My family calls me Namtarn, although my official name is Kornchawal Chaipah. Namtarn means sugar in Thai and Kornchawal means prosperity or shine with moonlight. (Guess what time I was born ;))
I was raised in Khon Kaen, Thailand since I was 2-3 years old. I lived in a house on Khon Kaen University campus, where my mom planted lots of trees around the house. We moved out 7-8 years ago and are now living in a house in Khon Kaen surburb. (Mom still plants lots of trees ^^) My dad has already been retired and my mom will be soon. My only sister is a dentist and she has 2 cute boys who are 6 and 4 years old (in 2010).
I was lucky enough to get the Royal Thai Scholarship to pursue my higher education in the US. I did my undergrad and MS at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA. Now I am soon to finish my PhD work with Prof. Hyong S. Kim, also at Carnegie Mellon. My work is on the study of user's email behaviors and email prioritization.
After my graduation, I will work in my hometown, Khon Kaen. I will exercise my passion in teaching as a lecturer in the Computer Engineering Department, Khon Kaen University. I am also very interested in applying my system design knowledge to help improve education and health care systems in Thailand, especially in rural areas.
(Photo by Kanat Tangwongsan)