Female scientists are often required to juggle their research and family responsibilities, researchers told an awards ceremony on Saturday, urging institutions to implement better work conditions for women.
Female researchers have been known to quickly return home to children from overseas events and work on their theses in a postpartum care center, National Taiwan University (NTU) distinguished professor Lin Yi-yi (林依依) said.
Lin, who won Most Outstanding Researcher at the 14th annual Taiwan Outstanding Women in Science awards ceremony, said that improving work conditions for female scientists would allow them to excel at their research, which in turn would benefit the nation.
Photo: Yang Mien-chieh, Taipei Times
The awards ceremony — held jointly by L’Oreal and the Wu Chien-shiung Education Foundation — recognizes female scientists for outstanding achievements in their field.
The Young Scientist of Excellence award was won by National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University assistant professor Wu Hsin-chieh (吳欣潔) and NTU assistant professor Chen Yun-nung (陳縕儂).
NTU post-doctoral researcher Chuang Tsao-chi (莊造奇) won a scholarship named for Meng Tsui-chu (孟粹珠), a woman who researched and taught at National Yang-Ming University.
Lin’s research, which includes satellite telemetry, the Earth’s atmosphere and the oceans, analyzes data from typhoon-hunter aircraft and advanced satellite telemetry to study the interaction between ocean waters and typhoons, as well as the effects of global warming on El Nino and La Nina weather phenomena.
Her work was recognized for its contributions to forecasting typhoons, the foundation said.
“Doing research makes me feel like I’m Alice in Wonderland. Every day, there are fascinating discoveries,” she said.
However, institutions must create better environments for female researchers with children, such as allowing meetings to be conducted online, she added.
Wu’s research studies green energy development and applications, including thermodynamics and pyroelectric materials. Her work has been subsidized by the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Wu said that she has had to overcome many obstacles, including being told that women “should not read too many books.”
However, her love of science pushed her to forget such comments and move ahead, she said.
Chen’s research studies natural languages and dialogue systems, and has been used to help artificial intelligence (AI) systems understand and analyze human languages.
She said that she was drawn to her research by a dream of developing speech-analysis systems that could be used in robots and smart home appliances.
There are disproportionately few women in AI research, Chen said, adding that more women should join the field.
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Carrefour Taiwan is to begin using a new name from the start of July, but it cannot divulge the name until then, the chairman of the supermarket chain's parent company said today. President Chain Store Co chairman Lo Chih-hsien (羅智先) was asked by reporters after a shareholders' meeting to confirm whether the company has settled on a new name for the supermarket brand. In March, the government-registered name of two Carrefour Taiwan branches was quietly changed to "Le Chia Kang" (樂家康) in Chinese, raising speculation that has been selected as the name. Lo said that because of local regulations and contractual obligations, the
RSS