The College of Science held a series of lectures delivered by renowned scholars in both pure and applied sciences last week. Speakers included Dr. Lee Yuan-Tseh, the President of Academia Sinica (AS), Dr. Chang Jun-Yen, the President of National Chiao-Tung University, Biologist Su Yuan-Zhi, and finally two AS research fellows, DR. Lin Sheng-hsian and Dr. Lin Ming-Chang.

Dr. Lee Yaun-Tseh spoke about his own experiences of growing up and how science became his calling. In this speech, students learned about his dedication to science and perseverance in looking for truth in research. Similar spirit could be found in the talk given by DR. Chang Jun-Yen, who addressed ethics and beauty in science. Both presentations reveal that science is not merely about facts, but also deals with humanity.

Dr. Su Yaun-Zhi, on the other hand, spoke about the application side of science. His own field is in Biotechnology and has thus developed several devices to contribute to this industry. Therefore, his talk dealt with the presence and future of Taiwan’s Biotechnology industry.

The other two speeches addresses new technologies rather than the industry. First, Dr. Ling Sheng hsian, illustrated the modern trends in photochemistry. Second, Dr. Lin Ming-Chang enlightened the audience with the new generation of cells for solar energy.

The organizer, Dr. Chian Fan-zhi, the Dean of the CS was very pleased with the variety of the topics his guests were able to deliver. He believes that students could only benefit from this kind of diverse input. (~ Ying-hsueh Hu )