People see Earth as a blue planet from outer space, but through the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite observation, Dr. Lee-Lueng Fu, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), can calculate ocean currents, climate changes, and even variations in Earth’s gravity field.
Selected as an academician of the 34th Engineering Sciences at the Academia Sinica, Lee-Lueng Fu has been living in the United States for over half a century. After graduating from the Physics Department of National Taiwan University in 1972, Fu, like many of his peers, chose to further his studies in the U.S. At that time, it was popular for Taiwanese students to go to the U.S. for higher education, and a saying circulated on campus: “Come to NTU, go to America.”
In the U.S., Lee-Lueng Fu started pondering the development and application of physics in the academic community. During his time at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he participated in several research projects at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Since 1980, when NASA launched its first ocean satellite, Lee-Lueng Fu has been involved in satellite observation and remote sensing work. Over the past forty years, he has participated in four major satellite missions, with a groundbreaking research project approximately every decade.
Lee-Lueng Fu explained that the current state-of-the-art SWOT satellite radar micro-observations have increased resolution from 200 kilometers to 1 kilometer. This 200-fold improvement in observation technology can reveal smaller-scale water dynamics on Earth, allowing scientists to more accurately study changes in ocean currents, observe vertical heat and carbon dioxide transfer processes, and even predict small-scale ocean activities such as oil spills following tsunamis and the trajectory of marine debris.
Through collecting data on changes in surface water and ocean topography using the SWOT satellite, scientists’ research findings can be applied to flood prevention, drought resistance, monitoring changes in reservoirs, transboundary river systems, and other related issues. Lee-Lueng Fu gave an example where sea level rise rates vary around the world, and by analyzing satellite data, global hydrological changes along coastlines can be provided for relevant authorities to plan coastal management strategies. These data can also be applied in maritime operations, shipping, fisheries, insurance, and various other industries.
In addition to oceans, the SWOT satellite can also observe rivers and lakes on land with widths of up to 50 meters. Researchers can calculate flow rates and water level changes through water surface height measurements, aiding in predicting and preventing floods, droughts, and further climate observations. Lee-Lueng Fu stated that without oceans regulating global temperatures, surface temperatures on Earth could soar to 70 degrees Celsius, rendering human survival impossible. Accumulated heat energy in the oceans underscores the importance of scientists continuously collecting and analyzing such data.
Lee-Lueng Fu believes that in recent years, Taiwan’s rapid technological advancements have achieved many admirable accomplishments internationally, a far cry from the uncertain future he perceived in Taiwan when he graduated. While the U.S. offered more developmental opportunities, leading him to establish a career and family there, he acknowledges this path may not be suitable for everyone. Among Fu’s peers, many have chosen to flourish and make remarkable achievements in Taiwan in various fields, such as Chang Chih-Chen, Vice Chairman of Quanta Computer, Lu Chih-Yuan, General Manager of Macronix, and Tsai Chuan-Chuan, Director of Yuen Taitai Technologies, all graduates from the Physics Department of NTU in 1972.
Lee-Lueng Fu encourages young students to “forge their own paths” and hone their decision-making skills to seek out opportunities for success rather than blindly following the same pursuits as others, as each person encounters different “opportunities.” He believes that success includes controllable and uncontrollable factors, where although opportunities may be beyond control, individuals can make the right decisions at the right time and place, create opportunities for themselves, seize them, instead of passively waiting for chances to arise.
The Academia Sinica, established in 1928, is the oldest academic institution in the Republic of China and being appointed as an academician at the Academia Sinica holds a special significance for Lee-Lueng Fu despite his prior recognitions as a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, American Geophysical Union (AGU), American Meteorological Society (AMS), and his election as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2019. He expressed that being part of the national academy and the pinnacle of academic achievement in the Republic of China fills him with special honor and satisfaction.