Professor Chih-Kung Lee from the Department of Applied Mechanics at National Taiwan University has recently been awarded the title of Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), the highest honor for academic inventors, marking a significant milestone in his academic and inventive career. In 2024, NAI selected 170 fellows from 12 countries across the globe, representing 135 research universities, government agencies, and nonprofit research institutions. The professional achievements of these fellows span multiple academic fields.
Professor Lee has demonstrated outstanding academic invention achievements since his student days. His doctoral dissertation led to the invention of modal sensors and actuators, which solved the problem of modal spillover in the control of space flexible structures. This invention became a significant milestone in the field of flexible structure control worldwide since 1980, and it marked the beginning of his prolific research career, leading to numerous innovative inventions.
In 1987, Professor Lee joined the Almaden Research Center of IBM in the United States to conduct research on disk drives. He introduced modal sensors into the disk production process, resolving the previous issues with the non-monotonic interaction between the sensor’s signal strength and the depth of interaction between the magnetic head and the disk.
In 1994, Professor Lee returned to Taiwan and began teaching at National Taiwan University, where he has been dedicated to interdisciplinary research and system integration. He co-founded the NTU Nano-BioMEMS Group, which includes faculty members and researchers from universities such as NTU, Tamkang University, and National Taiwan Ocean University. The group brings together experts from fields such as medicine, chemistry, electrical engineering, engineering mechanics, and stress studies, producing multiple breakthroughs, including the development of technologies like the Sparkle™ laser holography plate-making machine, the AVID™ laser Doppler interferometer, non-isotropic ultrasonic sensors, and paper horn electret materials. These innovations have successfully been transferred to industry, promoting academia-industry collaboration and fulfilling social responsibility through the work of a world-class research team. In 1998, AVID™ received the Circle of Excellence Award from the prestigious U.S. photonics magazine Photonics Spectra, making it one of the world’s 25 most advanced optoelectronic systems of the year. The Sparkle™ technology was transferred to Huajin Optoelectronics, and as a result, the company was invited to join the board of the International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA), representing the Asia and Africa regions among the five global board members. This helped amplify Taiwan's holography industry on the international stage. In collaboration with the Industrial Technology Research Institute, the paper horn electret material was showcased in the Paper Horn Forest Tunnel at the 2010 Taipei International Flora Expo Dream Pavilion.
Professor Lee holds over 100 patents, both domestic and international, and has published more than 480 academic papers. He has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Gold Medal in the 2013 National Invention and Creation Awards, the Gold Prize at the 26th World Genius Convention and Invention Exhibition in Tokyo, Japan, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Hall of Fame for Outstanding Inventors in 2011. He is also a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the Institute of Physics (FInstP) in the UK.
Source: https://www.ntu.edu.tw/spotlight/2024/2337_20241218.html