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An overview of the material physics and chemistry development in the ROC since 1980
Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 62 (2001) 1547±1553
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An overview of the material physics and chemistry development in the ROC since 1980 M.K. Wu*, I.F. Ho National Science Council, Executive Yuan, 19th Floor, 106 Section 2, Hoping East Road, Taipei, Taiwan Received 23 January 2001; accepted 28 February 2001
Abstract The promotion of overall national science and technology development, support for academic research, and the establishment and administration of the science-based industrial parks are the three basic missions of the National Science Council (NSC) of the Republic of China (ROC). The NSC embarked upon its ®rst large-scale national discipline planning effort in 1985. A second discipline and resource planning effort was undertaken in 1993. To ensure that the revised research areas conformed to national needs and international trends, a full-scale review and revision of discipline and resource plans was conducted in 1995. Prior to 1980, the primary interest of material research was in metals. With the establishment of several major materials research institutions and material physics and chemistry research initiatives during the 1980s, material research in Taiwan entered a period of greater diversity. The resulting growth in academic achievement can be exempli®ed by the steady increase in the number of academic papers included in the prestigious international database Science Citation Index, as well as Taiwan's relative rank. In this article, we review and summarize the major initiatives undertaken by the NSC and their impacts on material physics and chemistry development in Taiwan. q 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction and background The article ªRegional Insight: Taiwanº, which appeared in Nature on September 21, 2000, points out that ªthe little island of Taiwan has achieved a global presence in the electronics industry that far exceeds its geographical size. Chinese scientists returned from the West have also created pockets of excellence in basic research in Taiwan that are beginning to make their mark on the world stageº [1]. Indeed, in the 1960s, Taiwan was a poor developing country without any signi®cant research infrastructure and wellsupported research institution. Now, the Republic of China, a country of about 23 million people, is not only a major player in the world semiconductor industry, its capabilities in basic science research has also improved dramatically. In terms of scienti®c publications, Taiwan now ranks 19th in the world in the Science Citation Index * Corresponding author: on leave from Department of Physics, National Tsinghua University. Tel.: 1886-2-2737-7502; fax: 1886-2-2378-8338. E-mail address: [email protected] (M.K. Wu).
(SCI), and 11th in the Engineering Index (EI). We are also ahead of Japan, South Korea and Mainland China in terms of the proportion of papers published in six leading scienti®c journals in each of physics, chemistry and mathematics [2]. In terms of materials research, prior to 1980, the primary interest was in metals. With the establishment of several major materials research institutions and material physics and chemistry research initiatives during the 1980s, materials research in Taiwan entered a period of greater diversity. Taking the NSC sponsored university research projects on condensed matter physics as an example [3]; between 1990 and 2000 the number of participating research faculties increased from 98 to 371, the number of doctoral students increased from 54 to 236, and the number of Master's students increased from 164 to 554. The NSC funding for condensed matter physics research increased from NT$135 million to NT$364 million (the exchange rate is roughly 1 USD to 30 NTD) over the same period. In the following discussion we only use data from the NSC sponsored condensed matter physics research and do not include the support to materials chemistry and materials engineering. With continuing effort since the late 70s, Taiwan has
0022-3697/01/$ - see front matter q 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 0022-369 7(01)00093-2
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M.K. Wu, I.F. Ho / Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 62 (2001) 1547±1553
Fig. 1. The NSC sponsored funding and projects in condensed matter physics from 1990 to 2000.
signi®cantly changed its infrastructure in supporting basic and applied researches. Fig. 1 is the total budget and projects of the NSC sponsored research on condensed matter physics. The sharp rise in research funding in 1992 was due to the inauguration of a new initiative that allowed the community to acquire new research facilities. The decrease in project numbers in 1994 was the result of a new funding policy that changed the funding cycle from twice a year to once a year. Research funding has almost tripled while the total project number has only increased by about two times during the last 10 years. Not included in the ®gure is a major investment made in the late 80s after the discovery of high
temperature superconductivity. The NSC started a new initiative in superconductivity and magnetism research at the end of 1989 [2]. The overall research funding in condensed matters increased by about 50% because of this new initiative. One of the indicators showing the improvement in Taiwan research is the notable increase in the number of research papers and patents granted. In the area of materials physics and chemistry we have particularly witnessed its continuous growth in both research support and research results. Fig. 2 displays the number of papers published in SCI Journals on condensed matter physics from 1990 to 2000 [3]. It clearly shows a continuous growth from
Fig. 2. The ROC total condensed matter physics publications in SCI Journals during 1990±2000.
M.K. Wu, I.F. Ho / Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 62 (2001) 1547±1553
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Fig. 3. Total NSC supported PI in Condensed Matter Physics research in 1998±2000
a total of less than 80 papers in 1990 to more than 330 in 2000. We have not included the papers published by chemists and material scientists from engineering schools in this ®gure. Another indicator is the increase in number of research personnel. Figs. 3±5 show, respectively, the total number of NSC supported research scientists, PhD students and Master degree students in the area of condensed matter physics during 1998±2000 [3]. NSC sponsored researches in
condensed matter physics can be divided into four major subdivisionsÐsuperconductivity and magnetism; optoelectronics and semiconductors; surface sciences; and synchrotron radiation and applications. To gain more insight into the origin for the dramatic change in condensed matter physics research, we will discuss and review in the following sections the major initiatives undertaken by the NSC and their impacts on the material physics and chemistry development in Taiwan.
