Danish man seeks to help Amerasians in Taiwan find their fathers

Danish traveller Brian Hjort didn't plan on going to Vietnam in 1992,
but the trip changed his life. In a chance meeting with an Amerasian
man he met in Ho Chi Minh City, a dream -- and a personal lifelong
mission -- was born: helping to bring Amerasian people from all over
Asia in touch with their American fathers or other relatives. Using
Internet outreach and a dedicated website, coupled with frequent trips
to Vietnam, Hjort has become a kind of accidental angel helping to
bring peace of mind to the adult children of American fathers who
fought or served in the military in Southeast Asia and Japan.

"Amerasian" is a word coined by Pearl S. Buck, the famous American
novelist, who first used the word in 1964 when talking about children fathered (and often abandonned) by American soldiers in South Korea during the Korean War in the 1950s. Taiwan has a small population, mostly invisible, of Amerasian adults whose mothers were Taiwanese and whose fathers served with the U.S. military in Taiwan during the 1960s and 1970s.

Lam Goc Mai is an Amerasian woman from Vietnam, in her early 40s now, who came to Taiwan ten years ago to marry a Taiwanese bachelor. In Chiayi City, where she lives and works in a popular hot pot restaurant near the central train station, the lanky, now-divorced Lam cuts a singular figure with her golden locks and mostly-Caucasian features. And yet she speaks little English, is fluent in the Vietnamese of her native country and has, of course, learned to speak Chinese and Taiwanese while living in Taiwan and raising a daughter, now seven.

When a reporter asked Lam if she ever knew her American father, a U.S. soldier during the Vietnam War, she explains that he went back to his native land before she was born and has never contacted the family since.

"I have never even seen his photograph," she says. "My mother destroyed all his photos after he left her, so I have no idea who he was or where he lives today, or even if he is alive. Sure, I would love to find out someday who my father is. My life is okay, but there is one part still missing. I am afraid I will never find it."


Although Hjort has not yet visited Taiwan, he is aware of Amerasian
adults like Ms. Lam in Taiwan, and has been in contact with a few of them by email, he said.

He hopes to visit Taipei in the near future in his role as friendship
ambassador to American people worldwide. It's a mission that began
without a real plan over 15 years ago, and now Hjost -- who is not an
American and was only four years old when the Vietnam War ended in
1975 -- has plans to keep his non-profit mission alive for the rest of
his life.



Born and raised on an island off the coast of Denmark, Hjort now lives
in Malmoe, Sweden with his Peruvian wife of eight years and their
daughter, now six. In a recent email, he explained why he has Taiwan
on his itinerary and what he hopes to achieve here.

"Over the years, I have been involved with some cases of Amerasians from
Thailand, the Philippines, South Korea and Japan, in addition to Vietnam,
where this work began for me," he said. "But I never got many
inquiries or responses from Amerasians in Taiwan, other than one
person who father served with the CIA there. But I am aware of that
there are some, maybe many, Amerasians living in Taiwan who might want
help finding their fathers or their fathers' relatives, just to make
contact and know more about their heritage."

Hjort is the most unlikely of independent international aid workers.
He studied to be a blacksmith in Denmark as a teenager, but an
accident that later damaged his eyes made that line of work impossible
to take on. His day job now is in a furniture factory in Sweden,
painting chairs and tables, and the salary he takes home allows him to
provide for his wife and daughter while also keeping his dream of
reaching out to Amerasians alive.

The man also likes to travel.

"I've been all over, to Laos and Cambodia and
the Philippines, through north Africa, across the United States by
bus, and down to Mexico and Paraguay and Brazil and Peru, which is
where I met my wife," he said. "I spent some time in London, too."

When asked what drew him to work first with Amerasians in Vietnam,
Hjort explained that he knew very little about the Vietnam War or the
U.S. role in it since he was born in Denmark just four years before
the war ended in 1975. But on a backpacking trip through Thailand in
the early 1990s, Hjorst heard that Vietnam
was beginning to open up to tourists so he arranged for a visa and
flew to Ho Chi Minh City.

"I met a lot of Amerasians right away in Vietnam then, but one guy I
met, an Amerasian with an American passport, started me off on my
mission, in an indirect way. His name is Doan
Thanh Vu, or Arnold Doan, and I first met by chance outside the
Amerasian Transit Center in Ho Chi Minh City. He becmae my friend and
helped me navigate the side streets of old Saigon, and he once sort of
saved my life when a local gang was set on attacking me and taking my
money. Arnold heard about the upcoming attack from his friends and
arranged for a bunch of Amerasians took protect me as my bodyguards.
To this day, I feel that Arnold's actions, and the group of bodyguards
he assembled, saved my life, and you know, I never forgot what they
did for me, and that's how I began working with Amerasians this way."

When asked what keeps him going in his outreach work, a religious
faith or a personal philosophy, Hjort said it's in his blood.

"For me, all this is about a love for mankind, a caring for those who
have very little and got a rotten start in life, and a feeling that
one can change things from bad to good,: he told the Taipei Times. "So
instead of getting angry at all the
sadness and injustice I saw in Vietnam in 1992, all around me, I
decided then and there to try to change things for the better, and I
found that even as just one person, I could make a difference. I found
out what I could do as one person."

"Amerasians need to know their father, need to try to find their
fathers, and that's where I felt I could try to help, fill in the gaps
somewhat. I can't save the world, but maybe I can help work with a
small part of it and do my bit, and that's what my mission and
outreach is all about. I hope I can help make the world
at least at little bit better of a place to live in," he said.

So who is Brian Hjort and what makes him tick. When asked to explain
more about himself, he said: "There's really not much to say about me.
I'm just a quiet, humble guy, from a small village in Denmark, living
now in Sweden, married to a Peruvian woman and with a beautiful
bi-cultural daughter. I am completely at home with poor people and
with famous celebrities, too. I don't care about wealth or status. I
treat the Amerasians I help like family and
friends, and I try to listen to their life stories without judging them."

"You know, in many ways, I am the just
like the people I try to help. I'm a very simple person, and actually
very shy, too. In fact, I prefer to just be with my wife and daughter
doing our family things, and public life does not hold a big
attraction for me. Except to help further my work with Amerasians. So
there are two sides to me, the public side, to raise money and media
awareness, and the private side with my family."

"I'm Danish, I'm a Danish guy, but I've lived outside Denmark for such
a long time, I don't think my being Danish has much to do with my work
with Amerasians," Hjsort said. "But I believe I got this attitude,
this philosophy of trying to make the world
a better place, from my parents. When I was a kid in Denmark, they
were always helping out those less fortunate than us, so they were
always my main inspiration."

