By Megan Wang
Intense yet down-to-earth, Peter Tsai is an accomplished material scientist. In a video call interview with ELITE, he patiently explained rigorous scientific principles while maintaining a keen sense of humor. One of his many inventions is the core technology behind the N95 masks that are used to protect the health of over a billion people worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over his years conducting research at the University of Tennessee, Tsai earned 12 U.S. patents and over 20 commercial license agreements. He was also one of the two recipients of the 2006 Wheeley Award, which is the highest honor from the school’s research foundation (UTRF). He continued with his achievements and just last year was awarded the school’s most prestigious Innovator Hall of Fame Award. This award goes to an individual who “proactively advances their individual innovations to the marketplace where they can change lives for the better,” as praised by the president of UTRF.
Behind Tsai’s dazzling glory are his 30-plus years of painstaking effort and his continuous thirst for higher knowledge—the same thirst that led him on a journey of over 7,000 miles from a small town in Taiwan to America.
Tsai’s extraordinary contributions in melt blowing and corona charging made the invention of the N95 respirators possible. (Picture courtesy of University of Tennessee Research Foundation)
A Yearning for Knowledge
Growing up without much money, Tsai graduated from a technical school and entered a textile firm. Back in 1970s Taiwan, the textile industry offered alluring prospects. A diligent worker, Tsai put in conscientious effort, working 16 hours a day, and successfully assisted his boss in turning the firm from running in deficit to being profitable. With his hard work and dedication in a booming industry, Tsai was able to earn a comfortable living in Taiwan, although he still felt as if something was missing. “The work I did was highly routine, and not much thinking was needed. We relied on the technology that came from countries in the West, just buying their machines and following their instructions, and that was it.” Tsai recalled, “I didn’t understand the theory or intuition behind the technology, but I knew there had to be one.”
Following his eagerness to learn, Tsai quit his job at the height of his career and splurged most of his savings toward studying in America.
More than 40 years later, Tsai still remembers this life-changing journey and his first impression of America, which was marked by his first stop, the vibrant and bustling city of Los Angeles. “I observed the city from above as cars passed by like flowing water. It was a scene I’ve only seen described in my childhood fairy tales.” Overlooking the then-finest highway system in the world, “so advanced and well-coordinated,” he marveled, “no wonder people called it the Golden State.”
On arriving at the University of Kansas, Tsai started with the most fundamental classes, like college calculus and basic science theories, before moving on to the more advanced and technical classes of higher-level math and engineering. As his course load increased, his excitement grew and grew as he strove to grasp a fuller picture of the field. “Knowledge is like one water pipe—not much use by itself, but when joined and connected with others, water is able to flow.” Following this mindset, Tsai eventually earned 500 credits toward his doctorate degree, exceeding the 90 credits taken by most other Ph.D. students at the university.
As good things take time, so did the 500 credits. But Tsai said it was well worth it. Thinking back, he compared the time poring over studies as a necessary effort, much like the “sharpening of the ax before chopping wood.” He found he was able to accomplish more in his later years thanks to this strong foundation he had instilled in himself. By combining the knowledge he had learned with the experience he had gained working in the textile industry, Tsai soon transcended the realm of fancy theories and was able to apply them in practical use. “That was what pushed many of my inventions to excellence,” he remarked proudly…
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