Science, technology and innovation development officials from APEC
economies have named Dr Agachai Sumalee, a Thai professor based in Hong
Kong, China, the winner of the 2014 APEC Science Prize for Innovation,
Research, and Education.
Dr Sumalee was selected from a pool of scientists under the age of 40
for creating a groundbreaking road traffic management system that has
slashed commuting times in the greater Bangkok area and was developed in
collaboration with researchers from across the APEC region. Cao Jianlin,
China’s Vice Minister of Science and Technology, presented the award,
also known at the ASPIRE Prize, at a ceremony on Wednesday in Beijing.
“As an important contributor to a better life, intelligent
transportation will greatly facilitate green and sustainable growth,
environmental protection, energy conservation and low-carbon economy in
the APEC region." noted Vice Minister Cao. “Among the 20 mega cities
around the world, 11 are located in the APEC region.”
“Rapid urbanization, combined with the increasing volume of goods and
people flows, is weighing significantly on transportation infrastructure
across the Asia-Pacific,” said Dr. Agus R. Hoetman, Chair of the APEC
Policy Partnership on Science, Technology and Innovation which runs the
ASPIRE Prize, whose 2014 theme was “intelligent transportation.”
“Better management of transportation arteries is essential to building
smarter, low-carbon cities that support sustainable urbanization and
increased capacity for economic growth,” Dr. Hoetman explained. “The
development intelligent transportation solutions is being taken forward
by new ideas and innovations that are the product of deepening
cooperation between researchers in our region.”
Dr Sumalee, an Associate Professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, developed a new kind
of modelling that allows highway managers to predict traffic conditions
and prevent congestion.
The application of Dr Sumalee’s traffic management system by the Thai
Expressway Authority has helped to improve road traffic in and around
Bangkok and streamline the daily commute for the area’s 12 million
people. The economic benefits of the system, when trialed on a 17-mile
stretch of Bangkok expressway over a one-year period, was estimated at
more than USD1 million, according to an independent assessment.
“We are the first research team to develop a mathematical technique
called Stochastic Cell Transmission Modelling to create a real-time,
intelligent traffic-management systems that works,” said Dr Sumalee.
“Predictive mathematics is relevant to highway traffic management
because it helps us analyse the minor events that lead to major delays.”
Dr Sumalee’s system was based on research he conducted in Bangkok at the
King Mongkut Institute of Technology, in collaboration with the Thai
Expressway Authority, and advanced with assistance from a doctoral
student from China. The approach was subsequently tested in partnership
with traffic specialists at Kyoto University in Japan and using highway
flow data provided by the University of California, Berkeley in the
United States.
The ASPIRE Prize recognizes cutting-edge ideas and technologies fostered
by exchange between researchers across APEC economies and their
contribution to trade and economic growth in the region. Wiley and
Elsevier, publishers of scholarly scientific knowledge, were sponsors of
the 2014 ASPIRE Prize and its USD 25,000 in prize money.
“Scientific collaboration across the Asia-Pacific region is driving the
advancement of groundbreaking research and innovation vital to improving
lives and livelihoods,” said Stephen M. Smith, President and CEO of
Wiley.
“Young researchers like Dr Sumalee shine a light on the innovative
solutions needed to tackle shared transportation and urbanization
challenges,” added Young Suk “Y.S.” Chi, Chairman of Elsevier.
For more information on the ASPIRE Prize please visit: http://www.apec.org/aspire.
Contact the publicist:
Eleanor Oh
Associate Director, Corporate Communications
eoh@wiley.com
+65 6643 8127