TSMC chairman, ex-chair receive top semiconductor industry award in U.S.

San Jose/Taipei, Nov. 21 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) and the company's former chairman, Mark Liu (劉德音), both received the Robert N. Noyce Award -- the semiconductor industry's highest honor -- in San Jose, California, on Thursday (local time).

Speaking at the award event, Liu, who retired last year, expressed gratitude to his wife, his dissertation advisor at the University of California, Berkeley, his supervisors at AT&T Bell Laboratories -- where he worked on optical fiber communication systems before joining TSMC, TSMC partners, and industry colleagues.

Liu said that working alongside TSMC partners over the past 30 years has been a lifelong honor and that he could not have reached this moment without them.

Liu also thanked industry colleagues for their joint efforts in building an exceptional foundry ecosystem for the semiconductor sector.

For his part, Wei, the company's current chairman, said that the award was not just for him personally; he dedicated it to the TSMC team, adding that it has been a great honor to work alongside so many outstanding colleagues at the company.

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) announced in July that Wei and Liu have been selected as the 2025 co-recipients of the award, presented annually in recognition of a leader who has made outstanding contributions to the semiconductor industry in technology and/or public policy.

In a press release issued in July, SIA President and CEO John Neuffer said that Wei and Liu "are titans in our industry," having reshaped the modern semiconductor ecosystem -- both in the U.S. and abroad -- and revolutionized chip manufacturing technology.

"Combined, these visionary leaders have brought more than 80 years of industry experience and expertise to bear while leading pioneering work to advance semiconductor innovation. We are thrilled to recognize Dr. Wei and Dr. Liu with the 2025 Robert N. Noyce Award for their groundbreaking work," he said.

TSMC founder Morris Chang (張忠謀) was the 2008 recipient of the award, which the SIA Board of Directors created in 1990 to honor the memory of Robert N. Noyce, co-founder of Intel and the SIA, according to the institution.

TSMC issued a statement in Taipei on Friday saying that the presentation of the award to Wei and Liu was highly significant, recognizing their visionary leadership and outstanding contributions, which have not only shaped TSMC but also advanced the global semiconductor industry.

TSMC said the award fully reflected the company's ongoing efforts and steadfast commitment to innovation and its continuous pursuit of technological breakthroughs.

Other recipients of the medal in recent years included Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) in 2020, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) in 2021, and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) in 2022, according to the institution's website.