Associate Professor Wen-Po Chuang from the Department of Agronomy was awarded the "2023 12th Academician Yang Xiang-Fa Outstanding Young Scholar Award in Agricultural Science" on October 31, 2023, at the International Conference Hall of the Humanities and Social Sciences Building, Academia Sinica. He was also invited to deliver a lecture at the "2023 15th Academician Yang Xiang-Fa Agricultural Biotechnology Lecture." Academician Yang Xiang-Fa made significant contributions throughout his lifetime, particularly in the exploration of the biosynthetic pathways and functions of the plant hormone ethylene. Many textbooks refer to the ethylene biosynthesis cycle as the "Yang Cycle."
Following Associate Professor Ya-Fen Lin from the Department of Agronomy, who received the Academician Yang Xiang-Fa Outstanding Young Scholar Award in Agricultural Science last year (2022), Associate Professor Wen-Po Chuang is the recipient of this award for the current year, marking two consecutive years of recognition for the Department of Agronomy. The awardee, Wen-Po Chuang, has dedicated his research to understanding crop resistance mechanisms and characteristics against pests. He further investigates how climate change impacts the interactions between crops and insects. This research provides a foundation for rice breeders to develop future pest-resistant varieties based on precise understanding of effective pest-resistant genes under changing environmental conditions.