On May 7, 2021, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jackrit Suthakorn, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University and as the Representative of the President of Mahidol University, participated in the kick-off meeting on the strategic plan (Spearhead) in the 2nd year of the Water Management Program. He gave a statement on the intention of joint research.

Dr. Wiparat De-Ong, Director of the National Research Office, gave the opening remarks about the funding for the 2nd year of research. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sucharit Koonthanakulwong, Chair of Water and Sustainable Development Research Plan, announced the results of the first phase and the second phase of the research program on "Tackling the Water Crisis after COVID 19" conducted in cooperation with researchers from various universities.

Regarding the second phase of the research project, Mahidol University received research fund from the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) for the research project entitled “New Reservoir System Operation for Long-Term Cost Water Management in Chao Phraya River Basin Using Artificial Intelligence Techniques (Phase 2)”.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Areeya Rittima, Lecturer of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University, is the head of the research project under the strategic plan (Spearhead) for Water Management Program, Year 2. The Academic Service Center of Chulalongkorn University is the management unit delivering the results (ODU) of the program with Asst. Prof. Dr. Pongsak Suttinon as the director.

Associate Professor Dr. Jackrit Suthakorn said, “Water is a national matter. It has been the most pressing issue for Thai people for a long time. Currently, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and IoT technologies are involved in data management. This data should be used continuously for the integration and collaboration across educational institutions and various fields of science. We should be proud to help each other for the development of our country. "

The objective of the research project is to develop a tool for determining drainage reservoir in the form of a new Multiple Reservoir Re–operation System for application in the Chao Phraya River Basin. Based on the results of the research, a tool has been developed to be used to modify the operations of reservoirs based on the modern knowledge of AI.

Researchers from different Faculties of Mahidol University and different institutions together with the related agencies, including the Royal Irrigation Department, Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, and Thai Meteorological Department should collaborate to solve the problems of the management of water resources which are significant to the development of the country.

The research team consists of

1. Assoc. Prof. Areeya Ritima, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University

2. Dr. Yutthana Phankamolsil, Department of Environmental Engineering and Disaster Management, Mahidol University, Kanchanaburi Campus

3. Dr. Allan Sriratana Tabucanon, Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol University

4. Dr. Wudhichart Sawangphol, Faculty of Information and Communication Technology, Mahidol University

5. Dr. Jidapa Kraisangka, Faculty of Information and Communication Technology, Mahidol University

6. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Worawut Wutwanich, Department of Irrigation Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kamphaeng Saen, Kasetsart University