The Machinery Industry's "Nobel Prize": 21st Hiwin Thesis Award

The 21st Hiwin Thesis Award Ceremony (Hiwin Thesis Award) was held on March 29th. Lu Bo-ting (呂柏廷) and Professor Yang Shih-chin (楊士進) from National Taiwan University (NTU) won the Gold Award and a prize of NT$1 million for their thesis, "Axial Flux Motor with Printed Circuit Board Winding and Integrated Redundant Position Sensor for Satellite Reaction Wheel Application." NTU recommended 14 theses this year, with 8 entering the final round. Ultimately, 5 theses won awards, including the Gold Award, Silver Award, and Merit Award, making NTU the biggest winner of the year. National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) recommended 7 theses this year, with 4 entering the final round and all 4 winning awards, making them the second-biggest winner.

For 21 years, the Hiwin Thesis Award has accompanied and inspired the continuous advancement of mechanical engineering faculty and students. This year's Gold Award-winning professor, Yang Shih-chin, was previously a student recipient of the 4th Special Award for Machine Tools, a professor recipient of the Merit Award in the 17th session, and a Silver Award winner in the 19th session. He finally clinched the highest honor, the Gold Award, in the 21st session. The award presenter, Director Lee Wang-lung (李旺龍) of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), was a supervising professor who won the 6th Special Award for Machine Tools. His former student, Yu Si-wei (余思緯), now holds an important position in Hiwin Technologies' R&D unit. This year also saw cross-university collaboration in student supervision. The research thesis of Jia Hao-wen (賈皓文) was jointly supervised by Associate Professor Hsieh Hung-lin (謝宏麟) of NTUST and Professor Li Chu-yu (李朱育) of National Central University. This demonstrates how the Hiwin Thesis Award has subtly brought mechanical engineering faculty and students closer together and fostered mutual growth over the past 21 years.

The establishment of the Hiwin Thesis Award has successfully motivated all mechanical engineering departments in universities, especially the dedicated professors, laying a solid foundation for Taiwan's precision machinery industry. Graduates from these departments have also entered the industry, injecting new vitality into Taiwan. Furthermore, it has served as an example, leading to the creation and organization of thesis awards by other enterprises. Therefore, the Hiwin Thesis Award has been highly valued and praised by Taiwan's machinery industry and academia for many years, earning the reputation as the "Nobel Prize" of the machinery industry. It continues to inspire the passion of professors and students, attract more young talent to the field of mechanical technology, and progressively accumulate Taiwan's energy for R&D and innovation.

Deputy Minister of Education Yeh丙cheng (葉丙成) (left), Gold Award winner Lu Bo-ting (呂柏廷) (center), and supervising professor Yang Shih-chin (楊士進) (right).

Group photo of award-winning faculty, students, and guests at the 21st Hiwin Thesis Award.