Professor Supawan Tantayanon, chairwoman of the Council of Science and Technology Professionals of Thailand, has been honoured with an international award for her achievements in chemistry education.
Supawan: Created learning project
She was awarded the 2021 Distinguished Woman in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering from the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), earlier this month.
Prof Supawan, who also chairs the Science Society of Thailand under the patronage of His Majesty the King, was one of 12 women from around the world recognised with awards at the IUPAC World Chemistry Congress 2021.
She was recognised by the IUPAC for her "Dow Chemistry Classroom" programme, which is a project designed to promote the education of chemistry through the use of small-scale laboratory techniques.
The programme helps students and teachers utilise small amounts of both chemicals and time, while allowing them to feel secure as they conduct experiments.
Students participating in the programme can also conduct experiments themselves.
Some 1,000 schools in Thailand with more than 150,000 students have participated in the programme, which has spread to neighbouring countries, such as Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.
The project began in 2013 under a collaboration of the Chemical Society of Thailand (CST) and Dow Thailand Group.
Prof Supawan is a lecturer in the Department of Chemistry of Chulalongkorn University. She is a past chairperson of the Polymer Society of Thailand, Pacific Polymer Federation, the CST and Federation of Asian Chemical Societies.