Minister without Portfolio Chang San-cheng has been appointed to lead the new Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), the Executive Yuan announced today.
Chang, who holds a doctorate in civil and environmental engineering from Cornell University (U.S.A.), has previously served as a lecturer, associate professor and professor at National Taiwan University's Department of Civil Engineering; director of the National Center for High-performance Computing and subsequently the Department of Planning and Evaluation under the National Science Council (NSC), MOST's precursor; vice president of Acer Inc.'s e-Enabling Services Business Group; and regional director of hardware operations in Asia for Google Inc.
The Executive Yuan stated that Chang is a person of outstanding scholarship and rich practical experience spanning industry, government and academia. For example, after returning to National Taiwan University in 1981 upon receiving his doctorate in the United States, he created Taiwan's first computer graphics and computer-aided design courses, which enlightened the nation about the application of computers to engineering and animation.
As director of the NSC's Department of Planning and Evaluation, Chang wrote the ROC's first white paper on science and technology (S&T), the blueprint for national development in the field.
During his tenure at Google, he helped the company establish its first data center in Taiwan (due to begin operations at the Changhua Coastal Industrial Park early this year), the base of its long-term development on the island.
Chang also managed S&T issues as a Minister without Portfolio, strongly promoting interagency programs for information and communications technology clouds as well as open data.
Premier Jiang Yi-huah has high hopes for the MOST, the Executive Yuan said, expecting it to both carry on the NSC's tradition of strongly grounded, foundational research and actively assist the academic world to direct its copious creativity toward industry to spur a new wave of innovative entrepreneurship. Jiang also expects the new minister to spearhead efforts to help beef up the S&T sector's creative power as well as the international competitiveness of its academia and industries.