A group of men, including Dr. Yu-Feng Lin, standing and giving thumbs up in the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's lobby.

IWRC Director Lin Collaborates with Taiwan’s TSMC Academy and National Taiwan University 

by News

Dr. Yu-Feng Lin, Director of the Illinois Water Resources Center, University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, was warmly welcomed by faculty of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) Academy 15B wafer plant/Phase 5 (Fab 15B/P5) in Taichung, Taiwan, for a site visit on June 17, together with colleagues from the National Taiwan University (NTU), who helped arrange the visit. The Phase 5 facility and its neighbors function as zero-waste demonstration plants, implementing advanced chemical recycling programs to reduce the company’s carbon footprint. P5 is an integral part of TSMC’s larger Fab 15 complex, and the TSMC Academy on the Fab 15 Taichung campus functions as a replica cleanroom training hub. Discussion points during their 9:30 am to 2:00 pm visit included (1) water resources management between the city, the technology park, and TSMC facilities; (2) the water reuse and waste recycling process; (3) energy management from the national scale to the fab scale; and (4) water and energy distribution between the manufacturing process and facility operations. This information exchange will help pave the way for future collaboration with the NTU and TSMC, a collaboration that is hoped will assist the development of the new Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (IQMP) on Chicago’s South Side. The  IQMP is rapidly emerging as a massive deep-tech campus dedicated to scaling quantum computers and advanced microelectronics. 

A group of men, including Dr. Yu-Feng Lin, standing and giving thumbs up in the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's lobby.
Photo credit: TSMC
A group of men, including Dr. Yu-Feng Lin, standing in the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's Facility Academy.
Photo credit: TSMC
A group of men, including Dr. Yu-Feng Lin, wearing helmets in the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.
Photo credit: TSMC

Water-Cancer Nexus (CLOSED) Research Call for Proposals Deadline Extended—Submit Proposal by 3/31/26

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The Illinois Water Resources Center (IWRC), in partnership with the Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL), requests proposals to fund exploratory research or educational projects to drive a new initiative: Emerging Frontiers in the Water-Cancer Nexus. This is an open call contingent on funding availability. In order to be eligible for this opportunity, the cancer researcher must be a CCIL member.

University of Maryland Hiring Assistant Professor in Water Resources Engineering, Available Until Filled

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The University of Maryland is offering a full-time tenure-track position in water resources engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The appointment is anticipated at the Assistant Professor level; however, appointments at other academic ranks may be considered based on the qualifications and experience of the successful candidate.

104B Research Grants Program Call for Proposals—Notification of Intent Due 12/1/25

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The Illinois Water Resources Center (IWRC) requests proposals to fund exploratory research or educational projects that enhance water sciences research and higher education throughout Illinois. Although we are interested in supporting all water resources studies that affect Illinois, our 2026 priority topics (in alphabetical order) are ecohydrology, emerging water quality issues, socioeconomics in water resources management, synergy among multiple-scale, spatiotemporal complex water systems, water for artificial intelligence infrastructure, water and rare earth elements (REEs), and water reuse technologies and/or strategies.