Regional Committee

Marshall Cyriacus Noble Jayasuriya (2012-2014)
98/M/47, Scenic View,
Kahantota Road,
Malabe, Sri Lanka
Tel: (+94 11) 2413335 / 2964170
Fax: (+ 94 11) 2694754
E-mail: nj8583@gmail.com

M.C.N. Jayasuriya is an Animal Nutritionist with a basic degree in Agriculture from the University of Ceylon (1968) and a PhD from the University of Reading, UK (1974). His areas of specialization includes the development and application of analytical and diagnostic laboratory techniques in animal production, in vitro and invo feed evaluation techniques, the improved utilization of locally available feed resources and the development of feed supplementation packages, and the use of nuclear techniques in animal nutrition and reproduction research. Having served the University of Peradeniya as an Associate Professor of Animal Science, he joined the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of the International Atomic Energy Agency of the United Nations in 1984 and served both the FAO and the IAEA for over 14 years. During this period he travelled widely in developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America providing technical expertise in the use of nuclear techniques in animal nutrition and reproduction. On his return to Sri Lanka he was recruited as the Director, National Science and Technology Commission in (2001) and then as Director, National Science Foundation (2004), both being institutions coming under the purview of the Ministry of Science and Technology. Dr. Jayasuriya is life member of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science and a Chartered Biologist and Fellow of the Institute of Biology, United Kingdom.

Prof. Toshio Yamagata (2011-2013)
The University of Tokyo,
Hongo7-3-1, Bunkyo-ku,
Tokyo, Japan, 113-0033
Tel: (+81 35) 8414297
Fax: (+81 35) 8418791
Email: yamagata@eps.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Prof. Yamagata is known well among the world climate research community by his outstanding contributions to the following topics: modeling and analysis of ocean-atmosphere coupled phenomena including ENSO and Indian Ocean Dipole discovered by his group for WCRP (World Climate Research Program), simulation of variability in the world oceans, particularly Pacific and Indian Oceans, using a high-resolution ocean general circulation model for GOOS (Global Ocean Observing System) and simulation of the Indonesian Throughflow. He is currently involved in seasonal prediction using a global coupled model and its application for human security under JICA's ODA (Overseas Development Aid). He is also known to have introduced the Japan-US climate center named International Pacific Research Center in the Univ. of Hawaii in 1997. He received several outstanding international awards such as the Sverdrup Gold Medal for his research initiatives. Prof. Yamagata has published about 200 articles in peer-reviewed international journals in physical oceanography and climate dynamics. He has contributed to various activities in the western Pacific region under IOC/UNESCO and has worked to foster ocean climate research among young scientists in Asia. His expertise in climate research and science management will greatly contribute to RCAP, particularly in the environmental issues.

Prof. Soottiporn Chittmittrapap (2011-2013)
196 Phaholyothin Road, Chatuchak,
Bangkok 10900
Thailand
Tel: (+66 25) 792280
Fax: (+66 25) 613049
Email : soottiporn@nrct.go.th

Professor Soottiporn Chittmittrapap MD is a Professor in Pediatric Surgery, Chulalongkorn University and Secretary General of the National Research Council of Thailand. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and of the Royal College of Surgeons Thailand. From 1996 to 2000 he was Vice President Academic Affairs of Chulalongkorn University while from 2004 to 2009 he was its Vice President, Research and International Affairs. Soottiporn has had an illustrious career and received many awards including the Gold Medal Award of Royal College of Surgeons of England, and the International Scholar Award of the American College of Surgeons. He was a Freeman Foundation Scholar. His experience in high-level academic, graduate education and research administration spans more than 10 years. He has vast experience in working with international science and technology organizations and has been the Chair of the Executive Board, Asian Research Center, of the Korean Foundation, President, Korean Studies Association of Southeast Asia (KSASA) and, President, Asian Association of Pediatric Surgeons. He was also Director, First Aid and Health Care Training Center, Thai Red Cross Society (2001 – 2010) and Director, Continuing Medical Education Center, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University (2000-2009).

