An elderly Changhua County man has been accepted into Da-Yeh University’s Electrical Engineering doctorate program on the basis of his outstanding academic achievements.
Chen Ping-sung (陳炳松), 77, said he visits the library in the county’s Tianjhong Township (田中) every day at 8:30am to read treatises on topics such as solar energy technology and semiconductor manufacturing theory.
“I do not want to remain idle — I want to challenge my limits,” Chen said on Friday.
Photo: Chen Kuan-pei, Taipei Times
Chen, who said he has always excelled in his studies, has entered various academic programs since retiring.
After leaving his post as a military doctor, Chen passed the exams to become an inspector for Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower) northern operations division.
He worked for several years in this role while studying for the entrance exam for China University of Technology’s Department of Civil Engineering.
At 45, he left Taipower to work as a road inspector for 10 years. At 61, Chen went to China to study at the Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, and returned to Taiwan after graduation to enter a master’s program in business management at Ming Dao University.
Last month, Chen took the entrance exam for Da-Yeh University and was accepted on Dec. 7, after ranking No. 1 on the test.
Chen said most of his inspiration to continue studying after his retirement from Taipower came from his wife and the sons of four doctors he knows.
Chen said he was always the oldest student in his classes during that time, and would read at least five hours a day.
Aside from studying mathematics and physics, Chen said he spent time reading the biographies of famous people.
“Since I was young I have always had the habit of reading,” he said, adding that he also does stretching exercises and taichi for two hours everyday.
“Energy is what you need most when you are reading,” Chen said, adding that he also goes swimming at least once a week to maintain his health.
Chen said everyone should learn a variety of skills to avoid becoming redundant.
“A cunning rabbit has three holes,” he said, relating his point to an old Chinese proverb.
Society in general will progress more if everyone has multi-faceted skills, he added.
Chen said his motivation in studying solar power is rooted in his desire to help the government with its goal of phasing out nuclear power and developing sustainable power solutions.
Chen said he hopes doctoral knowledge combined with his past work experience will make him well-equipped to help.
Da-Yeh University’s Electrical Engineering Department dean Huang Chun-chieh (黃俊杰) said Chen’s doctoral studies in the department will require him to obtain 32 academic credits and submit a research thesis, which he will need to defend.
The process can take between two and seven years depending on the student’s pace, Huang said, adding that he hopes Chen will be successful.
Chen said he has confidence in his ability and that he has already begun his thesis research.
He hopes he can complete the program in three years, Chen said.
Taiwanese were praised for their composure after a video filmed by Taiwanese tourists capturing the moment a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Japan’s Aomori Prefecture went viral on social media. The video shows a hotel room shaking violently amid Monday’s quake, with objects falling to the ground. Two Taiwanese began filming with their mobile phones, while two others held the sides of a TV to prevent it from falling. When the shaking stopped, the pair calmly took down the TV and laid it flat on a tatami mat, the video shows. The video also captured the group talking about the safety of their companions bathing
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
A classified Pentagon-produced, multiyear assessment — the Overmatch brief — highlighted unreported Chinese capabilities to destroy US military assets and identified US supply chain choke points, painting a disturbing picture of waning US military might, a New York Times editorial published on Monday said. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comments in November last year that “we lose every time” in Pentagon-conducted war games pitting the US against China further highlighted the uncertainty about the US’ capability to intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. “It shows the Pentagon’s overreliance on expensive, vulnerable weapons as adversaries field cheap, technologically
RSS