The 'Presidential Innovation Award' is the highest honor in Taiwan to encourage 'innovation'. It is held every two years to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to the national economy, industry, and society in various fields such as products, technology, education, or culture.

Dean Lin stated that upon receiving this honor, he firstly expresses his gratitude to the wondrous arrangements of God, and to President W. John Kao of our university for nominating him for this award. Dean Lin also expresses gratitude to several key figures in the industry for their recommendations, including Mr. Chih-Yuan Lu, the Senior Vice President of Macronix, and Mr. Douglas Yu, Vice President, Integrated Interconnect & Packing Division in R&D of TSMC.

Dean Lin had worked at IBM in the United States for 22 years, leading research and development teams that created many globally leading technologies. In 2000, he returned to Taiwan at the invitation of TSMC, where he led the research that developed immersion lithography technology, revolutionizing the semiconductor industry.

Immersion lithography technology has made significant contributions to the global semiconductor industry and TSMC's advanced processes, enabling TSMC to stay ahead of the world by six technology generations after the 55-nanometer node. Dean Lin has been acclaimed as the 'Father of Immersion Lithography' and the 'Einstein of the Semiconductor Industry.'

After retiring from his position as Vice President at TSMC, Dean Lin has served as a distinguished professor at National Tsing Hua University since 2016. He played a pivotal role in establishing the 'College of Semiconductor Research' at our university, aiming to cultivate talent for Taiwan's semiconductor industry and sustain our leading position in the global semiconductor arena.