Winners of the 22nd Hiwin Thesis Award Announced

The award ceremony for the 22nd Hiwin Thesis Award was held with great distinction on March 28. Student Shen Yi-Hsuan and Professor Lin Pei-Chun from National Taiwan University (NTU) received the highest honor, the Gold Award, for their thesis titled "Development of a Whole-Body Force Control Framework for RHex-type Robots with Variable Multiple Contact Points." The award includes a prize of NT$1 million. This year, NTU recommended 14 theses for the competition, 9 of which reached the final defense, and 6 ultimately secured awards. This outstanding performance established NTU as the biggest winner of the session.

Shen Yi-hsuan (left), Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (center), and Professor Lin Pei-chun (right)

To encourage young scholars to pursue research and innovation, a new "Mechanical Rising Star Special Award" was established this year. This award offers a prize of NT$100,000 to up to five recipients, provided that both the student and the supervising professor are 45 years of age or younger. Out of 96 submissions this year, 11 qualified for this category, and 4 were ultimately selected. The youngest supervising professor among the winners is only 35 years old, with an average age of 40.5. This vividly demonstrates the vibrant energy of the new generation in Taiwan’s mechanical research. The establishment of this award aims to inject fresh blood into the precision machinery industry and create opportunities for future development.

Huang Han-pang, Convener of the Review Committee,Chu Chun-chang, Administrative Deputy Minister of Education,Wen-heng Chuo, Chairman of HIWIN Technologies Corp.Hsiao Bi-khim, Vice President of the Republic of China (Taiwan),Ho Chin-tsang, Political Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs,Chang Jen-yuan, General Director of the Mechanical and Mechatronics Systems Research Laboratories, ITRI,Chuo Hsiu-yu, Chairwoman of Hiwin Mikrosystem Corp.

HIWIN Technologies Corp. founded the "Hiwin Thesis Award" in 2004. With an annual investment of tens of millions of dollars, the company continues to encourage faculty and graduate students to dedicate themselves to the field of precision machinery. From the 1st to the 22nd edition, a cumulative total of 2,114 theses have been submitted, with 330 winning entries and 700 awarded professors and students in total.

This year, 96 theses were recommended from 25 universities. Following a fair, impartial, open, and rigorous review process, 50 papers proceeded to the second round after the initial screening, and 26 advanced to the final defense. The final selection process was intensely competitive; not only were the students under pressure, but the judges also meticulously evaluated each entry. Ultimately, 16 exceptional theses stood out. Winning this award is a significant achievement, as all recipients are leaders in their respective fields.

Award recipients and guests gather for a group photo at the 22nd Hiwin Thesis Award ceremony.

he Hiwin Thesis Award has mobilized mechanical engineering departments across universities. In particular, the tireless dedication of professors has laid a solid foundation for Taiwan’s precision machinery industry. Furthermore, graduates from these departments have entered the industry, injecting new vitality into Taiwan’s economic landscape. The award has also served as a catalyst, inspiring other enterprises to establish and host similar thesis awards. Consequently, the Hiwin Thesis Award has earned significant respect and acclaim from both the domestic mechanical industry and academia over the years. Often hailed as the "Nobel Prize of the Mechanical Industry," it continues to ignite the passion of professors and students alike, attracting more young scholars to the future of mechanical technology while steadily accumulating Taiwan’s R&D and innovation capacity.