Dr. Chung-Che Chou

On May 17, 2021, NARLabs held the ceremony for handing over the directorship of the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE) to professor of National Taiwan University (NTU)’s Department of Civil Engineering, Dr. Chung-Che Chou. NARLabs President Kuang-Chong Wu thanked outgoing Director General, Shyh-Jiann Hwang, for his hard work during the past four years, and hoped that incoming Director General Chou will use the years of research achievements from both Taipei and Tainan facilities as a basis for creating local value at NCREE. By leading NCREE towards the pinnacle of global excellence, the entity can become a world-class researcher in earthquake engineering.

After earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at NTU’s Department of Civil Engineering, Prof. Chung-He Chou studied a doctorate in structural engineering at UCLA San Diego. Upon returning to Taiwan in 2003 to teach at the Department of Civil Engineering, National Chiao Tung University (renamed National Yangming Jiaotong University), he also served as director of the department’s Large-scale Structural Laboratory and Civil Materials Laboratory, deputy general secretary and acting general secretary. In 2008, he began teaching at NTU, where he served as director of NTU’s Center for Earthquake Engineering Research, associate dean at NTU’s College of Engineering, and chairman of the Chinese Society of Structural Engineering.

Director General Chou specializes in the fields of earthquake engineering, seismic technology R&D for bridge structures and testing of large-scale structures, earning civil engineering awards from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), the Chinese Institute Civil and Hydraulic Engineering, and he Taiwan Institute of Steel Construction; 1st place awards from the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), the Taiwan Innotech Expo, and the Seoul International Invention Fair; and finally, achievement awards for top ten outstanding Taiwanese inventors and world’s most outstanding inventors.

Director General Chou indicated that Taiwan’s sustainability is an important policy for MOST, among which disaster prevention technology is one of the most important tasks. In the future, the center will continue to strengthen the cross-discipline integration of earthquake science, engineering, and disaster prevention and relief, and develop various earthquake-resistant technologies and construction methods to enhance earthquake disaster prevention capabilities. Additionally, smart management technology developed by NCREE will be used to strengthen the integration of experimental resources, improve the efficiency of operation and management, and build a world-class smart laboratory. Key resources and civil facilities in seismic research and service capabilities will be further enhanced, and a seismic test environment for key facilities in the domestic energy and civil industries will be established, all of which will serve as a strong backing for Taiwan’s development of a sustainable energy industry.