On 26 September, Prof. Jūras Banys, the president of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, visited Academia Sinica, the academy of sciences of Taiwan, and together with its Vice President Prof. Mei-Yin Chou signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences and Academia Sinica.
The Lithuanian and Taiwanese academies of sciences agreed to promote and develop scientific cooperation through exchanges of researchers, doctoral students, and undergraduates, exchange of information on science policy, and sharing of experience. Specific collaboration initiatives will be formalised in separate agreements in the future.
At Academia Sinica, the academy of sciences of Taiwan.
The idea of signing a memorandum of understanding between the Lithuanian and Taiwanese academies of sciences had been in the making for several years. Early in 2023, a delegation of Lithuanian scientists that included as many as four academicians – President Jūras Banys, Prof. Zenonas Dabkevičius, the vice-president of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, also professors Virginijus Šikšnys and Romas Baronas of Vilnius University – visited Taiwan where together with Taiwanese scientists they presented scientific achievements of both countries and explored opportunities for closer cooperation and active scientific exchanges. In July of the same year, the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences hosted a delegation from Academia Sinica led by its President Chun-Chih Liao.
At the Institute of Physics of Academia Sinica.
After the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, the President Jūras Banys visited the Institute of Physics of Academia Sinica where he inspected its laboratories and the equipment used for research. The lecture on dielectric measurements of a wide range of advanced materials and on the achievements of Lithuanian scientists in this field that Prof. Banys gave at the Institute of Physics attracted great interest from Taiwanese scientists. Prof. Banys discussed the conditions for advanced physics research in Taiwan and Lithuania together with Yuan-Hann Chang, the director of the Institute of Physics, and scientists from the Quantum Materials Physics Group.
Left, Prof. Jūras Banys and Prof. W. John Kao, the president of the National Tsing Hua University.
President Banys also visited the National Tsing Hua University where together with its President Prof. W. John Kao he discussed the joint projects developed by Lithuanian, Latvian, and Taiwanese scientists and other ideas for collaboration and inspected the infrastructure of the university campus as well as the innovations implemented in teaching and research. Students and lecturers at the National Tsing Hua University listened with interest to Prof. Banys’s presentation on spectroscopy of dielectrics.
Prof. Jūras Banys with students at the National Tsing Hua University.
While in Taiwan, President Banys attended the International Joint Symposium on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control organised by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and presented a paper at this event.
Prepared by Evelina Baronienė, Chief Assistant to the President
of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences
Photography Vidmantas Kalendra
Translated by Diana Barnard