Academia Sinica President James Liao had been awarded the 2020 Samson-Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation in Alternative Energy and Smart Mobility for Transportation, with his research being praised for exhibiting “a combination of basic research and applied research at a high level” and achieving “a world-leading breakthrough research in the field of bio-energy”.

Upon learning of this news, President Liao said, “studying synthetic biology removes the limits of current methods for carbon utilization, and significantly improves the efficiency of producing biological fuels and chemical products.”

President Liao is a pioneer in metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, systems biology, and microbiological synthetic fuel. He has received numerous honors, including the National Academy of Sciences Award for the Industrial Application of Science, and the White House “Champion of Change” for innovations in renewable energy from the United States. He is a Member of the US National Academy of Engineering, US National Academy of Sciences, and Academician of Academia Sinica in Taiwan.

Israel has won acclaim for its innovativeness, with its government establishing the Eric and Sheila Samson Prime Minister’s Prize for Innovation in Alternative Energy and Smart Mobility for Transportation to eliminate its dependency on petroleum and encourage innovative research on alternative energy. The Award will be presented by the Prime Minister of Israel at the annual Smart Mobility Summit at Tel Aviv.

The list for the winners can be read online at:

https://www.fuelchoicessummit.com/award/

Media Contact:
Ms. An-Chi Ma, Media Team, Secretariat, Academia Sinica
(Tel) +886-2-2787-2565, annchi@gate.sinica.edu.tw
Ms. Shih-Wen Huang, Central Office of Administration, Academia Sinica,
(Tel) +886-2-2789-9868, shihwen@gate.sinica.edu.tw