Jianxin Zhang (2011-2013)
Institute of Psychology
#A4, DaTun Road, BeiShaTan, ChaoYang District
Beijing 100101
China
Tel: (+86 13) 910192526
Fax: (+ 86 10) 64872070
Email: zhangjx@psych.ac.cn

Dr Zhang is not only an expert in psychology and social science, but also quite active in participating activities of international organizations. As President-elect of Asian Association of Social Psychology, he made great contribution in promoting international cooperation of social psychology in Asia-Pacific region. Meanwhile, as representing CAST, largest S&T org in China, CAST will provide full support to him and to the committe as well.Personality Research: Originating and standardizing the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI) which includes some indigenous personality constructs; adapting and standardizing the Chinese MMPI-2; exploring the fitness of the “BIG FIVE” model with Chinese people; adapting the Chinese General Self-Efficacy Scale. Social Psychology: Distinguishing the concepts of general trust from that of specific trust, and demonstrating that specific (target-based) trust plays more important roles in Chinese interpersonal behavior. Mental Health: a large scale of investigation mental health among Chinese people across mainland China. Standards of psychological development of Chinese infants of 0-6 year old: over 12,000 infants(children) were measured and their parents were investigated on physical-cognitive-emotional-social indicators, a national norm was established based on the sample.

Prof Javed Iqbal (2011-2013)
Institute of Life Sciences University of Hyderabad Campus,
Hyderabad 500 046
India
Tel: (+91 40) 66571571
Fax (+91 40) 66571581
Email: jiqbal@ilsresearch.org

Prof. Iqbal has contributed significantly in the area of catalysis in organic synthesis and synthesis of natural products. Apart from the synthesis of biologically active natural products, his research activities has also focused around development of new catalysts based on cobalt leading to a versatile oxidation reaction using molecular oxygen. His research group has also worked on mimics of protein motifs by synthesizing small cyclic peptides having beta-turns or helical structures. He led a group of 150 medicinal chemists at DRL and his research activities there involved design and synthesis of small molecules to modulate disease targets like PPAR, AMPK, JNK, Raf and Aurora kinases. Two of the drugs discovered by his group at Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd (DRL) is undergoing phase I clinical trials in Canada and UK. He has guided 25 PhD students (12 while working at DRL) and has published more than 200 research papers and has filed 45 patents in the area of diabetes, infectious diseases, cancer. Having worked in academia and pharmaceutical industry, Prof Iqbal possesses unique expertise in basic and translational research in the area of Organic Chemistry and Drug Discovery.

Lourdes J. Cruz (2012-2014)
Vice-President
Marine Science Institute
University of the Philippines
Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Philippines
Email: lourdesj.cruz@gmail.com; lulycruzj@yahoo.com

Dr. Cruz is Professor Emeritus of the University of the Philippines (UP) and Vice President of the National Research Council of the Philippines (NRCP). She is a National Scientist, a member of the National Academy of Science & Technology (NAST) of the Philippines, and a fellow of the Third World Academy of Sciences. A pioneer in Conus venom research, she is known for the discovery and elucidation of the biochemical and molecular nature of toxins from Conus marine snail, which are now used as pharmacological tools in the study of brain function and in drug development. Her research activities include toxins involved in harmful algal blooms. She links science and technology to poor rural communities and indigenous tribes through conservation, reforestation and bioresource management efforts. Dr. Cruz served for 12 years as the delegate of the Philippine Society for Biochemistry & Molecular Biology (PSBMB) to the federation, FAOBMB and for nine years as delegate to the international union, IUBMB. Her three international awards include the Sven Brohult Award of the International Foundation for Science (IFS) in 1993, ASEAN Outstanding Scientist & Technologist in 2001 and the L'Oreal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science in 2010.

