Our team forming the Membrane Engineering Lab is trying to contribute to the overall effort to engineer better membranes for more efficient/sustainable processes. More particularly, we lay the emphasis on the following aspects, all concerning polymeric or composite membranes:
 Membrane formation mechanisms: we care for these mechanisms because they permit to control the morphology of membranes (cellular, bicontinuous, nodular, with/without "fingers", etc.) upon which depend directly their span of applications.
 The VIPS process, VIPS membranes and their applications: VIPS stands for Vapor-Induced Phase Separation. This process permits slow mass transfers. As such, it enables to achieve control of membrane structures. We look into the wide yet poorly explored range of applications of these membranes.
 The fabrication of antifouling membranes: as fouling, that is, the attachment of particles, proteins, cells, etc. is inevitable as a direct result of the membrane separation, we are designing materials and membranes that can resist irreversible fouling, in order to extend membrane lifetime and decrease overall process costs.
 The development of green membranes: membrane separation is considered a green technology, but their formation is not green. We are now involved in the development of alternatives to currently existing strategies.
 Membranes for advanced applications: We impart specific functional properties to some of our membranes. For instance, we are developing "killer membranes" that can kill bacteria during separation, catalytic membranes able to degrade solutes (such as antibiotics) during the separation, or smart membranes that can catch particular cells during blood filtration.
The reference journal in my field remains the Journal of Membrane Science (IF 10.53, Q1).Therefore, I have continuously tried to publish several articles/year in this journal. Besides, as I am a chemical engineer and working on materials, I also target the Chemical Engineering Journal (IF 16.74), ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (if 10.38) or the Journal of Materials Chemistry B (IF 7. 57). I am running two MOST projects as a PI including an Outstanding Young Researcher project (專題研究計畫(優秀年輕學者研究計畫). Besides, our team just completed an industrial project (with a German company) and has been involved in several international collaborations with French and Japanese groups.

I received most of my education (BSc, MSc, PhD) in the University of Montpellier, France. Then I came to Taiwan and joined a team at the R&D Center for Membrane Technology of CYCU. That was at the end of November 2010, so almost 12 years ago. I found here a very good environment to conduct my research, met great students, postdoctoral scientists, research assistants, researchers and professors who all contributed to make me grow as a professor. I am still learning but can probably share a few tips with young researchers about my work. I shared something a bit similar a few years ago, and one may see that I have not changed much my philosophy, maybe “edited” it a bit from experience. What follows is just my opinion, you are free to disagree.
First of all, I would like to say that I do not know what to think about numbers. Numbers can be turned around to either highlight one’s achievement, or on the contrary criticize them. For example, if I publish 1 paper/year, then one could easily say it is too little. But somehow, 1 paper published in a high-quality journal is worse the efforts needed to publish many papers in lower ranked journals, from my experience. Also, there are fields (typically mine) in which it is easier to get published than in other fields. On the contrary, there are other fields where publishing 1 SCI paper/year is extremely challenging. I also doubt that any indicator is valid to assess the quality of a researcher. Number of papers? Not according to me. Citations? I am not sure anymore. They may be important, but as I am often asked by reviewers to cite their paper(s) in order for my own paper to pass the review process, I am not sure if that number matters anymore. Contribution and ethic matter but cannot or hardly be quantified.
Instead of focusing too much on numbers, I tell myself that I am a professor. As such, I should at least teach and conduct research. The outcome of this research should be visible to the public, to the people who pay my salary, to the taxpayers who fund my research, to my University providing space and facilities and to my colleagues who trusted me when they hired me. This is why I should write Academic papers. I see it is as my duty as a professor, along with teaching. My salary has two major lines corresponding to teaching and research. So, I have to show that I deserve both. But it so happens that I like writing or editing papers, I enjoy plotting figures, analyzing data and reading related literature. I really enjoy my work, so writing Academic papers is not just a duty to me.
Other than these considerations on numbers, I would like to share a few other things with young faculty members.

(1) Be grateful
I still believe that I have one of the best jobs in the world. We have flexibility, freedom of time management, the choice of research directions but also of work place, and the chance to team up with students (which I think keeps us young and helps us to stay up-to-date).

(2) Manage your time well and be hungry
We don’t really have a boss, and the teaching load is not that heavy once the first year has passed (during which it is challenging to get all courses ready). In my opinion, our job as teacher is then to keep our courses up-to-date, and to modify our ways to introduce some concepts based on the questions/concerns of previous generations of students. This does not take that much time. Besides, we get better and better at teaching with experience. So, we then have plenty of time. We can decide what to do with that time when we don’t have to teach or serve. I am still often asked at the beginning of January or at end of June by people who are not in Academia what I am going to do when students are on vacation. I actually wish days were longer than 24 hours. There are so many papers and proposal grants to write or papers/books to read that I have no problem keeping myself busy with research work. It is my responsibility to decide to make good use of the time I have when I don’t have to teach.

(3) Realize that consistency and work ethic matter
In many situations, I realize I am an average person and I do not like this feeling. Whenever I think it is worth it, I am trying to work harder and longer in order to reach my goals and move away from average. I often take sports as an example because I am a sports enthusiast. What we see from top athletes is excellence, perfection of movement and technique, speed, etc. But what we see is the result of what we do not see, the outcome of thousands of hours they spend working in the dark, from early morning to late night, and for years. Their hard work, focus and consistency brought them there shining in front of everybody. Surely, I believe in talent, but I believe in work ethic and consistency much more. I do not have any particular talent. Had I seen talent as the number one requirement, I would not have become a professor. So, I have been trying to make up for it by putting the work and by being consistent. It means
that I do something work-related every day.

(4) Study people around you
I have had the chance to meet numerous professors in my department or other departments, or in other universities, from the very first moment I stepped in Taiwan. Many of them have something which I think is exceptional and which I wish I had. Leadership, work-ethic, responsibility, kindness, humility, etc. Many professors here gather several of the key elements to become a great professor. Although I still do not fully understand the language, I think that I can quickly identify what is great in these people. So, I try to study them to figure how they became that successful.

(5) Take care of your students
There is no research outcome without students in a university lab. They are our main asset. Each of them is important and can provide something extremely valuable to the group. Some students are excellent at performing experiments or at helping with the lab management, while others stand out in data analysis, figure plotting, teaching to their juniors, computation, or even paper writing. One of my objectives is to encourage students to become even stronger at what they are already good at and to acquire other skills. I may be giving them a hard time every now and then, but it is because I believe that they can do so much better and are below their own standard. As a professor, I need their skills in the lab. I am nothing without them. If I get to know my students well, if I take enough time to speak and listen to my students and ask them what they like to do, what kind of topic they would like to be involved in, then I guess we can reach some very good outcome together as a team.