The University of Illinois System and the University Academic Alliance in Taiwan recently awarded $1.2 million in funding to eight new interdisciplinary research teams that will drive innovations and advance collaboration between the universities. Selected from 52 applications, these are the first awards from an institutional partnership launched in 2023.
Building on talent, innovations and resources from the two universities, the initiative seeks to accelerate economic development through the development of innovative technologies. Funding for the program comes from UAAT`s Secretariat and the U of I System’s Office of the Vice President for Economic Development and Innovation.
The newly funded seed grant projects will focus on:
- advanced materials and circuits for AI and future computing,
- building a Taiwan-to-Illinois pipeline for nonlinear and quantum photonics,
- AI-powered optical imaging for chronic disease prognosis,
- using AI to assess social and environmental health outcomes,
- creating digital twins for personalized immunotherapy,
- developing a digital twin framework for smart additive manufacturing,
- innovative aeration strategies for urban wastewater treatment,
- and sustainable electrochemical remediation of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for industrial and environmental applications.
“Through our strong partnership with UAAT, we look to develop research programs with impact in both the immediate future and over the long term,” U of I System President Tim Killeen said. “Researchers from Illinois and Taiwan have joined forces to conduct leading-edge work in their respective fields, and we fully expect breakthrough discoveries from these funded collaborations and longer-term solutions to grand challenges as these faculty-to-faculty partnerships grow. The seed grant program is part of our strategic focus on growing partnerships with the UAAT, its faculty and its students.”
Project teams were required to have participation from at least two of UAAT’s 12 universities and at least one of the three U of I System universities, and proposals had to focus on next-generation semiconductor technologies, AI and data for human well-being, and sustainability – key areas of strength for both groups of universities.
“It is inspiring to witness the launch of this collaboration among international university alliances and systems,” said Wen-Chang Chen, president of National Taiwan University and convener of UAAT. “With this joint initiative, UAAT and the U of I System are establishing a new model for international collaboration through international alliances/systems by combining the resources and expertise of their member universities. These funded projects represent some truly innovative ideas for collaboration in critical academic fields, and it will be exciting to follow their progress.”
The research projects receiving grants are:
- Advanced 3D ferroelectric memory based on 2D materials for artificial intelligence and future computing. UAAT principal investigator: Ching-Yuan Su, Graduate Institute of Energy Engineering, National Central University. U of I principal investigator: Wenjuan Zhu, department of electrical and computer engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. UAAT Co-PIs: Ya-Ping Chiu, department of physics, National Taiwan University, and Yann-Wen Lan, department of physics, National Taiwan Normal University.
- Building a Taiwan-Illinois pipeline for manufacturing SiCOl nonlinear and quantum photonics. UAAT principal investigator: Ming-Chi Chou, Academy of Innovative Semiconductor and Sustainable Manufacturing, National Cheng Kung University. U of I principal investigator: Christopher Anderson, department of materials science and engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. UAAT Co-PIs: Chao-Kuei Lee, department of photonics, National Sun Yat-sen University, Yi-Jen Chiu, department of photonics, National Sun Yat-sen University.
- AI-empowered multimodal optical imaging for chronic disease prognosis. UAAT principal investigator: Sheng-Lung Huang, department of photonics and optoelectronics, National Taiwan University. U of I principal investigator: Stephen Boppart, department of electrical and computer engineering and department of bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. UAAT Co-PI: Wen-Chuan Kuo, Institute of Biophotonics, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University.
- AI-powered integration for holistic impact: Assessing social and environmental outcomes through geospatial and multi-source data AI. UAAT principal investigator: Stephen J.H. Yang, department of computer science and information engineering, National Central University. U of I principal investigator: Sandy Wayne, department of managerial studies, University of Illinois Chicago. UAAT Co-PIs: Yuei-An Liu, Center for Space and Remote Sensing Research, National Central University, Vincent F. Yu, department of industrial management, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Chien-wen Shen, department of business administration, National Central University. U of I Co-PIs: Andrew Hanson and Stuart Handler, department of real estate, and Ali Tafti, department of information and decision sciences, University of Illinois Chicago.
- Digital twins for personalized immunotherapy: A case study for HCC. UAAT principal investigator: Che Lin, department of electrical engineering and School of Medicine, National Taiwan University. U of I principal investigator: Ravishankar Iyer, department of electrical and computer engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. UAAT Co-PIs: Po-Chih Kuo, department of computer science, National Tsing Hua University, Tung-Hung Su, department of internal medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital. U of I Co-PI: Bhrandon Harris, department of family medicine, University of Illinois Chicago.
- Adaptive digital twin framework for smart additive manufacturing via physics-informed machine learning. UAAT principal investigator: Tsung-Hui Huang, department of power mechanical engineering, National Tsing Hua University. U of I principal investigator: Jinhui Yan, department of civil and environmental engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. UAAT Co-PIs: Dian-Ru Li, department of mechanical engineering, National Taiwan University. U of I Co-PI: Mohamed Aboukhatwa, Applied Research Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
- Innovative aeration strategies for achieving sustainability and carbon neutrality in urban wastewater treatment. UAAT principal investigator: Jer- Horng Wu, department of environmental engineering, National Cheng Kung University. U of I principal investigator: Ran Mei, department of civil and environmental engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. UAAT Co-PIs: Chang-Ping Yu, Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, and Yu-Wei Wu, Graduate Institute of Biomedical Informatics, Taipei Medical University.
- Sustainable electrochemical remediation of PFAS for industrial and environmental applications. UAAT principal investigator: Chia-Hung Hou, Graduate Institute for Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University. U of I principal investigator: Xiao Su, department of chemical and biomolecular engineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. UAAT Co-PIs: Pei-Hsin Chou, department of environmental engineering, National Cheng Kung University, and Sofia Ya-Hsuan Liou, department of geosciences, National Taiwan University.
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About the University of Illinois System: The University of Illinois System is a world leader in research and discovery, and the largest educational institution in the state with more than 97,700 students, about 28,000 full-time equivalent faculty and staff, and universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield. The U of I System awards more than 27,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees annually. Learn more at https://www.uillinois.edu.
About the University Academic Alliance in Taiwan: The University Academic Alliance in Taiwan (UAAT) consists of 12 universities in Taiwan, including National Taiwan University, National Cheng Kung University, National Tsing Hua University, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, National Sun Yat-sen University, National Taipei University of Technology, National Chengchi University, National Chung Hsing University, National Central University, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei Medical University, and National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. Learn more at https://uaat.ntu.edu.tw/
