BANGKOK, 13 June 2011- Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn has become the 25th recipient of the Honorary Doctor’s Degree from the D. Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia (MUCTR) after 50 years of the establishment of the diploma at this institute.
The degree was presented to Her Royal Highness during her official visit to Russia from 4-13 June 2011, made at the invitation of the Russian government. MUCTR president academician Pavel Sarkisov said in the citation that the Princess has evidently devoted herself to scientific development useful to mankind. The 130-year-old university, which is situated in Moscow and currently having about 10,000 students from 30 countries, has so far granted the honorary doctor’s degree to only 24 persons including former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
A day earlier to this presentation, Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn was also conferred with the N.D. Zelinsky award by the Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry (ZIOC) established this year to mark the 150th birthday of its founder, Mr Nikolay Dimitrievich Zelinsky. This special prize is awarded only to those who bring an outstanding contribution to the development of chemical science, engineering and education. Director of the ZIOC Prof M P Egorov said HRH Princess Chulabhorn was selected to be the first recipient of the prize because of her outstanding achievements in chemistry which have been applied to educational and environmental development of Thailand.
During her visit to the two institutes, Princess Chulabhorn, in her capacity as president of the Chulabhorn Research Institute, also discussed future cooperation between her institute and the two Russian academies. Her Royal Highness also invited them to send representatives to the 7th Princess Chulabhorn Congress to be organized in Thailand by the Chulabhorn Research Institute in November 2011. Her Royal Highness mentioned at a dinner reception held in her honour that although this was her first visit to Russia, it laid groundwork for long-term academic cooperation between Thai and Russian universities and promoted closer relationship between the two countries.
While in Russia, Her Royal Highness also visited the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography in St.Petersburg, which was the first museum in Russia and is one of the oldest in the world. Her Royal Highness particularly paid attention to royal souvenirs that King Rama V presented to Tsar Nicholas II when he visited Thailand as the heir to the Russian Throne in 1891.
At the museum, Her Royal Highness presented two pieces of Thai traditional instruments — a three-stringed fiddle and a Chinese zither, as tokens of her visit and long-standing friendship between Thailand and Russia.
Later on in her program of visit, Her Royal Highness was also scheduled to receive an honorary doctor’s degree from St. Petersburg State University, one of the most prestigious universities in Russia.
