Print - Taipei Tech recruits Yushan Scholar Julia Hsu to lead flexible electronics and green energy research

Taipei Tech recruits Yushan Scholar Julia Hsu to lead flexible electronics and green energy research

The Department of Materials and Resources Engineering at National Taipei University of Technology (Taipei Tech) has recruited Julia W. P. Hsu (Wan-Ping Hsu), Distinguished Chair Professor at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), who has been awarded the Ministry of Education (Taiwan) Yushan Scholar Award. Beginning in May 2026, Prof. Hsu will return to Taiwan for three months each year to collaborate with interdisciplinary research teams at Taipei Tech. Her research will advance materials development, flexible electronics, green energy, and biomedical sensing, strengthening the university’s internationally recognized research capabilities and supporting its long-term technological innovation.

From Visiting to Establishing Long-Term Collaboration: Taipei Tech Welcomes Top Scholars to Advance Together

Professor Hsu has maintained close ties with Taipei Tech, visiting Taiwan almost annually since 2011. In 2020, she was appointed Honorary International Chair Professor at Taipei Tech. Since 2019, she has actively promoted collaborative initiatives, culminating in the signing of a dual master’s degree agreement in 2022 between the Department of Materials and Resources Engineering at Taipei Tech and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at UTD. The agreement enables students to earn master’s degrees from both universities and establishes a strong foundation for future research collaboration between the two institutions.

At the conferment ceremony, Taipei Tech Vice President Tun-Wen Pai stated that Professor Hsu has long been engaged in nanoscale materials physics and has made pioneering contributions to the study of interfacial phenomena between materials with distinct properties. In recent years, she has also focused on emerging optoelectronic fields, including perovskite solar cells, which closely align with Taipei Tech's strategic priorities in materials, energy, and semiconductor research. Vice President Pai expressed his sincere appreciation to Professor Hsu for dedicating her time, expertise, and experience to returning to Taiwan and joining Taipei Tech in advancing frontier research and cultivating future talent. He added that this enduring partnership is highly valued by faculty and students across the university.

Internationally Recognized Nanotechnology Expert with More Than 30 Years of Research Experience in Materials and Energy

Professor Hsu earned a Ph.D. in Physics from Stanford University and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University. She is currently Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at UTD, where she holds the Texas Instruments Distinguished Chair in Nanoelectronics. She previously served at Bell Laboratories and Sandia National Laboratories and has more than 30 years of research experience in nanoelectronics, surface and interface science, and energy materials.

Professor Hsu has published more than 270 papers in international peer-reviewed journals, which have received more than 13,000 citations, with an h-index of 63. She is a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Materials Research Society (MRS), and the Institute of Physics (IoP). Her major international honors include the National Science Foundation (NSF) Young Investigator Award, the Sloan Research Fellowship, and the Simons Foundation Pivot Fellowship.

AI-Driven Materials Innovation: Strategic Roadmapping for Next-Generation Technologies

The Yushan Scholar Program integrates the research strengths of the College of Engineering and the College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering to establish five interdisciplinary research teams specializing in theoretical calculations, thin-film processing, flexible electronics, green energy, and biosensing. By combining artificial intelligence with materials science, the program aims to advance the development of smart materials and green energy technologies while enabling next-generation applications, including biomedical sensing platforms and artificial retinas.

In recent years, Professor Hsu has actively pursued research on applying machine learning to optimize materials processing. She has also collaborated with Professor Tonio Buonassisi at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to accelerate the development of perovskite solar cells and photonic curing processes using Bayesian optimization. During her visit to Taiwan, Professor Hsu will also introduce photonic curing technology, which offers advantages including millisecond-scale processing, non-thermal operation, and compatibility with large-area roll-to-roll manufacturing. The technology is expected to enhance the manufacturing efficiency of flexible electronics and green energy devices.

Recruiting World-Class Scholars to Advance a Vision of Technological Leadership

Professor Julia W. P. Hsu’s appointment as a Ministry of Education Yushan Scholar not only reflects Taipei Tech’s success in recruiting world-class international talent but also highlights the university’s academic excellence and strategic commitment to interdisciplinary research spanning AI, materials, green energy, and semiconductors. Moving forward, Taipei Tech will continue to strengthen international collaboration, foster interdisciplinary innovation, and expand industry–academia partnerships to advance technological development while cultivating a research environment distinguished by academic excellence, strong technology transfer capabilities, and global impact.