The Ministry of Science and Technology last month received more than 500 COVID-19 research proposals, including one about using microwaves to kill the novel coronavirus, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Shieh Dar-bin (謝達斌) said on Friday.
The ministry on April 2 announced NT$1 billion (US$33.4 million) in funding for research projects related to COVID-19, including for testing, treatments, vaccines and concept proofs related to the virus.
After closing its reception on April 30, the ministry has received 540 proposals, showing that academics are eager to make contributions to combat the disease, Shieh said.
Photo: CNA
Among the proposals, 28 have passed a preliminary review, while the ministry is to announce the final recipients soon, possibly later this month, he said.
Some researchers proposed using microwaves to kill the virus, while others proposed developing devices to filter it from the air, Shieh said.
Other proposals aim to develop advanced diagnosis tools, multilingual platforms to share disease prevention information and community-based monitoring systems for disease control, he said, adding that teams submitting the proposals come from different disciplines.
The ministry also plays a role in the research division of the Central Epidemic Command Center, where it mainly deals with drug development, but its call for research projects is more open-ended, he said.
Some projects might not make immediate breakthroughs, but science and technology development requires both goal-directed and more diversified research, he said.
The ministry plans to expand its support for research on emerging infectious diseases by establishing new research centers at universities with medical and clinical systems, Shieh said, adding that schools interested in establishing a center could file an application with the ministry.
Just as the ministry has funded four universities to establish research centers for artificial intelligence, each devoted to different applications in the field, the centers for epidemic prevention would each focus on separate aspects of prevention, he said.
Asked if the Executive Yuan’s increased spending on virus relief would affect the ministry’s research funding, Minister of Science and Technology Chen Liang-gee (陳良基) said it would not, because the Cabinet’s relief package is sourced from a special budget.
However, the effects of decreased tax revenues would be felt next year, and hopefully it would not last for more than a year, he said.
In other news, after the ministry last week named the 20 most influential monographs written by academics in humanities, engineering, natural sciences and life sciences, it is to announce the 10 most influential papers later this month, to promote the achievements of researchers, Chen said.
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