties and the news media, and when they have to face elections on a systematic basis. The Chinese government could keep its failed policies of the Great Leap Forward unchanged through the 1958-61 famine, while many millions died each year, because it had no opposition parties to face, and no criticism from the government-controlled media. When things are going well enough, the corrective power of democracy may not be badly missed, but when something goes seriously wrong (through design or bungling), democracy can deliver things that no other system can. Even in the faminestricken continent of Africa, the lack of famines in democratic Botswana and Zimbabwe contrasts with the persistent famine experience of Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Mozambique and the Sahel countries. Of course, even a non-democratic country can be lucky and not experience the economic circumstances that lead to famine; and a sympathetic dictator may, should a famine occur, intervene just as effectively as a popularly elected government. But, in general, democracy guarantees protection in a way that no form of authoritarian rule can, whether it is an old-fashioned colonial administration, or a modern political or military dictatorship. Famines are, in fact, extremely easy to prevent. It is amazing that they actually take place, because they require a severe indifference on the part of the government. Here political asymmetry joins hands with social and cultural alienation. The sense of distance between the ruler and the ruled-between 'us' and 'them' - is a crucial feature of famines. It is as true in Sudan and Somalia today as it was in Ireland and India in the last century. (This article is reprinted with the kind permission of Granta magazine, in which it was first published in 1995, and of Professor Amartya Sen himself). Amartya Sen's autobiography: www.nobel.se/economics/ laureates/1998/sen-autobio.html Granta: www.granta.com/ 8 What's going on • What's going on • What's going on Thai Courses for Beginners In response to the large numbers of people interested in studying Thai language, AIT Extension’s Languages Center will open a second class of Thai Course for Beginners. Schedule: January 28 – March 11, 2003. Tuesday and Thursday 1830 to 2000 hrs for a total of 20 hours. Class size will be restricted to 20 persons. Fee: THB 1,500 for students; THB 2,000 for staff, to be paid when registering. Interested persons please contact: Khun Kuladee as soon as possible for pre-registration at room 216, Languages Resource Center, Library Building, 2nd floor. External Training Courses Software Park Thailand invites interested persons to attend two exciting training courses as follows: - Project Risk Management Course, to be conducted in English by Mr. Dhananjay Gokhale on February 10, 2003 at Software Park Building, 3rd floor, Room 304 - Information Technology Project Management Course to be conducted in English by Mr. Pramod Damle and Mr. Dhananjay Gokhale on February 11-13, 2003 at Software Park Building, 3rd floor, Room 304 Interested persons may register by email to: training@headway.co.th For more information, please contact Ms. Nantana Wongchutiroj at email: nantana_w@headway.co.th or call tel. 0-2962009 ext. 8400. Fax: 0-2962-0505. ings of electrical equipment, PLC, robots, computer networking and software development, general laboratory equipment and setting up of experiment, and have communication skills. ITServ Web Graphic Designer (002) - to carry out all graphic design and development of Institute webpages. Application Deadline: February 10, 2003 Qualifications: Bachelor/Master degree in Art or Computer graphic related field; knowledge of Internet (World Wide Web) working environments; ability to use graphic and video editing software such as Photoshop, Flash and Premiere required; experience in using other graphic tools such as Adobe After Effects, CorelDraw and Cool3D; strong oral and written communication skills; creative and willing to take initiative; able to work independently and as part of a team; good command of oral and written English. ITServ Helpdesk Officer (005) - to serve as the main contact point between ITServ technical staff and users. In performing his or her duties, the Helpdesk Officer will be assisted by student assistants working on a part-time basis. Application Deadline: January 31, 2003 Qualifications: Bachelor or masters degree in Computer Science or related fields; exceptionally strong interpersonal, communications and consulting skills; friendly personality; indepth knowledge of Windows desktop environment and Internet applications (email, WWW, FTP, etc); creative and willing to take initiatives; able to work independently and as part of a team; excellent