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class of 1958
inducted in 1987
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Sherwood Chang
Space Scientist &
Natural Historian
Dr. Chang is currently Chief of the Planetary Biology Branch at NASA, Ames Research Center, California. He also serves as Research Scientist,
Technical Coordinator for Chemical Evolution Research, Extra-Terrestrial Research
Division, NASA-Ames. Dr. Chang received his A.B. in
Chemistry from Harvard University and his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from
the University of Wisconsin. He was Co-lnvestigator
and then Principal Investigator of the Apollo Lunar Science Program. He has
"sought evidence of microbes or their molecular building blocks in the
oldest rocks on Earth, in soils of the Moon and Mars, and in bits and pieces
of comets and meteorites." Dr. Chang has been deeply involved within
NASA in establishing a unique interdisciplinary research program which
addresses such questions as: How did development of the solar system make
possible the origin of life on Earth? What were the first lifeforms
like? Is there extinct life on Mars? Where else in the galaxy is there
intelligent life?
Dr. Chang is a member of numerous professional organizations including the
American Chemical Society; American Association for the Advancement of
Science; Meteoritical Society, Leonard Medal
Committee; and is Vice-President of the International Society of the Study of
the Origin of Life. He is also a member of many technical committees and has
been the recipient of several honors and awards including the Harvard Club
Scholarship; NASA Special Achievement Award, 1973; NASA Exceptional Scientific
Achievement Medal, 1976; NASA Special Achievement Award, 1981. He is the
author or co-author of a long list of professional articles.
Dr. Chang considers a 1979 trip to China with his parents, brother and one of
his two daughters his most memorable journey. There he became acquainted with
three generations of relatives and reconnected with ten generations of family
history. Chang and his wife, Betty Jo, live on ninety mountainside acres in Northern California -- a property they have dubbed
"Foolish Farm." Chang enjoys a new role as "accompanying
spouse", traveling with his wife, who is an international expert in the
data communications industry.
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