Fig. 4. Total NSC supported PhD students in Condensed Matter Physics research in 1998±2000
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M.K. Wu, I.F. Ho / Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 62 (2001) 1547±1553
Fig. 5. Total NSC supported Master students in Condensed Matter Physics research in 1998±2000
2. The NSC major initiatives for basic research in Taiwan The Republic of China (ROC) Executive Yuan (the government executive branch) in 1959 established the ªLong-term National Science Development Council (LNSDC)º that created the mechanism for research institutions to recruit scientists, to set up research facilities and provide research funding [4]. In the meantime the LNSDC inaugurated a ªLong-term National Science Development Programº, which initiated the foundation for scienti®c development in Taiwan. The LNSDC was later reorganized as the National Science Council in August 1967 and in 1969 was further expanded into the ªExecutive Yuan National Science Council (NSC)º, and it became Taiwan's chief agency in charge of scienti®c and technological development. An important initiative over a period of 12 years was launched in 1968 that laid down the foundation for technological research in addition to the pure science and basic research. According to the charter, the NSC has three major missions: To promote the overall national sciencetechnology development, to support academic research, and to establish and administrate the science-based industrial parks (SBIPs). Another major function of the NSC is to organize, once every 4-years, the ªNational Science and Technology Conferenceº. The goal of this National Conference is to agree on the direction of scienti®c and technological development in Taiwan. For example, the conclusion of the 1982 Conference was the decision to establish the National Tsinghua University Materials Science Research CenterÐthe ®rst ªcenters of excellenceº in Taiwan. The
NSC has demonstrated its support for academic research by maintaining a steady growth in the amount of funding. Prior to 1980, there were only a handful of researchers in the area of materials physics and chemistry, and the majority of them were theorists. The infrastructure needed for condensed matter research essentially did not exist. Major activities related to condensed matter research existed mostly in the chemistry departments of some major public universities. There was only one Materials Science and Engineering department (at National Tsinghua University). At the second National Science and Technology Conference held in 1982, materials science was chosen as one of the most important areas for future development. Therefore, in 1983 the government formulated the ªTechnical Manpower Cultivation and Recruiting Projectº to actively recruit experienced scientists from abroad. Consequently, new research institutes and new programs in condensed matter research were established. By the late 80s there were already ®ve materials science graduate institutes established in major universities and three national materials research centers. In addition, many new openings for faculty members in condensed matter physics were established in universities. Later, the NSC further initiated programs such as ªProgram for the Increased Utilization of High-level Technological Personnelº. All these actions have made a profound contribution to accelerating the pace of material physics and chemistry development in Taiwan Below is an outline of the key initiatives that have greatly in¯uenced the advancement of our condensed matter research since the late 80s. 1. Personnel recruiting and back¯ow of manpower. A high proportion of Taiwan's university graduatesÐ
M.K. Wu, I.F. Ho / Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 62 (2001) 1547±1553
approximately 15%Ðwent overseas to pursue graduate degrees over the past several decades. As mentioned earlier, the NSC has initiated several research personnel recruiting programs since 1983 after the ®rst National Science and Technology Conference. These initiatives provided incentives to attract experienced scientists returning to Taiwan. Through other related government policies, such as the growth in the number of university graduate departments, the development of the Industrial Technology Research Institute and the Hsinchu Science-Based Industrial Park, a large number of experienced scientists and engineers have returned to Taiwan, lending great impetus to the domestic development of science and technology. In the area of condensed matter physics, the number of experienced scientists increased from less than 120 to about 380 in the last decade. The government's policies on creating proper environments so as to convert the ªbrain-drainº status to ªintelligent back¯owº have successfully accelerated science and technology development. 2. Establishment of regional instrumentation centers. In the early 70s, the NSC realized the urgent need for the setup of major equipment in order for scientists to carry out meaningful and signi®cant research projects. It subsequently created the regional instrumentation centers program. Under this program the NSC provided funding to several National Universities to purchase expensive and unique equipment to serve the research community. Major facilities such as high resolution TEM, NMR and STEM were made available for the common use of research personnel af®liated with universities or public/private research institutes. Currently, there are eight regional centers throughout the whole island. The annual budget of this program is in the order of NT$250 million, as listed in Table 1. This program is particularly successful in helping the chemistry and materials engineering research community. 3. Construction of national synchrotron radiation facility. In order to allow the research community to carry out forefront material physics research the Executive Yuan approved the proposal to construct a third generation synchrotron facility and the setup of the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (SRRC) in 1984. The machine construction was completed in 1993. Currently, the total annual budget of SRRC is in the order of NT$700 million. The last 4-year budget is also listed in Table 1. By
