Immortal Mentor: a Warm and Inspirational Biography of Y. Austin Chang

By Alexandra Chiang

      Y. Austin Chang (Yong-Shan Austin Chang) has an honorable reputation as the "Father of Phase Diagrams" in the field of thermodynamics. Over the past four decades, he published more than 580 publications including five textbooks and four registered patents. He was the first native born Chinese President of the Mineral, Metals & Materials Society (TMS). He was inducted as a member of three national academies: National Academy of Engineering (1996), Foreign Member of Chinese Academy of Sciences (2000), and Academician of Academia Sinica of Taiwan (2010). He also received many other awards, honors and recognition for his achievements.

       Indeed, Austin, who came from a broken home, was born in a poverty-stricken village in Henan province of China. He grew up during the Sino-Japanese war with his illiterate mother and a younger sister. Living in troubled times, he began his formal education at the age of thirteen. He came to United States from mainland China for college in 1950 when he was seventeen. In this country, he completed his higher education, raised his family and built an extraordinary life and career.

      Austin was a pious Christian. He told his wife Jean (Pi-Ying Ho), "Life is not perfect. Only Jesus is". He often told his students, "Just do your best, always learn from your mistakes and let failures not be the end but the beginning of your next attempt. Success will be yours someday."

      This is indeed a moving and inspiring biography of a great man, Y. Austin Chang, Wisconsin Distinguished Professor Emeritus. It details the life stories of his childhood, education, marriage, and academic career. Over sixty memorial articles by family members, relatives, friends, colleagues and students are also included. Through this vivid and descriptive book, people come to understand and praise him as "the Immortal Mentor". Though Austin has left us, his influence shall remain and his legacy will expand eternally...

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