Rocket scientist Wu Jong-shinn (吳宗信) has officially assumed the position of National Space Organization (NSPO) director-general, the National Applied Research Laboratories (NARL) said on Monday.
Wu took over the official seal from former acting director-general Yu Shiann-jeng (余憲政) at a ceremony at the NSPO’s headquarters in the Hsinchu Science Park, with NARL president Wu Kuang-chong (吳光鐘) overseeing the ceremony, the NARL said in a news release.
Wu Jong-shinn specializes in system engineering, hybrid rocket propulsion and plasma physics, among other areas, it said.
Photo courtesy of 2030.tw through the National Applied Research Laboratories
The Space Development Act (太空發展法), which was promulgated in June, provides the legal basis for the promotion of the nation’s space technology and industry, he was quoted as saying in the news release.
Wu Jong-shinn expressed the hope that he would help Taiwan reinforce the foundations of space technologies and foster the growth of local space industry supply chains and space start-ups.
He obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from National Taiwan University and his doctorate in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan in 1994.
In 1995, Wu Jong-shinn returned to Taiwan to work at the National Space Program Office — the NSPO’s predecessor — and in 1998 started teaching at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at National Chiao Tung University (NCTU, renamed National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in February).
In 2012, Wu Jong-shinn founded the Advanced Rocket Research Center at NCTU and in 2015 temporarily served as chief technology officer at GEOSAT Aerospace & Technology Inc. In 2016, he founded Taiwan Innovative Space Inc, but returned to NCTU in 2018.
“Wu [Jong-shinn] will lead his country’s space R&D efforts as the nation makes a concerted effort to fully participate in the world’s space economy,” the University of Michigan said in a news release on July 21.
“Wu [Jong-shinn]’s ambitious plans for NSPO include designing and manufacturing its own satellites and rockets... He also aims to double NSPO’s workforce to 600 employees by 2028, while growing its annual US$100 million budget,” it said.
Currently, the NSPO has about 220 employees and an annual budget of around NT$2.3 billion.
He has appointed three deputy directors-general — Yu, Vicky Chu (朱崇惠) and Kuo Tien-chuan (郭添全), Wu Jong-shinn told the Taipei Times.
Chu is a former project leader of the Formosat-7/COSMIC-2 satellite constellation — a Taiwan-US collaboration, while Kuo is a former director of the NSPO’s mechanical engineering division.
Wu Jong-shinn is the first rocket scientist to take the NSPO’s helm, Wu Kuang-chong said.
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