On July 1, 1996, His Majesty the King graciously granted the name "Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology" to the Institute.

At the SIIT Board of Trustees Meeting on April 28, 2000, the Board approved that "July 1" be "SIIT Day." To celebrate the SIIT Day, this year the Institute presented 19 academic excellence awards to 15 new graduates of SIIT and held the "Seminar on Feasibility of Klong Kra Canal" at the Inter Zone, Thammasat University (TU), Rangsit Campus, on June 30, 2000.

Associate Professor Dr. Naris Chaiyasoot, the Rector of TU and the Chairman of SIIT Board of Trustees; Mr. Taketoshi Arikawa, Trustee of SIIT, the President of Japanese Chamber of Commerce (JCC) in Bangkok, and the President of Mitsubishi Co., (Thailand) Ltd.; and Mr. Kietphong Noichaiboon, the Secretary General of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), were the guests of honor. About 250 senior students and guests attended this event.

The resource persons of the seminar were: Dr. Pisit Kantiwattanakul from the Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT), Associate Professor Dr. Supote Chunanuntathum from Faculty of Economics, TU, Dr. Jirawan Dejanipont from Faculty of Political Science, TU, and Associate Professor Dr. Somnuk Tangtermsirikul, Head of School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Technology, SIIT. Professor Dr. Prida Wibulswas, the SIIT Director, was the moderator of the seminar.

Assistant Professor Dr. Ekawit Nantajeewarawat and Assistant Professor Dr. Komwut Wipusitwarakun from the Information Technology Program and Assistant Professor Dr. Waree Kongprawechnon from the Electrical Engineering Program, SIIT, received Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships from The Thailand Research Fund (TRF) to conduct their research work during July 1, 2000 to June 30, 2002. The fellowships are provided to researchers in Thailand who have a doctoral degree, and have worked for not more than 5 years after receiving their doctoral degree, to continue conducting research in their fields of specialization.
 

Academic Program	Researcher	Research Title	Grant (Baht)
Electrical Engineering	Dr. Waree Kongprawechnon	The Analysis of Discrete Ha Controller and Its Application	400,000
Information Technology	Dr. Ekawit Nantajeewarawat	On the Relationships Between UML Diagrams Based-on XML/XMI Declarative Program Theory	400,000
	Dr. Komwut Wipusitwarakun	Virtual Path Layout and Logical Capacity Design of Highly Reliable Backbone Networks	400,000

From right: Mr. Boonsarn Pitakdumrongkija, 1999 Lucent Global Science Scholar; Mr. Vorayos Thongtan, 2000 Lucent Global Science Scholar; Mr. John E. Conrad, President of Lucent Technologies Thailand Inc.,  Ms. Chidchanok Pratoomtong, 2000 Lucent Global Science Scholar; and Ms. Chanika Angchaisuksiri, 1999 Lucent Global Science Scholar from Chulalongkorn University.

Two SIIT students - Mr. Vorayos Thongtan and Ms. Chidchanok Pratoomtong - have been selected by Lucent Technologies Foundation as the Lucent Global Science Scholars from Thailand for the Year 2000. The Lucent Science Scholars Program was established by Lucent Technologies to encourage the world's youth to pursue careers in technology. They aim to help develop the next generation of technology-savvy people who will help shape the future of communications. In addition to a scholarship, the program will establish a partnership between the students and scientists at Bell Labs at Lucent Technologies headquarters in Murray Hill, New Jersey, USA.

In 1999, Mr. Boonsarn Pitakdumrongkija, an SIIT student, was also selected as one of the two Lucent Global Science Scholars from Thailand. SIIT would like to express our appreciation to Lucent Technologies Foundation for the scholarships awarded to the SIIT students.

Mr. Thanasan Tanhermhong from the SIIT Information Technology Program, under the supervision of Assistant Professor Dr. Thanaruk Theeramunkong, won the first prize in the Basic Level of the Thai-word Segmentation Contest held in Chiengmai during May 10-11, 2000. There are two levels in the contest - basic and advanced. Mr. Thanasan also received a special encouragement award in the advanced level at which there was no prize won. This contest is a part of the Fourth Symposium on Natural Language Processing which has been held biannually since 1993 with the cooperative effort of a number of universities in Thailand.

The orientation for first-year students of the 2000 academic year was held on Friday June 9, 2000 at the TU Lecture Auditorium 4, Thammasat University, Rangsit Campus. This year, SIIT admitted 427 new students. More than 700 students and guardians participated in the orientation.

Associate Professor Dr. Naris Chaiyasoot, the Rector of Thammasat University, Mr. Keiji Watanabe, Executive Committee Member of Japanese Chamber of Commerce (JCC), and Mr. Nipon Surapongrukchareon, Deputy Secretary General and Chairman of the Human Resources Development Committee, Federation of Thai Industries, were the guests of honor. The students and guardians were welcomed by the TU Rector and the SIIT Director, Professor Dr. Prida Wibulswas. The students were briefly informed of SIIT academic policies, regulations and procedures as well as facilities of SIIT. As part of the orientation, academic excellence awards were presented to 33 outstanding students of SIIT.

Assistant Professor Dr. Satha Aphornratana has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with effect from May 2, 2000.

