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As the global pandemic has not yet ended, this year’s international Pacific Neighborhood Consortium Annual Conference and Joint Meetings (PNC 2021) will be held for the first time as an online virtual conference, from September 28 to 30, 2021. PNC 2021 will be hosted by Academia Sinica. The conference theme will be “Sustainable Digital Heritage.” It will feature 3 keynote speeches from world-class experts, and 17 conference presentation sessions. Over 120 experts from over 10 countries are expected to gather online to explore how we can sustainably preserve cultural heritage and civilization in this age of digital sharing.
The Welch Foundation has announced Academician Chi-Huey Wong as the 2021 recipient of the prestigious Robert A. Welch Award in Chemistry, in honor of his outstanding contributions in chemical research.
Former ROC Vice President Academician Chien-Jen Chen was appointed by Pope Francis as a new member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the second scholar from Taiwan so honored following former Academia Sinica President Yuan-Tseh Lee.
The recent outbreak of COVID-19 in Taiwan has highlighted the important roles that collective wisdom and action have played in battles against epidemics throughout history. Following Academia Sinica’s launch of the “Reflections on COVID-19” website this year (2021), its companion result is being published today (July 15), a book entitled Reflections on COVID-19. This work features 19 articles by 20 humanities and social science scholars, whose work contributes valuable knowledge to aid Taiwanese society during this critical period.
According to the Presidential Office’s Personnel Order of March 15, 2021, Academia Sinica President James C. Liao has been reappointed to serve for a second term from June 21, 2021 to June 20, 2026. President Liao has in turn reappointed Academicians Mei-Yin Chou, Fu-Tong Liu, and Chin-shing Huang to continue serving as Vice Presidents for the Division of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, Division of Life Sciences, and Division of Humanities and Social Sciences respectively.
Academia Sinica’s 34th Convocation of Academicians and 33rd Election of Academicians and Honorary Academicians was originally scheduled to be held in 2020, but had to be rescheduled to July 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, due to the ongoing severity of the pandemic in Taiwan, the Conveners for the Convocation of Academicians and the Preparatory Committee for the Election of Academicians jointly decided to postpone the Convocation again, until July 2022. All future plans will be made according to Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) policies.
Although Taiwan’s pandemic alert level is rising, and gatherings have been restricted, the national treasures of Taiwan are still available at your fingertips. Following the success of last year’s “The Museum Opens Up” virtual event, the Academia Sinica Center for Digital Cultures (ASCDC) and the Chinese Association of Museums are teaming up again for this year’s International Museum Day (May 18), calling on even more collecting institutions across Taiwan to jointly launch the “Treasure Hunt Challenge” special event.
The Nobel Prize Summit is hosted by the Nobel Foundation and organized by the US National Academy of Sciences in partnership with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. The first Nobel Prize Summit “Our Planet, Our Future” took place virtually on 26 – 28 April. The meeting brought together Nobel Prize laureates, scientists, policy makers, business leaders, and youth leaders to explore the question: What can be achieved in this decade to put the world on a path to a more sustainable, more prosperous future for all of humanity?
On April 26, 2021, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) announced its newly elected 120 Members and 30 International Members, with Dr. Yi-Fang Tsay, Distinguished Research Fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Molecular Biology, being elected as a new International Members for her outstanding achievements in plant science. Dr. Tsay expressed surprise upon hearing the news, considering herself deeply honored to have her low-key research efforts in Taiwan recognized by the international scholarly community. A scholar consistently devoted to contributions and breakthroughs in her field of study, Dr. Tsay encourages everyone to persist in the pursuit of their true interests.
Fatty liver is a prevalent liver disease in Taiwan and worldwide and is associated with obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Although fatty liver is normally asymptomatic, its progression can lead to hepatitis, cirrhosis, and even liver cancer. The research team of Dr. Ruey-Hwa Chen at Institute of Biological Chemistry identifies a novel autophagy regulatory mechanism and a potential of preventing fatty liver progression by manipulating this mechanism. The study has recently been published on February 26 in Nature Communications.
Pancreatic cancer is known to be vicious, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is the type that accounts for 95% of pancreatic cancer and so far it is still incurable. An added fact makes PDAC doomed lies in its tendency to have metastasis, meaning cancer cells have already spread to other organs, when diagnosed.
Academia Sinica President James Liao had been awarded the 2021 Samson-Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation in Alternative Energy and Smart Mobility for Transportation, with his research being praised for exhibiting “a combination of basic research and applied research at a high level” and achieving “a world-leading breakthrough research in the field of bio-energy”.
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