Visiting the research vessel at Ifremer’s Toulon research center. From left to right: Ms. Emmanuelle Platzgummer (Ifremer), Dr. Lorenzo Brignone (Ifremer), Dr. Jan Opderbecke (Ifremer), Ms. Hui-Ying Li (Department of International Cooperation and Science Education researcher), Dr. Ming-Chih Cheng (International Affairs Office director), Prof. Yeong-Her Wang (NARLabs president), Ms. Ching Kuo (Department of Engineering and Technologies deputy director general), Dr. Mei-Yu Chang (International Affairs Office assistant researcher) and Prof. Chau-Chang Wang (Taiwan Ocean Research Institute director)
Taiwan Ocean Research Institute Director Prof. Chau-Chang Wang with Ifremer’s Nautile submarine.L'Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (Ifremer) is the French national institute for ocean science. The institute has five centres, 19 affiliated coastal stations and 11 research vessels on three oceans. As an integrated marine science research institute, their mission is to contribute to national research and innovation, to support the deployment of marine and maritime policy, to promote economic development strategy, to sustain cutting-edge technology and to work on fleet administration.
There has been several contact between NARLabs and Ifremer since 2017. The Executive Director Yann-Hervé De Roeck and program Director Sébastien Ybert visited the Taiwan Ocean Research Institute (TORI) to discuss earth science and deep sea research in 2017. Researchers from TORI have joined the cruise, which Ifremer’s R/V Marion Dufresne first surveyed methane hydrate in the South China Sea in 2018.
The President of NARLabs Prof. Yeong-Her Wang, Director of the International Affairs Office Dr. Ming-Chih Cheng and Director of the Taiwan Ocean Research Institute Prof. Chau-Chang Wang visited the Ifremer research centres in Toulon and Brest on the 28th and 29th of November this year to look into the possibility of collaboration on underwater technology and joint cruises. Some positive results arose from the visit. The official collaboration between TORI and Ifremer will start with a researcher exchange program beginning in 2020. We hope that this collaboration will extend from TORI to other NARLabs institutes.
