Academician Kopin Liu, Distinguished Research Fellow at the Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences, was recently awarded the Humboldt Research Award by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in recognition of his lifetime accomplishments in research and teaching.

        The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is a government-funded foundation that promotes cooperation between German institutes of higher education and leading academies around the world. First established in 1860 in honor of the German naturalist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt, it ceased operation on several occasions during the turbulence of the early 20th century, and was re-established by the Federal Republic of Germany in 1953. Currently, the Foundation enables more than 2,000 researchers from all over the world to spend time researching in Germany every year. It also maintains a network of over 24,000 scientists from more than 130 countries.

        The Humboldt Research Award is granted to researchers for the lasting impacts made by their fundamental discovered, insights, or new theories in their fields of specialization. Award winners are invited to spend up to one year carrying out research projects of their own choice in cooperation with colleagues in Germany. Nominations for the award must be made by academics in Germany; it is not possible to apply directly.

        Academician Liu's research interests are mode-specific and bond-selective chemistry, state-to-state chemical dynamics and correlation and coherence in bimolecular/unimolecular reactions. He received his doctoral degree in chemistry from Ohio State University in 1977. In addition to his posts at Academia Sinica, Dr. Liu has been a faculty member at the University of Toronto (1977-1979), the University of Minnesota, the Georgia Institute of Technology, and the US Argonne National Laboratory. He joined the Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences at Academia Sinica as a Research Fellow in 1993, and became a Distinguished Research Fellow in 2002. He served as Director of the institute between 2001 and 2004.

        Dr. Liu is also a Fellow of the American Physical Society (1998), an Academia Sinica Academician (2004), and a Member of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (2005). He has received many awards during his career, including: Distinguished Chair, Lin Rong San Foundation (1993-1996), Chair, Foundation for the Advancement of Outstanding Scholarship (1996-2007), Presidential Science Prize of Taiwan (2001), Distinguished Alumni Award, National Tsing Hua University (2002), and Honorary Distinguished Professor, National Tsing Hua University (2010-2012).

        Other two Academia Sinica Academicians had also received the Humboldt Research Award: Dr. Der-Tsai Lee, Distinguished Research Fellow of the Institute of Information Science (2007) and Dr. Maw-Kuen Wu, Distinguished Research Fellow and Director of the Institute of Physics (2010). In addition, President Chi-Huey Wong received the Humboldt Research Award for Senior Scientists in 2006.
        Related website: http://www.humboldt-foundation.de/web/home.html