command of oral and written English; and working experience in a customer service environment preferable. For further information, please contact HRO by email (maybel@ait.ac.th or hro@ait.ac.th), phone (524-5019) or fax (524-5056). Job Vacancies ISE/SAT Laboratory Supervisor (003). Application Deadline: February 28, 2003 Qualifications: Master’s degree in Mechatronics, Electronics, Electrical, Computer Engineering, or related fields with one or two years industry experience; familiar with work- 9 I n this issue, we have many community activities we would like to share with you. Congratulations to Dr. S.M. Mahfuzur Rahman, AIT Ph.D. alumnus from Processing Technology, SERD who recently received "the Best Paper Award 2002" from the Agricultural Engineering Division of Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh deserved recognition for his doctoral work at AIT. Dr. Rahman's paper was entitled "Effect of Endogenous and Commercial Enzymes on Improving Extraction of Sweet Potato Starch." Dr. Rahman is now working as a scientist at the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute in the area of rice processing… Welcome to our new Chief Financial Officer Khun Wanphen Thongsri, who joined AIT on January 15. We hope she will enjoy the many challenges of working here. We will feature Khun Wanphen in next week's "AIT Welcomes" column. Don't miss it… Next, we'd like to let you know about a very important trip of high level delegation by AIT President Prof. JeanLouis Armand, Prof. Mario T. Tabucanon, Provost, and Dr. Nazrul Islam, ADB-AIT Networking Project Coordinator to the Philippines during January 26-28. The delegation met with the ADB President and Board members, AIM President and Dean, Secretary and Undersecretary, the Department of Science and Technology (with whom a Memorandum of Understanding was signed) and officials of the National Economic Development Agency / Scholarship Committee. The delegation gave a presentation on "AIT's Role in the Development of Asia: Achievement and Future Prospects" to ADB members. More on the fruits of their visit in the next issue of the AIT Newsletter… Earlier this week on January 23 the AIT Conference Center hosted a Bangladeshi Cultural Show. The colorful program of traditional song and dance attracted an appreciative audience of some 200 members of the AIT community. Many of you might have noticed that the AIT Conference Center's Dining Room has made changes its menu, especially its western food. If you have any comments on the changes, please contact the AITCC General Manager, Mr. Peter Upstone, at aitctr@ait.ac.th … The Office of the Dean of Student and Community Affairs has temporarily moved its offices to the Student Union Office. Please contact the DSCA Office at tel. 5979 or 5980… AIT in the news: the February 2003 issue of the magazine Thailand Opportunities will run a story about the role of AIT as an educational hub in the region. "How Thailand acts as a regional hub for education", by our President, Prof. Jean-Louis Armand to be featured in the Education Section. The same issue will also feature "Robots in Thailand" by Dr. Manukid Parnichkun of SAT. Dr. Manukid will discuss the robotics industry in Thailand, robotic R&D in Thailand, and robotic R&D at AIT focused on the "Flying Robots Project" and the "Medical TeleAnalyzer Project". Thailand Opportunities will be available on February 10 from general bookstores. 10 In Commemmoration: Khun Pinit Pongpitoon by Natnipha Vimuktanon K hun Pinit Pongpitoon (right), an employee of AIT since 1981, passed away on December 21, 2002 at the age of 58, after a long illness. AIT Newsletter, on behalf of the AIT community, expresses our community's deep sorrow to Khun Pinit's family on the loss of their loved one. Khun Pinit served AIT as a driver for more than 21 years. He started working at AIT in June 1981 as a driver for the Energy Technology Division, or ET (now the Energy Field of Study). After working there for 11 years he Khun Somchit, the late Pinit’s wife was transferred to the Physical Plant. During his time at AIT, Khun Pinit was known as a kind and hard-working person, who rarely took leave and was a dear friend to colleagues at the Physical Plant. During Khun Pinit's sickness, his wife of 37 years, Khun Somchit (left), who earns her living by selling food at Phra Khanong School, had to leave her work to her youngest daughter and her sister so that she could take care of her husband. The couple has three children, one son and two daughters, all of whom are married. "Khun Pinit was a very good-humored man and very kind to his friends. He always lent his friends money whenever they were in financial trouble. Some returned the debt, but others didn't. But Khun Pinit never forced