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now there are more than 20 completed beamlines with different characteristics, including four ªDragonº beamlines, two wiggler beamlines, a high-¯ux beamline etc. A new dedicated beamline for protein crystal structure is currently under construction. In addition, the NSC also supported to contribute two beamlines at the Spring-8 in Japan from 1998. Early last December, scientists from Taiwan successfully obtained the ®rst spectrum from one of the beamlines. 4. High temperature superconductivity research initiative. At the beginning of 1990 the Executive Yuan initiated a 5-year extensive program with a total budget of 1 billion NT on high temperature superconductivity research. However, the NSC did not control the entire allocated budget. About half of the allocated fund went to the Industrial Technology Research Institute under the Ministry of Economic Affair (MOEA) and the Chung-San Research Institute under the Ministry of Defense. Under this program many new and valuable facilities for condensed matter research, such as helium-lique®ers, high ®eld superconducting magnets, SQUID magnetometers, sputtering or laser ablation systems for oxide thin ®lms fabrication etc were established throughout the island. More importantly, this program drove most of the major universities to recruit experienced scientists from the US. In fact, many current key players in condensed matter research have returned to Taiwan during the past decade more or less because of this superconductivity initiative. It was at this same period of time that the current funding structure for condensed matter researchÐ separated into four major categoriesÐwas established. 5. Establishment of national laboratories. The NSC followed the approaches taken in the advanced nations, particularly the US, to establish a series of research centers such as the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) and the National Nano-device Laboratory (NDL). The goals of these centers are to provide professionally managed common facilities, train personnel and promote relevant academic research. The annual budgets of these National Laboratories for the last 3 years are also listed in Table 1. Since it ®rst opened its doors in 1993, the NDL has ful®lled its mission of developing worldclass semiconductor technology, training domestic integrated circuit manpower, and supporting integrated circuit research at universities. It has played the role of pathbreaker
Table 1 Annual budget (1997±2000) of CMP-related national laboratories [3] Program
Regional Instrumentation Centers Synchrotron Radiation Research Center National Nano-Device Laboratory National Center for High-Performance Computer
Year founded
Total annual budget (million NTD) 1997
1998
1999
2000
1980 1983 1988 1988
233.0 570.4 335.9 337.7
249.7 614.5 288.5 371.5
249.0 686.7 366.2 371.5
227.3 783.1 363.2 567.1
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in Taiwan's semiconductor R&D sector. It has also provided the necessary technical assistance in advanced research such as single-electron quantum devices. On the other hand, the NCHC is responsible for super-computer applications, network technology and computing manpower training. NCHC also plays the role of a gateway in science-technology interchange, acquisition, and cooperation involving domestic and international organizations. Recently, the computational material program has become one of the key developing areas in condensed matter physics. Two years ago, the Executive Yuan approved ªThe Taiwan Research Reactor-II (TRR-II)º project aimed at setting up a neutron research facility. The project is expected to be completed by 2005. This facility is complimentary to the SRRC. Therefore, we expect Taiwan to reach a new stage in carrying out more advanced materials science research after the construction of TRR-II. 6. Advanced programsÐcenter for theoretical sciences and nano-material researches. About two and a half years ago the NSC started a new program that provided researchers with ¯exible, long-term and generous support in order to conduct advanced science research. One of these projects is the Center for Theoretical Sciences, which is jointly operated by the National Tsinghua University and National Chiao-tung University. The Center's purpose is to nurture world-class researchers and raise the standards of advanced mathematics and physics research in Taiwan. The Center also aims to attract outstanding foreign researchers to participate in or lead research and to induce young scholars to engage in complicated mathematics and theoretical physics research. A major program within the physics division of the Center is the theoretical study of strongly correlated electron system. This theory group has provided, since the Center has started functioning, very valuable information and collaboration with experimental groups, especially those who work on high Tc superconductors and interesting magnetic materials. Last year, the natural science division unveiled another new program on nano-material research. Currently, there are four projectsÐthree in physics, one in chemistryÐunder this program with a total annual budget of roughly 50 million NT. However, the program's budget is expected to at least triple, with the involvement from the applied science and engineering division and life science division, in the next ®scal year. Lastly, the resulting growth in academic achievement in the last decade can be attributed to the continuous increase in research support from the government. It is apparent from Fig. 2 that we have been enjoying an average 8% annual increase in research funding (the NSC budget) during 1990± 2000. In fact, the NSC budget for the year 2001, though it has suffered a major cut by the legislators, still has an overall increase of nearly 7%. All in all, the condensed matter physics research in Taiwan has shown tremendous growth. This shows the government's determination to accelerate the development of science and technology.