Associate Professor Dr. Satha joined SIIT in 1995 and now he is the Assistant Director for Graduate Studies and Research and a faculty member of the Mechanical Engineering Program. Dr. Satha received his B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Prince of Songkla University, Thailand; M.Eng. in Mechanical Engineering from University of Technology, Sydney, Australia; and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from University of Sheffield, England. His field of specialization is refrigeration systems and he owns a patent on "A Combined Ejector-absorption Refrigeration Cycle".

Dr. Satha has published a number of technical papers on refrigeration systems in reputable international journals based on research carried out with financial support from various funding agencies, such as the National Research Council of Thailand and the National Science and Technology Development Agency of Thailand. During the last three years, Dr. Satha has received two Royal Golden Jubilee Scholarships to support his two doctoral students.

In recognition of the special cooperation and assistance from Klong Luang Police Station, Pathum Thani, in strengthening SIIT's security measures, SIIT presented two used computers and a printer to the Klong Luang Police Station on April 25, 2000, to help meet the need for computers in the documentation work of the station. Seen in the photograph (from right) are: Pol. Lt. Col. Somneug Mekvaun, Inspector Supervision; Pol. Col. Surachai Suebsook, Superintendent, Chief of Klong Luang Police Station; Professor Dr. Prida Wibulswas, the Director of SIIT; and Assistant Professor Dr. Komwut Wipusiwarakun, Systems Manager of SIIT Computer Center.

Three out of five 2001 Panasonic Scholarships awarded to Thai students by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., Japan, were won by three SIIT new graduates - Ms. Thitiporn Lertrusdachakul, Ms. Supaporn Thonghui, and Mr. Ratanachai Sombutsrisomboon. The Panasonic Scholarship includes tuition and fees and living expenses for 3 years for the scholarship recipients to study for a master's degree in Japan. This scholarship program was established in 1998 when the Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. celebrated its 80th anniversary.

Top row from left:   Ms. Thitiporn Lertrusdachakul, Ms. Supaporn Thonghui, and Mr. Ratanachai Sombutsrisomboon. Bottom row from left:   Associate Professor Dr. Weerakorn Ongsakul, Head of the School of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, SIIT; Dr. Chaiwat Bunnag, Assistant to the Vice Rector for Student Affairs of Thammasat University; Mr. Yoshimasa Tamura, Managing Director, Siew-National Co. Ltd. and National-Thai Co. Ltd.; Professor Dr. Sawasd Tantaratana, SIIT Deputy Director; and Mr. Tetsuya Uetake, Director, Panasonic Scholarship Inc., Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Associate Professor Dr. Ruben Mera is a visiting faculty at SIIT during June 12 to September 4, 2000. Teaching 2 courses of Mathematics III, one for the Electrical Engineering Program and the other for the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Technology. The subjects covered include Linear Algebra and Complex Variables.

Dr. Mera is from George Washington University. He is also a researcher for the U.S. Census Bureau in the area of Mathematical Statistics and Data Analysis. His current research includes topics in design and analysis of complex surveys as well as problems in preserving respondent's confidentiality when releasing accurate public data.

Dr. Mera holds a Ph.D. from Auburn University, Alabama, with specialization in Complex Variables; a DEA in Stochastic Process from the University of Paris VI; and an MS in Mathematical Statistics from CIENES, Santiago de Chile.

Vaasa Polytechnic, Finland

May 30, 2000: The President of Vaasa Polytechnic, Pentti Ruotsala, accompanied by the Deputy Rector, Dr. Raijaliisa Laakkonen, Manager of International Affairs, Sari Salojarvi, Senior Lecturer, Smail Menani, and Development Manager, Erkki Kokkonen, of Vaasa Polytechnic visited SIIT to discuss academic cooperation between the two institutes, especially the possibility of establishing a student exchange program.

Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Vietnam

June 26, 2000: Dr. Ho Thanh Phong, the Vice Rector for Academic Affairs and a faculty member of the Faculty of Industrial Management, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), led 11 delegates from six faculties of HCMUT (Mechanical Engineering, Geology and Petroleum, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Information Technology, Chemical Technology and Petroleum, and Civil Engineering), International Relation Office and Library to visit SIIT. They were welcomed by the SIIT Deputy Director, Professor Dr. Sawasd Tantaratana and eight members of the SIIT Executive Committee. Possible academic cooperation between HCMUT and SIIT was explored. The visitors also toured the research facilities of the SIIT advanced laboratory building and the Library & Information Services Center.

Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan

June 26, 2000: Professor Dr. Sachio Hirose, Coordinator of Young Scientist Exchange Program (YSEP), International Student Center and Prof. Dr. Junjiro Kawasaki of the Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, visited SIIT to introduce activities of YSEP and discuss the possibility for SIIT students to participate in this program. Professor Hirose and Professor Kawasaki were welcomed by Professor Dr. Sawasd Tantaratana, SIIT Deputy Director; Associate Professor Dr. Taweep Chaisomphob, Assistant Director for Student Affairs; Assistant Professor Dr. Patamaporn Sripadungtham, Assistant Director for Academic Affairs; and Assistant Professor Dr. Thanarak Theeramunkong, a faculty member of the Information Technology Program.