In early 2015, a thought occurred to me why not publish and gift a technical book to Professor Hsin Sheng Tsay on his 70^th birthday, considering Professor Tsay's immense contribution to research on traditional Chinese medicinal plants by his group in the CYUT? Shedding the initial hesitation and fears about how to begin, a panel of five editors from CYUT, Academia Sinica, National Chung Hsing University and China Medical University, myself (as a corresponding editor), and Professor Tsay was formed to handle the book project. We discussed the book theme, wrote the proposal and explored a potential publisher. Finally, Springer Nature Singapore was narrowed down as the publisher. We had much correspondence with the Springer team. We invited potential authors from different countries to submit their manuscripts (mainly review articles) for the book. After thorough editing and revisions, manuscripts of the final chapters were submitted to Springer Nature. The first book was published in 2016 (Medicinal Plants - Recent Advances in Research and Development). It took more than two years for the publication of our first book. Encouraged by the overwhelming response from academia the world over, we immediately started working on our second Springer book, which was published in 2017 (Medicinal Plants and Fungi - Recent Advances in Research and Development). In 2020, the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, awarded our second book as one of the most influential research books.   

After publishing two books and seeing their success, I felt confident and thought, why not continue this book publishing activity? If I could publish more books, it would be my unique contribution to CYUT.

Professor M Dhanasekaran from Auburn University, USA, who had contributed chapters in the previous two books, agreed to collaborate for the next book. Considering the medicinal value of mushrooms, we published our third Springer book in 2019 (Medicinal Mushrooms - Recent Progress in Research and Development). The next (fourth) book was published in 2021 (Medicinal Herbs and Fungi – Neurotoxicity vs Neuroprotection).

Cannabis is a controversial plant in many countries, including Taiwan. However, considering its significant value in medicines and sustainable agriculture, vast research activities exist worldwide, especially in developed countries. Therefore, we thought to bring out the latest research and development on Cannabis. This led to the publication of two books in 2022, the fifth on medicinal aspects (Cannabis/Marijuana for Healthcare). And the sixth book on sustainable agriculture and eco-friendly construction materials (Cannabis/Hemp for Sustainable Agriculture and Materials).     

The seventh and last book on mushrooms is published recently in May 2023 (Mushrooms with Therapeutic Potentials - Recent Advances in Research and Development)

Total downloads (~ 95,000) and citations (~200) indicate that these books have an overwhelming response from scientists across the globe. Researchers worldwide may benefit from the latest information on subjects covered in these books in the years to come. Many researchers (authors) across the globe who have written their manuscripts for these books may know about CYUT and Taiwan. I feel fortunate to make this small contribution to CYUT.

I will happily retire this July after spending successful nine and a half years at this beautiful campus of CYUT, a temple of knowledge and learning.