When asked what he would say to the Taiwanese people and the local
media, both the English-language media and the Chinese-language media,
when he visits Taipei to meet Amerasian adults living here, Hjosrt
said: "I'll say something like this: Close your eyes,and imagine that
your skin is brown or
that your hair is blond or your eyes are blue. Imagine that you're the
only one like this among your
classmates or in your town in Taiwan. Imagine that people are always
looking at you, staring at you, sometimes calling you names and
insults, hitting you, spitting on you. That's what life has been like
for many Amerasians in Asia and overseas."

"Open your eyes my friends in Taiwan, and then you will understand a
little about what it means to be
Amerasian, what it means to be different, to have a different ethnic
origin that separates you from others. Amerasians in Taiwan are the
children of a Taiwanese woman and an American father, black or white,
and remeber that America is a friend of Taiwan, always has been.
Amerasians in Taiwan might be invisible in Taiwan today, a group of
people who were not supposed to exist, forgotten and disowned by their
fathers overseas and looked down upon by their fellow Taiwanese. Is
this good? Is this right?".

"Amerasians are human beings, and they deserve
love, attention and a family. too. And they need to know their
fathers, or who their fathers were, in order to find out who they are
and where they fit in."


"Taiwan had its own Amerasians, left over from the Vietnam War in the
1960s and 1970s, and the Cold War with the Soviet Union. They are
often forgotten in Taiwan, I suppose, and not only by their American
fathers and the
U.S. government, past and present, but also by the news media. I'd
like to address these issues in Taiwan when I visit, and even now my
website is open to field questions and supply answers when we can."

"In my opinion, and I hear that Taiwan is a very warm-hearted country,
I hope that Taiwan and its people will open their arms to the
Amerasians living there, and they are Taiwanese people, too. If we can
work together together to help some of them find their American
fathers, and close a sad chapter in the past, I will feel we
accomplished something."

For Lam Goc Mai in Chiayi, Hjort's visit might help answer some of her questions, too.

------------------
WEBSITE LINK:
amerasian-childfind.org

This E Ink Is for E-Reading

http://taiwanreview.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?ctNode=1446&xItem=107226&mp=1


This E Ink Is for E-Readin'

by DAN BLOOM
Publication Date:07/01/2010

E Ink displays are putting Taiwan at the forefront of a publishing revolution.

Although right now you might be reading the words of this article on glossy paper in a printed magazine, many print publications worldwide are also beginning to release editions meant for viewing on sleek electronic book readers, or e-readers.

As digital advances continue to transform the media world day by day, a Taiwanese company has taken on an important role in the process with E Ink, a proprietary technology used to render text on low-powered display screens.

The original goal of creating e-books was to make the experience of reading on electronic devices as similar as possible to that of printed books, an ideal reflected in the marketing campaigns of e-reader industry giants Amazon.com, Inc. and Sony Corp. While liquid crystal displays (LCD) used as computer monitors require backlighting, E Ink screens do not, rendering crisp black text against a natural white background. Products such as Amazon’s Kindle already use E Ink to give book and periodical readers an alternative to traditional print publications, and media experts have forecasted that the nascent literary shift from paper to screen appears likely to accelerate in the near future.

If, as the pundits predict, the future belongs to digital publications, then an electronic display company in the Hsinchu Science Park in northern Taiwan stands to profit enormously from the shift. For Scott Liu, the 61-year-old CEO and chairman of E Ink Holdings, which is now the owner of the E Ink technology, the timing is perfect.
Although the name E Ink is a shorthand phrase for electronic ink, the underlying process does not use ink at all. Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) pioneered the technology when they discovered that electricity could move the position of positively and negatively charged particles—very tiny black and white balls—that were suspended in a fluid. E Ink’s engineers pushed the development of the technology by creating software that enables devices to manipulate the particles with an electric current. After the particles form letters, they hold their shape without requiring the electric charge until the screen changes, such as when the user desires to see the next page. The result is that e-readers can go days or even weeks without recharging.

It is that simple, and that complex, too.

E Ink's PVI changes name to E Ink Holdings

Prime View International, PVI, has changed its name to E Ink Holdings in a major name and rebranding change. Since PVI purchased E Ink from its original owners in Boston and made it part of the PVI family in 2010, CEO Scott Liu, 61, felt it was time to change the corporate name of the company that makes the E Ink the goes into 90 percent of e-readers around the world. So: E Ink Holdings is the new name.

And it's a whole new ballgame. With a wonderful new name: E INK!

The 21st Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan ( 第二十一屆金曲獎 )

The 21st Golden Melody Awards (第二十一屆金曲獎)

BEST TAIWANESE LANGUAGE ALBUM:

''Ta Yuan I Chia Nung Chu Lai'' (大員一家農出來). -- (打狗亂歌團) - 嚴詠能

Yan Yung-neng (嚴詠能) and his band ''Takaorun'' (打狗亂歌團) from the southern city of Kaohsiung was awarded the Best Taiwanese-language Album prize for the CD titled ''Ta Yuan I Chia Nung Chu Lai'' (大員一家農出來).

Since it was founded in 2005, Yan’s group has been touring the country’s southern towns and villages, entertaining inhabitants with Taiwanese grassroots music.

Yan says that many elders in farming villages buy his CD but don’t have the equipment to play it.

“So they place the CD on their altar tables and ask the deities to protect my voice,” the friendly bloke says. “I make music for those who are farmers like my grandparents. I think we can all learn from their wonderful and humble attitude toward life.”

E-reader Special -- Taiwanese company PVI bestrides e-reader market

AKIKO SUZUKI AND IKUYA TANAKA report for THE ASAHI SHIMBUN GLOBE in Japan, writing [on 2010/05/14]


A solitary box of tissues sits on a desk. Its floral design wrapped around the words "May Flower" in Chinese characters is a famous brand in Taiwan.

The tissues are made by Taiwan's largest paper company, Yuen Foong Yu Paper Manufacturing Co. (YFY). In late March, our reporter sat in the company's waiting room preparing for an interview with Scott Liu, chairman of YFY subsidiary Prime View International Co. (PVI) and a key figure in a technological revolution that seems set to challenge paper's dominance in the world of publishing, if not in cleaning runny noses.

In 2009, PVI purchased E Ink, a developer of "electronic ink" for e-readers. The acquisition, which is estimated to have cost more than $400 million (around 37 billion yen), including a transfer of preferred stocks, made headlines across the world. Major American book distributor Amazon's Kindle and many other leading e-readers use the company's electronic ink displays.

The technology behind the displays is complex: globules of positively-charged white ink and negatively-charged black ink are injected into several million tiny liquid-filled capsules and spread across a wafer-thin sheet. Electricity is used to manipulate this array of black and white particles, forming letters and pictures.

But its benefits are easy to appreciate: unlike liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, electronic ink displays are not lit from behind. They reflect external light as paper does and therefore reduce the strain on readers' eyes.