Keith Hunter (2012-2014)
Pro- Vice-Chancellor
Division of Sciences
University of Otago
Box 56, Dunedin, New Zealand
E-mail: keith.hunter@otago.ac.nz

Professor Hunter is the Pro Vice Chancellor, Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. He has been a member of the Department of Chemistry since 1979, and was Head of Department from 2005-2009. He is New Zealand's leading scientist in the field of marine and freshwater chemistry. His research interests include the effects of trace metals, both essential and toxic, on the growth of phytoplankton; the marine chemistry of the major greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide and marine surfaces (air-water, sediment-water). He directs the joint NIWA-University of Otago Centre of Excellence for Chemical and Physical Oceanography based in the Department of Chemistry, and is involved in several PGSF-funded research programmes. Prof Hunter's teaching activities include marine and freshwater chemistry at graduate level, and at undergraduate level, analytical and aqueous solution chemistry. He is an elected Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry and of the Royal Society of New Zealand, and is currently a member of the Academy Executive of RSNZ. He is a New Zealand delegate to SCOR and a member of GESAMP Working Group 38, The Atmospheric Input of Chemicals to the Ocean. Together with Professor David Turner, University of Goteborg, he was a co-chair of the joint SCOR-IUPAC Working Group 109, The Biogeochemistry of Iron in Seawater.

Togtokh Chuluun (2012-2014)
Professor, National University of Mongolia
Science Director of Green Development Policy Institute
Ulaanbaatar, MONGOLIA
E-mail: chuluun@warnercnr.colostate.edu

Dr. Chuluun Togtokh is a Professor at the National University of Mongolia since 2002, Science Director of Green Development Policy Institute. T. Chuluun received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in theoretical physics from the Har’kov State University, Ukraine (1977) and his PhD in theoretical and mathematical biophysics from the Moscow State University, Russia (1991). He was postdoc at Colorado State University in ecosystem science in 1991. Dr. Chuluun was involved in the Earth System studies since early 1990s, working in areas of land use and cover change, and global land project, serving as a Vice-Chair of the Global Change National Committee of Mongolia since 2006 and Science Steering Committee Member of the Land Use in Temperate East Asia and the Monsoon Asia Integrated Regional Study (MAIRS) since 2009. Dr. Chuluun’s research activities address adaptation, resilience and sustainability issues of social-ecological systems at local, national and regional scales. His research was funded by the US National Science Foundation, NASA, the European Commission EuropeAid Cooperation Office and Asia-Pacific Network on Global Environmental Change. He edited books, authored over 100 papers related to physical, biological, ecological and social-ecological systems. Dr. Chuluun teaches graduate courses in ecosystem science, global environmental change and sustainable development. He was involved in policy making, working as a Director of Regional Settlement Planning Division of the Ministry of Construction and Urban Development (2004-2006), as an Advisor to the President of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences (1991), to the Minister for Nature and Environment (1996-1998) and to the Minister for Urban Development and Construction (2006-2007), and Science Committee Member of the Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism since 2009.

B.V.R. Chowdari (2012-2014)
Department of Physics
National University of Singapore (NUS)
Singapore
Email: phychowd@nus.edu.sg

Professor Chowdari is Professor of Physics at the Department of Physics, National University of Singapore (NUS) and Executive Director of National University of Singapore (NUS) - India Research Initiatives (IRI), an office set up exclusively for facilitating interactions between NUS and Indian Universities and Institutes of higher learning. Concurrently he is the Executive Director of Global Enterprise for Micro-Mechanics and Molecular Medicine (GEM4), President of the International Union of Materials Research Societies (IUMRS), Asian Society for Solid State Ionics (ASSI) and Materials Research Society of Singapore (MRS Singapore). He has been Chairman of the biennial International Conference on materials for Advanced Technologies series since 2001, and is Chair of the inaugural IUMRS – ICYRAM 2012 (International Conference of Young Researchers on Advanced Materials) that will be held in Singapore in July, 2012. His current field of research focuses on condensed matter physics and materials science. He is on the editorial board of Solid State Ionics, Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry, Journal of Materials Education and Materials Research Foundations.

Ex Officio:

Mohd Nordin Hasan
International Council for Science (ICSU)
Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific
902-4, Jalan Tun Ismail
50480 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Tel : +603 26984192
Fax : +603 26917961
Email: nordin.hasan@icsu-asia-pacific.org

Nordin Hasan has been involved in research on the ecosystem approach in environmental management and biodiversity conservation at the local and international levels. He has led research in the health of a large scale ecosystems in Malaysia and in the development of ecosystem status indicators at the international level. He is a Commissioner with the Commission on Ecosystem Management ( CEM ) of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and was the Founding Director of the Institute for Environment and Development (LESTARI), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (The National University of Malaysia), President of the Environmental Management and Research Association of Malaysia, President of the Malaysian Society of Applied Biology and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Worldwide Fund for Nature, Malaysia. He is Emeritus Professor (Environment and Development), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and is an elected Fellow of the Academy of Sciences Malaysia . He has been awarded the Rotary International Research Foundation Gold Medal for Excellence in Research and Development on the Environment.

