Lin Chih-Chung, of the Hsintian District, New Taipei City, Taipei, has been named a McDonnell International Scholar at Washington University in St. Louis. Lin earned a degree from National Taiwan University, which is one of 27 premier universities from around the world partnered with Washington University in the McDonnell International Scholars Academy.
The McDonnell Academy provides an opportunity for talented international graduate and professional students to join the Washington University community.
“We are delighted to have Lin Chih-Chung join us in the Academy,” says McDonnell International Scholars Academy Director James V. Wertsch, PhD, associate vice chancellor for international affairs and the Marshall S. Snow Professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University.
“He is the third Academy Scholar we have had from National Taiwan University, all of whom are truly excellent.”
Lin, who earned a bachelor’s of science degree from National Taiwan University in 2009, is pursuing a doctorate in immunology in Washington University’s Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences.
Lin discovered a passion for immunology in high school. He worked both at the Medical College of Georgia and the National Taiwan University on various projects in immunology and has shown significant achievements.
He is also passionate in environmental protection.
He is founding president of the Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots group at National Taiwan University. The environmental organization contributed to decreasing National Taiwan University’s use of disposable utensils by 85 percent. The organization is also responsible for the university’s first green-roof garden under construction.
He was named to the National Taiwan University dean’s list in the College of Life Science, as well as an Outstanding College Youth of 2008.
Lin believes that no research is an island and wants to pursue a cross-disciplinary training. He says he joined the McDonnell Academy to be in a global network where he can meet talented scholars and make efforts together to make the world a better place.
The McDonnell International Scholars Academy is a program for future global leaders to obtain PhD or master’s degrees. Employing an unusual approach, it brings together top scholars from Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America to pursue world-class education and research while forging a strong network with one another.
Key to this are partnerships Washington University has established with top universities and corporations around the world with an eye to increasing opportunities for joint research and global education.
The McDonnell Academy Scholars are expected to be future global leaders. As such, they are provided not only with a rigorous graduate education, but also with cultural and social activities designed to prepare them as leaders knowledgeable about the United States, other countries and critical international issues.
Academy Ambassador
Once selected for this highly competitive program, each Academy Scholar is matched with a distinguished member of the Washington University faculty who serves as a mentor and also as an Academy “Ambassador” to the university partner from which the Scholar has graduated.
The Academy Ambassador assists the McDonnell Scholar in academic and professional life and travels annually with the Scholar to the partner university to build relationships between the two institutions.
Tuan-Hua David Ho, PhD, a professor of biology in Arts & Sciences and in the plant biology, developmental biology, and molecular genetics programs of the Division of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, is Lin’s faculty mentor-ambassador.
Ho earned a bachelor’s degree in botany from National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan, and a doctorate in biochemistry from Michigan State University.
From 2004–07, Ho was appointed distinguished research fellow and director of the Institute of Plant and Microbial Biology for Academia Sinica in Taipei, Taiwan. He is an academician of Academia Sinica and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of TWAS, the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World.
The McDonnell Academy
The McDonnell Academy Scholars receive funding for full tuition and living expenses for the time it takes to get a degree at Washington University. The Academy also provides support for an annual trip back to the Scholar’s alma mater. Many of the Scholars reside in two fully equipped and furnished apartment buildings near campus.
Funding is provided through a sustaining endowment gift from John F. McDonnell, vice chair of WUSTL’s Board of Trustees and retired chairman of the board of McDonnell Douglas Corp.
Additional support comes from 22 multinational corporations, foundations and individual sponsors. Sponsoring corporations also offer internships and on-site educational opportunities for the Academy’s Corporate Fellows.