Chi Wi Ong is a Malaysian who received his B.Sc. (Hons) in Chemistry and Pharmacology from the University of Liverpool in 1979 and Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge England in 1982. Following a one-year post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Alberta, Canada, he was appointed to the chemistry faculty of the National Sun Yat Sen University in Taiwan where he holds the rank of Professor in chemistry. He has taught courses in organic and advanced organic chemistry for nearly 30 years. His teaching has been highly recognized by the students and university, and he has been elected to serve as a mentor to the younger faculty members.

Professor Ong is also actively involved in research and has published nearly a hundred papers in synthetic, medicinal and material chemistry. He is also active in serving the industrial community in Taiwan. He is the Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry since 2010.