Ms.Wanida

"The Asia Biomass Researchers Invitation Program - FY2008" administered and supported by the New Energy Foundation has just ended on March 15, 2009, with many fruitful results. Nineteen invited researchers and/or engineers from Asian countries have conducted various researches jointly with Japanese partners at different biomass energy research laboratories of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) including Chugoku Center, Tsukuba New Fuels and Vehicle Technology Research Center, Material & Energy Sustainability Assessment Group of Tsukuba Safety Science Research Department.

We visited a researcher from Thailand, Ms. Wanida, and asked about her research as well as her daily life in Japan. Ms. Wanida came to Japan on September 7, 2008 and stayed for 190 days in Japan until her return to her homeland on March 15, 2009. So her stay was the longest among the said nineteen researchers participated in the NEF program.

Ms. Wanida has been registered at the Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment, King Mongkut's University of Technology, where she has been conducting an assessment research on the environmental effects caused by the use of biofuels, including the reduction of CO2 emission. Her study is concerned with biodiesel fuel derived from palm oil as well as bioethanol from sugar molasses and cassava.

At Tsukuba, she has been affiliated to Material Energy Research Group of Tsukuba Safety Science Research Department of AIST. She conducted an assessment research on the sustainability of the environmental effects caused by the production of biodiesel fuel from palm oil, under Dr. Sagisaka the leader of Material & Energy Sustainability Assessment Group.

She made a few study tours during her stay in Japan, visiting Hokkaido, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Kitakyushu. As regard Japanese researchers and research environment of Japan, she said she got an impression that Japan has been providing researchers with very excellent environment in such ways that research database and technical information are well systematized and are made easily accessible, and that Japanese researchers work hard and think deep and systematically.

The Completion Ceremony ：
Vice president of NEF, Mr. Ryuichi Ito,
presented a certificate of completion of
study to Ms. Peesamai(left side)
from Thailand

As for her intention after her return to Thailand, she remarked that she learned a lot of cutting-edge technology in Japan that she might not be able to learn in Thailand, and she would very much like to utilize these knowledge she learned in Japan to her research in her homeland. And that from now on she hopes that Japan and Thailand would establish a strong mutual cooperative network so that they may have a wealth of common technical knowledge and information.

As regard her impression on Japan, she replied that she was deeply impressed that Japan's traditional culture is still existent in a good harmony with modern high-tech society. She got this impression while she was walking on a street where she happened to see a young lady in kimono. She felt a young lady in kimono walking in a high technology town was no matter of mismatch, indeed. On holidays she enjoyed making short trips to unknown places, tasted different Japanese dishes, learned about Japanese cultures like tea ceremony and so on.

The result of Ms. Wanida's research in Japan was first presented at the Conference on Asia Biomass Energy Cooperation Promotion Project held at Tsukuba on March 11, 2009. And hereafter several presentation of her result will be made in Japan, Portugal and South Africa also. At the information exchange party held after the conference, the vice president of NEF, Mr. Ryuichi Ito, presented a certificate of completion of study at Tsukuba to each of the six researchers from Asia, who was scheduled to return to homeland on March 15, 2009. The conference adjourned with this ceremony.