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Academia Sinica, 33rd Academicians Election, Li-Chyong Chen, Center of Atomic Initiative for New Materials, Center for Condensed Matter Sciences
NSRRC Trustee, Prof. Li-Chyong Chen Elected as Academician of Academia Sinica
2022/07/13
Academia Sinica President James C. Liao and 5 newly elected Academicians who attended the press conference.
Academia Sinica (AS) recently announced the 2022 list of Academicians; total of 19 Academicians and 3 Honorary Academicians were elected, including 4 female Academicians. The NSRRC board member, as well as a long-term NSRRC user, Prof. Li-Chyong Chen, was elected as Academician in Division of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Election to the AS Academicians is considered the country's highest academic honor.

Academician Chen has served as a Supervisor (2015-2018) and a Trustee (2018-present) of the NSRRC Board, making major policy decisions and providing oversight to steer the organization towards a sustainable future. She also served (2005-2008) in the Proposal Evaluation Committee, contributing her expertise to ensure the process fair and adequate. Being an expert in materials science, immense efforts by her have been devoted to research and application on green energy, such as solar fuels, solar cells, fuel cells, etc. Her studies on novel materials, nano-technology, and new energy by synchrotron radiation carried out at the NSRRC have proven to be fruitful and impactful.

Academician Chen named Distinguished Scientist by National Taiwan University (NTU), is currently the Director at the Center of Atomic Initiative for New Materials, NTU. She earned her bachelor's degree in Physics from NTU in 1981 and her doctoral degree in Applied Physics from Harvard in 1989. She was a materials scientist at General Electric (GE) in USA for years and held the office of the CCMS Director from 2012 to 2018. Over the course of her career, her internationally renowned accomplishments have brought her numerous awards and honors, for example, Laureate of the Khwarizmi Int'l Award, Int'l Federation of Inventors' Assoc. Lady Prize, Acharya Vinova Int'l Award in Materials Sci. & Tech., Academic Award of Min. of Edu., Taiwan Outstanding Women in Sci., Ho Chin-Tui Outstanding Scholar Award, Elected Fellow of USA Materials Res. Soc., Honorary Doctor of Linköping Univ., Distinguished Visiting Res. of Royal Acad. of Engr., Academician of the Asia Pacific Acad. of Materials, Elected Fellow of Taiwan Vacuum Soc., etc.

As a female scientist, Academician Chen has been actively rising female talents and motivating them to pursue their career in STEM. In 2001, she facilitated the establishment of the "Working Group on Women in Physics" as part of the Physical Society of Taiwan. In 2004, she curated a documentary, which included the testimonials from 12 females blazing a trail in physics, to disseminate the significance and values that female physicists represented for. In 2011, "Society of Taiwan Women in Science and Technology" was founded under her advocacy, aiming to nurture and retain women in STEM through passing down experiences and building collaboration. She continues to take actions to inspire girls in STEM education by visiting science classes at high schools, being an instructor at science camps, talking during STEM Lecture Tour that targets high school girls, etc. No doubt she is a real doer, striving to close gender gap in science.