National Central University Announces NT $200 Million Endowment from Delta Electronics@@ Chairman Bruce Cheng for "Green" Optics and Photonics Building

Taipei, Taiwan, November 28, 2005 – Taiwan's National Central University (NCU) announced that next year it will establish a new Department of Optics and Photonics, which will occupy a new building made possible by the generous endowment of NT $200 million from the chairman of Delta Electronics, Mr. Bruce Cheng. The new Optics and Photonics building will be an environmentally-friendly and energy-saving "green building,"—the first and foremost of future green buildings at NCU. Delta Electronics and NCU have also signed an agreement for a cooperative research center, which will develop world-class optics and photonics technology as well as become a new model for industry-academia collaboration.

NCU President Chuan-Sheng Liu expressed heartfelt gratitude for Mr. Cheng's generous gift. This year is NCU's 90th anniversary and it is a pivotal time as NCU steps into the top rank of major universities. The endowment is the largest personal donation NCU has received since re-establishing in Taiwan decades ago, and it provides special encouragement to the university.

President Liu said that both NCU and Delta Electronics' are two of Chungli City's most important operations and have developed a long history of joint cooperation, which is why Mr. Cheng has endowed such a large sum of money to build a new optics and photonics building. Mr. Cheng places great importance on developing new technologies and new products, especially if the technology and products are environmentally-friendly and energy-saving. His hope is for technology development to maintain a balance with the environment, which is the reason the new Department of Optics and Photonics will be housed in a green building.

Delta's Chairman Cheng expressed how delighted he was to have the opportunity to endow NCU with the "Kuo-Ting Research and Development Building," and to endeavor together with NCU to develop world-class optics and photonics technology. He said he was honored to create future technology and a new industry in collaboration with the students and professors of NCU. Delta Electronics places great emphasis on developing new technology and products. Every year the company spends 5-6% of its revenues on R&D. Mr. Cheng said he is confident that this opportunity to cooperate with NCU and share the results of R&D will continue to achieve ever more advanced technology.

With the rapid development of optics and photonics technology, the demand for optics and photonics personnel has also increased dramatically. Next year NCU will establish a Department of Optics and Photonics and begin a call for students for 2006. NCU is dedicated to bringing up a new generation of optics and photonics talent.

The head of NCU's Institute of Optical Sciences, Jenq-Yang Chang, said his institute has been quietly developing over the past 20 years. The institute has produced several outstanding achievements in optics, and offers the most comprehensive optics curriculum in Taiwan. There are many optics programs in Taiwan, but most are combined with electromechanical departments or physics departments. This has resulted in today's shortage of personnel trained in optics and photonics. NCU is unique in its strong emphasis on optics education and research.

At the press conference NCU showed the latest research achievements in optics and photonics, including future display technology, 3D visualization without special eyeglasses, future lighting based on solid state LED, as well as the limits of "thinner, lighter and smaller" through optical thin film technology, and more. NCU noted that optics technology has already become crucial to the display, telecommunications, storage, lighting, and medical industries. With its high production value, low pollution and energy-saving characteristics, now is the right time for Taiwan to advance into the field of optics.

It is worth noting that optics has become a hot field throughout the world. This year Nobel Prizes were awarded to three scientists from the U.S. and Germany for their work in practical applications of quantum physics to optics research and raising the accuracy of optics. In step with the optics and photonics field, NCU already has a considerable foundation. NCU's collaboration with Delta Electronics will allow both parties to achieve new heights and establish a new model for industry-academia cooperation.