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Published on February 2, 2008

Engineering experts have said high-performance computing (HPC) and efficient water management should be priorities in Thailand's future.

Chokchai Leangsuksun, a US-based Thai academic, said Thailand could be the India of the next generation if it used HPC technology.

"HPC has become mainstream, and we need to build a workforce with the capacity to use this new technology," said Chokchai, professor at Louisiana Tech University, speaking on the second and final day of the 2nd Conference on Technology and Innovation in Sustainable Development (TISD) in Khon Kaen, organised by Khon Kaen University's Engineering Department.

The Thai government has been focused on improving its computing infrastructure, notably through initiatives such as the Thai National Grid Project, but Chokchai said there was more to be done.

"We need to retool. Computing is a necessity, and fast computing provides a competitive edge," he said. "I'd like to see Thailand become the India of the next generation, by using high-performance computing."

HPC technology refers to the use of multiple processors linked together in a single computer system. HPC systems can perform the same complex applications as traditional supercomputers, including product design, medical imaging and earthquake prediction, but they are faster, cheaper and more powerful.

Chokchai will launch a project in late February, funded by a grant from the Commission of Higher Education, to develop a free HPC course in

Thai.

The course work will be developed together with Professor Thomas Sterling, a leading researcher who taught the first HPC course last year at Louisiana State University.

The course was made available to students in the US and Europe by distance-learning technology, but Thailand will be the first non-English-speaking country to localise the content.

Chokchai, who has been involved in building ties between Thai and international researchers, said all computing students needed to have access to HPC knowledge.

"The Thai HPC community is quite active, in the top-tier universities," he said, "but we need to push further, because we have middle-tier universities without any access to this technology."

He said he expected the course to be available to all Thai tertiary students by early 2009, either on DVD or online.

Another area in Thailand needing more attention is efficient water management, according to an expert in the field.

"At the moment I feel that water efficiency is very low. Very few people pay attention to water management," said Professor  Chalong Kirdpitugsa of Macro Consultants.

Chalong studied water management with Canadian experts at Niagara Falls in 1974 to help him understand the workings of Thailand's biggest river system, the Chao Phya-Mekong basin.

He said farmers in particular needed to be more careful with how they used water and more research needed to be done in the area.

"Very few [farmers] pay attention to how to substitute irrigation water by rain water. If they can be more efficient for the wet season, there will be more water for the dry season," he said.

"I think we have to make more studies in the environmental effects of water management."

Associate Professor Dr Sununtha Kingpaiboon, Khon Kaen University's associate dean for research and international affairs in the Faculty of Engineering and chief organiser of the conference, said it had been a great success.

"In my opinion I think it's been very successful. Everyone says it's been very good. We've had things we've had to solve, but that's normal for a conference," she said.

Sununtha said the highlight had been getting together many researchers and engineers from different fields to exchange their experience and knowledge, particularly in sustainable development.

The third TISD Conference is planned for January 2010 to coincide with the 75th anniversary of Khon Kaen University.

Danielle Kirk,

Lily Partland

The Nation

Khon Kaen