Leroy Chang

Who is Leroy Chang?

Leroy L. Chang was an experimental physicist and solid state electronics researcher and engineer. Born in China, he studied in Taiwan and then the USA, obtaining his doctorate from Stanford University in 1963. As a research physicist he studied semiconductors for nearly 30 years at IBM's Thomas J. Watson Research Center, New York. This period included pioneering work on superlattice heterostructures with Nobel Prize-winning physicist Leo Esaki.

In 1993, Chang moved from New York to Hong Kong, switching from industrial research into academia in anticipation of the 1997 transfer of the British colony to China. He was among the first wave of recruits to the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Over the following 14 years he helped build the university's reputation in his roles as Dean of Science, Professor of Physics, Vice-President for Academic Affairs, and Emeritus Professor. He retired in 2001.

Honours bestowed on Chang included membership of the US National Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Academia Sinica, the national academy of Taiwan.