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Thai Physics Society:
Physics Activities in Thailand
Starting from a little over a decade ago, there have
been many major changes in the physics-related
activities in Thailand that can be summarized in the
following timeline.
The 2.4-meter reflecting telescope.
reflecting telescope on top of the highest mountain in
Thailand (Doi Inthanon) is 2,457 meters above sea level,
and is one of Asia’s most advanced facilities in optical
astronomy. It is set to open in a few months along with
its five satellite regional telescopes. The observatories
will play a significant role in supporting cutting edge
research and international collaboration.
The Synchrotron Light Research Institute.
Inset: the experimental hall.
In 1995 the Thai government approved the synchrotron
facility project. The project created positive effects in
physics and related scientific communities in the country.
Today, the 1.2 GeV synchrotron facility is celebrating its
third year of successful service to the research community
covering the x-ray absorption spectroscopy, photoelectron
spectroscopy, and x-ray lithography techniques. Its
operation allows physics and related research in Thailand
to utilize state-of-the-art characterization techniques at the
international frontier level.
In 2004, the establishment of the National Astronomical
Research Institute of Thailand (Public Organization)
raised the level of astronomy research in Thailand and
created crucial foundation facilities. The 2.4-meter
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AAPPS BULLETIN
2005 marked the commencement of one of the flagship
activities of the Thai Physics Society, the annual “Siam
Physics Congress.” The annual, all-English-presentation
conference was organized, following international
practice, with renowned plenary and invited speakers from
abroad. Following each conference, the peer-reviewed
manuscripts in English are collected as proceedings and
are then formatted and published as a special volume of
the Thai Physics Journal. The participants of the Siam
Physics Congress have continuously increased, from
around 200 participants in its inauguration to over 500
participants in its seventh year (2012).
Banner of 2012 Siam Physics Congress announcement.
Society News ● ●
In 2006, the Thailand Institute of Nuclear Technology
(Public Organization), which spun off from the office
of Atoms for Peace, created the first institute that
focuses on frontier research and the development and
dissemination of nuclear technology in Thailand. The
institute houses the first 2-MW research reactor in
Thailand. The institute will also help promote the
utilization of nuclear technology, providing services
related to nuclear technologies and developing nuclear
technology education in the country.
equipment for cooperative use among laboratories as
well as independent researchers. ThEP has played a
major role in revitalizing physics research in the
academic sector during the past five years.
Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presided over
the opening ceremony of STSP 2012.
The 2-MW research reactor.
In 2007, through the Ministry of Education, the Thai
government approved the establishment of the
Thailand Center of Excellence in Physics (ThEP) as
one of the nine academic centers of excellence in
Thailand, with the annual support of approximately 3
million USD. ThEP is composed of five research
centers governing 23 laboratories that are distributed in
major universities throughout the country. ThEP aims
to generate groundbreaking research in physics for
each laboratory’s area of expertise, in addition to
promoting graduate study in physics in those
laboratories. In addition, ThEP has provided physics
In addition to strengthening the role of the Thai Physics
Society, the above-mentioned physics activities in
Thailand have significantly increased the level of
research and the quality of higher education in physics
in Thailand. The revitalization in the physics
community can be seen from the significant
improvement of research publications both in terms of
quality and quantity, and the substantial increase in the
number of physics graduate students. These events
empowered the Thai physics community to
successfully handle several major international physics
events in recent years. Examples include the 2009
Asian Physics Olympiad (APhO), the 2011
International Physics Olympiad (IPhO), the 2nd SinoThai Symposium on High Energy Physics,
Astrophysics and Beyond (STSP 2012), and the 6th
Asia & Oceania Forum for Synchrotron Radiation
Research (AOFSRR 2012). The Thai physics
community is also gearing up to host more up-coming
international physics conferences such as the 8th Asian
Meeting on Ferroelectrics (AMF-8) and the 7th
Conference of the Asian Consortium on Computational
Materials Science (ACCMS-7). Last but not least, on
August 28th, 2012, the cabinet approved the
appointment of Assoc. Prof. Weerapong Pairsuwan,
former president of the Thai Physics Society, to be the
permanent secretary of the Ministry of Science and
Technology. He will be the first physicist to take the
top position of the Ministry of Science and Technology
of Thailand.
The diagram showing the structure of ThEP center.
October 2012 Vol. 22 No. 5
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