Taipei Tech President Leehter Yao (Left) and Nobel Laureate Prof. Dan Shechtman (Right)

2012 marked the 30th anniversary of the discovery of Quasicrystals. Taipei Tech celebrated it by holding the International Quasicrystals Conference and invited scholars from all over the world, including the 2011 Nobel Laureate Prof. Dan Shechtman, the father of the Quasicrystals field.

During the three-day conference from May 7 to 9, 20 prestigious scholars in the field of Quasicrystals from 10 different countries gathered at Taipei Tech to exchange their ideas on this extraordinary crystalline structure and discussed possible practical applications with potential commercial implications. These respected scholars include Prof. Sven Lidin, the Chairman of Nobel Committee for Chemistry; Prof. Denis Gratias co-author of the first Quasicrystals thesis released in 1984 with Prof. Shechtman; and Taipei Tech alumnus Prof. An-Pang Tsai, who is now teaching at Tohoku University.

Prof. Shechtman attributed his success and winning the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to the scholars who have dedicated themselves to the research. He also expressed his desire to persist in the research on this field in the hope of making even more fruitful discoveries.

Accompanied by Taipei Tech professors, the scholars visited the research centers, laboratories, and the History Museum of Taipei Tech. They were impressed by the transformation that Taipei Tech has undergone since 1912 and were left with a remarkable impression of Taipei Tech and of Taiwan. Consequently, 20 scholars have agreed to become international chair professors of Taipei Tech after the Quasicrystals conference.