Echopedia

Prof. Irwin Chu (朱耀源博士)

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Prof. Irwin Chu (朱耀源博士)

Identity Snapshot

  • English: Prof. Irwin Chu
  • Chinese: 朱耀源博士
  • Era: 1937
  • Geography: Hiroshima, Japan
  • Core roles: entrepreneur, scientist
  • Source: TAH Foundation Who’s Who
  1. Founders and Presidents of Taiwan Flower Biotechnology Co., LTD(台灣花卉生物技術股份有限公司) and A-Turn Biotech Company(艾騰生技股份有限公司)

Education

  • National Chung Hsing Univ. — B.S.
  • Univ. of Tokyo — Doctor of Agriculture

Employment

  • Ball Horticulture Inc. — Vice President — Twyford International Inc. — President — (1986-) — Taiwan Flower Biotechnology Co., LTD — Founder and President — A-Turn Biotech Company — Founder and President — Community — Taiwanese American Association / Indiana Chapter — Founding Member

Family

  • Wife: 張純枝
  • Son: 朱隆英, 朱仲英

Role in the Community

  • Indianapolis chapter, founder and second president. The 2023 chapter memoir 389. 印城台灣同鄉會紀要 names him among the founders of 印城台灣同鄉會 (Taiwanese-American Association of Indianapolis, 1978 — 吳群也, 吳良也, 楊水森, 余金榜 and him) and lists him as its second 會長 (1979–1980), after founding president 吳群也. He lived in 綠野市 (Greenfield), Indiana 1976–1982 and later wrote that grassroots-America experience up as [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/79-e6-9c-b1-e8-80-80-e6-ba-90-e8-aa-8d-e8-ad-98-e7-be-8e-e5-9c-8b-e7-9a-84-e8-8d|#79 認識美國的草根文化: 美國.印第安那州.綠野市.1976-1982 (2014)]].
  • NATPA vice president. The NATPA ten-year memoir [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/ourjourneys47|Our Journeys #47 (NATPA 十年的回顧 1980–1990)]] records him as the association’s Taiwan-based 副會長 who negotiated the blacklist question with KMT overseas-affairs officials (章孝嚴, 鄭心雄) ahead of the 1990 tenth-annual conference, and as a donor (三千元) to that conference.
  • Essayist in the community press. Two of his essays appear in the Our Journeys collection index [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/ourjourneys107|Our Journeys #107]]: 認識花卉 and 瞭解台灣,台美人能為台灣做什麼. On taiwanjustice.net he is tagged as author of the column series 疫情中的省思 taiwanjustice.net 朱耀源 tag.

Career Notes

Absorbed from his TAH records (#17, #87, #99, #284) already in the vault:

  • Born 1937 in Hiroshima, Japan; educated at National Chung Hsing Univ. (B.S.) and the University of Tokyo (Doctor of Agriculture).
  • In 1986 he was the first president (not owner) of Twylord Plant Laboratories, Ventura, CA — per TAH #87, which frames him as the first president of a business enterprise founded by Taiwanese Americans.
  • Career in horticulture and biotech: Vice President of Ball Horticulture Inc.; President of Twyford International Inc.; founder and president of Taiwan Flower Biotechnology Co., LTD (台灣花卉生物技術股份有限公司) and of A-Turn Biotech Company (艾騰生技股份有限公司).
  • Community: founding member of the Taiwanese American Association / Indiana Chapter — the network held in the vault as Taiwanese Association of Indiana; see Role in the Community for the 1978 founding and his 1979–1980 term as its second president.
  • TAH #284 records his forward-looking column writing (前瞻未來, 專欄寫作, by 吳瑞惠, 2015-06).

From the record

  • 2015-06-14 — Profiled in 吳瑞惠’s column 朱耀源博士—前瞻未來，專欄寫作, a retrospective of his forward-looking column writing — [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/284-e9-95-b7-e9-9d-92-e6-95-99-e5-ae-a4-e5-bf-83-e5-be-97-e5-a0-b1-e5-91-8a-e5-8|TAH #284 (2015-06)]]