There is a short delay when changing pages but, as long as the page remains unchanged, no electricity is consumed, reducing the need for battery recharging.

"Why is a major paper manufacturer producing components for a rival product like an electronic reader?" our reporter asked.

Liu looked tired. His bloodshot eyes seemed to betray a lack of sleep. He had just returned from a business trip to the United States, and was due to fly to mainland China the next day. However, his expression softened when he heard the question.

"We've certainly come to dominate the Taiwanese market for all varieties of paper. But, in the digital age, we should have another option. So, we decided to create one ourselves," he said.

One of the first to spot the e-reader trend was YFY group former chairman Show Chung Ho. He established PVI in 1992, with the aim of becoming Taiwan's first maker of LCD panels.

Ho took an early interest in e-readers but the back-lit LCD panels then available seemed to have significant disadvantages compared to books printed on paper.

In 1997, Liu and Ho came across the technology they had been searching for at the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Media Lab in the United States: electronic ink. Liu recalled, "We were both excited. We had found a technology with tremendous potential."

They waited for the right moment. After researchers left the Media Lab to form E Ink, PVI purchased parts from the company and began manufacturing electronic ink display panels from 2005. When they learned that E Ink itself was going on the market in 2009, they immediately decided to acquire it.

E Ink had intended to raise funds by going public, but the financial crisis of 2008 paralyzed the securities market and stopped them cold.

The e-reader display market was moving extremely quickly. The Kindle, which went on sale in 2007, had been a breakthrough product. E-readers were going mainstream. The development of color and large-screen displays was continuing apace but E Ink needed access to capital to maintain its lead in the market.

Sriram K. Peruvemba, E Ink vice president, said: "Then, PVI's proposal fell into our lap. Finance and technology. It was a perfect match that utilized our mutual strengths."

Peruvemba said the fact that PVI was a Taiwanese company was a plus for the deal. "Today, most display industries are located in Asia. By becoming affiliated with a leading manufacturer, we would be able to utilize their vast supply chain. It would also provide us with greater access to new technology. The synergy factor was considerable."

Did shareholders or staff at the company's headquarters in the suburbs of Boston object to E Ink becoming an "Asian company?"

"That's an everyday occurrence in the United States. We had the technology, but not the money. The acquisition was much preferable," he said. "Thirty percent of our staff can speak a language other than English. I myself was born in India. After all, this country is a melting pot."

Backed by PVI's financial muscle, E Ink's research and development is accelerating. Last year it shipped around five million electronic ink displays in around 50 varieties, both large and small. The company plans to start selling a much anticipated color version of its displays in late 2010.

Prime View International's displays are putting Taiwan at the forefront of a publishing revolution.

Technology
TAIWAN REVIEW, July 2010 issue

This Ink Is for Reading

Prime View International's displays are putting Taiwan at the forefront of a publishing revolution.

BY DAN BLOOM
copyright.2010


A s digital technology continues transforming the media world day by day, a Taiwanese company has taken on an important role in the shift with a technology called E Ink.

Although right now you might be reading the words of this article on glossy paper in a printed magazine, publications are also beginning to release editions meant for viewing on sleek electronic book readers, or e-readers, many of which already use E Ink to render digital text. Products such as the Kindle from Amazon.com, Inc. use E Ink to give book and periodical readers that choice, and media experts have forecasted that the nascent literary shift from paper to screen appears likely to accelerate in the near future.

If, as the pundits predict, the future belongs to digital publications, then an electronic display company in the Hsinchu Science and Industrial Park in northern Taiwan stands to profit enormously from the shift. For Scott Liu (劉思誠), the 61-year-old CEO and chairman of Prime View International Co. Ltd. (PVI), which is now the owner of the E Ink technology that turns more than 90 percent of all e-readers into captivating electronic reading devices, the timing is perfect. Besides the Kindle, a host of other e-readers also use E Ink for their screens, including devices made by local companies such as Book11.com, Innoversal Communications Inc. and GreenBook Co., Ltd.

PVI agreed to purchase E Ink Corp., the Boston-based company that developed the digital text technology, in late 2009 for US$215 million. The deal was later sweetened, according to industry sources, with a grant of 120 million shares of PVI convertible stock. When Russell Wilcox, E Ink's former CEO, resigned in Boston last March, he had nothing but good words to say about new parent firm PVI and Scott Liu. “The acquiring company... has an excellent CEO,” Wilcox told the Boston Globe after announcing his resignation, adding that with E Ink under PVI's corporate umbrella, the subsidiary's future was sound.

The purchase of the American company looks like a shrewd move for PVI, as over the last four years, E Ink has seen revenues grow from 80 percent in 2006 to 250 percent in 2009, according to industry sources. “This is a creative win-win agreement for both PVI and E Ink,” Liu says.

Before the acquisition, PVI was E Ink's largest customer, representing more than 50 percent of the US company's revenue. With the purchase of E Ink in hand, PVI now appears well positioned to lead the global expansion of e-reading, as more publishers of textbooks, newspapers, magazines and books are diversifying into digital content. “E Ink's end customers will benefit [from our combined strength], with improved supplies, competitive prices, faster product development and local support across the globe,” Liu says.

E Ink's headquarters is still based in Boston--in Cambridge, to be exact, not far from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University--but the company is now part of PVI, which in turn is part of the Yuen Foong Yu Group. Yuen Foong Yu has a long history in Taiwan, beginning operations in 1935 during the period of Japanese colonial rule (1895-1945). The company's founders were Taiwanese and its owners still are. Yuen Foong Yu began making toilet paper and paperboard in the 1930s and, with the help of Japanese technology, began producing coated paper products in the 1950s. Now the company, which was one of the island's first mass-producers of paper and toilet paper, looks set to become the world's first mass producer of e-paper through its PVI subsidiary.

PVI's purchase has also reinvigorated E Ink's operations, as the US subsidiary has hired some 100 new production workers at its display manufacturing facility in western Massachusetts, just a two-hour drive from Boston, as well as added some 50 scientists and engineers to the research and development team in Cambridge.

Scott Liu's life and career have followed a trajectory similar to that of many other prominent Taiwanese businessmen. Born in Taiwan in 1949, Liu earned his undergraduate degree at a local university and then traveled overseas for graduate studies at Columbia University in New York. After returning to Taiwan with a freshly minted Ph.D. under his belt, Liu was recruited by Yuen Foong Yu president Ho Shou-chuan (何壽川), who later persuaded Liu to take the helm at PVI and reorganize the subsidiary.

Although the name E Ink is a shorthand phrase for electronic ink, the underlying process really doesn't use ink at all. Engineers at MIT pioneered the technology when they discovered that electricity could shift the position of positively and negatively charged particles--very tiny black and white balls--that were suspended in a fluid. E Ink's engineers pushed the development of the technology by creating software that enables devices to manipulate the particles with an electric current.

