UTM To Collaborate With WNI On Research and Training About Weather Related Disaster
Prof. Azlan (fifth right) exchanging the MoU with Mr. Yasushi Shiga, Senior Manager Director & Chief Revenue Officer (Japan & Asia) of WeatherNews Inc. (WNI)
JOHOR BAHRU, 16 August 2018 – Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) will collaborate with Weathernews Inc (WNI), a private Japanese weather service corporation to conduct research and training on weather related disasters in Malaysia.
The Deputy Vice Chancellor (Development), Prof. Dr. Azlan Abd. Rahman in his welcoming speech said that WNI is a private weather service corporation established and existing under the Law of Japan, having its principal office at Chiba-shi, Chiba, Japan.
“WNI offers a wide range of services at international level covering airline industries, mobile computing markets, fuel operations; ship routing, media, retail markets, disaster management and disaster management support for countries that are subject to weather risks.
“The ultimate goal of the collaboration is to mitigate the negative impact of severe weather and extreme natural hazards on the life of people as well as business activities and to enhance the sustainable development of Malaysia,” said. Prof. Azlan.
Prof. Azlan said that through this collaboration WNI will provide weather data measured by WITH Radar that is worth RM 200,000 per year to UTM.
“WITH Radar was developed using aviation Doppler radar with the latest meteorological technology in order to capture rapidly developing cumulonimbus clouds that often bring damage in the form of sudden torrential thunderstorms, wind gusts and tornados.
“The WITH Radar makes a complete scan of a 50km2 area every 6 seconds and captures precipitation intensity, and the direction and speed of movement of the storm cell in the lower troposphere to capture clouds forming even lower than 2km,” he said.
The scans are also three-dimensional allowing the capture of the development of the clouds as well.
“Data captured by WITH Radar will be used to produce more accurate predictions of weather related disasters such as floods in Malaysia.
This forecast will then be used in various risk communication services and support operations of the nation in taking direct actions to minimize potential weather risk,” he said.
Both UTM and WNI will collaborate to conduct workshops/seminars to private companies and public institutions to utilise the data for disaster mitigation in Malaysia. The data and results will also be used for teaching purposes in UTM.
This Memorandum shall remain in force for 5 years and shall continue to remain in force by mutual agreement between WNI and UTM.
The overall implementation of the project shall be headed by Mr.Yuta Seto or his successor from WNI whereas, the substantive research and development aspects of the Project shall be headed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kasturi Devi Kanniah from UTM or her successor.
The MoU document was signed by UTM’s Vice Chancellor (Development), Prof. Dr. Azlan Abdul Rahman and Mr. Yasushi Shiga, Senior Manager Director & Chief Revenue Officer (Japan & Asia) of WeatherNews Inc. (WNI), Japan.
The ceremony was held at the Faculty of Built Environment & Surveying, UTM Johor Bahru on August 16th, 2018.
Prof. Ismail Said as External Examiner at Fakultas Teknik Universitas Hasanuddin
Prof Ismail Said was appointed by rector of Universitas Hasanuddin, Prof Dwia Aries Tina Pulubuhu, in Makassar as external examiner for PhD candidate, Febriane Paulina Makalew. He attended examination at Fakultas Teknik in Gowa Campus on 16th August 2018. The thesis was ‘Kapasitas Ruang dan Pola Pergerakan Pejalan Kaki Anak Sekolah Dasar di Wilayah Urban dan Rural. He also delivered a lecture on Children’s Place.
Transaction Cost Analysis: A Decision Support System for Procurement Selection
Congratulations to our lecturers Sr. Dr. Fara Diva Binti Mustapa, Sr. Dr. Muzani Bin Mustapa and their student Toh Ka Bean for being awarded GOLD for participation in International Research Innovation Invention Solution Exposition (IRIISE) at Expo on University Research Invention, Creation & Innovation (EUREKA) 2018 from 14th until 16th August 2018 located at University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. The title of their research project is Transaction Cost Analysis: A Decision Support System for Procurement Selection.