3. Major concerns for further development While Taiwan's overall research and development expenditures have grown slightly over the last few years, the nation still lags considerably behind developed nations in this regard. Another problem is the ªoverly democraticº emphasis [1] on even distribution of research funds. Therefore, some areas of research that require and deserve more funding have not been allocated the appropriate amount of funds. This has caused dif®culty in promoting a further development of our level in basic science research. Proof of this is the fact that we are still far-behind advanced nations in terms of the quality of the publications, although our scienti®c publications are quite impressive in terms of number. Although the quality of our IC industry has garnered worldwide recognition for Taiwan, it has also served as a major obstruction to the development of fundamental sciences research. The great economic success of the microelectronics industry and the lure of making large amounts of money in short periods of time have caused the majority of the young, talented university graduates to forsake a career in research, but instead to work in the IC industry. The problem is that there has been a loss of interest among young graduates in the fundamental sciences when compared to the lucrative bene®ts the IC industry has to offer. Besides this lack of youth interest in the ®eld of research, many of the best researchers have also been attracted to the IC industry. Again, research institutions cannot compete with the ®nancial bene®ts the industrial companies have to offer. Because many of the research institutes are still in a fragile stage, this loss of talent is a potentially crippling problem. Another problem is the decrease in the number of returnee scientists from abroad. 4. Expectations and demands for future development Taiwan has made a certain amount of progress in developing materials physics and chemistry over the past decades. Nevertheless, in the face of changing circumstances overseas and at home, many scholars, legislators, researchers, and industrialists have expressed great concern over how to accelerate the nation's scienti®c and technological progress in order to maintain our competitiveness in the future. The following expectations and demands represent a summary of suggestions made, that are closely related to the materials science development, at the sixth National Science and Technology Conference, which was held on January 15±18, 2001 [5]. 1. Resources for science and technology should experience steady growth. It has also been widely suggested that the government should better integrate scienti®c and technological resources and allocate them in a more reasonable manner, so that the greatest possible bene®ts are derived
M.K. Wu, I.F. Ho / Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 62 (2001) 1547±1553
from limited funding. Research on bio-medicine and biotechnology, advanced materials and special chemicals, energy and environmental technology, micro-electrical and mechanical system (MEMS) are identi®ed as key areas for further development. 2. A world-class academic research environment should be created. Encouraging more international collaborative research, encouraging creative and advanced research projects, and strengthening or establishing central/ major research facilities are three major directions suggested to achieve the goal. However, the problems faced are not only limited to budgetary constraints, but also the question of how to upgrade the nation's overall R&D framework. This will entail breakthroughs in many supporting measures, such as a system for training technological personnel, a personnel affairs system for postdoctoral researchers, more ¯exible management, etc. 3. Progress in science and technology should be accompanied by increased attention in cross-disciplines and international collaborations. With the fast-paced development of science and technology, the interactions among different disciplines have become inevitable. Close international cooperation with technologically-advanced countries will be the most direct route to advance the level of scienti®c research. Therefore, it is strongly urged that the NSC actively promote its international collaboration program and create ¯exibility to allow personnel exchanges and joint projects. The NSC also needs to integrate the governmental resources to enhance interdisciplinary research program and help universities develop special programs so that genuine excellence in research can be achieved. 4. The process of commercializing research results should be streamlined. There have been appeals from many quarters for faster commercialization of practical ®ndings that result from government-funding research projects. Legislative action should be taken as soon as possible to resolve problems encountered during the technology transfer process, such as the ownership of intellectual property rights. Furthermore, to better facilitate technology transfer, more encouragement should be given to joint research involving industry and the academic community. 5. Conclusion Since the 1990s, the world has gradually moved into the era of incorporating knowledge into the foundation of the
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global economy. Both the enterprises and countries are increasingly more reliant on the enhanced competitiveness provided by R&D and product innovation. This type of knowledge-based economy, originating from the persisting technology innovation that leads to continuing economic growth, has become the role model of the global economy in the coming century. Taiwan has joined the race and already become one of the world's most important hightech product producers. This makes Taiwan strategically important in the arena of world economy. Nevertheless, we are still facing great challenges. In the new economy, the key to compete globally is to create a good infrastructure for academic and industrial development, and an excellent environment to attract the best personnel. Therefore, the focus of our future science and technology policy will be to further improve our R&D environment. Thus, we can not only create a ®rst-class environment to encourage highquality personnel to come and stay in Taiwan, but also further advance our contribution in science and technology development. Of course, we must also simultaneously maintain a balance of development in both cultural values and the natural environment. Only through these efforts, the foresight to construct Taiwan as a ªGreen Silicon Islandº, can then generate new cultural values in the new era within the expansion of the new knowledge-based economy.
Acknowledgements The authors thank the staff in the NSC natural science division for their help in collecting and analyzing data used in this article. We also thank A.M. Wu for his help with the English language.