Timeline

  • 1976–1982 — Lived in Greenfield (綠野市), Indiana; later written up as grassroots culture — [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/79-e6-9c-b1-e8-80-80-e6-ba-90-e8-aa-8d-e8-ad-98-e7-be-8e-e5-9c-8b-e7-9a-84-e8-8d|#79 認識美國的草根文化 (2014)]]
  • 1978 — Co-founded 印城台灣同鄉會 (Taiwanese-American Association of Indianapolis) — [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/our-journeys-389|Our Journeys #389 印城台灣同鄉會紀要]]
  • 1979–1980 — Second 會長 of the Indianapolis chapter, per the 歷屆會長 list in the same memoir
  • 1990 — As NATPA 副會長 (Taiwan-based), negotiated blacklist relief ahead of NATPA’s tenth annual conference — [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/ourjourneys47|Our Journeys #47]]
  • 1986 — First president (not owner) of Twylord Plant Laboratories, Ventura, CA — [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/87-dr-irwin-chu-e6-9c-b1-e8-80-80-e6-ba-90-e5-8d-9a-e5-a3-ab-first-president-not|TAH #87]]
  • 2009-06 — His autobiography 漢堡 米漿 味增湯 – 我的人生故事 published ([[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/publications275|TAH #275 自傳]])
  • 2013-08 — Essay KENBO與APO published ([[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/publications1228|TAH #1228]])
  • 2015-09 — Column 心靈退修 花卉 孫仔 專欄 平和心 published ([[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/publications1041|TAH #1041]])
  • 2015-12-10 — TAH #87 profile published
  • 2016-10-24 — Essay 台灣人回國的三個階段 published ([[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/ourjourneys259|TAH #259]])
  • 2016-11 — Essay 語言，第一代與第三代的差距 published ([[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/mystories487|My Stories #487]])
  • 2016-11-15 — 東碰西撞 column piece published ([[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/columns19|columns #19]])
  • 2016-12 — Essay Reason published ([[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/publications1229|TAH #1229]])
  • 2018-05 — Two-part essay Jumping Twins I & II published ([[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/publications1230|#1230]] · [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/publications1231|#1231]])
  • 2018-06-25 — TAH #67 collection record published (67. Collection of Prof. Irwin Chu)
  • 2018-08-06 — TAH #17 profile published (17. Prof. Irwin Chu 朱耀源教授)

Sources

Connected in the Vault

Vault deepening note (2026-09-14, vault-only)

  • Re-checked the cited vault records [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/17-prof-irwin-chu|TAH #17]] and [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/87-dr-irwin-chu-e6-9c-b1-e8-80-80-e6-ba-90-e5-8d-9a-e5-a3-ab-first-president-not|TAH #87]]: held as bibliographic records only (full text stays in the |TAH story corpus); no biographical facts beyond those already absorbed in Career Notes and Timeline.
  • Family members 張純枝, 朱隆英, 朱仲英 have no vault pages; no existing-slug links apply and no new pages created. Status: saturated.

Vault deepening note (2026-10-10, vault-only)

  • Fresh 5-dir grep (朱耀源 / Irwin Chu) surfaced 4 corpus works by him not previously linked: his 2009 autobiography [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/publications275|#275 漢堡 米漿 味增湯 – 我的人生故事]], [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/publications1228|#1228 KENBO與APO (2013-08)]], [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/ourjourneys259|#259 台灣人回國的三個階段 (2016-10)]] and 東碰西撞專欄 (2016-11) — added to Timeline and Connected in the Vault.
  • These are bibliographic records only (full text stays in the TAH story corpus); no new biographical dates or facts asserted, so no conflicts to hold.

Vault deepening note (2026-10-12, vault-only)

  • Fresh 5-dir grep (朱耀源 / Irwin Chu) surfaced community-role material beyond bibliographic records: (a) the 2023 Indianapolis chapter memoir [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/our-journeys-389|Our Journeys #389]] names him as a 1978 co-founder of 印城台灣同鄉會 and lists him as its second 會長 (1979–1980) — added to a new Role in the Community section and Timeline, consistent with the TAH directory’s “founding member” line; (b) [[works/taiwaneseamericanhistory-org/ourjourneys47|Our Journeys #47]] records him as NATPA 副會長 negotiating blacklist relief for the 1990 tenth conference; (c) 7 more of his own writings now linked: #79 認識美國的草根文化, #1041, My Stories #487, #1229, #1230, #1231, and the taiwanjustice.net 疫情中的省思 column tag.
  • No date/age conflicts encountered; nothing to HOLD. The chapter’s 1978 founding date matches the Taiwanese Association of Indiana page.

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