Taiwan shines at Pittsburgh invention show

2015/06/23

Participants from Taiwan won 47 golds, 32 silvers and seven special awards at Invention and New Product Exposition June 16-18 in Pittsburgh, maintaining the nation’s four-year run of top-spot finishes at the largest fair of its kind in the U.S.

Taiwan talents beat out nearly 700 submissions from 18 countries and territories to spotlight the creativity and innovation of homegrown inventors, according to Taiwan Invention Association.

Among the gold-winning submissions, Leon Chen’s dental implant surgery technique incorporating five steps into one and slashing recovery time from 24 to four months drew widespread praise. Patented in Taiwan, the U.S. and mainland China, the groundbreaking procedure earned Chen three golds, two silvers, one special award and a cash prize of US$3,000.

Equally impressive was a nutrigenomics test chip developed by Taipei City-headquartered TCI Co. Ltd. Capable of providing dietary advice, detecting a test subject’s gene expression and identifying causes of diabetes, the product collected a gold and a special award.

Also in the winner’s circle was a multifunctional folding bed developed by Hualien County-based Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation. The easy-to-transport and eco-friendly device inspired by the 2010 floods in Pakistan won double golds and a special award.

Other notables include a biodegradable bonsai container by a team from Overseas Chinese University in Taichung City, and an anti-theft screw lock for computers by three teenage siblings from Taipei.

Taiwan educators Grace Lee, chairwoman of Chiayi County-based WuFeng University, and Chai Yen-hsin, assistant professor of electrical engineering at Taipei Chengshih University of Science and Technology, were also recognized by INPEX with a special award for efforts in promoting local invention education.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=231757&ctNode=413)