Inspiration
Why would a successful businessman want to change his career and dedicate his time to the seemingly impossible task of inventing a pavement that can solve issues in urban water management, heat island effect, and drought all at the same time? The invention behind the JW Eco-Technology was a heart-warming story.
After a few years of a steady and successful career, Jui-Wen Chen faced a serious problem in his personal life – one of his children inherited allergies from him. When Jui-Wen Chen was a child, his allergies would not be triggered if he stayed away from the mullet-drying field. However, his child, who has a more severe case of allergies than he does, needs to go to the hospital regularly to receive allergy treatments.
Over the years, he noticed there were more and more children suffering from allergies. The doctor told him it was mainly due to the increased level of pollution in the environment. The doctor pointed to the road construction outside and explained that, with all the digging and paving, road construction could be one of the causes of increased pollution because of the large amount of dust it produces. Jui-Wen Chen was shocked to hear that his successful road construction business actually contributed to air pollution.
Realizing this, Jui-Wen Chen became more sensitive to the impact of air pollution on human health. Though his newly improved roads make our lives easier, the pollution that it causes results in a reduced amount of marine life as well as a greater population of children with allergies.
At the same time, he also noticed another problem. Even with higher embankment protecting the city from river water, the city would still have floods because water in the city was not able to discharge completely into rivers; water would quickly build up, causing floods in the city.
Jui-Wen Chen started to think that maybe he could invent a new type of pavement to solve all these problems.
By Kathleen Chien