It is that simple, and that complex, too.

The original goal of creating e-books was to make the reading experience as similar as possible to that of printed books, an ideal reflected in the marketing campaigns of e-reader industry giants Amazon and Sony. While liquid crystal displays used as computer monitors require backlighting, E Ink screens do not, rendering crisp black text against a natural white background.

The market for today's black and white e-readers is already huge and likely to get bigger, industry forecasters predict. According to E Ink sources in Boston, more than 5 million e-book readers were sold in 2009, with annual sales expected to grow to 100 million by 2018. There are now more than 50 different kinds of e-book readers on the market worldwide, with more to come, indicating that a true revolution in reading could be in the making.

Is e-Reading Still Reading?

As popular e-reading devices like Amazon's Kindle and the “nook” from US book retailer Barnes & Noble become an integral part of the evolving digital culture, some observers have expressed concerns about how learning to read on such devices might impact young children. Anne Mangen, a reading specialist at the National Reading Center at Stavanger University in Norway, published a widely read academic paper in the United Kingdom in 2008 that targeted the differences between reading on paper and reading on screens. Mangen's views have catapulted her to the forefront of an international debate about the pros and cons of reading on the two mediums. The fundamental “experience of reading on a screen is different from reading on paper, although in what ways and to what extent must be specified in each instance, situation and purpose of reading,” Mangen says. “However, whether reading on a screen is better or worse than reading on paper depends on a range of variables--the reader's prior experience with both formats, the purpose and situation of the reading act, the type and genre of text, the disposition of the reader, and other variables.”

When asked about the impact of changes in how books, newspapers and magazines are distributed and read, Mangen says that “the current shift from reading on paper to reading off screens represents a vast literary shift, the implications of which--short-term and, in particular, long-term--we are not yet aware of.”

Mangen also believes that it is important for academics to do more research on the impact of e-reading. “Unlike print texts,” she wrote in her 2008 paper, “digital texts are ontologically intangible and detached from the physical and mechanical dimension of their material support, namely, their computer or e-book (or other devices, such as the PDA, the iPod or the mobile phone).”

Linden T.C. Lin (林載爵), a veteran book publisher in Taipei and head of the annual Taipei International Book Exhibition, believes that printed books and e-books can co-exist. When asked whether he was concerned that the digital age might do away completely with printed books, the bookish, middle-aged Lin merely smiles and says “We're still using candles for some things, aren't we?”

Textbooks may be the next publishing sector to experience the impact of e-reading, as some schools in North America and Europe are now talking about issuing e-readers to students. According to David Chen (陳賜賢), a senior industry analyst at the Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute in Taipei, “the usage scope of e-readers has already expanded from leisure reading to work document reading and study-related reading.” For PVI and E Ink, making inroads into educational publishing could lead to strong growth, technology reporter Michael Fitzpatrick wrote recently in the Boston Globe.

Paul Biba, editor of US-based Teleread.org, a proponent of national digital library systems, says that Taiwan “has now become the 'home' of the global e-reader industry, in addition to the fact that many of the most innovative products in the industry are coming from that island nation. Future advances in Taiwan will no doubt drive the industry forward.”

When asked if PVI needs to be wary of new technologies being developed by other firms, however, Biba says that “PVI's E Ink is only black and white for now, and from most media reports, color won't come until [later]. In addition, PVI has admitted that its color screens will be more pastel than vivid. New technologies from Pixel Qi and Mirasol promise vivid color and low e-ink-type battery life. Both technologies will be introduced this year, and if they succeed, they could very well cut into PVI's market share.”

Michael Miller, a senior vice president for technology strategy at US-based Ziff Brothers Investments and the writer of the influential Forward Thinking blog, agrees that PVI faces challenges in the field. “Today, we when think of e-readers, the current black-and-white E-Ink technology comes to mind,” he writes. “A year from now, there may be many other choices.”

Strong PVI competitors in the e-reader display field include LG Display, a subsidiary of South Korean electronics manufacturing giant LG Electronics, and SiPix Imaging, Inc., a subsidiary of Taiwanese display giant AU Optronics Corp. SiPix is developing a promising digital ink technology that using Microcups, which are tiny containers that hold minute quantities of materials such as fluid and particles that can render text. In light of such competing technologies, PVI may be forced to cut its prices after it loses its first-to-market advantage, industry observers say.

PVI is not standing still, however, in the face of fierce competition from other electronic ink competitors, as well as that posed by the growing adoption of tablet devices such as Apple's iPad. One area the local company is working on is injecting color into the monochrome displays of current e-readers, according to industry forecasters. At a flat panel display conference in the United States earlier this year, E Ink employees told reporters that color e-readers with low-power displays would be hitting stores soon.

PVI is also working to deploy E Ink technology to render text on devices other than e-readers, Scott Liu says. Imagine a device the size of a credit card with a small screen that runs on E-Ink technology and can be used for more than two years on a single battery charge. That's the future, Liu says, and other products could include smart cards, mobile phones and so-called “smart surfaces” that can change their physical properties in response to external stimuli.

Other new E Ink displays under development include flexible screens and those that are capable of rendering video, Liu says. In the past, video on e-readers has looked jerky because the display response time was too slow. Liu, however, predicts that response times will improve enough to allow for video support on products later this year. PVI has also developed touch sensors that sit behind the display, rather than using conventional touch panels that can obscure a display's brightness, which could give e-readers a finger-based interface similar to that of the iPad, industry observers say.

For now, one of the biggest questions looming over PVI headquarters--and one that industry watchers around the world are keen to hear the answer to--is whether the company might someday enter the e-reader market with its own device. According to the company's CEO, the answer is no.

“PVI ... has a corporate philosophy that aims to deliver revolutionary products, user experiences and environmental benefits through advanced technology development,” Liu says. “This vision has led to PVI's continuous investments in the field of e-paper display as well. PVI will remain dedicated to e-paper related research, development and manufacturing, but we won't produce any PVI-branded e-readers. Since Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other well-known e-reader firms are our customers, we won't be making an e-reader that would in any way compete with our valued customers.”

In the saga of E Ink and e-paper, things are changing so fast that every week seems to bring a new e-reading gadget to the market. PVI's Liu sees the trend as confirmation of his view that the story of the future will be written in electronic ink, and he is bent on bringing that vision to the world. Thanks to the forward-looking Taiwanese technology firm and its US subsidiary, reading may never be the same.

-----------------------------------------
Dan Bloom is a freelance writer in Taiwan.

Missionary Martini -- a special drink concocted by a pilgrim of pure devotion in Taiwan

A longtime missionary father in Taiwan tells this blog:

Dear Blogmaster:

You asked me to explain what a ''missionary martini'' is. Here goes.