them to return the money," Khun Somchit mentioned of her husband's generosity. Khun Pinit was born in Samut Prakarn Province, but was brought up in Sri Racha, Chonburi Province. After finishing elementary school, he moved to Bangkok to continue his education at Amnuay-silpa School. In 1965, when he was 21 years old, Khun Pinit married Khun Somchit. After graduating from high school, he started work driving his own minibus, transporting people in Samut Prakarn Province for many years. Later, he joined Sathorn Bridge Joint Venture Company as a driver for one year before coming to work at AIT. Khun Pinit loved sports, especially Thai boxing. For several years, he was a trainer for his friend's Thai boxing camp. 11 The death of Khun Pinit brings grief not only to his family members, but also to all of his colleagues at AIT. Khun Satit Thongsri, a Motor Pool Dispatcher and Khun Pinit's immediate supervisor, was impressed by Khun Pinit's kind heart. "Khun Pinit got on well with his colleagues. As a senior colleague, he always helped other people and gave good advice to new employees. He had very good relations with people. He never got angry and always performed very well at work. Whenever I needed his help, he came right away. Even though he was on the afternoon shift, he still came to work in the morning. He was a very good person. When a driver didn't know a route, he Khun Somchit at the funeral ceremony was always willing to help them," Khun Satit told AIT Newsletter. "All of us were shocked when we knew about his sickness. We never thought that a strong and healthy man like him could have such a severe sickness. He never took leave as far as I know. Khun Satit Thongsri, Khun Pinit’s immediate supervisor He was a good employee and was loved by all," Khun Satit concluded. Khun Pracha Vidhayaporn, a Motor Pool Clerk who closely works with Khun Pinit, said Khun Pinit was a very responsible man who took his work seriously. When he was assigned work, he was willing to do it even though he was sick. He was a joyful person loved by all. Other colleagues such as Khun Udom Modsang, Khun Somkid Kornsak from Physical Plant, and Khun Pipat Sang-oan of Promotional Support Services Unit, also noted that Khun Pinit was a very responsible employee and a kind person who loved all his friends. He never complained about anyone or got angry when teased. 12 In Memoriam: Ms. Guo Xiu Yun, First-year SCE Student by Bernie Gadlan M s. Guo Xiu Yun (right), a first term student in the Structural Engineering and Construction Program (SCE) accidentally drowned while on vacation in Pattaya on December 22, 2002. She was immediately admitted to the Pattaya Memorial Hospital and she was pronounced dead on December 26, 2002. Ms. Guo is survived by her husband, Liang Jiang Guang, and four-year-old daughter, as well as her aged parents. The whole AIT community shares the family's grief at this tragedy. A native of Shandong province, Ms. Guo was a lecturer at Shandong University of Technology in Jibo City, Shandong, People's Republic of China. She was the recipient of a Chinese government scholarship to further her academic career through study at AIT. On December 22, during the recent termbreak, Ms. Guo together with some friends visited Pattaya for a holiday. She lost consciousness while venturing in the water at Jomtien Beach. Friends and onlookers rushed her to Pattaya Memorial Hospital, where she was declared unconscious upon admission. Efforts to revive her were all Chinese, we talked often about many things. She was a very helpful person and she answered my questions kindly. She studied very hard and maintained good relationships with her classmates." Another classmate, Kanlaya Sookkij, had known Ms Guo for three months. "We were close because the class is so small. And I remember once when we had a party, that was my birthday in my room and she came with big bags of snacks to provide for our friends. I really liked her gesture of giving me made but unfortunately failed. that present. Ms. Guo was pronounced "We went to parties, to dead by the hospital on Decemlunch and played sports tober 26, 2002. Her bereaved gether, mostly badminton... the husband, Liang badminton playJiang Guang, ground is located arrived from China near my dorm. I used on December 28 to to see her frequently make arrangein the evening. ments for the "I was so funeral. shocked. At the time Ms. Guo's friends the incident happened and classmates at I was in Chiang Mai AIT shared Mr. with friends. I Ping Cuo Sang Zhu (above) Liang's grief and and Kanlaya Sookkij (below). planned on visiting sense of loss. Ping her after I came back. Cuo Sang Zhu, a I had no idea that fellow Chinese anything like this classmate, said, "I might ever happen. met