Chinese-born American bioengineer Fung Yuan-cheng (馮元楨), considered the “father of modern biomechanics,” died on Dec. 15 at 100 years old, an obituary released on Friday last week by the University of California, San Diego said.
Born in 1919, Fung, who was also called Bert, obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at National Central University (then located in China and later reinstated in Taiwan), before earning a doctorate in aeronautics in 1948 from the California Institute of Technology, where he was an assistant professor and researcher for 20 years.
In 1966, Fung joined the University of California, San Diego, where he cofounded its bioengineering program and recruited Chien Shu (錢煦), a renowned physiologist and bioengineer, as a lecturer.
Photo courtesy of National Central University via CNA
Chien, who is president of the Biomedical Engineering Society, has said that Fung applied the principles of fluid mechanics to biomedical engineering, and adopted a more precise and realistic way of thinking about human health.
Many of Fung’s papers were landmark achievements that built the foundation of biomechanics, Chien said.
Fung became an academician at Academia Sinica in 1968, and he received an honorary doctorate from National Central University in 2002.
In 2000, then-US president Bill Clinton awarded him the National Medal of Science, making him the first bioengineer to receive the distinction. He was also a member of the US-based National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences.
National Central University in 2008 named an asteroid discovered by the school’s Lulin Observatory 210434 Fungyuancheng, in honor of Fung’s scientific and academic achievements.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
RSS