References [1] D. Swinbanks, D. Cyranoski, Nature 407 (2000) 415±426. [2] The ROC National Science Council Review (Chinese), 1990± 2000. [3] The NSC Natural Science Division Monthly Report from 1990±2000. [4] Details of the NSC historical development can be found in ªWhite Paper on Science and Technologyº published by the NSC, December 1997. [5] Conclusions (Chinese) of the Sixth National Science and Technology Conference, January 15±18, 2001.
www.elsevier.com/locate/jpcs
An overview of the material physics and chemistry development in the ROC since 1980 M.K. Wu*, I.F. Ho National Science Council, Executive Yuan, 19th Floor, 106 Section 2, Hoping East Road, Taipei, Taiwan Received 23 January 2001; accepted 28 February 2001
Abstract The promotion of overall national science and technology development, support for academic research, and the establishment and administration of the science-based industrial parks are the three basic missions of the National Science Council (NSC) of the Republic of China (ROC). The NSC embarked upon its ®rst large-scale national discipline planning effort in 1985. A second discipline and resource planning effort was undertaken in 1993. To ensure that the revised research areas conformed to national needs and international trends, a full-scale review and revision of discipline and resource plans was conducted in 1995. Prior to 1980, the primary interest of material research was in metals. With the establishment of several major materials research institutions and material physics and chemistry research initiatives during the 1980s, material research in Taiwan entered a period of greater diversity. The resulting growth in academic achievement can be exempli®ed by the steady increase in the number of academic papers included in the prestigious international database Science Citation Index, as well as Taiwan's relative rank. In this article, we review and summarize the major initiatives undertaken by the NSC and their impacts on material physics and chemistry development in Taiwan. q 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction and background The article ªRegional Insight: Taiwanº, which appeared in Nature on September 21, 2000, points out that ªthe little island of Taiwan has achieved a global presence in the electronics industry that far exceeds its geographical size. Chinese scientists returned from the West have also created pockets of excellence in basic research in Taiwan that are beginning to make their mark on the world stageº [1]. Indeed, in the 1960s, Taiwan was a poor developing country without any signi®cant research infrastructure and wellsupported research institution. Now, the Republic of China, a country of about 23 million people, is not only a major player in the world semiconductor industry, its capabilities in basic science research has also improved dramatically. In terms of scienti®c publications, Taiwan now ranks 19th in the world in the Science Citation Index * Corresponding author: on leave from Department of Physics, National Tsinghua University. Tel.: 1886-2-2737-7502; fax: 1886-2-2378-8338. E-mail address: [email protected] (M.K. Wu).
(SCI), and 11th in the Engineering Index (EI). We are also ahead of Japan, South Korea and Mainland China in terms of the proportion of papers published in six leading scienti®c journals in each of physics, chemistry and mathematics [2]. In terms of materials research, prior to 1980, the primary interest was in metals. With the establishment of several major materials research institutions and material physics and chemistry research initiatives during the 1980s, materials research in Taiwan entered a period of greater diversity. Taking the NSC sponsored university research projects on condensed matter physics as an example [3]; between 1990 and 2000 the number of participating research faculties increased from 98 to 371, the number of doctoral students increased from 54 to 236, and the number of Master's students increased from 164 to 554. The NSC funding for condensed matter physics research increased from NT$135 million to NT$364 million (the exchange rate is roughly 1 USD to 30 NTD) over the same period. In the following discussion we only use data from the NSC sponsored condensed matter physics research and do not include the support to materials chemistry and materials engineering. With continuing effort since the late 70s, Taiwan has
0022-3697/01/$ - see front matter q 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII: S 0022-369 7(01)00093-2
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M.K. Wu, I.F. Ho / Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 62 (2001) 1547±1553
Fig. 1. The NSC sponsored funding and projects in condensed matter physics from 1990 to 2000.
signi®cantly changed its infrastructure in supporting basic and applied researches. Fig. 1 is the total budget and projects of the NSC sponsored research on condensed matter physics. The sharp rise in research funding in 1992 was due to the inauguration of a new initiative that allowed the community to acquire new research facilities. The decrease in project numbers in 1994 was the result of a new funding policy that changed the funding cycle from twice a year to once a year. Research funding has almost tripled while the total project number has only increased by about two times during the last 10 years. Not included in the ®gure is a major investment made in the late 80s after the discovery of high
temperature superconductivity. The NSC started a new initiative in superconductivity and magnetism research at the end of 1989 [2]. The overall research funding in condensed matters increased by about 50% because of this new initiative. One of the indicators showing the improvement in Taiwan research is the notable increase in the number of research papers and patents granted. In the area of materials physics and chemistry we have particularly witnessed its continuous growth in both research support and research results. Fig. 2 displays the number of papers published in SCI Journals on condensed matter physics from 1990 to 2000 [3]. It clearly shows a continuous growth from
Fig. 2. The ROC total condensed matter physics publications in SCI Journals during 1990±2000.
M.K. Wu, I.F. Ho / Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 62 (2001) 1547±1553
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Fig. 3. Total NSC supported PI in Condensed Matter Physics research in 1998±2000
a total of less than 80 papers in 1990 to more than 330 in 2000. We have not included the papers published by chemists and material scientists from engineering schools in this ®gure. Another indicator is the increase in number of research personnel. Figs. 3±5 show, respectively, the total number of NSC supported research scientists, PhD students and Master degree students in the area of condensed matter physics during 1998±2000 [3]. NSC sponsored researches in
condensed matter physics can be divided into four major subdivisionsÐsuperconductivity and magnetism; optoelectronics and semiconductors; surface sciences; and synchrotron radiation and applications. To gain more insight into the origin for the dramatic change in condensed matter physics research, we will discuss and review in the following sections the major initiatives undertaken by the NSC and their impacts on the material physics and chemistry development in Taiwan.
