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.
One of the key results from Chang's work in this period was using molecular beam epitaxy to grow superlattice structures in semiconductors. This research was described in a 1973 paper in Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology that was cited multiple times over the following years.[9] Eleven years later, in 1984, this pioneering research paper was featured as a Citation Classic by ISI, an organisation that tracks and measures impact factor and citation frequency and volume for journals and individual research papers.[10] Commentary for this retrospective article was provided by Chang.[11] The impact of the research carried out in the 1970s by Chang and his colleagues, including Nobel Prize-winning Leo Esaki and Ray Tsu, was highlighted by IBM researchers Theis and Coufal in 2004:
Leo Esaki, Ray Tsu, and Leroy Chang began to envision and investigate designed quantum structures — which are based on interfaces between lattice-matched compound semiconductors — early in the 1970s. Ever since, the study of electronic systems of minute dimensions has ranked among the most exciting areas of condensed-matter physics.[12]
After 29 years at IBM, Chang moved from industrial research into academia, being appointed the first dean of science at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in 1993.[2][13] This was a new university, having been established in 1991. Chang's arrival was described in a 2011 account of the rise of this university: "Other recruits during the first decade included Leroy Chang, a world-renowned experimental physicist from International Business Machines (IBM)".[14] Chang held the position of dean of science until 1998, when he became Vice President of Academic Affairs until stepping down from this role in 2000.[2] During and after this period, from 1997 until his retirement in 2001, he was also Professor of Physics and Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the university.[8] Chang's departure from New York and arrival in Hong Kong in 1993 was part of a wider influx that saw many leading scientists and researchers taking up positions at universities and institutions in the British colony to be able to advantage of the opportunities presented by the 1997 transfer to Chinese control.[15] Quoted in an article in 1996, Chang stated:
I would never have come to Hong Kong if it was going to remain just a British colony. We came because of 1997.[15]
In addition to his work at HKUST, Chang also supported other science and technology institutions in Hong Kong and the wider region. From 1996 to 1998, he was president of the Hong Kong Institute of Science.[6] In 1998, Chang played a key role in the founding and establishment of the Research Center for Applied Sciences (RCAS) of the Academia Sinica in Taiwan, serving on its advisory committee.[5] He was emeritus professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology from his retirement on 15 March 2001 until his death.[16]
1985: American Physical Society's International Prize for New Materials (shared with Leo Esaki and Raphael Tsu): "For his conception of artificial semiconductor superlattices and his recognition that such structures have realizable and ... novel electronic properties. His sustained experimental and theoretical efforts have helped lead the way to versatile new materials and technologies."[17]
1995: Honorary Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) from HKUST[6]
Death and tributes
Chang died on 10 August 2008 in California, USA.[2] Memorial services were held in the El Camino Memorial Park, San Diego, USA,[5] and at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.[13] A memorial symposium in his honour, 'Recent Advances in Applied Sciences', was held in 2009 at the Academia Sinica.[22] The symposium program included "A Tribute to Academician Leroy Chang" and "Remembering Leroy: from SL/QW to RCAS".[23] At the time of his death, tributes were paid to Chang by his HKUST colleagues, including the university's founding president Chia-Wei Woo:
Leroy was always exuberant and high-spirited, logical and sensible, forceful and clear, efficient and effective – and always full of wit and humor. As Dean of Science and Vice-President for Academic Affairs, he gave up his beloved and world-renowned scientific career to work totally selflessly towards providing a sound academic environment for his colleagues. HKUST's founding members could not have had a stronger comrade-in-arms in building this new university. I so very deeply mourn his passing.[13]
Personal life
Chang's daughter Leslie T. Chang is an author and journalist who is married to Peter Hessler, author of several books about China.[24]
References
^ ab我是中国人 我是东北人 [I'm a Northeastern Chinese] (in Chinese). Government of Jilin. 21 September 2006. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
^ abcdefgh"Leroy Chang". Array of Contemporary American Physicists. American Institute of Physics. Archived from the original on 16 May 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
^Li Ao (9 September 2010). 老脸霸占万年国会. 李敖有话说 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 19 February 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
^Chang, L. L.; Esaki, L.; Howard, W. E.; Ludeke, R.; Schul, G. (1973). "Structures Grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy". Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology. 10 (5). American Vacuum Society: 655–662. Bibcode:1973JVST...10..655C. doi:10.1116/1.1318408. ISSN0022-5355.
^Theis, Thomas N.; Coufal, Hans J. (April–May 2004). "How IBM Sustains the Leading Edge". The Industrial Physicist. 10 (2). American Institute of Physics: 18. Archived from the original on 2013-01-02.
