Industrial Technology Research Institute

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Industrial Technology Research Institute
ITRI Logo
Type of Company non-profit research institute
Founded 1973
Headquarters Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City
Key people Lin Hsin-i, Chairman
Johnsee Lee, President
Industry R&D
Revenue $475 million
Employees 6000+
Website http://www.itri.org.tw

The Industrial Technology Research Institute (Chinese: 工業技術研究院, abbreviated 工研院; ITRI) is a non-profit research institute located in Taiwan under the supervision of the Republic of China Ministry of Economic Affairs. It conducts research and development in applied technologies for private sector growth. Founded in 1973, it gave birth to numerous key technologies now employed by the companies at the nearby Hsinchu Science Park and was instrumental in creating the "Taiwan Miracle."

Contents

[edit] History

ITRI was founded under the direction of Minister of Economic Affairs Sun Yun-suan in an effort to transform Taiwan's existing export industries, which were developed in the 1960s and centered on textiles, shoes, plastic toys, and agriculture, to the more sustainable fields of petrochemicals, machine tools, and electronics. The development of high-technology industries propelled Taiwan into the status as one of the "East Asian Tigers".

ITRI played a key role in creating the semiconductor and electronics industry in Taiwan. The United Microelectronics Corporation spun off from ITRI in 1979 and established itself in the Hsinchu Science Park as the first major Taiwanese semiconductor company. It was followed by the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation in 1986, the Taiwan Mask Corporation in 1988, and the Vanguard International Semiconductor Corporation in 1994.[1] TSMC's first semiconductor wafer fabrication plant was setup on the ITRI campus in 1985.[2] TSMC Chairman Morris Chang was concurrently Chairman and President of ITRI from 1986 to 1994.

[edit] Operations

The main entrance to the Chung-Hsing Compound at Jhudong, where ITRI was founded by the government in 1973.
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The main entrance to the Chung-Hsing Compound at Jhudong, where ITRI was founded by the government in 1973.
The Chung-Hsing Compound is ITRI's largest and primary campus.
Enlarge
The Chung-Hsing Compound is ITRI's largest and primary campus.
The Chung-Hsing Compound has employee dormatories and a guest house on its premises.
Enlarge
The Chung-Hsing Compound has employee dormatories and a guest house on its premises.

With over 6000 employees and an operating budget of about US$ 510 million (half from the MOEA and half from private sources), ITRI is the largest research institute in Taiwan.[3] The largest ITRI campus is at Jhudong, Hsinchu County (the Chung-Hsing Campus). ITRI also has smaller research campuses in Hsinchu City (the Guangfu Campus) and Tainan (the Southern Branch). ITRI maintains overseas offices in San Jose, Tokyo, Berlin, and Moscow.

The core of ITRI's operations consist of basic research and development conducted in various applied technologies. Most of the research staff at ITRI have graduate degrees. Research projects are conducted with close cooperation and partial funding from small and medium-sized companies. The results of the research are transferred to these sponsors for further development and eventual manufacture for industry. Some successful research units have spun-off into successful companies of their own.

In addition to its own research units, ITRI rents out and provides logistical support to fledgling industrial enterprises (including its own spin-offs) at its "Incubation Center" and Open Laboratory program. ITRI also has an international division to seek out partners for the benefit of Taiwanese industries. ITRI has signed research alliances with leading foreign companies and universities such as Lucent Technologies, Microsoft, MIT and the University of California, Berkeley.[4][5]

[edit] Organization

ITRI is organized into six core laboratories, five focus centers, several linkage centers, and various other supporting units.

Core Laboratories:

  • Biomedical Engineering Research Laboratories (BEL)
  • Electronics and Optoelectronics Research Laboratories (EOL)
  • Energy and Environment Research Laboratories (EEL)
  • Information and Communications Research Laboratories (ICL)
  • Material and Chemical Research Laboratories (MCL)
  • Mechanical and Systems Research Laboratories (MSL)

Focus Centers

  • Display Technology Center (DTC)
  • Medical Electronics and Device Technology Center (MEDTC)
  • Photovoltaics Technology Center (PVTC)
  • RFID Technology Center (RTC)
  • SoC Technology Center (STC)

Linkage Centers:

  • Center for Measurement Standards (CMS)
  • Creativity Lab
  • Industrial Economics & Knowledge Center (IEK)
  • Nano Technology Research Center (NTRC)
  • Technology Center for Service Industries (TCSI)

Business Development Units:

  • International Business Center
  • Technology Transfer and Service Center (TTSC)

[edit] References

  1. ^ Mathews, John A. Encouraging knowledge-intensive industries: What Australia can draw from the industrial upgrading experiences of Taiwan and Singapore. Australian Business Foundation (August 1999). URL accessed on June 24, 2006.
  2. ^ Nystedt, Dan. Cabinet to increase nanotech funding. Taipei Times. (April 25, 2002). URL accessed on June 24, 2006.
  3. ^ ITRI and Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (FhG) renew cooperation agreement. (December 17, 2004). URL accessed on June 24, 2006.
  4. ^ Why Taiwan Matters. Business Week. (May 16, 2005). URL accessed on June 24, 2006.
  5. ^ Public Sector Research Facilities. The Republic of China Yearbook. (2002). URL accessed on June 25, 2006.
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