The president of one of the US's most prestigious universities praised the contribution that Taiwan has made to the world.
Speaking at a gathering of Taiwanese alumni of Stanford University at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Taipei on Wednesday, John Hennessy highlighted some of the achievements Taiwanese graduates have made over the years.
"Stanford has seen the benefits of having so many Taiwanese alumni," Hennessy said at the NT$4,000-a-ticket gala dinner.
The event was held to award the K. T. Li professorships in honor of the late Taiwanese statesman, Li Kwoh-ting (李國鼎).
At one time, Li was a senior presidential advisor and has been dubbed the father of Taiwan's economic miracle.
"I had the honor of meeting Dr. Li Kwoh-ting in 1997. He recognized the importance of science and research for economic growth," Hennessy said.
It was Li who created the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park (
Since the park was established in 1980, the Taiwan government has invested approximately US$912 million in the Hsinchu science park's infrastructure.
At the end of last month, there were 334 companies in the park; including many high-tech semiconductor manufacturers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), founded by Morris Chang (張忠謀).
"The names of Morris Chang and TSMC are known throughout the world. Chang set up the wafer foundry that has become the model for the world," Hennessy said.
Chang obtained a doctorate in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1964.
Other famous Stanford alumni include Huang Jen-hsun, founder of Nvidia Corp, the world's leading computer graphics developer; and Jerry Yang (楊致遠), who left Stanford to found Yahoo!
Hennessy praised the "silicon miracle they have created in Taiwan as well as in Silicon Valley."
International students have always played a key role at Stanford. Fifty percent of international students come from Asia. Twenty-five percent of undergraduates are Asian-Americans.
World-famous golfer Tiger Woods was at Stanford, although he has not yet graduated. But "it's never too late," Hennessy joked.
Hennessy stressed the motivation and creativity of Stanford graduates. "One of the things Stanford graduates have done throughout the world is to go on to become entrepreneurs," he said.
"Being a great university is not something you can be by standing still," Hennessy said, highlighting three new inter-disciplinary schools that will be set up at Stanford in the coming years.
The first is a school in environmental sciences that will look at the field of sustainable development and energy in the developing world. "An isolationist approach to world affairs is increasingly untenable,' Hennessy said.
The second school is the new bio-engineering department, which Hennessy called a "bold experiment" that brings together two existing schools.
The third school is the James Clark Center which will be home to faculty from three existing schools and a dozen departments to work in biomedical sciences.
However, funding remains a concern, even for a leading school such as Stanford.
Hennessy pointed out that more than 1,500 undergraduates participated in research in 2002. Fifty percent of the undergraduates get financial aid, but only 20 percent of international students receive that kind of assistance. "There is just not enough cash," he said.
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