Timothy Chang, PhD, joined the faculty of New Jersey Institute of Technology in 1992, where he is a distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering and coordinator of the Intelligent Systems Area. His areas of interest include: ultra-high precision systems, genetic systems, robotics, embedded real time systems, decentralized control systems, and web-based experiments.

Chang has been a leader of the Personalized Weapon Technology Program funded by the National Institute for Justice, the US State Department, and the US Army to successfully develop handguns that are electronically enabled to recognize authorized users and record all firing activities. More recently, and highly noteworthy, is his work in biomedical applications, including his patent of the Smart Pin—a novel liquid dispensing system utilized in molecular biology research that is capable of producing micron-size droplets without contacting the target surface.  He will be inducted into the New Jersey Inventor’s Hall of Fame at the October 2010 ceremony. 

In addition to his patented work, Chang has investigated decentralized control. His recent work on traffic control systems, supported by the Department of Transportation, is to determine how to improve fault-tolerant characteristics of an urban traffic network.  Other applications of decentralized control include large power networks and data routing on the Internet.

Chang has received several awards including: Excellence in Research Award, NJIT, 2010; Master Teacher, NJIT, 2003; the NJIT Excellence in Teaching Award in the categories of excellence in professional development by a tenured faculty member, 2007; and in the category of Excellence in Team, Interdepartmental, Multidisciplinary, or Non-Traditional Teaching, 2002; the NCE Innovation in Engineering Education Award, NJIT, 2002; the NCE Excellence in Teaching Award, NJIT, 2000; the Provost Challenge to Innovative Teaching Award, NJIT, 1999; the Excellence in Teaching Award, NJIT, 1997; Best Teaching Assistant Award, University of Toronto, 1986; and University Scholar, McGill University, 1976-80.

Chang is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), and since 1994 has been the advisor to NJIT's student branch of IEEE, the most active student branch in northern New Jersey. He also is the chairman of that branch's control systems chapter.

Prior to joining NJIT, Chang was a senior research specialist and program manager at Kearfott Guidance and Navigation Corp., NJ, where he was in charge of the Doppler mirror ring laser gyroscope program.

He received his BEng from McGill University and his MASc and PhD from the University of Toronto.