Special issue celebrating Professor Yu Wang's 80th birthday

Abstract

Prof. Yu Wang [the middle of the front row] with friends and colleagues at her 70th birthday symposium and celebration, 2013 It is our great pleasure to organize this special issue of the Journal of the Chinese Chemical Society (JCCS) dedicated to the occasion of Professor Yu Wang's 80th birthday. We do appreciate all authors' great efforts in this special issue. Professor Wang was born in June 1943 and grew up in Hsinchu, Taiwan. She received her bachelor degree in chemistry from National Taiwan University (NTU) in 1966 and her Ph.D. degree from University of Illinois, USA in 1973. After completing her post-doctoral research at State University of New York Buffalo for 1 year and assistant researcher at National Research Council of Canada for 5 years, Professor Wang returned to Taiwan and took up her teaching post as an associate professor at NTU in 1979. She became a full professor in 1981 and served as the Dean of the College of Science from 2002 to 2005. She retired in 2013 as an Emeritus Professor and continued to be active in the community. In addition, she served as the Director General at Department of Math and Physical Science, NSC (1998–2001), and as the Vice President of Academia Sinica, 2014–2016. Professor Wang is a world-renowned scientist for her frontier research on crystallography and chemistry. Several pioneer works have been accomplished during her research career. Two areas are worth mentioning: Charge density studies by combining highly accurate X-ray diffraction data and relevant molecular calculations lead to obtain the insights of chemical bonding and physical properties. This area is expanded now to Quantum Crystallography. The other is her works in spin crossover system, where she accomplished a single crystal to single-crystal spin transition via photo excitation (Photo Crystallography). She has published more than 300 papers. Because of her excellence in research, Professor Wang was awarded as an academician of Academia Sinica in 2010. In addition to her research, she also made a great deal of contributions to both local and international academic communities. She played an important role in the development of local crystallographic society and was instrumental in helping Taiwan become a member of IUCr since 1996. She is reputed as the “Mother of crystallography in Taiwan.” Over the years, she served on several prestigious crystallographic societies: Chairman of Crystallographic Committee, Academia Sinica, Taipei (1995–2003), Commission Member of CSMD, IUCr (1996–2002), the President of Asian Crystallographic Association (AsCA) (2002–2004), and Chairman of CSMD, IUCr (2005–2008). She also served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Chinese Chemical Society, co-published by Wiley in 2006–2014. In addition to her scientific achievement, Professor Wang is also an excellent educator. She is the most gifted educator I have ever known. She always gives her students the best ever-ending love and enthusiasm. Being her student is our greatest reward. To celebrate Professor Wang's 80th birthday, we dedicate this special issue of the JCCS to her. There are 30 cutting-edge articles in this issue contributed from her former students, colleagues, and friends over the years. We are grateful to all authors who have endeavored to bring about a refreshing novelty in this special issue. Dr. Kuan-Jiuh Lin Chairman and Lifetime Distinguished Professor Department of Chemistry National Chung Hsing University Dr. Hwo-Shuenn Sheu Scientist National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center Dr. Biing-Chiau Tzeng Professor Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry National Chung Cheng University