The Ministry of Education yesterday presented this year’s National Chair Professorships; National Awards for Distinguished Contribution to Industry-Academia Cooperation; and Academic Awards to 20 people in recognition of their dedication to academic research or their work in applying research to domestic industries.
At the awards ceremony in Taipei, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said that since the outbreak of COVID-19, people have become more aware of the importance and contributions of researchers.
She said she hoped that students would be inspired to continue to reinforce the nation’s competitiveness, adding that the government would continue to work to provide every researcher with more support.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Seven people were awarded National Chair Professorships at the 24th annual event, the ministry said, adding that each would receive an annual grant of NT$2 million (US$70,195) for three years.
In the social science category, the award was presented to Chan Tak-wai (陳德懷), a professor at National Central University’s Graduate Institute of Network Learning Technology.
In the mathematics and natural science category, Kingman Cheung (張敬民), a professor at National Tsing Hua University’s (NTHU) Department of Physics, and Hsu Chain-shu (許千樹), a professor at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University’s Department of Applied Chemistry, received the honor.
In the biology and medical and agricultural science category, the awardees were Chiang Ann-shyn (江安世), a professor at NTHU’s College of Life Science, and Yang Chih-hsin (楊志新), a professor at the National Taiwan University (NTU) College of Medicine’s Graduate Institute of Oncology.
Chen Wen-chang (陳文章), a professor at NTU’s Department of Chemical Engineering, and Hwang Bing-joe (黃炳照), a professor at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology’s Department of Chemical Engineering, claimed the prize in the engineering and applied science category.
No one was selected for the humanities and arts category this year, the ministry said.
Hwang, who has made significant contributions to the nation’s green energy sector, and Chiang, who has been key to domestic neuroscience research, each earned the recognition for a second time, making them honorary lifetime National Chair Professors, it said.
The three recipients of the third National Awards for Distinguished Contribution to Industry-Academia Cooperation were Rwei Syang-peng (芮祥鵬), a professor at National Taipei University of Technology’s Department of Molecular Science and Engineering, Jywe Wen-yuh (覺文郁), a professor at National Formosa University’s Department of Automation Engineering, and Chang Chien Jia-ren (張簡嘉壬), a professor at National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology’s Department of Electronic Engineering.
Ten people received Academic Awards, which are the nation’s oldest academic awards, having been held annually for 64 years, the ministry said.
They are Huang Mu-hsuan (黃慕萱), a professor at NTU’s Department and Graduate Institute of Library and Information Science; Sung Yao-ting (宋曜廷), a professor at National Taiwan Normal University’s Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling; Chen Tsung-fu (陳聰富) a professor at NTU’s College of Law; Wu Yih-min (吳逸民), a professor at NTU’s Department of Geosciences; Liu Ru-shi (劉如熹), a professor at NTU’s Department of Chemistry; Hanna Yuan (袁小琀) a distinguished research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Molecular Biology; Sun Yuh-ju (孫玉珠), a professor at NTHU’s Institute of Bioinformatics and Structural Biology; Lin Chih-min (林志民), a professor at Yuan Ze University’s Department of Electrical Engineering; Wu Tzong-lin (吳宗霖), a professor at NTU’s Department of Electrical Engineering; and Mark Liao (廖弘源), a distinguished research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of Information Science.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain