Dr. Yu-Chieh Cheng at Taipei Tech Department of Electro-Optical Engineering was awarded MOST Young Scholar Fellowship. The Einstein Program not only gave her this prestigious title, but also won her more resources to work independently and innovatively on the development of her research.

Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) has been stressing on the importance of the cultivation of young scholars in Taiwan to encourage more young scholars to possess innovative ideas and global visions, and therefore to deal with the vacancy of the younger generations in scientific and technological research domains. To solve the problems, MOST began with the Einstein Program and the Columbus Program in September 2017, approving of sixty-seven and nineteen proposals respectively. Cheng’s was one of these and won the government subsidy by being accepted by the Einstein Program.

On 17th Oct, the young scholars of these prize-winning projects, as well as their family and the school delegates, were invited to attend the award ceremony. “These young scholars are expected to realize their professional and social responsibilities through this ceremony,” Liang-Gee Chen, minister of MOST, mentioned in the opening speech.

Cheng had aspired to become a scientist when she was little, which unleashed all her efforts into learning. She finished her bachelor’s and master’s degree in Optics and Photonics at National Central University within five years, and dual Ph.D. degree at Polytechnic University of Catalonia and University of Florence.

“Having a loving family was one of my dreams,” Cheng mentioned in her speech. She married her Spanish husband during her Ph.D. studies, and later moved back to Taiwan. “With a supportive husband and my adorable little girl, now I can pay full attention to my research,” she told the audience, where her husband and daughter were sitting.

*The piece is quoted and rewritten from 科技部愛因斯坦計畫 助鄭鈺潔圓科學家夢想. All copyrights reserved to Central News Agency (CNA).