“Buddhism provides benefits for a peaceful life and Asians are blessed with it and I suggest that the West too should be more acquainted with Buddhism for the world to be peaceful,” according to Prof Suvit Vibulsresth, Founder Executive Director, Core-Informatics and Space Technology Agency of Thailand.
This was his parting advice while delivering the 4th Memorial Oration of ‘Sir Arthur C Clerk” organized by the Arthur C Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies (ACCIMT) held this week in Colombo.
While paying tribute to Sir Arthur C Clarke for his contribution to satellite communication technology, Prof Vibulsresth devoted his lecture on how meticulously developed this technology over the years has been for the benefit of the people of Thailand, such as farmers, etc.
He advised Sri Lanka to purchase a satellite that would cost around $ 30 to 40 million which could be put to immense benefit to people.
He said that the world incurred heavy losses in kind and in lives due to tsunamis, earthquakes and floods. He said that the world is now depending on historical data on these major disasters. Prof Vibulsresth said that using modern data earthquakes and other such disasters could be forecast and in that manner lot of lives could be saved.
Prof Lalith Gamage, Director, ACCIMT said that it was four years ago that the great visionary - Sir Arthur C Clarke, died and noted that he was a literary figure and an unparalleled science fiction writer. Sir Arthur’s predictions were always plausible within the laws of science, Prof Gamage asserted.
He said that Sir Arthur came to the limelight of science and global fame as a visionary scientist with his concept of the “Possibility of worldwide wireless communication through Geo-stationary Satellites” as an article that appeared in the “Wireless World” journal in October 1945.
He said that the concept was put into practice within two decades, since his prediction. Prof Gamage said “It is needless to stress the phenomenal impact the advent of Satellite Communication has had on humanity during the decades that followed.”
He said that it has greatly contributed to the changes that have since taken place in the way people communicate, the way people learn, the way business organizations do their transactions and the way the government maintains its relations.
He said that they at the ACCIMT carry out research and technology development in electronics, robotics, communication, information technology and space applications. Prof Gamage said that in addition to these research and technological development work they also have undertaken some result oriented projects.
These, he said, are: Recovery of train engines including reverse engineering of controllers that saved over Rs 100 million for the Railway Department; Automated quality grading system; Remote control and monitoring of systems using mobile networks; Intelligent traffic control systems and improved medical access for rural communities through telemedicine.
He said that they also undertake laboratory testing for certification of equipment and Incubation facility.
Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Minister of Technology and Research and Poldej Worachat, Ambassador of Thailand in Sri Lanka also spoke. |
E-mail
