AsianScientist (Jan. 7, 2016) – Professor Hu Chenming of Taiwan’s Academia Sinica has been selected to receive the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the highest honor for achievement and leadership in advancing science and technology in the US. Hu is one of eight recipients who will receive their medals from President Obama at a White House ceremony early next year.
The National Medal of Technology and Innovation was created by statute in 1980. A distinguished independent committee representing the private and public sectors submits recommendations to the US President. The award recognizes those who have made lasting contributions to national competitiveness and quality of life and helped strengthen national technological workforce.
Academician Hu is a microelectronics visionary, whose research has contributed to making smaller, more reliable and higher performance microchips. He is currently a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) Distinguished Professor Emeritus of the University of California, Berkeley, and was the Chief Technology Officer of TSMC from 2001 to 2004.
Hu’s transistor models, the BSIM series, are the world standards for simulating micro-circuits since 1996, and hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of microchips have been designed using his models, which he provided free to the industry. Hu’s new 3D transistor structure FinFET is replacing the transistors used by industry for the past five decades. Today, it is used in the top Apple and Samsung cell phones, computer servers and other high performance applications. His transistor will allow the the further growth of the electronics and information technology industries.
Hu has been granted over 100 US patents and published five books and over 900 research papers. He is a member of US National Academy of Engineering (1997), Academician of Academia Sinica (2004), Asian American Engineer of the Year (2011), and has received the Phil Kaufman Award (2013) for electronic design.
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Source: Academia Sinica; Photo: UC Berkeley.
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