International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, IEAS

Academician

Morris CHANG

Profile:

Elected Academician of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences in 2006, Dr. Morris Chang is an electronics engineer and entrepreneur whose professional career has focused on semiconductor technology, engineering management, and the development of semiconductor manufacturing. Born in July 1931 in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, he spent his early years in Hong Kong before moving to the United States in 1949. He received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1952 and 1953, respectively, and earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University in 1964 while working at Texas Instruments. During nearly three decades at Texas Instruments, he held senior positions in the company’s semiconductor business and later served as President of General Instrument Corporation. In 1985 he returned to Taiwan as President of the Industrial Technology Research Institute. Two years later, he founded Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), introducing a dedicated foundry model in which semiconductor manufacturers produce chips designed by independent companies. He served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TSMC and subsequently returned as Chief Executive Officer from 2009 to 2013, before retiring from executive responsibilities in 2018. He remains Founder of the company. A Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, he has received major international honours including the Robert N. Noyce Medal, the IEEE Medal of Honor, and the Kyoto Prize. His career has combined semiconductor research and engineering with corporate leadership and the development of institutions supporting advanced technology.

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Dr. Chang’s principal contribution to the semiconductor industry was the development and implementation of the dedicated foundry business model. At the time of TSMC’s establishment in 1987, semiconductor companies commonly integrated chip design and manufacturing within the same organisation. The foundry model separated these functions, allowing fabless semiconductor companies to develop and market their own designs while relying on specialised manufacturers for fabrication. Under Dr. Chang’s leadership, TSMC developed manufacturing capabilities and an organisational structure centred on serving a broad customer base, contributing to the expansion of the global fabless semiconductor sector and the reorganisation of the industry’s supply chain. His earlier work at Texas Instruments included senior management of semiconductor operations and the development of large-scale semiconductor manufacturing capabilities. At the Industrial Technology Research Institute, he also contributed to strengthening Taiwan’s institutional and technological foundation for semiconductor development, from which TSMC subsequently emerged. His professional writings and public lectures have addressed technology management, semiconductor strategy, industrial development, and global technology supply chains. Through sustained work spanning semiconductor engineering, industrial management, and technology institution building, Dr. Chang has contributed to the development of modern semiconductor manufacturing and to the evolution of the global electronics industry.