GOVERNOR LINGLE ANNOUNCES NEW HAWAI`I-TAIWAN ASTRONOMY EDUCATION, TRAINING AND RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP
For Immediate Release: November 17, 2008
HONOLULU — Governor Linda Lingle today announced a new Hawai‘i-Taiwan joint partnership in undergraduate education, community outreach and astronomy research stemming from the Taiwan-American Occultation Survey (TAOS). The agreement between the Academia Sinica and the University of Hawai‘i – Hilo (UH Hilo) was signed by UH Hilo Chancellor Rose Tseng during the Governor’s trip to Taiwan. The partnership will facilitate the enhancement of current TAOS research capabilities in Hawai‘i and initiate reciprocal educational, outreach, and research programs.
The purpose of the TAOS project (http://taos.asiaa.sinica.edu.tw) is to measure directly the number of Kuiper Belt Objects in the outer solar system. This knowledge will help scientists to understand the formation and evolution of comets in the early solar system.
“The TAOS-Hawai‘i partnership will lead to an increase in the number of under-represented minorities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) professions, and expand the ability and mission of the UH Hilo ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai‘i to interpret the relationship between science and culture,” Governor Lingle said.
“Astronomy and space science have become significant activities generating income and employment in Hawai‘i,” said Ted Liu, director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. “On the Big Island it is topped only by tourism. The Mauna Kea observatories bring in over $150 million dollars to the local economy and employ over 600 workers, including many kama‘aina.”
TAOS is an ongoing international research program led by the Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics with a number of other institutions, including the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, Taiwan’s National Central University (Institute of Astronomy), Yonsei University (South Korea), and, through this agreement, the newest member - UH Hilo.
Academia Sinica was founded June 9, 1928. As a prominent academic institution in Taiwan, Academia Sinica has two basic missions: conducting scientific research in its own institutions, as well as providing guidance, channels of communication, and encouragement to raising academic standards in the country.
The current president of Academia Sinica is Dr.Yuan-Tseh Lee, a Nobel laureate in chemistry in 1986, who was inaugurated on January 15,1994, with Dr. Michael M. C. Lia and Dr. Tsui-jung Liu and Dr. Ovid J. L. Tzeng serving as vice presidents. President Lee also chairs the Assembly and the Council of Academia Sinica.
Note: Photos available upon request.
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For more information, contact:
Ted Liu
Director, DBEDT
Phone: (808) 586-2355
David Young
DBEDT Communications
Phone: (808) 587-1212
Lenny Klompus
Senior Advisor – Communications
Phone: (808) 586-7708
Russell Pang
Chief of Media Relations
Phone: (808) 586-0043
