Last month, the 19th annual SIAM Physics Congress was held in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Thailand. Organized by the Thai Physics Society and Faculty of Science, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, the three-day meeting brought together physicists, educators, and young scientists from around the world to share ideas and knowledge in both basic and applied physics research. As a special treat, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presided over the opening ceremony and lectures.
University of Wisconsin–Madison physics professor Albrecht Karle gave an invited talk highlighting recent results from the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, a unique telescope that has instrumented a billion tons of South Pole ice to search for tiny, ghostlike particles called neutrinos with which to study the most powerful cosmic engines in the universe. Karle is also the IceCube associate director for science and instrumentation and IceCube Upgrade principal investigator.
Also in attendance was Chiang Mai University (CMU) physics professor Waraporn Nuntiyakul, an associate member of IceCube who has an ongoing collaboration with the Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center (WIPAC).
HRH Sirindhorn has been funding polar research through one of her personal ventures, the Information Technology Foundation under the Initiative of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, with Prof. Dr. Pairash Thajchayapong serving as an executive committee member and secretary. This initiative has supported Thai students traveling to UW–Madison as summer research interns. Last year, HRH Sirindhorn funded a Thai professor from CMU to work with the drilling team at the South Pole for the IceCube Upgrade.