Past ACCFs

President, City University of Hong Kong

Born in Shenyang, China, Professor H K Chang received his Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering from National Taiwan University in 1962, his Master's Degree in Structural Engineering from Stanford University in 1964, and his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Northwestern University in 1969. He has served as a faculty member at the State University of New York at Buffalo and McGill University in Montreal; he was Professor and Chairman of Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles from 1985 to 1990. In 1990, he became the founding Dean of the School of Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and then in 1994, the Dean of the School of Engineering of the University of Pittsburgh. He was appointed the President and University Professor of City University of Hong Kong in 1996.

A world renowned biomedical engineering expert, Professor Chang has served in 1988-89 as President of the Biomedical Engineering Society (US) and is a Founding Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. He has published more than 100 scientific articles, is the editor of two research monographs and holds a Canadian patent. The Royal Academy of Engineering (UK) has elected him a foreign member for his outstanding academic achievements.

Professor Chang strongly believes that technology and culture should go hand in hand. He actively promotes local arts activities and cultural exchanges between Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland, and other countries. Between 2000 and 2004, he was a member of the Council of Advisors on Innovation & Technology of the Hong Kong SAR. In 2002, he was awarded a Gold Bauhinia Star by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in recognition of his contributions to education, culture, science and technology. Currently he serves as a member of the 10th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Professor Chang is proficient in Chinese, English and French, and has extensively studied the social and cultural developments of China and western countries. In five books of essays written in Chinese, he expresses his thoughts and concerns about society, education, science and technology, culture and life. In recognition of his academic accomplishments and contributions to cultural exchange between China and France, the President of France awarded him France's highest order of honour in 2000 by appointing him a Chevalier dans l'Ordre National de la Legion d'Honneur.