MU BS Physics students embark in 10-day summer exchange program at TKU

Article by: Therese Anne B. Cruz

Photo courtesy of School of Foundational Studies and Education

From August 4 to 13, Mapúa University’s (MU) BS Physics students attended a 10-day summer exchange program at Tamkang University (TKU) in Taiwan. Throughout the course of the program, students were immersed in a series of lectures and laboratory training courses which included nanotechnology, X-ray science, quantum materials, and advanced materials energy and energy science, among others.

Hosted by TKU, the program officially began on August 4 with Dr. Lucia Chen, Vice President for International Affairs, Dr. Chien-Mu Yeh, Dean of the Office of International and Cross-Strait Affairs, and Dr. Cheng-Hao Chuang, Chair of the Department of Physics and the Department of Advanced Materials, welcoming the MU students together with faculty-in-charge, Dr. Jacque Lynn F. Gabayno.

Each TKU professor gave one-hour physics lectures on advanced materials characterization, nanotechnology, X-ray science, and quantum materials first-principles simulation. Participants also gained access firsthand experience with state-of-the-art facilities as they rotated through laboratory training courses in spectroscopy, advanced materials and energy science, nanotechnology, and computational condensed matter physics.

Mapúans also had the opportunity to tour the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NSRRC), a synchrotron radiation facility at the Hsinchu Science Park in East District, Hsinchu City, Taiwan. The center currently runs two accelerators: the Taiwan Photon Source (TPS) and the Taiwan Light Source (TLS) – which is a first third-generation synchrotron light source facility in Asia and the third worldwide that has a beam energy of 1.5 GeV and a circumference of 120 meters. As well as a visit to the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) Museum of Innovation—a gallery that highlights how integrated circuits (IC) has become embedded in our daily lives and how its innovation can further global technology advancement.

Moreover, aside from lectures and courses, the itinerary involved getting to know Taiwan’s culture; such as taking a Mandarin language course, tea culture courses, a campus tour to the Gallery of Tamkang History, a tour to the National Palace Museum, Longshan Temple, and Bopiliao Historic Block.

The summer program was made possible with an academic exchange and student exchange agreement inked by TKU and MU last November 26, 2024 at the Hsu Shou-Chlien International Conference Center in Taiwan, with TKU President Huan-Chao Keh and MU President and Chief Executive Officer Dodjie S. Maestrecampo representing the two universities.