In late June, NTU Executive Vice President for Academics and Research Tei-Wei Kuo boarded a plane bound for Austin, Texas in the United States in order to enjoy the honor of receiving the 2017 IEEE TCCPS Distinguished Leadership Award in person. In conferring this prestigious honor on Executive Vice President Kuo, the Technical Committee on Cyber-Physical Systems (TCCPS) of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) recognized his exceptional leadership in and contributions to the study of cyber-physical systems.

Executive Vice President Kuo has received numerous honors in recognition of his influential research contributions over the course of his esteemed career. In 2015, Kuo was elected as a Fellow of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), becoming only the second information engineering scholar in Taiwan to have been elected an ACM Fellow. In addition, he currently serves as the vice chair of the ACM Special Interest Group on Applied Computing (SIGAPP).

Last year, Kuo brought his abundant experience in applied and theoretical research (most notably in the design of flash memory and the development of embedded systems) with him when he took over the leadership of the Stanley Wang D-School@NTU. As the head of the school, he aims to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration among NTU faculty members and students with the goal of building NTU's international reputation as a stronghold for the development of cyberspace systems.

Among the various societies, councils, and committees that make up the IEEE, the TCCPS is responsible for facilitating interdisciplinary research and education related to the field of cyber-physical systems. The committee also focuses on the creation of a social and industrial environment that will integrate artificial intelligence and physical systems by enabling interaction between cyberspace (e.g., automatic control based on sensors and computers) and physical space (e.g., environments and machines).

Cyber-physical systems are a critical technology for the realization of Industry 4.0, and their design and operation require the coordination of a variety of technologies. Researchers working across a wide range of fields, among them big data analysis, statistical information, computer automatic control, real-time sensing, fault tolerance management, and user feedback, have been called on to achieve the integration of cyber and physical spaces.

In addition, scientists hoping to create a comprehensive range of innovations intended to bring about a revolution for humankind are developing new modes of living and mechanisms for a future society by applying cyber-physical systems technologies in such areas as smart homes, smart transportation, free flight, smart energy, industrial automation, trade marketing, environmental control, and online-to-offline (O2O) systems for retail businesses.

The decision of the TCCPS to award Executive Vice President Kuo its Distinguished Leadership Award stands as recognition of NTU's prominent position in the field of cyber-space systems.