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Academician Paul Ho, Distinguished Research Fellow at the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA), has been awarded a Humboldt Research Award by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in recognition of his lifetime achievements in research. After hearing about receiving the award, Dr. Ho said, "I am grateful to the students and colleagues who have worked with me for many years; this shows that Taiwan has made great progress in the field of astronomy. It's quite exciting."

Dr. Paul Ho is an internationally renowned astrophysicist who specializes in radio astronomy including star and planet formation, supermassive black holes, cosmology and early universe and interferometry. He served as the Director of the ASIAA and Director of the preceding Preparatory Office of the institute for 10 years. He has devoted himself to promoting the development of astronomy in Taiwan, paying particular attention to the development of sophisticated astronomical instruments. During his career Dr. Ho has published over 380 research papers in prestigious academic journals including over a dozen articles in Science and Nature.

Academician Ho was elected academician in 2008. He is well-known for his academic achievements and has led the Taiwan astronomical community in the establishment of advanced research capabilities, enabling the investment in cutting-edge astronomical research and laying the foundations for Taiwan's development in the field of astronomy including human resources development, technical expertise, and the development of industry partners.

Dr. Ho is currently the Director of James Clerk Maxwell Telescope a submillimeter-wavelength telescope at Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii (from 2015), a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (from 2015) and Director General of the East Asian Observatory (from 2014). Among his many prominent previous appointments, Dr. Ho was Senior Astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics between 1989 and 2015, and ALMA-Taiwan Principal Investigator between 2005 and 2015 and SMA-Taiwan Principal Investigator from 2005 to 2014. He was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World in 2010.

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation was founded in 1860, and is a government-funded foundation that promotes cooperation between German institutes of higher education and leading academies around the world. Every year the foundation enables more than 2,000 researchers from all over the world to spend time researching in Germany. The Foundation also maintains a network of over 24,000 scientists from more than 130 countries worldwide.

The Humboldt Research Award is granted in recognition of a researcher's entire achievements to date to academics whose fundamental discoveries, new theories, or insights have had a significant impact on their own discipline and who are expected to continue producing cutting-edge achievements in the future.

Academics from abroad, regardless of their discipline or nationality, may be nominated for a Humboldt Research Award. Award winners are invited to spend a period of up to one year cooperating on a long-term research project with specialist colleagues at a research institution in Germany. The Humboldt Foundation grants up to 100 Humboldt Research Awards annually. Nominations may be submitted by established academics in Germany. Nominations may also be initiated by award winners of the Humboldt Foundation working abroad, provided that the nomination is made jointly with a colleague working in Germany. Direct applications are not accepted.

Related website: https://www.humboldt-foundation.de/web/home.html