My invention. Goes like this:

Put a bottle of gin in the freezer for a couple hours or more, even a day ahead of time.

Do the same wwith a glass with ice cubes already in it. The colder you approach a missionary martini, the better.

Use unsweetened grapfruit juice (not grape juice or orange juice; should have an edge to it, be a little sour, like someone's personality I know) and pour that in first, just a modest dollop.

2/3 of the glass holds that frozen up gin, so go ahead and pour. It will have thickened just right.

Top off the rim of the glass with just a tiny tad of the juice again.

Shove the cubes around a bit with your finger and lick it dry.

Man!

Then just sip to your heart's content.

Best enjoyed with a good book by your side, or music, (F.I.R and etc) with earphones.

"Do you have back pain?" - hilarious send up of popular Tv commercial in Taiwan by expat comedian - 建生中醫 老外版 愛台灣

DO YOU KNOW THIS MAN? NAME? LEAVE COMMENT BELOW

http://www.youtube.com/user/RACHEL543235#p/u/3/o_ZC-ZeHPM8
Who is he? People wanna know his name? And who is Rachel543235. This blog wanna know.

DO YOU HAVE BACK PAIN. 建生中醫 老外版 愛台灣 From: RACHEL543235

西元2010年03月16日
觀看次數：27,394 載入中...這是英國友人在看了台灣的中醫廣告後非常有興趣地想要來弄個搞笑版~~大家就輕鬆地觀看笑笑呗~~眼鏡還是自己畫的唷!!! ... (更多資訊) (較少資訊) 查看評論、相關影片等

Apparently, this bloke is a British chap in Taiwan, who, after seeing the popular TV commerical by this quack doctor on back pain medicines....decided to make this parody, for unknown reasons which we shall relate once he writes to us and tells us why, and he apparently wanted mostly to make people smile, and the video now has almost 20,00 hits and was featured on TVBS news TV today, cool!

27,394  hits WOW

So....who is he? what's his name? What's his gig? will he do more? APPLAUSE APPLAUSE!

An important 365-day model "polar city" experiment gets underway to test human endurance and survival instincts as global warming threatens humankind in year 2500 ....or sooner

By Vladimir Estragon, Associated Content


OSLO – An international team of researchers climbed into a set of sleek steel polar city capsules Thursday to launch a 365-day simulation model polar city for survivors of global warming chaos in the future. The test is intended to help humans learn to cope with confinement, stress and fatigue during prolonged periods of residence inside polar cities scattered across the northern regions of the world in the year 2500 AD.


The 18 crew of three Americans, three Canadians, three Norwegians, a Frenchwoman, an Italian, a German, three Taiwanese college students and three Kenyans, will follow a tight regimen of experiments and exercise under video surveillance.

The Model Polar City-365 experiment — conducted by the Norwegian-based Institute for Future Climate Problems in cooperation with the Plar Cities Research Institute run by Danny Bloom — aims to reproduce the conditions of life in a polar city in the distant future.

"For me, it will be mainly my family, and the sun and fresh air," French participant Celia Bertin said when asked by reporters what she will miss most during the year of confinement.

The researchers will communicate with the outside world via the Internet — delayed and occasionally disrupted to imitate the effects what life will be like then. They will eat canned food and shower only once a week or so. Crew members will have two days off a week, except when emergencies are simulated, though they will still be in the capsules.

"Certainly, the crew is largely on its own here, with very limited communications with the outside world," Bloom told Associated Content. "They have to cope internally with a lot of conditions and to organize themselves."

A real polar city life is centuries away because of huge costs and massive technological challenges. President Barack Obama said last month that he foresaw sending Americans to Alaskan polar cities by year 24oo.

The crew members said they were confident of success. Roma Trastevere, the Italian member, told a news conference that for him it would mean "accomplishing dreams about the future, doing something that no human has done before. Polar cities might very well be our future."

Psychologists said long confinement would put the team under stress as they grow increasingly tired of each other's company. Psychological conditions can be even more challenging in a mock polar city than a real one because the crew won't experience any of the euphoria or dangers of actual polar city life.

One crew member said he was bringing along a guitar to warm the atmosphere. Others said they would bring books, movies and pictures of their relatives.

The crew will split their days into eight hours of work, eight hours of sleep and eight hours of leisure.

"The routine is much more than on a real mission, there is a little bit less sense of what it might be like in the future," Bloom said. "But I think their team spirit, and their motivation to go there and to accomplish the whole mission is enormous."

As part of efforts to keep the crew in good spirits, they will play an "global" match with former world chess champion Anatoly Karpov at some point during the experiment.

The facility for the experiment is in Svaalbord, Norway and includes poalr city living compartments the size of a bus connected with several other modules for experiments and exercise. A separate built-in imitator of the landscape in Norway 500 years from now then the Earth is 9 degrees warmer then today is also attached to the capsules.

The mission director said the experiment could be disrupted for medical or technical reasons or if some of the participants categorically demand it be stopped.

"Each crew member has the right to end the experiment and walk out," he said at a news conference. "We have had such negative experience in the past, and I hope it won't happen during this experiment."


The organizers said each crew member will be paid about US$100,000 for taking part in the experiment.

For the mission captain, the experiment means separation from his wife just a few weeks after the two tied the knot. "It's difficult for me to part with my family, just as it is for any other person," he told journalists just before stepping in.

____

On the Web:

http://pcillu101.blogspot.com/

Waterman: popular Taiwanese singer of pop songs on MTV

Waterman debuted nearly 3 years ago in his Waterman white suit. And just like other masked perforemrs, Waterman only appears in public in his white suit, which has many fans curious about the man behind the silly mask.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svObHbpQ3Bo


The mysterious Waterman first became famous after appearing in a commercial in 2008. He has since released his 2 albums and continues to promote the spirit of good deeds. For his latest album 2010 Greatest Love, Waterman is on a mission to accomplish 15 good deeds in 15 days, such as visiting a seniors’ home, helping a college student to confess, and picking up garbage at a beach.

For the title song “Greatest Love”, Waterman traveled around in a recording vehicle to collect the voices of 10,000 people. He hopes to change the world with the power of love. The singer will donate all proceeds from his album to World Vision minus production costs.

Many fans are still curious about the real identity of Waterman, and some even came up with conspiracy theories like singer Crowd Lu is the masked man. Their question was finally answered because Libertiytimes happened to catch a glimpse of the real Waterman. On the 16th, Waterman was on his way back to Taipei after travelling in his Water-mobile. He lost his step while getting off the car and almost fell, but he still managed to give his staff a thumb-up after finding his balance.

