Tamkang University is taking its international academic engagement to the next level, embodying the spirit of “Transcendence,” the fifth wave of its institutional advancement strategy. In celebration of its 75th anniversary, various units have been actively organizing commemorative events. Among them, the “Tamkang Clement and Carrie Chang Chair Lecture Series,” endowed through the generous donation of the University’s founder and his spouse, will welcome three Nobel Prize laureates to the Tamsui campus to deliver world-class lectures.
The distinguished speakers include Prof. Gerardus ’t Hooft from Utrecht University in the Netherlands, Prof. Arthur B. McDonald from Queen’s University in Canada, and Prof. Ryoji Noyori from Nagoya University in Japan. Their lectures are scheduled at the Hsu Shou-Clien International Conference Center on November 14, 2025, March 9, 2026, and March 20, 2026, respectively. Further details regarding registration will be announced separately, and all are welcome to participate.
According to Vice President for Academic Affairs Hui-Huang Hsu, who also chairs the academic committee for the anniversary, these world-renowned scholars were invited through the collaboration with the International Peace Foundation under its “TAIWAN BRIDGES” program. Dr. Hsu expressed gratitude to Foundation Chairman Uwe Morawetz for his support and especially commended the vision of Dr. Clement Chang and Mrs. Carrie Chang, whose NT$300 million donation in 2017 established the Tamkang Clement and Carrie Chair Lecture Series. Over the years, the series has hosted 35 international scholars, significantly enhancing Tamkang’s academic standards and global visibility.
The lineup of Nobel laureates spans both physics and chemistry. Prof. Gerardus ’t Hooft, a renowned Dutch physicist, is recognized as one of particle physics's most influential theoretical physicists. Together with his mentor, Prof. Martinus J.G. Veltman, he developed a mathematical model that accurately predicts the properties of subatomic particles and the interactions of fundamental forces. Their groundbreaking work led to identifying the top quark and establishing the Standard Model of particle physics, earning them the 1999 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Prof. Arthur B. McDonald, also Director of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory (SNOLAB), is acclaimed for his pivotal discovery of neutrino oscillations, proving that neutrinos possess mass. This finding revolutionized the understanding of particle physics and cosmology. This achievement earned him, along with Prof. Takaaki Kajita of the University of Tokyo, the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics. Notably, Prof. Kajita was previously invited by Tamkang University in 2023 as a Clement and Carrie Chair to deliver a Lecture and interact with faculty and students in the Department of Physics.
Prof. Ryoji Noyori, a distinguished Japanese chemist, received the 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his groundbreaking work in asymmetric synthesis. He is the first Japanese scholar to have received both a Nobel Prize and the Wolf Prize. Prof. Noyori also served as President of RIKEN (The Institute of Physical and Chemical Research), one of Japan’s leading research institutes. Throughout his academic career, he has been recognized with numerous international awards and honorary doctorates from prestigious universities worldwide. His most notable achievement lies in developing a highly efficient method for the asymmetric hydrogenation of compounds using rhodium–BINAP complexes, which became the benchmark for synthesizing (–)-menthol and other complex molecules.
Since its inception, the Tamkang Clement and Carrie Chair Lecture Series has invited esteemed scholars from diverse disciplines, spanning the natural sciences to the humanities and social sciences, thereby significantly boosting the university’s international visibility and enriching students’ global outlook. Dr. Hsu emphasized that Tamkang University will continue leveraging the “TAIWAN BRIDGES” initiative to bring more Nobel-caliber scholars to campus, broadening academic horizons for faculty and students while propelling the university toward becoming a globally influential, top-tier institution.
