Maw-Kuen Wu
吳茂昆
Official portrait, 2018
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

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.

Life and career

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 Index by Web 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]

Personal life

Maw-Kuen Wu and his wife have two children.

Academic Honors

• 1988 USA Chinese Association of Engineering Annual Award
• 1988 State of Alabama Resolution
• 1988 University of Alabama Research Award
• 1988 U.S.A. National Academy of Sciences Comstock Prize
• 1989 Tamkang Golden Eagle Award
• 1994 Fellow, Chinese Physical Society
• 1994 Bernd T. Matthias Prize
• 1995 Y. T. Lee Outstanding Scientist Award
• 1998 NASA Special Awards
• 1998 Member, Academia Sinica^[9]
• 2007 Ettore Majorana-Erice-Science for Peace Prize
• 2009 Taiwanese-American Foundation (TAF) Award
• 2010-03 Germany Humboldt Research Award