Introduction
Features
The core feature of the department is an interdisciplinary endeavor resulting from a blurring of the boundaries between the ocean environmental, computing and information sciences. Marine Environmental Informatics investigates the development of effective techniques to deliver comprehensive and reliable information for marine research. This assimilates expertise and technologies and promotes interaction between fields such as oceanography, marine environmental monitoring, marine environmental databases and information systems, geographical information systems, numerical simulation modeling, internet exploitation, data visualization and information theory.
Educational Goals
The development direction of the department is focus on the courses and researches in the field of oceanography, marine environmental monitoring, and related computer applications. Research and training involves mainly in physical and chemical oceanography along with field and laboratory work, remote sensing, ocean acoustics and numerical modeling. Research programs are carried out in the coastal and open ocean as well as sediments and rivers.
History
Department of Marine Environmental Informatics was founded in 1969. At that time it was called the Department of Oceanography. It is the first and foremost department in Taiwan specifically for training specialists in marine sciences and environmental information. In addition to the undergraduate program, programs leading to master degree and doctoral degree were established in 1977 and 2002, respectively. A continuing education program for master degree was begun in 2003. In 2005, the department's name was changed to the present name to reflect more accurately the strength of the department.
Development Directions
The development directions of our department in teaching and research primarily focus on monitoring or detecting various phenomena in the marine environment. The primary research targets are physical oceanography, marine chemistry, and marine environmental monitoring.
Physical oceanography studies the processes of seawater movement, such as waves, currents, and tides, as well as various physical phenomena in the ocean. Marine chemistry mainly studies the chemical reactions of seawater, organisms, and seabed sediments, as well as the chemical analysis of their constituent elements. The department's teaching and research focus on exploring and monitoring factors that pollute the marine environment and on strengthening the integrated application of various data-processing methods.
The Department of Marine Environmental Informatics aims to cultivate talents in marine science, environmental monitoring, and information application. Therefore, the undergraduate courses are mainly based on three major areas: marine science, environmental monitoring, and information technology. The field of marine science focuses on the exploration of nearshore physical and chemical environments and the impact of global environmental changes on the waters around Taiwan; the field of information technology expands information-related courses and emphasizes the integration and presentation of various marine data, such as in-situ observations, satellite remote sensing, and numerical model simulations; the field of environmental monitoring focuses on in-situ observation, remote sensing, and the practical application of observation instruments.
This training not only enhances students' computer and information skills, but also increases the diversity and competitiveness of their employment opportunities. Additionally, it addresses the market demand for information-related work in modern society. Furthermore, student training improves their ability to research marine environmental issues in graduate school. Students are not required to strictly choose one of the two major areas of study, as this depends on their individual aptitudes. The goal is to help students understand the direction of the curriculum, pursue their interests and abilities, and develop core competencies.