The Wu Lab
Organic Synthesis & Catalysis
Prof. Yen-Ku Wu
Yen-Ku Wu (吳彥谷) was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan. He attended National Tsing Hua University in Hsinchu, where he found his passion for organic synthesis and natural product chemistry in the laboratory of Professor Hsing-Jang Liu, and received his B.Sc. in chemistry in 2004. Yen-Ku continued his graduate studies in the Liu group at NTHU and earned his M.Sc. in 2006. In 2008, he started his Ph.D. studies working on non-conventional Nazarov chemistry under the supervision of Professor F. G. West at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. After obtaining his Ph.D. in 2013, he moved to the University of Chicago, where he pursued studies in the field of organocatalysis in the laboratories of Professor Viresh H. Rawal. In the summer of 2015, he returned to Taiwan, and started his independent research career at National Chiao Tung University (now National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University), where he is currently an Associate Professor of Applied Chemistry.
ORCID: 0000-0002-9269-7444
Professional Appointments
Associate Chairperson of Applied Chemistry
National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
2023/08 - present
Associate Professor of Applied Chemistry
National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
2021/02 - present
National Chiao Tung University
2019/08 - 2021/01
Assistant Professor of Applied Chemistry
National Chiao Tung University
2015/08 - 2019/07
Research Fellow of Applied Chemistry
National Chiao Tung University
2015/06 - 2015/07
Research Assistant to Prof. Hsing-Jang Liu (劉行讓)
National Tsing Hua University, Department of Chemistry
2007/09 - 2008/07
Academic Qualification
Postdoctoral Scholar with Prof. Viresh H. Rawal
The University of Chicago, Department of Chemistry
2013/04 - 2015/03
Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry with Prof. F. G. West
The University of Alberta, Department of Chemistry
2008/09 - 2013/02
M.Sc. in Organic Chemistry with Prof. Hsing-Jang Liu (劉行讓)
National Tsing Hua University, Department of Chemistry
2004/09 - 2006/07
B.Sc. in Chemistry
National Tsing Hua University, Department of Chemistry
2000/09 - 2004/06
Selected Honors and Awards
Outstanding Young Scholar Award
Shui-Mu Foundation of Chemistry, Taiwan
2024/03
Ta-You Wu Memorial Award
National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan
2023/08
Project for Excellent Junior Research Investigators
National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan
2023/08 - 2026/07
Thieme Chemistry Journals Award, 2023
Thieme Chemistry
2023/01
Teaching Excellence Award of 110 Academic Year
National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University
2022/08
Asian Core Program Lectureship Award (Japan & Malaysia)
The 15th International Conference on Cutting-Edge Organic Chemistry in Asia (ICCEOCA-15)
2022/07
Asian Core Program Lectureship Award (China)
The 14th International Conference on Cutting-Edge Organic Chemistry in Asia (ICCEOCA-14)
2019/09
Junior Faculty Research Award in Science
College of Science, National Chiao Tung University
2019/04
MOST Young Scholar Fellowship
Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan
2018/02 - 2021/01
Award of NCTU Faculty Recruitment and Retention Incentive Program
Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan
2015/08 - 2018/07
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. Graduate Scholarship
Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc.
2012/10
Dissertation Fellowship
Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, The University of Alberta
2012/05 - 2013/03
Boehringer Ingelheim Award of Excellence in Organic or Bio-organic Chemistry
Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd.
2012/03
Margaret Thompson Memorial Prize
Department of Chemistry, The University of Alberta
2009/06
Alberta Ingenuity PhD Graduate Scholarship
Alberta Ingenuity Foundation (now Alberta Innovates–Technology Futures)
2009/05 - 2012/04
Undergraduate Extraordinary Research Award
Department of Chemistry, National Tsing Hua University
2004/06
NSC Undergraduate Research Fellowship
National Science Council, Taiwan
2003/07 - 2004/02