Center for Condensed Matter Sciences Director Li-Chyong Chen Won 2017 Taiwan’s Outstanding Women in Science Award

The winners of the 10th Taiwan Outstanding Women in Science Awards were announced on March 11, 2017, and the award ceremony was also held on the same day. This year the awardees are all researchers working in the field of “science of matter”. The most notable “Outstanding Women in Science” award, the top honor, went to Dr. Li-Chyong Chen, Director and Research Fellow of the Center for Condensed Matter Sciences (CCMS), National Taiwan University.

TAfter receiving her doctoral degree from Harvard University in 1989, Dr. Li-Chyong Lin joined the Corporate Research and Development division of General Electric’s (GE) Materials Research Center and engaged in the development of high-performance engines and new environmentally friendly energy-efficient luminescent materials. In 1994 Dr. Chen returned to Taiwan and became a researcher of the Center for Condensed Matter Sciences (CCMS) at National Taiwan University. She has since made considerable contributions to the development of advanced materials and their applications, especially in semiconductors, optoelectronics and energy materials. Dr. Chen’s research focuses on the use of sophisticated thin-film technology to synthesize nanostructures and to explore the relationships of their growth mechanisms and microstructures with a variety of physical and chemical properties, the objective of which is to explore the application potential of these materials in support of the global trend of utilizing sustainable energy materials.

With more than 380 research papers published in journals covered by the Science Citation Index (SCI), Dr. Chen is not only a prolific researcher but also one of very high caliber, and her papers have received over 11,650 citations, with h-index = 55. She holds 13 domestic and international patents, and the findings of her research have been recognized internationally as well. Among the honors and awards Dr. Chen has received are: an honorary doctorate from Linköping University, Sweden; Distinguished Visiting Research Fellow, Royal Academy of Engineering, UK; Laureate of the Khwarizmi International Award; Acharya Vinoba International Award in Materials Science and Technology; and Academician of the Asia Pacific Academy of Materials. In 2010 she also became an Elected Fellow of the Materials Research Society, USA, the first Taiwanese scholar to have received this designation. Through her fruitful research Dr. Chen’s has earned international prestige, and her Outstanding Women in Science Award is indeed well deserved. Finding the purpose and meaning in life in the course of conducting research, as well as using technology to benefit humankind and the planet, is what has continued to fuel Dr. Chen’s passion and to propel her forward into the frontier of research.

In addition to serving in the international academic community to help boost the visibility of Taiwan on the world stage, Dr. Chen has also been involved with the establishment of a women’s working committee within the Physical Society of Taiwan and is actively engaged in events and activities (such as science camps) aimed at nurturing scientific talent among young people, especially young women, with the goal of raising the influence and the level of participation of women in science and technology.