Quanta Computer founder Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday received the Ministry of Science and Technology’s First Class Science and Technology Profession Medal for his work in developing artificial intelligence (AI).
Minister of Science and Technology Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) said Lam was its first awardee after creating the system of gold, silver and bronze medals in July last year to honor people who have made outstanding contributions to science and technology.
Lam was chosen as he is a “missionary” for AI technology, the development of which is one of the ministry’s key policies, Chen said at the award ceremony at the ministry in Taipei.
Although some academics have criticized Chen for putting excessive emphasis on AI development over other branches of science, Chen said that developing AI could help sharpen core abilities across disciplines.
Academia Sinica academician and data scientist Kung Hsiang-Tsung (孔祥重) and Synopsys president Chan Chi-foon (陳志寬) are the other two recipients of a gold medal, the ministry said, adding that it is to hold their award ceremonies at a later date.
Quanta, along with Taiwan Mobile and Asustek Computer, is one of the ministry’s partners in developing the Taiwan Computing Cloud platform, which began commercial operations in October and is managed by the National Center for High-performance Computing.
Lam said that he was excited when Chen invited him to help develop the cloud platform, whose technical requirements, including adopting liquid cooling facilities, were stricter than other nations’ efforts.
Quanta was formed in 1988 to manufacture computers and related components, but new challenges and opportunities are pushing it to switch to an information and knowledge-based business by taking advantage of AI tools, Lam said.
Developing user-centric solutions in smart medicine, smart transportation, smart manufacturing, smart agriculture and smart entertainment is the company’s strategy to “reinvent” itself, he said.
It established the Quanta Medicine and Technology Foundation earlier this year in a bid to develop AI infrastructure for hospitals and precision medicine for everyone, he added.
An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday. If TSMC forms a joint venture with its US rival, it faces the risk of technology outflow, said Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at the Taiwan Industry Economics Database of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. A report by international financial services firm Baird said that Asia semiconductor supply chain talks suggest that the US government would
Starlux Airlines on Tuesday announced it is to launch new direct flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Ontario, California, on June 2. The carrier said it plans to deploy the new-generation Airbus A350 on the Taipei-Ontario route. The Airbus A350 features a total of 306 seats, including four in first class, 26 in business class, 36 in premium economy and 240 in economy. According to Starlux’s initial schedule, four flights would run between Taoyuan and Ontario per week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights are to depart from Taoyuan at 8:05pm and arrive in California at 5:05pm (local time), while return flights
Nearly 800 Indian tourists are to arrive this week on an incentive tour organized by Indian company Asian Painted Ltd, making it the largest tour group from the South Asian nation to visit since the COVID-19 pandemic. The travelers are scheduled to arrive in six batches from Sunday to Feb. 25 for five-day tours, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The tour would take the travelers, most of whom are visiting Taiwan for the first time, to several tourist sites in Taipei and Yilan County, including tea houses in Taipei’s Maokong (貓空), Dadaocheng (大稻埕) and Ximending (西門町) areas. They would also visit
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
RSS