~ BioPhotonics 2013 ~

(Time: July 17~19, 2013; Location: Barry Lam Hall, NTU)

The 2^nd biophotonics conference was held at National Taiwan University during July 17~19, 2013, two years after the successful conclusion of the 1^st conference at Parma University, Italy. On the morning of the 1^st day, NTU president, Pan-Chyr Yang, presided over the opening ceremony. Afterward, during the theme speech session, Chung-Hsuan Chen, an Academia Sinica fellow, and Jürgen Popp, a professor of Jena University, Germany, spoke about the major applications of DNA mass spectrometer and Raman spectrometer respectively. Next on the agenda, were topics concerning micro-channel and biochips. A lunch featuring a Chinese and western combined buffet, was served in Barry Lam Hall. Although space in the lunch room was limited, and the room was crowded with foreign and domestic scholars, the lack of space did provide an excellent opportunity for everyone to get to know each other, and exchange knowledge of different domains of biophotonics. In the afternoon, there were topics concerning optical coherence tomography and medical imaging. These topics included many types of imaging technologies which could, when used in different applications, create various imaging modes. Dinner in the evening of the 1^st day was served at the Garden cafeteria of Howard Hotel. Those interested in the day’s topic stook this opportunity enter discussions with related scholars for further information, and thus created further exchange of knowledge among them.

In the morning of the 2^nd day, participants proceeded to discuss the tissue imaging topic, which focused mostly on the mechanism of imaging-assisting-operation therapy. In medical nidus, surface imaging is no longer adequate, it needs to integrate 3D imaging to precisely locate, excise and sinter problem tissues. At 10:30 am, all conference participants assembled in front of the gate of Barry Lam Hall to take a group photo, for a memorial of this conference. Next, there was the paper poster and digital poster session. Nowadays, some foreign conferences have increasingly developed facilities for digital poster sessions; in order to keep up with the multimedia era, to show participants’ research results more vividly, and to increase the adaptability of the agenda, we have also increased digital poster facilities for the conference. In the afternoon, the topic discussed was the application of fluorescence microscope. This topic has great relevance to cells and molecular biology, and was therefore, of great help to those who were studying cell imaging. The dinner on the 2^nd day was served at Shin Yeh restaurant, located on the 85^th floor of Taipei 101 tower, a landmark of Taipei. We had arrived at the restaurant before sundown, and the day was still clear. All the foreign and domestic scholars were immediately attracted by the view out of the restaurant window, the sundown by Guanyin mountain and Dansui river mouth, and street lights in the whole Taipei basin.

The agenda of the 3^rd day morning was the sensing and components of molecular grades. The theme of this topic was to identify molecular structures or diseases by virtue of interactions among surface plasma wave, antigen and antibody. In the afternoon, there was the topic of applicable biomedical implements which could have great potential for the following ten years. After all papers had been presented, Prof. Selleri announced that the next biophotonics conference would be held in Florence, Italy, the birthplace of the Renaissance, at a location that looked like a European palace.

In order to help Taiwanese photonics professionals catch up with international biomedical applicable photonics technologies, we especially arranged 3 tutorials in the afternoon of July 16^th. Professor Yu-Hwa Lo, UCSD, Professor Chung-Ping Chen, UC Irvine, and Professor Chi-Kuang Sun, GIPO, NTU, delivered speeches concerning detailed theoretical analysis and experiment verification, and the most updated development and application information of cell micro-channel, optical coherence tomography and cell nonlinear imaging technologies. These tutorials were very beneficial for the photonics professionals who would soon be entering the study of biomedicine.

As we could see from their reports presented in the conference, there was a similarity among foreign professors’ research, i.e. they have been striving hard toward the goal of developing an intact set of technology, or instruments, and to certify them, such as with FDA certification, in due time. It could also be said that in peer reviews of foreign universities, the invention of some commercial instrument facilities, or the establishment of some high-tech corporation could be an index of their research success. This similarity could, perhaps, serve as a reference for Taiwanese academia.

We would like to thank Professor Si-Chen Lee, former president of NTU, for his service as the chairman of the counseling committee. Also we would like to thank Professor Sheng-Lung Huang, GIPO, NTU, and Professor Fu-Jen Kao, Institute of Biophotonics, National Yang-Ming University, for their efforts in preparing this conference, and thank Yen Tjing Ling Industrial Research Institute, NTU, for their kind assistance. With their help, the participating scholars not only learned about international-level biophotonics technologies, but also gained an opportunity for international academic exchange and cooperation.

A group photo of the participating scholars, in front of Barry Lam Hall

President Pan-Chyr Yang addressing the conference at the opening ceremony	The conference chair, Professor Sheng-Lung Huang, addressing the conference

A snapshot of the conference scene

A snapshot of the conference scene

A snapshot of the conference scene