Fig. 4. Total NSC supported PhD students in Condensed Matter Physics research in 1998±2000
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M.K. Wu, I.F. Ho / Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 62 (2001) 1547±1553
Fig. 5. Total NSC supported Master students in Condensed Matter Physics research in 1998±2000
2. The NSC major initiatives for basic research in Taiwan The Republic of China (ROC) Executive Yuan (the government executive branch) in 1959 established the ªLong-term National Science Development Council (LNSDC)º that created the mechanism for research institutions to recruit scientists, to set up research facilities and provide research funding [4]. In the meantime the LNSDC inaugurated a ªLong-term National Science Development Programº, which initiated the foundation for scienti®c development in Taiwan. The LNSDC was later reorganized as the National Science Council in August 1967 and in 1969 was further expanded into the ªExecutive Yuan National Science Council (NSC)º, and it became Taiwan's chief agency in charge of scienti®c and technological development. An important initiative over a period of 12 years was launched in 1968 that laid down the foundation for technological research in addition to the pure science and basic research. According to the charter, the NSC has three major missions: To promote the overall national sciencetechnology development, to support academic research, and to establish and administrate the science-based industrial parks (SBIPs). Another major function of the NSC is to organize, once every 4-years, the ªNational Science and Technology Conferenceº. The goal of this National Conference is to agree on the direction of scienti®c and technological development in Taiwan. For example, the conclusion of the 1982 Conference was the decision to establish the National Tsinghua University Materials Science Research CenterÐthe ®rst ªcenters of excellenceº in Taiwan. The
NSC has demonstrated its support for academic research by maintaining a steady growth in the amount of funding. Prior to 1980, there were only a handful of researchers in the area of materials physics and chemistry, and the majority of them were theorists. The infrastructure needed for condensed matter research essentially did not exist. Major activities related to condensed matter research existed mostly in the chemistry departments of some major public universities. There was only one Materials Science and Engineering department (at National Tsinghua University). At the second National Science and Technology Conference held in 1982, materials science was chosen as one of the most important areas for future development. Therefore, in 1983 the government formulated the ªTechnical Manpower Cultivation and Recruiting Projectº to actively recruit experienced scientists from abroad. Consequently, new research institutes and new programs in condensed matter research were established. By the late 80s there were already ®ve materials science graduate institutes established in major universities and three national materials research centers. In addition, many new openings for faculty members in condensed matter physics were established in universities. Later, the NSC further initiated programs such as ªProgram for the Increased Utilization of High-level Technological Personnelº. All these actions have made a profound contribution to accelerating the pace of material physics and chemistry development in Taiwan Below is an outline of the key initiatives that have greatly in¯uenced the advancement of our condensed matter research since the late 80s. 1. Personnel recruiting and back¯ow of manpower. A high proportion of Taiwan's university graduatesÐ
M.K. Wu, I.F. Ho / Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 62 (2001) 1547±1553
approximately 15%Ðwent overseas to pursue graduate degrees over the past several decades. As mentioned earlier, the NSC has initiated several research personnel recruiting programs since 1983 after the ®rst National Science and Technology Conference. These initiatives provided incentives to attract experienced scientists returning to Taiwan. Through other related government policies, such as the growth in the number of university graduate departments, the development of the Industrial Technology Research Institute and the Hsinchu Science-Based Industrial Park, a large number of experienced scientists and engineers have returned to Taiwan, lending great impetus to the domestic development of science and technology. In the area of condensed matter physics, the number of experienced scientists increased from less than 120 to about 380 in the last decade. The government's policies on creating proper environments so as to convert the ªbrain-drainº status to ªintelligent back¯owº have successfully accelerated science and technology development. 2. Establishment of regional instrumentation centers. In the early 70s, the NSC realized the urgent need for the setup of major equipment in order for scientists to carry out meaningful and signi®cant research projects. It subsequently created the regional instrumentation centers program. Under this program the NSC provided funding to several National Universities to purchase expensive and unique equipment to serve the research community. Major facilities such as high resolution TEM, NMR and STEM were made available for the common use of research personnel af®liated with universities or public/private research institutes. Currently, there are eight regional centers throughout the whole island. The annual budget of this program is in the order of NT$250 million, as listed in Table 1. This program is particularly successful in helping the chemistry and materials engineering research community. 3. Construction of national synchrotron radiation facility. In order to allow the research community to carry out forefront material physics research the Executive Yuan approved the proposal to construct a third generation synchrotron facility and the setup of the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (SRRC) in 1984. The machine construction was completed in 1993. Currently, the total annual budget of SRRC is in the order of NT$700 million. The last 4-year budget is also listed in Table 1. By
