Hsueh-Chia Chang, Bayer Corporation Professor of Engineering in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, has received two significant honors this summer—one national and one local.
Nationally, in recognition of sustained excellence in the field of engineering, Chang was elected a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). AIChE is the leading organization for chemical engineering professionals, with more than 52,000 members from 128 countries. Fellow status is the highest grade of membership.
Locally, Chang received the Innovation Award at the American Cancer Society’s Indiana North region’s 2026 Coaches vs. Cancer (CvC) “Night of the Stars” event on July 20 at the Four Winds Casino Hotel. A collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches, “Night of the Stars” is a fundraiser to defeat a common enemy—cancer. Now in its 24th year, Indiana North’s annual event has raised over five million to date.
Chang is a leader in the area of microfluidics and diagnostics, particularly in the rapidly growing field of liquid biopsy—the early detection of disease biomarkers in physiological fluids. His high-yield and high-sensitivity technologies for isolating and quantifying specific biomarker nanocarriers have enabled progress in precision diagnostics and treatment.
In one example of his research, he led a team that developed a novel, automated, and inexpensive device capable of diagnosing glioblastoma, a deadly, incurable brain cancer. In less than an hour, their biochip-driven device, using an electrokinetic technology, detected biomarkers for cancer. Research continues on developing technologies to detect biomarkers for other diseases—for example, pancreatic cancer, cardiovascular disease, dementia, and epilepsy.
Chang’s research resolves the transport, bioparticle (colloidal) and fluid control challenges in liquid biopsy. In the process, his research has also impacted a variety of other disciplines, including reaction engineering, control, hydrodynamics, soft materials, and biosensing. He holds 21 patents, including several molecular diagnostic technologies that use novel electrical phenomena (non-equilibrium electrokinetics) to manipulate ions and charged molecules, a new micro/nanofluidic field his lab pioneered.
Five start-ups have licensed his diagnostic technologies, including a Californian startup Aopia Bio he cofounded. He is the co-author of Electrokinetically Driven Microfluidics and Nanofluidics, a seminal book on electrokinetics published by Cambridge University Press in 2010. He has authored more than 300 publications. Nearly half of the 80 Notre Dame doctoral students and postdocs he mentored hold tenure-track positions at research universities, including one provost and several deans.
Chang received his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1980 and joined the Notre Dame faculty in 1987. He was the chair of the Chemical Engineering department from 1989 to 1995. He holds a concurrent faculty position in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering.
Chang is a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, the National Academy of Inventors, and the American Physical Society. His numerous awards include the AES (Advancing Electrokinetic Science) Electrophoresis Society’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the American Physical Society’s François Frenkiel Award for Fluid Mechanics, the Presidential Young Investigator Award from the National Science Foundation, and a Distinguished Visiting Fellow Award from the Royal Society of Engineering in the United Kingdom.
University honors include the 2024 University Research Achievement Award, the 2021 Provost’s Research Award, and the 1st Source Commercialization Award (2013).
As for his most recent fellows’ honor, Chang will be formally recognized at the AIChE annual meeting, November 8-12, in Minneapolis.
—Mary Hendriksen, Notre Dame Engineering
Hero photo courtesy of Abc57.