Waterman returned to his office to change his clothes, and headed over to a nearby restaurant with his staff. Interestingly, Waterman himself was missing as the group was walking out, but a young man with blonde streaks wearing a pair of flip flops joined them. After comparing the mole on his face and his voice, it was certain that the blonde boy was indeed Waterman himself.

Apparently, Waterman is under an agreement that forbiddens his face from being shown. Therefore, he has to remain masked at all time no matter what kind of event it is. After his face was made public, his record company said it did break the rule a bit, but luckily their advertisers understood that it wasn’t intentional: “As long as everyone knows he is someone promoting “doing more good deeds”, then that’s fine”!

"Tonight's English a Second Language class has been cancelled" - hilarious cartoon!

A comic I saw in local snailpaper here in Taiwan the other day:

scene: a classroom of students for an English as a second language class at night......and a notice on the blackboard (greenboard) reads: "Tonight's English a Second Language class has been cancelled" and in the room, in front of the empty teacher's desk sit a dozen students just waiting for the class to begin......I didn't get it at first, I had to look and look until ....finally.....I got it!




http://www.gocomics.com/theargylesweater/2010/06/03
 
COMMENTS:
 
 
grapfhics said, 1 day ago






Mr. Parkhill is unwell tonight.







margueritem said, 1 day ago





And none of them know what it says…..







margueritem said, 1 day ago





‘Morning Grapfhics!







Sheik Yerbouti said, 1 day ago





It’s going to be a long wait for the teacher to show up.







Grog said, 1 day ago





They’ll figure it out by the end of class.







WoodEye said, 1 day ago





Now that is TRULY funny!







joefish25 said, 1 day ago





I agree, WoodEye, very funny







Ash said, 1 day ago





@marg: really?







Yukoneric said, 1 day ago





¿No hablo, qué dice?







Ji2m said, 1 day ago





XD







Doctor Toon said, 1 day ago





Universal Translator - Don’t leave your home planet without it.







LKD said, 1 day ago





This is the funniest comic in a long while. C’est tres magnifique!







Despite the writing on the wall, the students never saw it coming.







vldazzle said, 1 day ago





Not a very good teacher; they haven’t learned anything yet and teacher overestimates their skillsets.







David Mattera said, 1 day ago





Classic







jadoo823 said, 1 day ago





Illiterate? Write for information…







GoodQuestion said, 1 day ago





What we have here is failure to communicate.







mmburke33 said, 1 day ago





speech less







Anandgyan said, 1 day ago





This is a great one!







Coffee-Turtle said, 1 day ago





LOL!! Love it!







@Dr.Toon, good one about the Universal Translator.







Live Long and Perspire!







jglynn said, 1 day ago





The First Argyle Sweater Book on sale at Amazon for just $5.20. Small supplies, Large Humor!







http://tinyurl.com/2dosouv







Thanks







John

GoComics







LKD said, 1 day ago





Is it ok to flag John’s post for ads? XD







Thanks for the anouncement. I do wonder if Scott Hilburn will ever post here?







sskelton said, 1 day ago





love it!







worldisacomic said, 1 day ago





This classroom is in the L. A. Unified School District that just voted to boycott Arizona! Oh I’m sorry! Did I just intellectually profile those Morons!







hopeandjoy2 said, 1 day ago





Having taken some foreign language as well as helped teach English as a second language, I so do love this particular comic!







Lisa said, 1 day ago





In college I had an Asian (with strong accent) teaching my Spanish class!







Iphelia said, 1 day ago





LOVE LOVE LOVE the guy in the front whistling!







DirtyDragon said, 1 day ago





Hello! My name is Mister Ziskey…







♪ I met her on a Monday and my heart stood still… ♪







♪♫ DA DOO RON RON RON, DA DOO RON RON ♪♫







Joe-Allen "Joe" Doty said, 1 day ago





I actually could teach English as a 2nd Language to native speakers of several different languages.







I used to watch the syndicated TV series, “What A Country!”, when I lived in North Hollywood. It was about students learning English as a 2nd language. The teacher had to have a very good sense of humor to get his points across.







When Maria was asked where she was from, she wouldn’t say what country, she would always say, “Beverly Hills, near Gucci.” She was a maid in Beverly Hills.







When I was a full-time foreign language teacher, I sometimes had to explain the rules of Standard American English grammar to my senior high school students who should have known all of that by the time they finished the 6th grade.







Robert Peters said, 1 day ago





Clearly not the advanced class.







tsandl said, 1 day ago





Truth is stranger than fiction. I once worked for a manufacturing plant that one day posted some new safety procedures all around the building without making any announcements. I and some of my coworkers politely reminded the management that we had quite a few immigrants working for us who could not read English very well. The next day, they posted new copies with an additional instruction: “If you have trouble reading these directions, have your supervisor explain them to you.”







Sandor_at_the_Zoo said, 1 day ago





Good thing. Canceled is mispelled (OK, for U.S. English.)







captainedd said, about 2 hours ago





Just as bad for some of the English as a First Language classes, also.

What's worse than cho dofu "stinky dofu"? How about.....

Iceland...... which is a country where raw puffin hearts,
pickled rams’ testicles and putrefying shark flesh are all regularly
eaten.

and......Sweden ....has a regional version of pickled herring that requires burying
the fish until it rots - that's it. Even other Swedes draw the line
there.


A friend of mine has tried the Swedish
version, surströmming (sour herring, for sour,  read rotten)and its
delicious when eaten in a flatroll with potato, chopped onion and sour
cream, but you need a clothes peg in your nose, it stinks, if you open a
can indoors the smell will linger for days.

But .....Iceland ...and Sweden .....are not the only places where this type of culinary adventurism
is to be found. Japan, Taiwan, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, India and other places have that too.

Taiwan and the crisis of journalism's future: Demoracy matters

An editorial in the
Taiwan News reads: hat tip to TN Editor:



A global congress of representatives of international journalist trade unions and professional organizations held in Spain last week highlighted the depth of the crisis of ethical and quality journalism, the grave implications for democracy worldwide and the lack of visible solutions.

Nearly 300 delegates representing journalist unions in over 100 countries and 600,000 members attended the 23rd congress of the International Federation of Journalists.



Despite fine weather and a scenic location, the atmosphere was chilled by the realization that global trends toward shrinkage of traditional news media outlets, especially newspapers, cuts in the ranks of reporters and sub-editors, the proliferation of perverse forms of "embedded marketing" or "paid news" and the erosion of quality and ethical values among publishers, managers and even editors and reporters.



Moreover, these trends are interlinked with radical changes in information and the global financial tsunami to trigger changes in media owner and management priorities and business models that are undermining the ethical quality of journalism and work security for professional journalists around the world, especially in more developed democracies.



