Academia Sinica Academician Chi-Huey Wong has been awarded the 2022 Chemical Pioneer Award from the American Institute of Chemists for his outstanding contributions in chemistry. Devoted to research in biochemistry and on sugar molecules, Dr. Wong was a pioneer in the automatic synthesis of oligosaccharides, the use of enzymes in preparing carbohydrates and glycoproteins, and the development of carbohydrate arrays (glycan chips). Throughout his career, he has focused on applying the advances in carbohydrate chemistry and glycobiology produced in his laboratory to real-world health problems including vaccines for cancer and infectious disease.
Dr. Wong has received many prestigious honors for his internationally renowned academic accomplishments. He is a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1996), a Member of the US National Academy of Sciences (2002), a Member of the World Academy of Sciences (2007), an Associate Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (2010), and a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (2014). Dr. Wong was elected as an Academia Sinica Academician in 1994 and an Industrial Technology Research Institute Laureate in 2020. He is currently a joint Distinguished Research Fellow at the Genomics Research Center at Academia Sinica and the Scripps Research Institute in the United States.
In addition to the Chemical Pioneer Award, Dr. Wong been honored with a series of awards throughout his distinguished career, including the Presidential Young Investigator Award in Chemistry (1986), the Roy L. Whistler International Award in Carbohydrate Chemistry (1994), the American Chemical Society Claude S. Hudson Award in Carbohydrate Chemistry (1999), the International Enzyme Engineering Award (1999), the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award, USA (2000), the American Chemical Society Award for Creative Work in Synthetic Organic Chemistry (2005), the Humboldt Research Award for Senior Scientists, Germany (2006), the F.A. Cotton Medal Award (2008), the American Chemical Society Arthur C. Cope Award (2012), the Nikkei Asia Prize for Science, Technology and Innovation (2012), theWolf Prize in Chemistry (2014), the Royal Society of Chemistry Robert Robinson Award (2015), and the Welch Award in Chemistry (2021).
The American Institute of Chemists was founded in1923, dedicated to advancing chemical sciences “to promote and protect the public welfare”. The first Chemical Pioneer Award was awarded in 1996 to celebrate chemical scientists, engineers, and professionals in the chemical research field and industry who made significant advancements and contributions.
