Two university professors have won this year’s Taiwan-France Science and Technology Award for their cross-border, cross--discipline research on how to structure mathematical computing on traditional acupuncture practices.
Professor Tony Sheu (許文翰) of National Taiwan University (NTU) and Marc Thiriet, a professor at the Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris, won the prestigious award for their leadership in research on biofluid modeling and simulation.
The research focused on the structural development of mathematical modeling of acupuncturing and an acoustics--thermal-fluid coupling model for the prediction of temperature in liver tumors.
Sheu and Thiriet have worked together for more than a decade researching biofluid modeling and simulation.
In recent years, they have focused on research into the mathematical modeling on the clinical results of radiofrequency ablation in liver tumors, as well as in high-intensity focused ultrasound therapy.
They have led their teams to better understand blood flow in aneurysms and have developed computer simulation techniques to study the effects of acoustic waves on blood flow in capillaries and the biomechanics of an acupuncture needle in the collagen fibers under the skin.
The two professors have also devoted much time to student exchanges between NTU and the Pierre and Marie Curie University, offering summer courses and organizing Taiwan-France workshops, according to the award sponsors.
Upon receiving the award, Sheu, a professor with NTU’s Scientific Computing and Cardiovascular Simulation Lab and the Taida Institute of Mathematical Sciences, said he would continue to work with Thiriet over the next three years.
Thiriet took the initiative to launch the acupuncture computing study after he was inspired by his wife’s qi gong, Sheu said.
NTU students have traditionally traveled to France for study and research, Sheu said, noting that from this year a doctoral candidate from France will come to Taiwan for study and research on a yearly basis.
The Taiwan-France Science and Technology Award, now in its 13th year, was created jointly by Taiwan’s National Science Council and France’s Academie des Sciences.
Taiwanese Representative to France Michel Lu (呂慶龍) said France is now Taiwan’s most important scientific research partner, apart from the US.
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