Journalism and democracy



At the same time threats to the personal freedom or even lives of journalists through impunity and imprisonment for simply trying to write the truth are intensifying in all continents, as shown by a IFJ report that related that 139 news workers were killed last year, including 52 journalists killed in the Asia-Pacific of which 37 were slain in our southern neighbor, the Philippines.



Formal and private discussions among the nearly 300 delegates from journalist unions in over 100 countries showed a high degree of consensus on the nature and gravity of the crisis facing news media, professional journalists and quality and ethical journalism and also showed that there were no panaceas or solutions on the horizons.



Nevertheless, the congress of journalists did agree on a strategic direction and action plan that highlights the critical nature of quality and ethical journalism as an "public good" essential for the achievement, cultivation and survival of democracy.



The IFJ program highlighted that the difference of professional journalists from "content providers" lies in the fact that professionally trained and ethically committed journalists are the core of "a system of providing "ethical, credible, transparent and accountable" information for all citizens regardless of the platform.



Hence, professional journalists and news workers must be at the center of global dialogue for solutions to the future of journalism and news media, a dialogue whose restriction to media bosses or governments would reduce journalists to "stenographers of power" and would pose an unprecedented threat to the fabric of democracy worldwide.



Taiwan's voice



Taiwan's journalists gained a direct voice in this process thanks to the election of Association for Taiwan Journalists former president Michael Yu Chia-chang, a seasoned journalist with Taiwan's Public Television Service, to the 21-person IFJ Executive Committee, which decides policy for the trade union federation between congresses.



This achievement will improve access for Taiwan journalists into the dialogue for solutions to the global crisis of journalism, all of the symptoms of which are fully present in Taiwan and provide a platform for the sharing of Taiwan's own important experiences in securing news freedom and the opportunities as well as challenges posed by the emergence of new media platforms and technologies.



The presence of an ATJ leader on the IFJ policy-making body will also ensure greater international attention to Taiwan's unique problems, including the regression of news freedom and state and even pubic news media autonomy under the pressure from the restored "formerly authoritarian" ruling Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) government.



The ATJ's presence will undoubtedly facilitate the IFJ's effort, which began in early 2008, to monitor and report on violations of news freedom in the authoritarian and communist dictatorship of the People's (sic) Republic of China.



In order to promote news freedom and protection for the rights of journalists in the Communist PRC, the IFJ also aims to promote dialogue with communist Chinese news workers, news freedom organizations and even the Chinese Communist Party - controlled All China Federation of Journalists.



The presence of a capable and well respected representative of Taiwan's news workers on the IFJ board and an enhanced role for the ATJ will help ensure that "cross-strait media dialogue" will not be monopolized by pro-KMT media owners but will include the voices of working Taiwan journalists and ensure that news freedom is a priority in dialogue on a more "level playing field."



After all, the PRC has no representation or influence in the IFJ since the CCP regime allows no autonomous unions for journalists or any other kind of workers.



Changing that state of affairs is a priority for the IFJ or any other global union federation concerned with promoting democracy in China, protecting democracy elsewhere in Asia and ensuring the survival of Taiwan's own democracy.

"You've been DannySullivan'd"

After reading Danny Sullivan's impressive article last night, we came up the term "You've been DannySullivan'd" to mean what happens when a writer has his or her "article" factchecked and vetted and papertrailed by someone like Danny Sullivan following his M.O. to ascertain the exact attributions and credit lines.

"You've been Romesko'd" has already made it into our common vocabulary, when a person's article or blog gets linked at Jim Romenesko's site, and now "You've been DannySullivan'd" is poised to catch on to, thanks to ....DANNY SULLIVAN

http://twitter.com/dannysullivan

http://daggle.com/mainstream-media-stole-news-story-credit-1906/comment-page-3#comment-23190

Should INTERNET, as a word in newspapers and in our daily blogs and chats here, be CAPS or lowercase: Internet? or internet? -- In the UK, it has been spelled as internet for a long time. But Canada and the USA still CAPS it. Why? We no longer CAP Television or Radio or Book, see television, radio, books......so YOUR TWO CENTS: to CAP or lowercase "INTERNET" ?

Should INTERNET, as a word in newspapers and in our daily blogs and chats here, be CAPS or lowercase: Internet? or internet? -- In the UK, it has been spelled as internet for a long time. But Canada and the USA still CAPS it. Why? We no longer CAP Television or Radio or Book, see television, radio, books......so YOUR TWO CENTS: to CAP or lowercase "INTERNET" ?

Harrison Ford responds by email, sort of, to my oped in the Taipei Times the other day. Sort of

Dear Danny Boy,

As you know from listening to and reading my various interviews
earlier in the year for my ''Extraordinary Measures'' publicity tour.
I often have expressed my admiration and respect for the MANY doctors
and researchers and lab technicians who played roles in the Pompe cure
events. Geeta in her book also pays respect to all of them. Of course,
as I am sure you know, it was never my intention to leave anyone out
of the story, but a Hollywood movie, a medical thriller, it needs a
story arc, it needs conflict and a small cast of characters, it needs
intimacy, so we had to settle for a story that was Mr Crowly vs Dr
Stonehill, with the happy ending the movie achieves. Of course,
Stonehill is NOT Dr Chen of Taiwan, he was never meant to be Dr Chen.
If he was anyone, he was Dr Canfield, but we decided for artistic and
you might say legal reasons to change Dr Canfield's character to an
imaginary Dr Stonehill. But the medical research in our movie was
never meant to be an Asian man, so those charges of yellow-washing or
whitewashing, are not fair, Danny. We made the best movie we could,
and after reading your oped in the Taipei Times the other day -- by
the way, I like your Chinese name here, sounds like Dan Brown, right?
-- I am glad you liked the movie. I heard that you had tears in your
eyes, moist tears of recognition and human joy at the family struggles
and the scientific struggles involved, and yes, Robert Nelson Jacoby
(the Nelson is his wife's maiden name, by the way) did a great job
with the screenplay.



So Danny, let me just say: I appreciate your concern, I am glad you
wrote, and I hope now that you better understand my intentions and the
ground rules I had to work with. Your point that the opening or
closing credits COULD HAVE included a short note about thanking, with
names, the other scientists and doctors involved in this uplifting
medical story, including Dr Chen of Taiwan, who was INSTRUMENTAL is
coming up with the final Pompe cure and the trials, too, YES, Danny
Boy Bloom, good point, and I will try to find some way, if possible,
to add a sentence or two in the final credits in the future. Maybe a
BluRay edition or a director's cut later. We did not intentionally
leave any of the other scientists out, but you are right, it WAS an
oversight, and I apologize for that oversight. I am glad you wrote and
I am glad you care so much about movies that you take the time to
reach me. You did reach me. I heard you.



