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The Department was founded in 1972 as the Department of Industrial Chemistry with a graduate program. In 1978, the Polymer Research Institute was established. In 1980, the Department was renamed the Department of Chemical Engineering. In 1984, the Polymer Research Institute was merged into the Department. Presently, there are 23 full-time faculty members in the Department with an enrollment of 225 undergraduate, 147 M.S., and 145 Ph.D. students.
National Tsing Hua University enjoys the reputation of a democratic spirit and highly scholastic environment. Consequently, the Chemical Engineering department has developed the unique democratic tradition. We made great efforts to modify the curricula and to extend our research beyond traditional chemical engineering areas. The number of required courses has been significantly reduced and specialized programs were introduced, aiming to provide flexibility that develops students' own initiatives, and accommodate new challenges in a constantly changing hi-tech environment. Our faculty members have actively engaged in research areas such as advanced materials, chemical processing, optoelectronics, environmental technology, biotechnology, and energy technology.
The chemical engineering building with 8 stories and a floor space of 12500 m2 was completed in the summer of 1993. It is equipped with the most advanced teaching and research facilities, enabling students to attend classes, do research, and make friends in a comfortable environment. Since the university is located in the heart of Taiwan's hi-tech industry, we have close collaborations with the Industrial Technology Research Institute, Science-based Industrial Park, and various public institutions and private companies. These close ties have provided students good opportunities to cultivate networks for their career development.
The academic excellence of our faculty has been well recognized by international and domestic peers. Our faculty members have received numerous academic awards, including the Outstanding Research Award of the NSC; the National Invention Award and Outstanding Scientific and Technological Worker Award of the Executive Yuan; the National Chair, Academic Award, and Excellent Industrial Collaboration Award of the Ministry of Education; the Distinguished Academic Award of the Sun Yat Sen Cultural Foundation；the Outstanding Scholar Award of the Foundation for the Advancement of Outstanding Scholarship； the Ho Chin Ty Award of the Ho Chin Ty Cultural Foundation； the Scientific Chair and Y. Z. Hsu Scientific Paper Award of the Far Eastern Y. Z. Hsu Science and Technology Memorial Foundation; the KY King Award and Prof. Zai-De Lai Award of the Chinese Institute of Chemical Engineers, etc. Our faculty members have outstanding performance in research, teaching, and service, with 44% of them ever receiving the Outstanding Research Award of the National Science Council, 36% ever winning the Outstanding Teaching Award of the National Tsing-Hua University, and 28% being incumbent or former presidents of relevant professional societies. In terms of research performance, the department is as good as the top 30 chemical engineering departments in the USA. The department was rated the number one Chemical Engineering department in Taiwan by both Common Wealth Magazine and Global Views Monthly.
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