“Putting Others First”: Supermicro Founder Charles Liang Shares Success Philosophy at the 2024 Commencement
Taipei Tech celebrated the 2024 commencement on June 1, and two notable alumni– Shen Jong-chin and Charles Liang–joined the class of 2024 in the celebration. In the ceremony, Shen Jong-chin, vice chairman of China Development Financial Holding Corporation, was awarded an honorary doctorate in recognition of his outstanding contributions to his alma mater and Taiwan’s industrial and economic development. Additionally, Charles Liang, founder of Super Micro Computer, Inc. (Supermicro), shared his principles for entrepreneurial success with the approximately 2,400 graduating students in his commencement speech.
Liang received an honorary Doctor of Engineering from Taipei Tech in 2011. He is dubbed as one of the Three Taiwanese AI Giants of Silicon Valley, along with Nvidia founder Jensen Huang and AMD Chairperson Lisa Su. After graduating with an electrical engineering degree from Taipei Institute of Technology (Taipei Tech's predecessor) in 1978, he worked as a teaching assistant at the institute before pursuing a master's degree at the University of Texas at Arlington. Liang founded Supermicro in Silicon Valley in 1993 and took the company public on NASDAQ in 2007. With its modular design and green computing technologies, the company has become the leading global AI server manufacturer in recent years, with a market value of billions of US dollars.
Liang's keynote speech, titled "Optimize Your Career with People and Human Being’s Best Interest," highlighted green computing and server cooling technologies at Supermicro. He noted that if the global IT industry adopted green computing, it could save over twenty billion US dollars in energy cost annually. In addition, since liquid cooling technology is much cheaper than traditional air cooling, a group of Taipei Tech alumni are currently working to promote its adoption, aiming to increase its market share in data centers from less than 1% to over 15% this year, creating significant value for humanity and the environment.
Liang also expressed gratitude to Taipei Tech, stating the education here had a profound lifelong impact on him. He emphasized that the school's motto of “Integrity, Simplicity, Mastery, and Tenacity” was the foundation of his entrepreneurial success. He encouraged the graduates to persevere in what they truly want to do and uphold others in this process. "If you face challenges this way, you'll find you can overcome them more easily because altruism has no enemies."
In the ceremony, Liang also donated ten AI GPU servers to Taipei Tech, received by President Wang Sea-fue, to enhance the school's high-performance computing resources and support AI talent fostering and industry-academia research.
The ceremony also saw Shen Jong-chin being awarded an honorary doctorate in engineering. Like Liang, Shen graduated from the electrical engineering program of Taipei Institute of Technology in 1978 and served as a teaching assistant at the school. He later worked at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, holding key positions such as the minister of economic affairs and the vice premier of Executive Yuan. He actively promoted the Three Major Plans to Invest in Taiwan program, guiding Taiwanese companies like Supermicro and Nvidia to return and invest in Taiwan. With total investments exceeding two trillion TWD, the program laid the crucial foundation for Taiwan's development in advanced manufacturing, semiconductor processes, high-tech R&D, and green energy.
President Wang Sea-fue praised Shen and Liang as exemplary Taipei Tech alumni who continuously strive for excellence. They started from humble beginnings and progressed step by step with humility and vision, constantly expanding their horizons. He encouraged the graduates to keep their knowledge and technology up-to-date and maintain a spirit of altruism for the common good of society in the era of rapid AI development.
Liang received an honorary Doctor of Engineering from Taipei Tech in 2011. He is dubbed as one of the Three Taiwanese AI Giants of Silicon Valley, along with Nvidia founder Jensen Huang and AMD Chairperson Lisa Su. After graduating with an electrical engineering degree from Taipei Institute of Technology (Taipei Tech's predecessor) in 1978, he worked as a teaching assistant at the institute before pursuing a master's degree at the University of Texas at Arlington. Liang founded Supermicro in Silicon Valley in 1993 and took the company public on NASDAQ in 2007. With its modular design and green computing technologies, the company has become the leading global AI server manufacturer in recent years, with a market value of billions of US dollars.
Liang's keynote speech, titled "Optimize Your Career with People and Human Being’s Best Interest," highlighted green computing and server cooling technologies at Supermicro. He noted that if the global IT industry adopted green computing, it could save over twenty billion US dollars in energy cost annually. In addition, since liquid cooling technology is much cheaper than traditional air cooling, a group of Taipei Tech alumni are currently working to promote its adoption, aiming to increase its market share in data centers from less than 1% to over 15% this year, creating significant value for humanity and the environment.
Liang also expressed gratitude to Taipei Tech, stating the education here had a profound lifelong impact on him. He emphasized that the school's motto of “Integrity, Simplicity, Mastery, and Tenacity” was the foundation of his entrepreneurial success. He encouraged the graduates to persevere in what they truly want to do and uphold others in this process. "If you face challenges this way, you'll find you can overcome them more easily because altruism has no enemies."
In the ceremony, Liang also donated ten AI GPU servers to Taipei Tech, received by President Wang Sea-fue, to enhance the school's high-performance computing resources and support AI talent fostering and industry-academia research.
The ceremony also saw Shen Jong-chin being awarded an honorary doctorate in engineering. Like Liang, Shen graduated from the electrical engineering program of Taipei Institute of Technology in 1978 and served as a teaching assistant at the school. He later worked at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, holding key positions such as the minister of economic affairs and the vice premier of Executive Yuan. He actively promoted the Three Major Plans to Invest in Taiwan program, guiding Taiwanese companies like Supermicro and Nvidia to return and invest in Taiwan. With total investments exceeding two trillion TWD, the program laid the crucial foundation for Taiwan's development in advanced manufacturing, semiconductor processes, high-tech R&D, and green energy.
President Wang Sea-fue praised Shen and Liang as exemplary Taipei Tech alumni who continuously strive for excellence. They started from humble beginnings and progressed step by step with humility and vision, constantly expanding their horizons. He encouraged the graduates to keep their knowledge and technology up-to-date and maintain a spirit of altruism for the common good of society in the era of rapid AI development.