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now there are more than 20 completed beamlines with different characteristics, including four ªDragonº beamlines, two wiggler beamlines, a high-¯ux beamline etc. A new dedicated beamline for protein crystal structure is currently under construction. In addition, the NSC also supported to contribute two beamlines at the Spring-8 in Japan from 1998. Early last December, scientists from Taiwan successfully obtained the ®rst spectrum from one of the beamlines. 4. High temperature superconductivity research initiative. At the beginning of 1990 the Executive Yuan initiated a 5-year extensive program with a total budget of 1 billion NT on high temperature superconductivity research. However, the NSC did not control the entire allocated budget. About half of the allocated fund went to the Industrial Technology Research Institute under the Ministry of Economic Affair (MOEA) and the Chung-San Research Institute under the Ministry of Defense. Under this program many new and valuable facilities for condensed matter research, such as helium-lique®ers, high ®eld superconducting magnets, SQUID magnetometers, sputtering or laser ablation systems for oxide thin ®lms fabrication etc were established throughout the island. More importantly, this program drove most of the major universities to recruit experienced scientists from the US. In fact, many current key players in condensed matter research have returned to Taiwan during the past decade more or less because of this superconductivity initiative. It was at this same period of time that the current funding structure for condensed matter researchÐ separated into four major categoriesÐwas established. 5. Establishment of national laboratories. The NSC followed the approaches taken in the advanced nations, particularly the US, to establish a series of research centers such as the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) and the National Nano-device Laboratory (NDL). The goals of these centers are to provide professionally managed common facilities, train personnel and promote relevant academic research. The annual budgets of these National Laboratories for the last 3 years are also listed in Table 1. Since it ®rst opened its doors in 1993, the NDL has ful®lled its mission of developing worldclass semiconductor technology, training domestic integrated circuit manpower, and supporting integrated circuit research at universities. It has played the role of pathbreaker
Table 1 Annual budget (1997±2000) of CMP-related national laboratories [3] Program
Regional Instrumentation Centers Synchrotron Radiation Research Center National Nano-Device Laboratory National Center for High-Performance Computer
Year founded
Total annual budget (million NTD) 1997
1998
1999
2000
1980 1983 1988 1988
233.0 570.4 335.9 337.7
249.7 614.5 288.5 371.5
249.0 686.7 366.2 371.5
227.3 783.1 363.2 567.1
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in Taiwan's semiconductor R&D sector. It has also provided the necessary technical assistance in advanced research such as single-electron quantum devices. On the other hand, the NCHC is responsible for super-computer applications, network technology and computing manpower training. NCHC also plays the role of a gateway in science-technology interchange, acquisition, and cooperation involving domestic and international organizations. Recently, the computational material program has become one of the key developing areas in condensed matter physics. Two years ago, the Executive Yuan approved ªThe Taiwan Research Reactor-II (TRR-II)º project aimed at setting up a neutron research facility. The project is expected to be completed by 2005. This facility is complimentary to the SRRC. Therefore, we expect Taiwan to reach a new stage in carrying out more advanced materials science research after the construction of TRR-II. 6. Advanced programsÐcenter for theoretical sciences and nano-material researches. About two and a half years ago the NSC started a new program that provided researchers with ¯exible, long-term and generous support in order to conduct advanced science research. One of these projects is the Center for Theoretical Sciences, which is jointly operated by the National Tsinghua University and National Chiao-tung University. The Center's purpose is to nurture world-class researchers and raise the standards of advanced mathematics and physics research in Taiwan. The Center also aims to attract outstanding foreign researchers to participate in or lead research and to induce young scholars to engage in complicated mathematics and theoretical physics research. A major program within the physics division of the Center is the theoretical study of strongly correlated electron system. This theory group has provided, since the Center has started functioning, very valuable information and collaboration with experimental groups, especially those who work on high Tc superconductors and interesting magnetic materials. Last year, the natural science division unveiled another new program on nano-material research. Currently, there are four projectsÐthree in physics, one in chemistryÐunder this program with a total annual budget of roughly 50 million NT. However, the program's budget is expected to at least triple, with the involvement from the applied science and engineering division and life science division, in the next ®scal year. Lastly, the resulting growth in academic achievement in the last decade can be attributed to the continuous increase in research support from the government. It is apparent from Fig. 2 that we have been enjoying an average 8% annual increase in research funding (the NSC budget) during 1990± 2000. In fact, the NSC budget for the year 2001, though it has suffered a major cut by the legislators, still has an overall increase of nearly 7%. All in all, the condensed matter physics research in Taiwan has shown tremendous growth. This shows the government's determination to accelerate the development of science and technology.
