Alumni Story: Vivid Memory of My Ph.D. Day

Almost four years away, the past was still clear in my memory. Hard as I tried, it would not paint a complete picture of my Ph.D. student’s days with colors and composition but sketch with rough strokes of brush a little here and there. I still remembered vividly the day that I got the news about my Ph.D. scholarship. At that time I was a fresh master graduate and staff member in University of Yangon. My professor Dr. Sein Htoon told me that I got the scholarship from JICA and he was so happy to tell me this news.

On October 26, 2004, I arrived at Donmuang Airport after flying for an hour from my country. This was my first time to go abroad and I was so excited and worried about everything there. I heard that Ms. Cho Cho Thet who was AUN/SEED-Net student from my country would pick me up at the airport, but we had not known each other before and I did not know her look. “Can I find her easily at the airport?’ I thought and looked for her. Suddenly I saw my name on a white card in one lady’s hand. I was so happy that I found the right person. Fortunately, she was not only from my country but also we would study in the same laboratory - Semiconductor Research Laboratory (SDRL) in the Department of Electrical Engineering, Chulalongkorn University. Cho Cho Thet brought me to the laboratory and introduced me to Thai students there. I was the second foreign student in SDRL but luckily all students seemed to be friendly (and later I found out that they were really friendly and treated me like a family). After that, she brought me to the office of Dr. Chanin Wissawinthanon who would be my advisor for the Ph.D. study.

At first I expected an old, gray-haired professor as my advisor, but it was very different from my expectation. Actually Dr. Chanin was about my age, thin and looked young. He asked me about my trip, accommodation, and study background. Would he help me in my study? This was my first impression to him. After studying with him for a month, I found out that my thought was absolutely wrong. I was his first Ph.D. student so he was very active and guided me with enthusiasms. He expected a lot from me in studies. He gave me many books to read and pushed me a lot to get results in my theoretical calculation and experiments. We regularly held a discussion on two times per week. At first we supposed that each discussion might take one hour, but we always spent 2-3 hours. I never found him angry with any cases except my studies.

I have another co-advisor in Chulalongkorn University. He was Prof. Dr. Somsak Panyakeow, the most experienced professor in my department. He taught me solar cell technology and laser engineering. Actually, he was very good in teaching and was the first person who introduced me the engineering from a technical point of view. I got not only knowledge in studies but also the art of teaching from him. He always taught me to love difficulties and challenges in my research life and encouraged me to fight until I win.

My first two years in Chulalongkorn University was very tough. Many course work, English test, Ph.D. qualifying exams, all were waiting for me. So many stresses and so many exams pressured me a lot. Fortunately, warm kindness from international friends in my dormitory and friends in my laboratory as well as encouragement from my teachers helped me overcome all difficulties. I did well in all exams and submitted some papers to national and international conferences within two years.

During January to September 2007, I worked as visiting research student at Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Tokyo, as a part of my Ph.D. Sandwich Program. I stayed at Tokyo International Center (TIC, JICA), which was not only good but also near Komaba Research Campus of University of Tokyo where my laboratory situated. There I did my experimental work under supervision of my Japanese co-advisor Prof. Dr. Yasuhiko Arakawa. He is a very famous professor in my field and I was so lucky to work with him. He gave me a chance to explore the nature of modern research and guided me to approach research problems from modern experimental point of view. I remembered vividly that summer morning when he asked me, “Do you want to go to Kyoto University or Hokkaido University?”

By Dr. Nan Thidar Chit Swe
AUN/SEED-Net alumni member at University of Yangon, Ph.D. graduate in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from Chulalongkorn University

Regional Workshop on Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 2008

The Regional Workshop on Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering was held jointly with the Inauguration of Indonesia Section of Japan Society for Mechanical Engineering (JSME) International Chapter on July 23 - 24, 2008 at Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), Indonesia.

The workshop provided an opportunity for faculty members from AUN/SEED-Net member institutions, Japanese Supporting Universities, as well as other academic institutions, government agencies and industries to share their work and research experiences; while the special section of JSME offered an opportunity for experience exchange between Indonesian and Japanese mechanical engineers, including those from Japanese companies in Indonesia. Besides, AUN/SEED-Net students at ITB, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and Indonesian students were assigned to present their research work in poster session and oral presentation of the workshop.

The member institutions discussed during the workshop on the issue of network sustainability; and it was agreed that strength of each institution must be clarified in order that they could collaborate more efficiently. Knowledge dissemination should be in a two-way fashion for more effectiveness and benefits. Also, they must seek external grants from local industry and expand university-industry linkage to sustain the network after the AUN/SEED-Net Project termination.

Environmental Engineering To Collaborate with WHO

The 1st Regional Conference in Environmental Engineering in the theme of “Environmental Challenges Facing the ASEAN Region” was organized by University of the Philippines-Diliman (UP) in Manila on September 8-9, 2008. Several technical paper presentations were made in both plenary and parallel sessions by participants. One of the technical paper presentations at the plenary session was made by a special guest speaker, Dr. Terrence Thompson, Regional Advisor on Environmental Health, Western Pacific Regional Office, World Health Organization (WHO), on “Overview of Water Safety Plans”. The parallel sessions were divided into four groups, namely 1) Water Quality and Modeling, 2) Treatment and Management of Hazardous Wastes, 3) Environment and the Academe, and 4) Biotechnology with a total of 26 paper presentations made by ASEAN participants and Japanese professors. AUN/SEED-Net scholars at UP also had a chance to present their research work.

The participants welcomed WHO’s interest to financially support research activities in water resources/water safety theme, though the exact amount and the scope of support could not be yet concluded. UP would draft a proposal on the collaboration with WHO with statements on the issue of intellectual property. Moreover, Prof. Dr. Genandrialine L. Peralta, ex-coordinator for AUN/SEED-Net at UP who is now working with WHO, reiterated the WHO proposal for integration of its water safety plan into university curricula. The proposal was positively responded in general from the participants and was expected to be discussed in each member institution, since the change of curricula could not be made by the institution alone but to be approved by concerned ministry.

Next conference will be held by Institut Teknologi Bandung in Indonesia in 2009.

Sustainable Geological Engineering and Geo-Resources Education

First Interdisciplinary Conference: Natural Resources & Materials 2008