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NSYSU researchers’ won the most grants of 2021 Taiwan-Belgium Joint Exchange Project among institutions in Taiwan

2021-01-22

International teams of researchers of National Sun Yat-sen University collaborating with Belgian partners won the most grants – three out of eight – of the 2021 Taiwan-Belgium Joint Exchange Project among academic institutions in Taiwan. This proves the excellent research capacity of the University and its strong ties with international partners.

The 2021 Taiwan-Belgium Joint Exchange Project provides two-year funding for outstanding collaborative research projects between Taiwanese and Belgian researchers to encourage bilateral fundamental research and promote the exchange of knowledge. The funding is provided by Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and Belgium’s FWO (Research Foundation – Flanders) and F.R.S.-FNRS (Fund for Scientific Research). NSYSU’s three winning teams are led by Associate Professor Yuan-Pin Chang of the Department of Oceanography (funding by MOST and F.R.S.-FNRS), Chairman and Distinguished Professor of the Department of Photonics Tsung-Hsien Lin and Director of the Institute of Political Science Professor Frank Cheng-Shan Liu (funding by MOST and FWO).

The funding will enable the PI Associate Professor Yuan-Pin Chang, Co-PI Associate Scientist of Taiwan Ocean Research Institute Pai-Sen Yu, and PI Professor Qiuzhen Yin of the Earth and Life Institute, Catholic University of Leuven, to conduct research on the hydroclimate scenarios of the unusually long interglacial Marine Isotope Stage 15-13 (620 000-470 000 years ago). The scientists aim at advancing our understanding of the role of tropical ocean on global climate and providing a new perspective that will be crucial for exploring the underlying mechanisms of hydroclimate changes, their relevance and implications for future regional-to-global climate changes.

The PI Professor Tsung-Hsien Lin with Co-PIs Professor Yeo-Wan Chiang of the Department of Materials and Optoelectronic Science and Assistant Professor Chun-Ta Wang the Department of Photonics collaborate with Professor Kristiaan Neyts of the Liquid Crystals and Photonics Group, Ghent University, on the structured photo-alignment effect in biomimicry photonic crystals. The bilateral project aims at the interaction between photo‐alignment patterns and the obtained self‐reassembly of 3D photonic crystal structures. The structured photo‐alignment technique developed by Ghent University will enable the generation of substrates with variable surface‐anchoring and periodical pattern to enhance the properties of the extraordinarily large 3D photonic crystals based on self‐assembled materials, recently demonstrated by NSYSU researchers.

Professor Frank Cheng-Shan Liu as PI, with Assistant Professor Jinhyeok Jang of the Institute of Political Science and Assistant Professor Yihuang Kang of the Department of Information Management, together with the team of the Catholic University of Leuven PI Professor Leen d'Haenens and postdoctoral researcher Thomas Frissen of the Institute for Media Studies and PhD student at the Centre for Sociological Research David De Coninck will explore and compare the social polarization and political trust during the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium and Taiwan to understand how citizens’ political preferences change and radicalize under pressure and chaotic phenomena. The researchers will try to understand public’s political behavior, attitudes toward political leaders, and the consolidation or destabilization of trust in the government to assess how democracy could function and consolidate.

NSYSU actively engages in international student and researchers’ exchange, partnering with 264 universities in 43 countries, including four Belgian universities Catholic University of Leuven, Ghent University, Free University of Brussels, and the University of Liege.
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