Peace,

Harrison Ford

Recipients of the 2010 Junior Researcher Award in Taiwan

Since 1996, Academia Sinica in Taiwan, a national think tank and research institute, has been honoring junior scholars who have published research papers that make a lasting impact in their research fields. The awards are called the Academia Sinica Research Awards for Junior Investigators in Taiwan.

For 2010, these men and women were honored:

NOTE: There are not many awards available on a national level in Taiwan that recognize scholars early on in their careers. Since 1996, Academia Sinica has been honoring junior scholars who have published research papers that make a lasting impact in their research fields with the Academia Sinica Research Awards for Junior Investigators in Taiwan.
Now in its 15th year, the award has been pursued by many young academics in Taiwan and is perceived as a great honor.
The awards are given in three main categories and this year a total of 149 applications were received － 69 in the Mathematics and Physical Sciences Division, 38 in the Life Sciences Division, 42 in the Humanities and Social Sciences Division. All submissions underwent a stringent review procedure including pre-screening, initial review, 2nd stage review, and a final review. The awardees each received a certificate and a cash prize of NT$200,000. Additionally, they also received NT$300,000 for research expenditures to be used within two years following the receipt of the award. (Co-winners shared their cash prize and research expenditures but were each awarded a certificate)


Mathematics and Physical Sciences Division (6)



Dr. Lin, Phone



Professor, Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, National Taiwan University



Dr. Hu, Chi-Chang



Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University



Dr. Kao, Ying-Jer



Associate Professor, Department of Physics, National Taiwan University



Dr. Hsu, Ya-Ju



Assistant Research Fellow, Institute of Earth Sciences, Academia Sinica





Dr. Huang, Hsuan-Yi



Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, National Tsing Hua University



Dr. Chen, Yi-Hau



Research Fellow, Institute of Statistical Science, Academia Sinica





Life Sciences Division (5)



Dr. Lin, Chun-Hung



Research Fellow, Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica



Dr. Ma, Che



Associate Research Fellow, Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica



Dr. Chen, Pei-Yen



Associate Research Fellow, Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica



Dr. Lai, Erh-Min



Associate Research Fellow, Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology, Academia Sinica



Dr. Yen, Lin-ju



Associate Investigator and Attending Physician, Institute of Cellular and System Medicine, National Health Research Institutes





Humanities and Social Sciences Division (4)



Dr. Wang, Horng-Luen



Associate Research Fellow, Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica



Dr. Lin, Sheng-Chih



Assistant Research Fellow, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica



Dr. Huang, C. Julia



Associate Professor, Institute of Anthropology, National Tsing Hua University



Dr. Chao, Hsuan-Fu



Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Chung Yuan Christian University






中央研究院新聞稿



2010年「年輕學者研究著作獎」舉行頒獎典禮





本院自1995年起設置「年輕學者研究著作獎」以鼓勵年輕學者深入思考，發表優秀學術著作。獎項設立以來，其激勵與啟發效用，甚獲國內學術界重視。今年「年輕學者研究著作獎」頒獎典禮於2010年6月3日(星期四)在本院資訊科學研究所一樓會議室隆重舉行，由翁啟惠院長主持。獲獎者家眷亦獲邀出席，分享榮耀與喜悅。





今年共計15位得獎者，每位獲頒獎金新台幣20萬元、研究獎助費新台幣30萬元，以及獎牌一面。頒獎典禮每位獲獎人並以3分鐘簡介其著作。





本屆年輕學者研究著作獎共有149件申請案：數理組69件、生命組38件、人文組42件。申請案件皆經過各分組預審、初審、複審程序，再送三組聯席審查委員會討論，始決議得獎名單。





今年獲獎年輕學者名單如后。



數理組（6人）：



林 風（國立台灣大學資訊工程學系暨研究所教授）



胡啟章（國立清華大學化學工程學系教授）



高英哲（國立台灣大學物理學系副教授）



許雅儒（中央研究院地球科學研究所助研究員）



黃暄益（國立清華大學化學系副教授）



程毅豪（中央研究院統計科學研究所研究員）





生命組 (5人)：



林俊宏（中央研究院生物化學所研究員）



馬 徹（中央研究院基因體研究中心副研究員）



陳佩燁（中央研究院生物化學所副研究員）



賴爾珉（中央研究院植物暨微生物學研究所副研究員）



顏伶汝（國家衛生研究院細胞及系統醫學研究所副研究員級主治醫師）





人文組 (4人)：



汪宏倫（中央研究院社會學研究所副研究員）



林聖智（中央研究院歷史語言研究所助研究員）



黃倩玉（國立清華大學人類學研究所副教授）



趙軒甫（中原大學心理學系助理教授）

WWILF - wwilf - ''WHAT WAS I LOOKING FOR?''

W.W.I.L.F - w.w.i.l.f - WWILF
''WHAT WAS I LOOKING FOR?''

Hamish MacDonald in Scotland told this blog about this initialism ... means.... "this nicely sums up the endless hours of mental hopscotch one can play on the Internet"

HEAR! HEAR!

Oh, I love that term, WWILF. Just having that in my brain as a distinction has helped me get off that ride from time to time! Unfortunately, I didn't make it up (though I wish I had). Apparently it's been around for a few years:





May 24, 2007 Urban Word of the Day

What Was I Looking For?

Acronym for phrase describing wasting time sufing online, with no results.

''Yikes, I've been surfing online for 7 hours and everybody's mad at me, plus I haven't found anything useful or important. WWILF?''

What Was I Looking For?
Pronounced: wilf

People get bored and search random things on the internet for hours on end.

dude1: dude, what are you doing man?


Dude2: dude, i'm such a wwilf... i've been on Google 2 days now...





http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=WWILF&defid=2355565

Dr Chris Huntingford

Chris Huntingford


Climate Modeller

His main interest is in how humans may alter the climate system through the burning of fossil fuels, and with an emphasis on interactions within the global carbon cycle. Based at CEH, there is a further emphasis on terrestrial ecosystem functioning, and on land-atmosphere feedbacks as atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations increase. Key questions still to be fully answered are: “Will the terrestrial carbon cycle remain a sink of carbon dioxide in to the future?” “How do other geochemical cycles interact with terrestrial carbon stores (e.g. methane, nitrogen, ozone)?”
Central to much of the large-scale analysis we undertake in CEH is the use of the JULES land surface model and the IMOGEN climate impacts modelling system. Through our tight links to the Met Office Hadley Centre, we are fortunate in seeing some of our research findings being placed in the full numerical framework of their Global Circulation Model (GCM).
Before coming to CEH, I was a student at the University of Cambridge, where I studied mathematics, and then at Oxford University, researching a problem in fluid dynamics.

Ruth Kaiser's Smiley Photos Project and Calendar Book - I LOVE IT!

Com Binh Dan Hop - Nhan Dat Com