Ex Officio:

Prof. Ahmad Fadzil M. Hani (2011-2013)
Centre for Intelligent Signal and Imaging Research
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
31750 Tronoh, Perak
Malaysia
Tel: +605 368 8787
Fax: +605 368 8151
Email: fadzmo@petronas.com.my; fadzmo@gmail.com

Professor Fadzil is an expert in the area of image processing and computer vision.  His research ranges from fundamental pattern recognition to developing vision applications such as in retinal vasculature imaging for grading severity of diabetic retinopathy and digital analysis leading to objective assessment for treatment efficacy of ulcer wounds and psoriasis.  His current research relates to the development of new analysis techniques for early osteoarthritis using qMRI, and bio-optics for skin pigments. He was the Dean of School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Universiti Sains Malaysia (1992-1996), Dean of Engineering Studies (1997-1999), Director of Academic Studies (1999-2003) and Director of Postgraduate Studies (2003-2005), Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS. As the General Manager (Frontier Technology) at PETRONAS Research (2007-2009), he headed its research and development on renewable technologies.  Currently he is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) of Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS. He is a Fellow, Institution of Engineers Malaysia, a Professional Engineer with the Board of Engineers Malaysia, a Senior Member of the Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Inc., US, a Fellow and a Council Member of the Academy of Sciences, Malaysia.  He is also a Director, ViTrox Corporation Bhd. that develops and manufactures automated vision inspection systems.  He leads the Centre for Intelligent Signal and Imaging Systems Research and is the Director for the Mission-oriented Research in Biomedical Technology at Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS.

Ex Officio:

Academician Dr.Guoxiong Wu
LASG, Institute of Atmospheric Physics,
Chinese Academy of Sciences,
P.O. BOx 9804, Beijing,1000029
China
Tel: +86-10-82995266
Fax: +86-10-82995172
Email: gxwu@lasg.iap.ac.cn

Dr. Wu, Academician and Life Tenure Professor of CAS, is the Director of the Academic Committee of LASG, CAS. He Graduated from Nanjing Institute of Meteorology in 1966, and commenced Ph. D. in 1983 from the Department of Physics, Imperial College of Science and Technology, London University, United Kingdom. He worked as a Visiting Scientist at ECMWF from 1983 to 1984; and as a Senior Visiting Research Professor at GFDL/AOS Program at Princeton University in United States from 1989 to 1991. He is the President of IAMAS and Officer of the WCRP/JSC. His main interest includes weather and climate dynamics.

Ex Officio:

Steven Wilson
International Council for Science (ICSU)
5, rue Auguste Vacquerie, 75016 Paris
Tel: +33-0-1452591
Fax: +33-0-142889431
Email: steven.wilson@icsu.org

Steven Wilson is the ICSU Executive Director. He took up his position in April 2012. Previously, from 1998 to 2012, he worked for the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the main funder of environmental research in the UK. At NERC, prior to a period as the interim Chief Executive, he was the Director, Strategy & Partnerships with responsibility for the development and implementation of NERC Science & Innovation Strategy. As part of his role, he helped found the Belmont Forum of international environmental research funders, later becoming its co-chair and secured a number of national and international partnerships. Prior to this he was NERC Director of Earth Observation and, in this period, he led the British National Space Centre Earth Observation activities, represented the UK environmental science community at the European Space Agency (ESA), as well as Chairing the ESA Earth Observation Programme Board. Steven has also worked for the UK Met Office (1995 to 1998) where he developed and used simulators for future satellite instrumentation on the Office's Hercules research aircraft. Steven took his first degree at St John's College, Oxford (Chemistry) and his PhD at the University of Bristol, where his research focused on molecular photodissociation dynamics.