A documentary featuring Taiwan’s scientific accomplishments over the past half-century will premiere tomorrow as part of the government’s efforts to attract students to the world of science, an official said yesterday.
“The 13-part series documents Taiwan’s scientific development over the past 50 years, focusing on 26 major research projects,” said Chang Wen-chang (張文昌), vice minister of the National Science Council (NSC), which funded the documentary.
In addition to promoting scientific research, Chang said, the NSC is also tasked with popularizing scientific knowledge and inspiring public interest in science.
“The series presents our country’s scientific developments and research achievements in a lucid manner to make them accessible to viewers,” Chang said.
He said Taiwan tops the world in many scientific research fields.
One part of the series is dedicated to FORMOSAT-2, an Earth observation satellite. It is a high-resolution photographic surveillance satellite with a daily revisit capability that produces high-resolution images that are especially useful in rescue and relief operations.
The series also includes a segment featuring Taiwanese medical researchers who successfully helped the fight against hepatitis B, which used to be known as “Taiwan’s national disease.”
Another part introduces the achievements of a Chelungpu (車龍埔) Fault drilling project that aims to obtain a physical sample of the fault where large displacements occurred during the devastating earthquake of Sept. 21, 1999, and measure the physical properties and mechanical behavior of the rocks above and below the fault zone to thoroughly document the state of the stresses that exist in the rocks following such a large event.
The series also includes a segment featuring a research team headed by National Chiao Tung University president Peter Wu (吳重雨) that has developed a microchip that can help restore sight to the visually impaired. The microchips replace retinal cells damaged by disease and have passed clinical trials in the US.
The series will be aired on the Eastern TV Financial News Channel (ETFNC) for 13 weeks from tomorrow, Chang said, adding that a DVD version would also be produced for distribution to schools along with supplementary teaching materials.
The NSC also plans to select four segments to be given English subtitles so that they can be broadcast abroad to help people in other country’s understand Taiwan’s scientific achievements, Chang said.
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