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After a yearlong consideration and discussion at the Selection Committee, NTHU has recently announced and awarded the 13th Distinguished Alumni Awards to three outstanding entrepreneurs applauding their excellence and acknowledge the contributions they have made. They are:
Dr. Tien-Yien Li who is a graduate of the Department of Mathematics and currently a Chair Professor at Michigan State University. An extremely accomplished applied mathematician; he formulated the "chaos" concept with Dr. Jim A. Yorker and ushered in a new era for the scientific community with their research on the chaotic dynamical system. Moreover, Dr. Li, Dr. R. B. Kellogg and Dr. Yorker’s method and theory on how to calculate Brower set point broadened the modern research on homotopy continuation in algorithm.
With the motto of "live as if today is the last day," Dr. Li made himself a rigorous scientist and inspires all his students to do the same. He said that being smarter than others is not a sufficient condition to success; to be able to understand the problem is much more conductive. He further stressed that his method of solving problems is to devote one more minute than others, and that extra minute could be the very step needed on the road to success. He often reminds his students to "do it with all your heart; persist until the very end and never give up easily." Additionally, Dr. Li said that learning and doing research require thorough understanding, especially in mathematics, because memorizing the logical process with scanty knowledge is useless, one should look at a problem from different angles.
Aside from his busy schedule at Michigan State, Dr. Li has taken a great deal of his time to promote computational science in Taiwan. He is also passionate about his alma mater and has made great contribution toward developing NTHU's Department of Mathematics.
Dr. Zhong-Ping Sun received her Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Cornell University after graduating from NTHU's Department of Nuclear Engineering in 1974. She is currently the Vice President of Corporate Planning at Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co., Ltd. (TSMC). Before joining TSMC, she served at IBM for 23 years as the General Manager of Taiwan Corporation Technology Group, which had brought her a spot in the Hall of Fame in the IBM Corporation Technology Group.
After graduation in 1980, she entered the top IBM Research Center in New York as a researcher, and discovered that many research findings failed to be materialized in the process of product manufacturing. Eager to find a solution for such a gap between R&D and manufacturing, Dr. Sun asked to be transferred into the department of product development and later to the manufacturing sector hoping to find solutions to fill such "gaps."
In 1993, Dr. Sun voluntarily transferred to the marketing field. In 1996, she was asked to specialize in the sales of technologies developed by IBM Technology Group in the fields of microelectronics, hard drives and monitors. Meanwhile, she was also appointed with the important task to establish the Asia-Pacific Regional Headquarter. In 1999, Dr. Sun made a new record of completing an eight-billion-dollar procurement and strategic alliance contract with the Acer Group in only 80 days. The contract was another peak in her career and the third joint project (first and second being with Dell and HP respectively) since the founding of IBM Technology Corporation. In July, 2000, Dr. Sun assumed the position as the General Manager of Acer Union and in autumn of 2003, she officially joined TSMC as the Vice President of Corporate Planning with the responsibilities to oversee TSMC product pricing, and capacity/cost/capital expenditure planning, as we as the plans of manufacturing and business development.
Dr. Sun and her family share a strong bond with NTHU. Her father and siblings are all NTHU's alumni. She is also a member of Club One Hundred and has made many generous donations toward the development of NTHU over the years.
Mr. Robert Tsai is a graduate of the Department of Chemical Engineering and is currently the Chairman of three major companies in Taiwan and China. These are: Swancor Co., Ltd. in Taiwan, Swancor Fine Chemical Industrial Co., Ltd. in Shanghai and Swancor Wind Blade Materials Co., Ltd. in Tianjin. Under the leadership of Mr. Tsai, Swancor has won numerous national industry and enterprise awards. In 2011, Swancor became an IFRS Model Manufacturer selected by the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC). In the same calendar year, Swancor also passed the Corporate Governance System Assessment and received CG6006 Certificate. In addition, Swancor is currently the largest vinyl ester resin supplier in Taiwan, mainland China and Southeast Asia region.
Chairman Robert Tsai has long been a well respect consultant for small and medium firms since 1997. He believes to serve as a consultant to small enterprises at their early stage of development is to give back the support he received when he first started his own business. Mr. Tsai maintains strong a connection with his alma mater. He actively participates in the development of his home department, and he is the current Chairman of NTHU Entrepreneur Network Association. Moreover, over the years, he has been a frequent guest speaker presenting his expertise and share his experience at various forums held at NTHU. Last but not the least, Mr. Tsai is also a member of Club One Hundred and donated 10 million NTD in the name of Swancor Corp. to the construction of Tsing Hua Lab./p>
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