NTHU Professors Ray Nien Kwo and Ci-Ling Pan have been honored as American Physics Society Fellows. This is a great distinction for these two professors as only three Taiwanese were honored this year, the largest amount of Taiwanese recipients ever.

Professor Ray Nien Kwo received her doctorate from Stanford University in 1981. Upon graduating she spent twenty-two years at Bell Labs and returned to Taiwan in 2003 to assuming a teaching position at NTHU's department of physics. Professor Kwo was nominated by the materials physics division for her outstanding work in developing novel electronic materials using innovative fabrication techniques, especially her pioneering work that laid the foundation for the field of artificial magnetic superlattices.

Professor Ci-Ling Pan has received numerous awards from the National Science Council and the Ministry of Education. He is a member of Taiwan's Physical Society, Photonic Society of Chinese Americans, the American Photonic society, and the International Photonic Engineering Society, among others. In 2009 the National Science Council held its fiftieth anniversary where Professor Pan was nominated for a number of prestigious awards. Nominated by the laser science division, Professor Ci-Ling Pan was recognized for his pioneering studies of the physics and technology of ion-planted semiconductor and liquid-crystal devices for ultrafast and THz applications, and for significant contributions toward developing tunable and ultrafast laser systems for applications in communications, sensing, spectroscopy and materials diagnostics and processing.

The American Physical Society was founded on May 20, 1899 by 36 physicists from Columbia University. They proclaimed the mission of the new Society as "to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics", and in one way or another the APS has been at that task ever since. In recent years, the activities of the Society have broadened considerably. It conducts extensive programs in education, public outreach, and media relations. APS has fourteen divisions and nine topical groups covering all areas of physics research. There are six forums that reflect the interest of its 46,000 members in broader issues, and eight sections organized by geographical region.