Accelerating the independent development of semiconductor equipment is one of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC)'s most important policies, and the foundation of this policy lies in training talented individuals. Therefore, NSTC will make recruiting researchers and fostering their talent a policy priority. NARLabs' Taiwan Instrument Research Institute, in line with NSTC policy, has been holding the Instrument Technology Innovation Competition (i-ONE) since 2009, which pROVides a stage on which innovative instrument makers can shine. Since its inception, it has received more than 300 outstanding entries, encouraged young students to realize their creativity, and nurtured talent individuals who self-produce scientific instruments. The 14th i-ONE competition and its awards ceremony were held on Oct 1, 2022. First prize and prize money of NT$100,000 were awarded to a team from National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) in the College & Above group, and in the High School group, first prize and prize money of NT$80,000 were awarded to a team from National Chiayi Industrial Vocational High School.
The i-ONE competition is divided into two groups, High School and College & Above, and has a two-stage selection process. The preliminary competition is based on writing, and 16 outstanding teams were selected from dozens of applicants to advance to the next stage. Then, the writers and judges have a full day of exciting presentations and Q&A sessions. The judges look for teams that can use creative ideas combined with scientific theories and hands-on work to find answers to problems, demonstrating their ability to coordinate and integrate creativity, theory, and applicability.
According to the judges, the NTHU team's work, a high-speed bulk photoacoustic brain connectome microscopic imaging system, uses photoacoustic excitation and vertical light sheet techniques. Coupled with two-way galvo scanning and an original scanning misalignment correction system forming a photoacoustic microscopic system, it also includes metal dye and amplification technology. The technology successfully took bulk mouse brain connectome images and enhanced spatial resolution and penetration depth to perform bulk high-resolution microscopic imaging. Future applications of this technology are very promising. The first-prize high school work, a multigraph automatic scraper made by a team from National Chiayi Industrial Vocational High School, received unanimous praise from the judges. This work analyzes the scraper trajectory and generates an automated mechanism design through 2D graphics to reproduce the trajectory. The work clearly shows application of mechanism and automation theory and discourse of design concepts, and the overall degree of completion was high. If the related technology can be further applied to the precision tools industry in the future, the potential and value of this work will be even more evident.
In a speech, TIRI Director General Yao-Joe Joseph Yang encouraged the outstanding student participants, saying that although the world is still being impacted by the pandemic, this is an excellent opportunity to shine in science and technology. He encouraged the students to maintain their passion and perseverance toward the research and development of innovative scientific instruments, and by caring for sustainable development issues and observing daily life needs, to develop the ability to think creatively about the future world and bring a positive force to Taiwan's society.
Since the inaugural i-ONE competition, the enthusiastic support of industry, academia, and research sectors has allowed thousands of students to nurture their talent in making scientific instruments. This year, TIRI partnered with KYMCO, a major motorcycle manufacturer with 60 years in business which is also committed to promoting net-zero carbon emissions and sustainable development, to encourage young students to develop creative solutions that integrate technology to realize convenient and environmentally friendly smart living. KYMCO presented a teaching award to the instructor of the first-place team in the High School group and a special award to the team selected by the judges in the College & Above group; each also received a KYMCO i-ONE electric motorcycle.
In addition, this year, some of Taiwan's leading instrumentation companies supported or assisted with the competition, including Syntec Technology, Gallant Micro Machining, Mitutoyo Taiwan, Keysight Technologies, Contrel Technology, and HIWIN. TIRI will continue to work with its partner companies to cultivate a new generation of talented instrumentation researchers, serving as a driving force to upgrade industry technology and consolidate international competitiveness. The institute aims to pROVide a platform for cross-discipline instrumentation integration and nurture talented individuals with passion for instrumentation technology from the ground up, producing even greater benefits to society.