3. Major concerns for further development While Taiwan's overall research and development expenditures have grown slightly over the last few years, the nation still lags considerably behind developed nations in this regard. Another problem is the ªoverly democraticº emphasis [1] on even distribution of research funds. Therefore, some areas of research that require and deserve more funding have not been allocated the appropriate amount of funds. This has caused dif®culty in promoting a further development of our level in basic science research. Proof of this is the fact that we are still far-behind advanced nations in terms of the quality of the publications, although our scienti®c publications are quite impressive in terms of number. Although the quality of our IC industry has garnered worldwide recognition for Taiwan, it has also served as a major obstruction to the development of fundamental sciences research. The great economic success of the microelectronics industry and the lure of making large amounts of money in short periods of time have caused the majority of the young, talented university graduates to forsake a career in research, but instead to work in the IC industry. The problem is that there has been a loss of interest among young graduates in the fundamental sciences when compared to the lucrative bene®ts the IC industry has to offer. Besides this lack of youth interest in the ®eld of research, many of the best researchers have also been attracted to the IC industry. Again, research institutions cannot compete with the ®nancial bene®ts the industrial companies have to offer. Because many of the research institutes are still in a fragile stage, this loss of talent is a potentially crippling problem. Another problem is the decrease in the number of returnee scientists from abroad. 4. Expectations and demands for future development Taiwan has made a certain amount of progress in developing materials physics and chemistry over the past decades. Nevertheless, in the face of changing circumstances overseas and at home, many scholars, legislators, researchers, and industrialists have expressed great concern over how to accelerate the nation's scienti®c and technological progress in order to maintain our competitiveness in the future. The following expectations and demands represent a summary of suggestions made, that are closely related to the materials science development, at the sixth National Science and Technology Conference, which was held on January 15±18, 2001 [5]. 1. Resources for science and technology should experience steady growth. It has also been widely suggested that the government should better integrate scienti®c and technological resources and allocate them in a more reasonable manner, so that the greatest possible bene®ts are derived
M.K. Wu, I.F. Ho / Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids 62 (2001) 1547±1553
from limited funding. Research on bio-medicine and biotechnology, advanced materials and special chemicals, energy and environmental technology, micro-electrical and mechanical system (MEMS) are identi®ed as key areas for further development. 2. A world-class academic research environment should be created. Encouraging more international collaborative research, encouraging creative and advanced research projects, and strengthening or establishing central/ major research facilities are three major directions suggested to achieve the goal. However, the problems faced are not only limited to budgetary constraints, but also the question of how to upgrade the nation's overall R&D framework. This will entail breakthroughs in many supporting measures, such as a system for training technological personnel, a personnel affairs system for postdoctoral researchers, more ¯exible management, etc. 3. Progress in science and technology should be accompanied by increased attention in cross-disciplines and international collaborations. With the fast-paced development of science and technology, the interactions among different disciplines have become inevitable. Close international cooperation with technologically-advanced countries will be the most direct route to advance the level of scienti®c research. Therefore, it is strongly urged that the NSC actively promote its international collaboration program and create ¯exibility to allow personnel exchanges and joint projects. The NSC also needs to integrate the governmental resources to enhance interdisciplinary research program and help universities develop special programs so that genuine excellence in research can be achieved. 4. The process of commercializing research results should be streamlined. There have been appeals from many quarters for faster commercialization of practical ®ndings that result from government-funding research projects. Legislative action should be taken as soon as possible to resolve problems encountered during the technology transfer process, such as the ownership of intellectual property rights. Furthermore, to better facilitate technology transfer, more encouragement should be given to joint research involving industry and the academic community. 5. Conclusion Since the 1990s, the world has gradually moved into the era of incorporating knowledge into the foundation of the
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global economy. Both the enterprises and countries are increasingly more reliant on the enhanced competitiveness provided by R&D and product innovation. This type of knowledge-based economy, originating from the persisting technology innovation that leads to continuing economic growth, has become the role model of the global economy in the coming century. Taiwan has joined the race and already become one of the world's most important hightech product producers. This makes Taiwan strategically important in the arena of world economy. Nevertheless, we are still facing great challenges. In the new economy, the key to compete globally is to create a good infrastructure for academic and industrial development, and an excellent environment to attract the best personnel. Therefore, the focus of our future science and technology policy will be to further improve our R&D environment. Thus, we can not only create a ®rst-class environment to encourage highquality personnel to come and stay in Taiwan, but also further advance our contribution in science and technology development. Of course, we must also simultaneously maintain a balance of development in both cultural values and the natural environment. Only through these efforts, the foresight to construct Taiwan as a ªGreen Silicon Islandº, can then generate new cultural values in the new era within the expansion of the new knowledge-based economy.
Acknowledgements The authors thank the staff in the NSC natural science division for their help in collecting and analyzing data used in this article. We also thank A.M. Wu for his help with the English language.
References [1] D. Swinbanks, D. Cyranoski, Nature 407 (2000) 415±426. [2] The ROC National Science Council Review (Chinese), 1990± 2000. [3] The NSC Natural Science Division Monthly Report from 1990±2000. [4] Details of the NSC historical development can be found in ªWhite Paper on Science and Technologyº published by the NSC, December 1997. [5] Conclusions (Chinese) of the Sixth National Science and Technology Conference, January 15±18, 2001.