Maw-Kuen Wu
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| 吳茂昆 | |
Official portrait, 2018
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| 28th Minister of Education | |
| In office 19 April 2018 – 30 May 2018 | |
| Prime Minister | William Lai |
| Deputy | Yao Leeh-ter |
| Preceded by | Yao Leeh-ter (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Yao Leeh-ter (acting) |
| 6th President of National Dong Hwa University | |
| In office January 2012 – 23 January 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Wen-Shu Hwang |
| Succeeded by | Han-Chieh Chao |
| 11th Minister of the National Science Council | |
| In office 20 May 2004 – 25 January 2006 | |
| Prime Minister | Yu Shyi-kun Frank Hsieh |
| Preceded by | Wei Che-ho |
| Succeeded by | Chen Chien-jen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1949-12-06) 6 December 1949 (age 74) Yuli Township, Hualien County, Taiwan |
| Nationality | Taiwan |
| Political party |  Democratic Progressive Party
|
| Alma mater | Tamkang University University of Houston |
| Awards | Comstock Prize in Physics (1988) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | University of Houston University of Alabama in Huntsville Columbia University National Tsing Hua University National Science Council Academia Sinica National Dong Hwa University |
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Maw-Kuen Wu (Chinese: 吳茂昆; pinyin: Wú Màokūn; born December 6, 1949) is a Taiwanese physicist specializing in superconductivity, low-temperature physics, and high-pressure physics. He was a professor of physics at University of Alabama in Huntsville, Columbia University, and National Tsing Hua University, the Director of the Institute of Physics at Academia Sinica, the president of the National Dong Hwa University, and is currently a distinguished research fellow of the Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, and international member of National Academy of Sciences.
Born in Yuli Township, Hualien County, Wu is an ethnic Hokkien on his paternal side and spent his childhood in Taiwan. He completed his Ph.D. degree at the University of Houston in 1981.
Wu worked as a research scientist at his alma mater for two years, before being taken on as an assistant professor of physics at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and then subsequently promoted to professor in 1987. Along with Chu Ching-wu and Jim Ashburn, Wu made the historic discovery of superconductivity above 77 K in YBCO in 1987.[1] According to the Science Citation IndexbyWeb of Science, Wu's 1987 work "Superconductivity at 93 K in a new mixed-phase Y-Ba-Cu-O compound system at ambient pressure" in Physical Review Letters (American Physical Society) has been cited for more than five thousand times by journal articles and considered influential in applied science and business.[2][3][4][5] Wu was then invited to teach at the National Tsing Hua University, and conduct further research in high-temperature superconductivity.
Maw-Kuen Wu first entered the cabinet; served as minister of the National Science Council from 2004 to 2006. In 2018, he was named as the minister of the Ministry of Education and resigned after 41 days.[6][7] Wu was subsequently impeached by the Control Yuan, which charged him with violating the Public Functionary Service Act and the Act on the Recusal of Public Servants Due to Conflict of Interest.[8]
Maw-Kuen Wu and his wife have two children.
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Director of the Academia Sinica Institute of Physics 2002– |
Succeeded by |
