From left to right: Dr. Manaschai Kunaseth, NSTDA President Prof. Dr. Sukit Limpijumnong, and Dr. Kanokvate Tungpimolrut
NSTDA researchers were named recipients of the Outstanding Technologist Award 2022 and Young Technologist Award 2022 in the award presentation ceremony held on 17 August 2023. The Technologist Awards were established by the Foundation for the Promotion of Science and Technology under the Patronage of His Majesty the King to recognize scientists for their accomplishment in developing technologies with significant socio-economic impacts.
The Outstanding Technologist Award 2022 recognized the team behind the development of Dam Safety Remote Monitoring System (DS-RMS), a collaborative endeavor between NECTEC-NSTDA and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). Leading the NECTEC research team was Dr. Kanokvate Tungpimolrut, Director of Advanced Control and Electronics Research Group. DS-RMS has revolutionized conventional dame safety inspection and evaluation processes. The system consists of 1) automatic instruments and communication networks; 2) remote terminal units (RTUs); 3) dam information systems for visualization, flood routing simulation, safety evaluation using Expert System, early warning to support decision making; and 4) public communication via “Dam Safety” application. DS-RMS has been deployed in full operation at 14 large EGAT-operated dams across Thailand since 2016, playing a key role in reassuring dam officers and downstream communities that the dam conditions are thoroughly monitored.
The Young Technologist Award 2022 was presented to Dr. Manaschai Kunaseth, a researcher at NSTDA Supercomputer Center (Thai SC) and NSTDA Vice President, for his accomplishment in spearheading the development of high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure for advanced materials research from engineering design to service operation infrastructure. To fully utilized the HPC infrastructure, Dr. Manaschai devised an innovative computational technique for advanced materials simulation, laying the groundwork for the future national-scale HPC infrastructure.