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Academia Sinica (AS) announced the inaugural awardees of the Academia Sinica Scholar Award today (April 1): Professor Li-Wei Kuo, Department of Earth Sciences, National Central University; Professor Kuo-Chang Chen, Department of Mathematics, National Tsing Hua University; Professor Ao-Lin Hsu, Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University; and Professor Chen-Ying Huang, Department of Economics, National Taiwan University. Established by Academia Sinica last year, the Academia Sinica Scholar Award recognizes outstanding mid-career, Associate Professors and above from universities in Taiwan and equivalent ranks in Academia Sinica. Each awardee may receive annual research funding of up to 8 million NTD per year for five years. During the project period, external awardees will be jointly appointed under the title of “Academia Sinica Scholar” to promote AS-University collaboration.

According to Executive Secretary Dr. Kay-Hooi Khoo, Central Academic Advisory Committee, the Award is given on a referral basis, where each university may nominate up to three candidates. The 2024 Award was based on 42 nominations from 21 universities. To encourage participation, for the 2025 Award each university may nominate up to five candidates. Additionally, from within Academia Sinica, three awardees are selected from the 2024 AS Investigator Project Grant awardees: Dr. Yu-Chuan Wu, Institute of History and Philology; Dr. Pi-Cheng Hsiu, Research Center for Information Technology Innovation; and Dr. Hwei-Jan Hsu, Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology. 

The selected project from Dr. Li-Wei Kuo, Department of Earth Sciences, National Central University, is “Gouge friction during experimental seismic slip.” The project attempts to simulate both natural fault zones and geothermal tectonics at depth; study the earthquake-triggered sliding and friction evolution of fault gouges; understand earthquake ruptures, geothermal applications, and the physico-chemical processes associated with shallow volcanic structures.

The selected project from Dr. Kuo-Chang Chen, Department of Mathematics, National Tsing Hua University, is “Singularity analysis and variational methods for the N-body problem.” The project aims to investigate various qualitative and quantitative natures of action-minimizing solutions, and expects substantial progress for the restricted N-body problem, N-body systems with little or no symmetry, as well as broader classes of singular dynamical systems.

The selected project from Dr. Ao-Lin Hsu, Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, is “Characterizing the DNA 6mA-mediated epigenetic mechanism underlying the transgenerational phenotypic repristination of extended longevity.” The project seeks to dissect the molecular mechanisms underlying the phenomenon of transgenerational phenotypic repristination and the epigenetic markers of anti-aging in nematodes through Genome-wide 6mA profiling (NT-seq) and whole-animal single-nuclei RNA-seq.

The selected project from Dr. Chen-Ying Huang, Department of Economics, National Taiwan University, is “A biological basis of perception and preferences.” The project seeks to investigate the time preferences of drosophila through behavioral experiments, identify genes correlating with preferences by using biobank data or conducting genome-wide association studies (GWAS), and integrate the imaging results to offer further insights into the genetic mechanisms underlying preferences.

The selected project from Dr. Yu-Chuan Wu, Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, is “The healing body: A history of body-centered psychotherapies in modern Japan.” The project will explore various “body-centered” psychotherapeutic approaches in Japan during the first half of the 20th century, including indigenous hypnotherapy, mindfulness meditation, and various forms of movement therapy, while reflecting on the potential of psychotherapy from a diverse perspective.

The selected project from Dr. Pi-Cheng Hsiu, Research Center for Information Technology Innovation, Academia Sinica, is “Intermittent tinyML: A paradigm shift in the AIoT era.” The project seeks to develop a cross-device, efficient model compression system, leading the way for Intermittent TinyML development, which is expected to enable complex deep learning models to efficiently run on tiny devices.

The selected project from Dr. Hwei-Jan Hsu, Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology, Academia Sinica, is “Molecular mechanism of Acetyl-CoA carboxylase in regulation of endosomal trafficking for germline homeostasis.” The project will investigate the mechanism of lipid metabolism through acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), potentially providing therapeutic opportunities for diseases associated with defects in lipid metabolism and protein trafficking.

The application details for the 2025 Award will be announced in early April 2024. For more information, please refer to Academia Sinica’s award webpage: https://daais.sinica.edu.tw/posts/169569