Witnessing the Transformation of NCKU as Its Student, Professor, and President in a Half Century
Witnessing the Transformation of NCKU as Its Student, Professor, and President in a Half Century
/ Jer-Ru Ma / Former President of NCKU
In 1970, upon completion of his study in the U.S., Dr. Jer-Ru Ma was appointed as a NCKU faculty member. Thereafter, he served as the Dean of the College of Engineering, and NCKU President successively. During his term of office, President Ma expanded the campus, built school buildings, and established the NCKU Regulations Governing Presidential Election. He devoted more than half of his life to NCKU.
Achieving World-class Research Without Advanced Equipment
Former President Ma was born in 1931 concurrently with the founding of NCKU. He graduated from the Department of Chemical Engineering of Taiwan Provincial College of Engineering (then NCKU). Recalling his school life, Ma said, “Our professors were sincere and diligent. I learned to take up a proactive attitude and focused on both practical and theological abilities.”
After graduating from the college, he received his master’s and PhD Degree at the Department of Chemical Engineering Villanova University and Pennsylvania State University, respectively. His research focused on the evaporation and condensation at the liquid surface of one-component systems. He clarified the past misunderstanding in evaporation and condensation coefficients and experimentally proved the correct coefficient should be around 1.0.
He developed independently an experiment technique, jet tensimetry, to measure the heat and mass transfer rate at the liquid/gas interface, which obviated the difficulty of traditional measuring methods and greatly improved the basic design of the chemical engineering manufacturing process. He modestly said, “My research was relatively minor in the field. However, I am proud that I achieved world-class results with a self-made device instead of with advanced and expensive equipment.”
Establishing the NCKU Regulations Governing Presidential Election
As part of his goal of campus expansion to improve the learning environment of NCKU, President Ma endeavored to implement reforms and solicit funding resources from the central government during his term of office from from 1988 to 1994. He built four department buildings for the Department of Chemical Engineering, Department of Electrical Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Department of Systems and Naval Mechatronic Engineering on the Tzu-Chiang campus. Also he procured lands for the Annan campus, doubling the size of the NCKU campus. On the new campus, he planned to build the largest hydraulic testing field in Asia (the second largest in the world) to facilitate the development of the hydraulic engineering institute.
In 1993 when Taiwan lifted martial law, universities across Taiwan strived for academic freedom and democracy. During his term of office, Ma formulated the NCKU Regulations Governing Presidential Election stipulating 10 criteria for NCKU presidential candidates. The regulations require an eligible candidate to be a full professor of at least five years, to have experience in education or academic administration for three years or more, to renounce any foreign nationalities, and to give up his position in political and religious organizations, parties, and for-profit organizations if elected. Speaking of Presidential Election, he humbly said, “I do not see myself as a person with great abilities. However, I know how to invite more capable people to engage in school administration and development. Back then I was appointed to run the university under contemporary circumstances. When we entered a new era, I should pass my baton to a new president. At that time, the society was calling for university Presidential Election. With reference to the Presidential Election of other domestic universities, I made appropriate adjustments to the NCKU Regulations Governing Presidential Election for a more comprehensive designation.
Former President Ma, who has made outstanding contributions to the development of NCKU, is also the first professor at NCKU to receive the honor of University Chair Professor. After his retirement in 2002, he was awarded the Emeritus Professor, and continued working on projects in his research office. Ma, though a retiree, did not retire from research. He often returned to the campus, and was nicknamed “The Relentless Student.” Due to his age, Ma has seldom returned to the campus in recent years.
A Persistent Writer, Proliferating the Knowledge of Popular Science
With a sense of humor and a lifelong passion for writing, Ma has been writing popular science articles and educational articles for newspapers and magazines. These articles were later compiled into books, such as The Rhythm of Nature and Ma’s Collection.
After retirement, he took the position of editor-in-chief of Science Development, a monthly journal at the National Science Council. He was responsible for calling for articles and “Editor’s Note” for each issue. He truly retired in 2018, when he was 87 years old. As he often invited people to submit articles, he felt sorry for them, and thus he teasingly called himself a “Taker.” Maa said, “Regardless of age, it’s always good to be useful to the society.” The demeanor of President Maa is a good example of NCKU’s “collective success.” (Photo courtesy of NCKU Museum)
NCKUer ｜
Class ｜
Honors and Achievements ｜
Jer-Ru Ma
Department of Chemical Engineering, Class of 1952
・Assumed the position of Dean of the College of Engineering, NCKU in 1981.
・Received the Academic Award of Ministry of Education, Engineering and Applied Sciences in 1984.
・Received the Outstanding Scholar Award by China Foundation for the Promotion of Education and Culture in 1985.
・Received the MOST Outstanding Research Award by National Science Council for the years 1985 to 1988.
・Received the University Of Pennsylvania Notable Alumni in 1994.
・Received the Distinguished Achievement Award by The Phi Tau Phi Scholastic Honor Society in 1997.
・Served as President of NCKU from 1988 to 1994.
・Awarded the Emeritus Professor of NCKU, and the first University Chair Professor in 2001.
・Received the Engineering Award, The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China in 2008.
Jer-Ru Ma / Department of Chemical Engineering, Class of 1952
・Assumed the position of Dean of the College of Engineering, NCKU in 1981.
・Received the Academic Award of Ministry of Education, Engineering and Applied Sciences in 1984.
・Received the Outstanding Scholar Award by China Foundation for the Promotion of Education and Culture in 1985.
・Received the MOST Outstanding Research Award by National Science Council for the years 1985 to 1988.
・Received the University Of Pennsylvania Notable Alumni in 1994.
・Received the Distinguished Achievement Award by The Phi Tau Phi Scholastic Honor Society in 1997.
・Served as President of NCKU from 1988 to 1994.
・Awarded the Emeritus Professor of NCKU, and the first University Chair Professor in 2001.
・Received the Engineering Award, The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China in 2008.
Mechanical Engineering Class 1948 (under Tainan Senior Industrial Vocational School)
Xue-Kun Ma
founder of Forchem International Corp
Class of 1956, Department of Mechanical Engineering
Richard C. Chu
Academia Sinica Academician
