Aerospace engineering alum, Chang-Hsien Tai, was recently elected as academic vice president of the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST) in the southern part of Taiwan, where he previously served as the dean of engineering. NPUST is by origin an agricultural school, but is growing into its engineering mission. Tai is has 100+ patents in the areas of energy generation, storage and transport, and has an original and compelling vision on how to solve the problem of the world’s energy demands.
Tai received his PhD in aerospace engineering in 1990. Professor Emeritus Bram van Leer was Tai’s academic advisor while enrolled in UM’s aerospace engineering graduate program, ranked #3 in the nation.