Presidential Science Prize winners unveiled

2015/09/11

Winners of the 2015 Presidential Science Prize were announced Sept. 9 in Taipei City, recognizing the lifelong contributions of recipients to the advancement of scientific research in Taiwan.

Local academics Huang Shu-min, Lee Lin-shan and Wu Kun-yu beat out eight other nominees to claim the biennial honor. They will each receive a certificate, trophy and cash prize of NT$2 million (US$61,022) from President Ma Ying-jeou at a presentation ceremony later in the year.

Huang, dean of the Institute of Anthropology at Hsinchu City-based National Tsing-Hua University, is an expert on cultural ecology and economic anthropology, especially in East and Southeast Asia.

Elected an academician of Taipei City-based Academia Sinica in 2010, Huang has lectured at Iowa State University in the U.S. and Xiamen and Zhejiang Universities in mainland China.

Lee, an AS research fellow and professor of electrical and information engineering at National Taiwan University in Taipei City, specializes in audio signal processing.

Named a fellow of U.S.-based Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in 1993 and International Speech Communication Association in 2010, Lee is also winner of an Exemplary Global Service Award presented by IEEE Communications Society last year.

Wu, an AS academician since 1994, is dedicated to researching hematology, oncology, prostaglandin biosynthesis and regulation, as well as vascular and stem cell biology.

Formerly president of the ROC National Health Research Institutes, Wu was elected a member of the Association of American Physicians in 1997, European Academy of Sciences in 2004, Academy of Sciences for the Developing World in 2010 and distinguished emeritus member of the American Society for Hematology in 2012.

Established in 2001, the Presidential Science Prize recognizes research excellence in applied, fundamental, life and mathematic sciences, as well as social studies. It is considered the highest honor for members of Taiwan’s scientific community.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=235541&ctNode=2194&mp=9)