The inaugural ceremony of the NARL's fourth president.

Dr. Liang-Gee Chen was installed as the NARL's fourth president on May 1, 2012. The inaugural ceremony was hosted by Dr. Cyrus C.Y Chu, the Minister of the National Science Council (NSC) cum the Chairman of the NARL Board of Directors and Supervisors. During the ceremony, Hon. Minister Chu, along with President Chen, extended their gratitude towards former President Wen-Hwa Chen for his leadership in the transition process of the NARL.

Meanwhile, President Chen pledged to strengthen the collaboration between certain NARL centers and the industrial sector as a means to support the new mission of NSC, which soon will be transformed into the Ministry of Science and Technology. Also, the NARL will continue shoring up the academia to fulfill the science and technology task assigned by the government.

Hon. Minister Chu recognized the challenge of managing the NARL, which was established in 2003 with 11 affiliated centers with their own traditions and distinct features. In the past three years, under the leadership of former President Chen, the NARL has reached certain common ground over different centers, and streamlined and improved the administrative management of respective centers, as well as launched the Taiwan Ocean Research Institute (TORI) and the Taiwan Typhoon and Flood Research Institute. And in 2012, the NARL-TORI’s research vessel, Ocean Researcher V, will be launched. In the meantime, the organization act as related to the National Science and Technology Center for Disaster Reduction is under review in the Legislative Yuan for its development toward an administrative institution.

Prior to the new appointment, President Chen has served several posts at National Taiwan University: Distinguished Professor at Department of Electrical Engineering, Deputy Dean of College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Director of the Creativity and Entrepreneurship Program, and Director of the Intel-NTU Connected Context Computing Center. Besides, he has served as Director General of the Electronics Research and Service Organization (currently Electronics and Optoelectronics Research Laboratories) of the Industrial Technology Research Institute under the Ministry of Economic Affairs. President Chen’s past career track record makes his professional profile distinguished with academic excellence and industrial innovation.

Amid many responsibilities, President Chen’s two immediate concerns are capitalization of the outstanding achievements of Taiwan's academic research for the benefit of society at large, and preparation of the young generation for future high-tech opportunities.

President Chen asserts that he will endeavor building consensus, creating synergistic effect, and promoting foresight research among the NARL’s different centers and fields. His vision for the NARL is to achieve global excellence that coupled with local impacts with its research and development. And he pledges to capitalize foresight research results in creating valuable outcomes for Taiwan’s future industries and society at large.

Moreover, he expects that the NARL will not only serve as a backing force for the country’s academic research but also play a key role in Taiwan’s imminent transformation for innovation. To ensure the success on the aforesaid, President Chen fully realizes the importance of the concerted efforts of all NARL colleagues. Toward this end, President Chen has been hosting various meetings since his installation, dialoguing with NARL colleagues of various backgrounds for optimal strategies and action plans.