1995 Fredericton Encaenia - Ceremony C
Aksaranan, Chokchai
Doctor of Science (D.Sc.)
Orator: Patterson, Stephen E.
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L to R: Fredrik Eaton, Margaret McCain, Chokchai Aksaranan, Dr. Robin Armstrong, Unidentified
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Source: PR-Encaenia, 1995
Citation:
ENCAENIA, MAY, 1995
CHOKCHAI AKSARANAN
to be Doctor of Science
We are privileged today to honour one of Thailand's leading citizens. Chokchai Aksaranan is a scientist, prominent business executive, and member of the Thai Senate. What makes us particularly proud of his achievements is that he is also a graduate of the University of New Brunswick.
Senator Dr. Aksaranan came to U.N.B. in 1967 on a leave of absence from Chulalongkorn University, where he was an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Technology. He spent five years here in Fredericton, pursuing graduate studies in chemical engineering, and entering fully into the social life of the University. He was a popular resident of MacKenzie House and the indispensable goalie on the Chemical Engineering Soccer Team. An outstanding student, he concentrated on the study of Calcium Carbide solutions, the subject of his two theses and several papers which he coauthored with, among others, his U.N.B. supervisor, Professor David R. Morris. He earned his Master's degree in 1969 and his Ph.D. in 1972. In his last year of study in Canada, he won Second Prize in the Canadian Nuclear Association Graduate Student Competition for a paper on the monitoring of carbon in liquid sodium.
His impressive list of scholarly publications suggested future success in an academic career. However, once back in Thailand, Dr. Aksaranan's career shifted from the academic to the industrial. He went to work for M. Thai Industrial Co., a producer of calcium carbide, acetylene gas and lime. He moved quickly up the ranks until, after fourteen years with the company, he emerged as its director and chief executive officer. Today, he is Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, of the Thai Article Numbering Council, and of Chemmin Corporation, as well as the senior vice-president of the large Charoen Pokphand Group of companies. He is a board member of seventeen leading Southeast Asian companies ranging from banks to petrochemical producers. In 1992, he was named to the Thai Senate, befitting his impressive role as one of Thailand's most prominent executives.
We in Canada have only recently been introduced to the beauty and mystery of Thailand through the colorful pages of the award-winning book, Touch the Dragon, by former U.N.B. writer-in-residence, Karen Connelly. The fascinating picture she paints is rural and small-town, tropical splendor and ancient tradition. What we see in Chokchai Aksaranan's career is a contrasting image of a dynamic and modern industrial society, being shaped in no small part by Dr. Aksaranan and others like him. Senator Dr. Aksaranan is living proof of the power of creative scientific thought. He has contributed to, and been a significant part of, the industrializing miracle that is transforming the economy of all Southeast Asia. Through the application of ideas and processes learned in part at the University of New Brunswick, he is helping to build a better world. We salute him, and take enormous pride in his achievements.
From: Honoris Causa - UA Case 70, Box 3
CHOKCHAI AKSARANAN
to be Doctor of Science
We are privileged today to honour one of Thailand's leading citizens. Chokchai Aksaranan is a scientist, prominent business executive, and member of the Thai Senate. What makes us particularly proud of his achievements is that he is also a graduate of the University of New Brunswick.
Senator Dr. Aksaranan came to U.N.B. in 1967 on a leave of absence from Chulalongkorn University, where he was an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Technology. He spent five years here in Fredericton, pursuing graduate studies in chemical engineering, and entering fully into the social life of the University. He was a popular resident of MacKenzie House and the indispensable goalie on the Chemical Engineering Soccer Team. An outstanding student, he concentrated on the study of Calcium Carbide solutions, the subject of his two theses and several papers which he coauthored with, among others, his U.N.B. supervisor, Professor David R. Morris. He earned his Master's degree in 1969 and his Ph.D. in 1972. In his last year of study in Canada, he won Second Prize in the Canadian Nuclear Association Graduate Student Competition for a paper on the monitoring of carbon in liquid sodium.
His impressive list of scholarly publications suggested future success in an academic career. However, once back in Thailand, Dr. Aksaranan's career shifted from the academic to the industrial. He went to work for M. Thai Industrial Co., a producer of calcium carbide, acetylene gas and lime. He moved quickly up the ranks until, after fourteen years with the company, he emerged as its director and chief executive officer. Today, he is Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, of the Thai Article Numbering Council, and of Chemmin Corporation, as well as the senior vice-president of the large Charoen Pokphand Group of companies. He is a board member of seventeen leading Southeast Asian companies ranging from banks to petrochemical producers. In 1992, he was named to the Thai Senate, befitting his impressive role as one of Thailand's most prominent executives.
We in Canada have only recently been introduced to the beauty and mystery of Thailand through the colorful pages of the award-winning book, Touch the Dragon, by former U.N.B. writer-in-residence, Karen Connelly. The fascinating picture she paints is rural and small-town, tropical splendor and ancient tradition. What we see in Chokchai Aksaranan's career is a contrasting image of a dynamic and modern industrial society, being shaped in no small part by Dr. Aksaranan and others like him. Senator Dr. Aksaranan is living proof of the power of creative scientific thought. He has contributed to, and been a significant part of, the industrializing miracle that is transforming the economy of all Southeast Asia. Through the application of ideas and processes learned in part at the University of New Brunswick, he is helping to build a better world. We salute him, and take enormous pride in his achievements.
From: Honoris Causa - UA Case 70, Box 3
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