Science Monthly Donates Digital Content to NTU at 50th Anniversary

Taiwan’s oldest popular science magazine, Science Monthly, recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. For half a century, a growing group of science-minded scholars and researchers has consistently contributed to local science education despite all obstacles. The editors have turned Science Monthly into a public asset by devoting themselves to this publication. To commemorate its 50th anniversary, the publisher decided to donate the digital version’s right of use to NTU’s Center for the Advancement of Science. All of magazine’s content will be made public on the center’s website, to be accessed by science minded readers around the world. The ceremony was held at the Shih-Liang Conference Center in the afternoon of December 27, 2019.

“We know that politics and economy are the key factors for social progress and modernization. However, we believe that improving the general public’s knowledge and establishing a sound social value system are even more essential,” wrote Hsiao-Hsin Lin (林孝信) and Yi-Yan Li (李怡嚴), founders of Science Monthly, in 1969. They hoped to run a monthly science journal not only as extracurricular reading material for students but also as an instrument for social progress. This journal is aimed to popularize science, introduce new knowledge, open up new horizons, and encourage a scientific mindset among the general public to lay the foundation for a sound and ideal society.

Few magazines in Taiwan have thrived for over 50 years, and Science Monthly is the only one among them that is dedicated to science education. Although directors and editors have come and gone, the magazine has never missed an issue or belonged to any person or faction. It remains the fruit of the labors of a group of knowledgeable people who enthusiastically learn from and inspire each other. Because many NTU staff members and researchers have been involved in the publication over the years, it is also regarded as an early concrete example of university social responsibility.

By donating the digital content and precious archives of its early days to NTU, Science Monthly is taking a further step in the popularization of science. Yuan-Tsun Liu (劉源俊), President of the Taipei Science Publication Foundation, handed the archives and hard disk to NTU President Chung-Ming Kuan (管中閔) during the donation ceremony, then Director Yeong-Chuan Kao (高涌泉) of the Center for the Advancement of Science demonstrated the archival website dedicated to the publication.

This article is also featured in No. 76 of NTU Highlights (February, 2020).