Train The Trainer Program: Modelling for Architecture and Structure, BIM Coordinator and BIM Manager
6 August – 12 August 2018
7 days BIM training using Revit were organized by MyBIM Centre CIDB. Candidates from Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying; Assoc. Prof Sr Dr Kherun Nita Ali, Dr. Lim Yaik Wah, Dr. Shamsulhadi Bandi, Dr. Nurshikin Mohamad Shukery, Dr. NorHazren Izatie Mohd, Dr. Mohd Azwarie Mat Dzahir, Mr. Azari Mat Yasir and Miss Aimi Sara Ismail and two candidates from Faculty of Engineering; Dr. Eeydzah binti Aminudin & Dr. Nor Hasanah binti Abdul Shukor Lim has been registered for the training program.
The aim of this program is to enable candidates to model and visualise building projects in a simulated environment (Architecture and Structure Modelling) by using BIM. It allows users to design, visualise, simulate and analyse key physical and functional characteristic of each element in a project virtually.
UTM Town Planning Expert: Environmentally Sustainable Cities? Get the Basics Right!
Kuala Lumpur, 29 July – UTM Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying (FBES) Senior Lecturer, TPr. Chau Loon Wai, stressed to an audience of town planning professionals the importance of getting the basics right if we were to make real progress in building environmentally sustainable cities in Malaysia. The well received point was made at the PLANMalaysia Expert Talk 2018, themed “Environmentally Sustainable Cities”, which was held on 27 July 2018 at Wisma Tun Sambanthan, Kuala Lumpur.
TPr. Chau appeared as an invited speaker representing the academia alongside three other practising town planners in the expert talk, which was part of a series organised by PLANMalaysia (previously known as the Federal Town and Country Planning Department, JPBDSM), the highest authority overseeing the town and country planning activities in Malaysia.
The expert talk was officiated by the PLANMalaysia Director General, Y.Bhg. Dato’ TPr. Hjh. Rokibah Abdul Latif and attended by 188 town planners from the Federal and State level PLANMalaysia offices, local authorities, private practices as well as the academia.
In his 30-minute sharing entitled “Environmentally Sustainable Cities? Getting there means getting the basics right!”, TPr. Chau got the audience to take a hard look at the actual current state of (un)sustainability of Malaysian cities despite countless well-intent efforts spanning at least two-and-half decades by town planners. He then asserted that environmental sustainability is not only about having the right intention and proposing big concepts but it is importantly about getting back to the basics, of dealing with issues in real places involving real people. He stressed the need to go beyond “sustainababble” and begin implementing small, direct actions in places that would yield real positive impacts on people’s quality of life, for example of delivering urban environments that are friendly to children, the elderly, women and people with disability (PWD).
The talk was concluded with the highlighting of the importance of urban design in advancing environmental sustainability; of integrating planning and design across the national, state and local levels; as well as of involving in a deep way the people for and with whom we plan. As Co-Director of the UTM-Low Carbon Asia Research Centre (UTM-LCARC) and Associate Research Fellow of the Centre for Innovative Planning and Development (CIPD), Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, TPr. Chau also took the opportunity to briefly share major accomplished and on-going research works of the centres and stated UTM’s commitment to continuously collaborating with PLANMalaysia and the Malaysian planning profession towards contributing to better urban and regional planning.
Expert Talk Moderator introduces TPr. Chau Loon Wai.
TPr. Chau: Environmentally Sustainable Cities? Getting there means getting the basics right!
One for the record: Expert Talk speakers (TPr. Chau stands second from left) and moderator on stage with PLANMalaysia Director General, YBhg Dato’ TPr. Hjh. Rokibah Abdul Latif (centre) and PLANMalaysia Deputy Director General, YBhg Dato’ TPr. Hj. Mohd Anuar Maidin (third from left).
