| Posted: February 20, 2008 |
Taiwan to allot NT$23 billion for nanoscience, nanotechnology R&D |
|
(Nanowerk News) The government is planning to appropriate NT$23 billion (US$726 million) to fund the second stage of the "Taiwan National Science and Technology Program for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology" slated for 2009-2014, officials at the cabinet-level National Science Council (NSC) said Tuesday.
|
|
The first stage, which began in 2003 with NT$17.8 billion in funding, will conclude by the end of this year, officials told reporters.
|
|
In the first phase, more than 4,000 science research papers have been generated to date, dozens of top-notch research teams were initiated, and ties between industry, university, and research institutions have been strengthened, they said.
|
|
Program Director Wu Maw-kuen, who is also the director of the Institute of Physics under Taiwan's top research institute Academia Sinica, said the program office is now working on the outlines of the next phase by determining which items of research are worth further financial support.
|
|
Wu said the focus of the next stage will be nano- electronic and optoelectronic technology, nano-scale instruments, nanotechnology for energy and environmental applications, nano-scale biomedical research, and the various technologies' utilization in potential and traditional industries.
|
|
According to the science council, so far completed research projects under the auspices of the program include the visualization of circuits and gene expression patterns in the whole Drosophila (fruit fly) brain, the target drug for diabetes, and nano porosity materials for cell marking and gene therapy.
|
|
And those that have already been used in pilot production or mass production include various materials, equipment, machinery, components and instruments using related nanotechnologies developed by Taiwanese researchers, according to the council.
|
|
Some of the items have great commercial potential, science council officials said.
|
|
They said TAK Technology Co., a local company which received the technology of LiNiCoO2 anode production from the Hsinchu-based Industrial Technology Research Institute, had generated a production value of NT$1.5 billion last year, and the estimated production value for 2009 is expected to reach NT$3 billion. (By Zep Hu)
|
