EECS Professor Receives Distinguished Alumnus Award

Chen Tsai recognized by National Taiwan University for research achievement in applied science and engineering


Chen Tsai, Ph.D., chancellor's professor of electrical engineering and computer science, was recently awarded the 2007 Distinguished Alumnus Award for Research Achievement from the National Taiwan University (NTU).  There were three awardees in the category of scholarly research achievement; Tsai was recognized in the area of Applied Science and Engineering for his seminal contributions in integrated optics and ultrasonics science and technology.


NTU, founded in 1928, is the most prestigious university in Taiwan.  Located in Taipei, it has nine colleges focusing on humanities and social sciences, basic sciences, applied sciences and engineering. The Distinguished Alumnus Award is given to the alumnus that has demonstrated outstanding achievements in his or her field. The awards were given at the University’s Anniversary Celebration on Nov. 15.  Addressing the celebration audience about his research experience, Tsai also used the occasion to highlight the extraordinary growth of UC Irvine in recent years, and to thank the University for supporting his own teaching and research.


Tsai, a UC Irvine faculty member since 1980, served as the founding director and distinguished research fellow of the Institute for Applied Science and Engineering of Academia Sinica since January 1999, and returned to full-time teaching and research at UC Irvine in 2002. His research group is currently engaged in projects on ultrasonic nozzles for biomedical applications, silicon-based nanophotonics, and magnetic microwave devices.


Tsai graduated from NTU in 1957 with a B.S. degree, and later earned an M.S. degree from Utah State University and a Ph.D. degree from Stanford University, all in electrical engineering.  Among the awards and honors he has received, he has been elected to membership (academician) of Academia Sinica (Taiwan) and the Russian Academy of Engineering Sciences, and as a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE), the American Association for Advancement of Science, the Optical Society of America, and the Russian Popov Society. He has also received the IEEE Distinguished Lectureship Award, the UC Irvine Faculty Senate Distinguished Research Lectureship Award, the UC Irvine Lauds and Laurels Award for Distinguished Research, the Taiwanese-American Foundation Prize in Science and Technology, and the International Microoptics Award.