Ms. Guo in When I came back, I September 2002 learned that she had and we studied died. I cried and think together for one of her every day. term. As a fellow "I think if I was 13 there during that time I could have helped in some way. My only advice to all is please try to talk to us. Generally all Thais are friendly and we would like our foreign classmates to talk to us. We would do our best to help you in ways that you need because we know the place and we are just here, so please try to talk to us." Prof. Stephen Ogunlana, Ms. Guo's adviser, said, "Learning about her death leaves us with a great sense of loss; nobody expected anything like this to happen. We (her junior and senior classmates and I) were shocked to hear that she had died on December 26 as we were going to visit her that day at Pattaya Memorial Hospital. We had agreed to go at 9:00 a.m., and then at 7:00 a.m. there was a call to inform us that she died. It was a terrible shock for us. We decided to go anyway. It was still difficult to accept that she was really dead." "Even though her time with us was short we knew her well, and she was working very hard in her studies. She did well in her coursework all things considered. She was Mr. Liang Jiang Guang (left) receives the donation very enthusiastic in all from Prof. S. Ogunlana while Prof . Gothom Arya her work and studies. (right) looks on. She enjoyed studying in A fund has been initiated by Ms. AIT." In this time of bereavement, Guo's advisor, Professor Stephen Ogunlana to support Ms. Guo's family and on behalf of the faculty , in their hour of need. Part of the staff, students and alumni, AIT conveys our heartfelt sympathy to proceeds received so far were given to Mr. Liang. This shows the generosity Ms. Guo's family and especially to her husband, her daughter and and compassion of the AIT community as a whole. Donations are still open. her parents. AIT on January, 26, hosted a Please send to Khun Nutt, SEC religious ceremony to Ms. Yun at Secretary (Tel. 6052). The returns of this donation drive will support Ms. AIT Conference Center AuditoGuo's daughter and elderly parents. rium. P The Professor Wen-Jei Yang prize Michigan in 1961 and became a full professor in 1970. A recognized pioneer in the study of flow visualization and microscopic description of transport phenomena, from biological to high-technology systems, Prof. Yang is credited for his original and high-impact contributions to fluid flow and heat transfer of rotating machinery. Being of Asian descent, it has been Professor Yang's fondest desire to have students studying in Asia benefit from his lifetime work. His personal collection of books subjects has now found a home in the Institute's library. rofessor Wen-Jei Yang (right) of Michigan University has donated USD 5,000 to AIT to establish the Professor Wen-Jei Yang Prize. The academic prize will be awarded for the first time during the April 2003 Graduation Ceremony to the best student in a selected field from the School Civil Engineering. Professor Yang was the Guest Speaker at the 94th AIT Graduation Ceremony held on April 19, 2002. SCE is delighted to acknowledge Professor Wen-Jei Yang's generosity. Professor Wen-Jei Yang, Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering and Professor Emeritus of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan, received his bachelor's degree from National Taiwan University in 1954 and both his masters and doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan in 1956 and 1960 respectively. He joined the University of 14 S o what was all that screaming, shouting, cheering and laughter on the playing field behind the Administration building on January 24? The answer: the AIT Community School was holding its Annual Sports Day 2003, and what a joyous event it was too! The events in the morning included races athletics - 400m, 200m, 100m, 50m and 30m dashes, the 4x100m relay, the shot putt, and the discus. Also students, staff, and parents enjoyed playing fun games such as 'Picking Ball, 'Planting the Straw', 'Stamping the Balloon', 'Leading the Blind', 'Frog Jump', 'ThreeLegged Race', 'Filling the Bottle', 'Bursting the Balloons', 'Picking the Marbles', 15 'Collecting the Peanuts', and 'Do You Know Each Other.' In the afternoon, the highlight was a Fancy Dress Contest in which students dressed in national costumes or fancy costumes representing fairly tale or popular movie characters like Superman, Spider Man, or Harry Potter. The event ended with the presentation of medals and prizes to race and games winners by Prof. Gothom Arya, Registrar, and Dr. Chaiyaphol Kaewprakaisaengkul, Director of Physical Plant. Comments or contributions to this Newsletter are welcome. Please email to pssu@ait.ac.th