Nyima Zhaxi--Pioneer of Computer Science in TibetNyima Zhaxi, one of the "Ten Excellent Youths in Tibet," has made great contributions to the development of computer science in west China's Tibet Autonomous Region."Tibet, my homeland, known as 'a place isolated from the modern world' in the past, is now linked closely to the world with the help of the computer," said Nyima, who is also the youngest associate professor at Tibet University, the first comprehensive university in the region. Nowadays, computers have become a popular household appliance in Tibet and Internet bars can be found in most downtown areas. In the past, Tibet, known as the "roof of the world" was less developed in the fields of science and technology. Nyima, a native Tibetan who had never left home before he entered East China Normal University in east China's Shanghai Municipality, saw a computer for the first time in his life while on campus. Most of his classmates came from better developed regions in China and had acquired basic computer knowledge before they entered the school. After graduation, Nyima launched his career at Tibet University and developed the first human power management system for the school. In October, 1992, he completed a three-year study on the information processing in Chinese versions, and succeeded in developing a information processing system, which made the Tibetan language recognizable to a computer system. Currently, Tibet University has adopted the system to print teaching materials in the areas of physics, chemistry and biology and edit the Tibetan folk epic "King Gesser," the longest epic in the world. In 1997, Nyima and his colleagues worked out a coding method for the Tibetan language, which received authentication by International Standardization Organization (ISO). |
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