In order to raise the bar of teaching and research standard at TKU, the university purchased a German made 600MHz Fourier Transformation Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer (FT-NMR) with a budget of over NT$ 20,000,000. This high-tech instrument analyzes chemical structure with high precision and is a prize possession of only two other institutions on this island—National Tsing Hwa University and Academia Sinica.

Despite the huge investment, the returns of this purchase are numerous and can be immediate, according to Chen Kan-nan, the Dean of the College of Sciences, who believes in the Chinese saying that “Good craft requires sharp tools”. Since this NMR is able to break down chemical elements to their smallest particles for investigation, any research conducted with data gathered with such an analysis is sure to produce world quality results. Therefore, Dr. Chen has set his sight on having more research papers of SCI standard written in the future. Such an instrument, he reminds everyone, is also very useful for biochemical, life science and nano-technology research so any scientists in these fields are encouraged to take advantage of this investment.

The planning of purchasing this NMR started approximately three years ago when realizing that existing equipment could no long deal with high-precision analysis. A special committee was set up then for finding the best NMR on the market, so after three years of careful investigation and appraisals, a German one made by Brucker was finally selected for their quality and reliable after-sale service.