2000 Distinguished Alumnus - Dr. Chang-Lin Tien

Dr. Chang-Lin Tien, California Alpha ’55, professor of mechanical engineering, NEC Distinguished Professor of Engineering, and former chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, is the 2000 Tau Beta Pi Distinguished Alumnus and was honored on October 5, 2000, at the 95th annual National Convention held in San Francisco, California. Tau Beta Pi President Douglas M. Green, P.E., presented a commemorative plaque and a $500 scholarship to be given in his name to the college of engineering at UC, Berkeley.

Dr. Tien has been recognized globally for his leadership as an educator, committed to expanding educational opportunities for all, and serving as a role model and inspiration to young students around the world. As chancellor and as a professor of mechanical engineering, Dr. Tien has been passionately committed to promoting cultural diversity and academic excellence. He created the Berkeley Pledge program in response to the ban on affirmative action in the UC admissions process. This program was identified by U.S. Education Secretary Riley as a national model. In 1997, President William J. Clinton nominated Dr. Tien to serve on the National Science Board, which advises the president and Congress on policy issues in research and education. He also serves on the National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching, advising on the recruitment, preparation, and retention of high-quality math and science teachers for grades K-12.

Dr. Tien earned his B.S. at the National Taiwan University and emigrated in 1956 after being awarded a full fellowship at the University of Louisville, where he earned an M.M.E. He continued at Princeton University, where he earned both an M.A. and a Ph.D. In 1959, he joined the University of California faculty at Berkeley and, at the age of 26, became the youngest faculty member ever to win the prestigious distinguished teaching award. Now the NEC Distinguished Professor of Engineering in the mechanical engineering department, he has broken new ground in the study of thermal radiation and is a world authority on heat transfer. Dr. Tien has written a benchmark book on the subject, has edited 15 texts, and has published more than 300 research articles. He has worked on the shield for the Space Shuttle and was a consultant to the Three-Mile Island meltdown. The recipient of nine honorary doctorates, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Dr. Tien is broadly influential in the areas of economic planning, governmental service, and Asian/American relations. He is a trustee on the U.S. Committee for Economic Development, a member since 1966 of the Council on Foreign Relations, chair of the Asia Foundation, and a member of the steering committee of the Pacific Council on International Policy. Dr. Tien serves on the boards of several large corporations and non-profit organizations, including Kaiser Permanente, the San Francisco Symphony, Chevron Corporation, and Wells Fargo Bank. He co-chairs the Asia Society National Commission on Asia in the Schools, is on the advisory board of the Organization of Chinese Americans, Inc., and is a member of the board of directors of the Shanghai Commercial Bank in Hong Kong. Dr. Tien is on the board of trustees of Huaqiao University in Fujian, China, and is an honorary research professor of the Chinese Academy of Science-Institute of Thermophysics, as well as an honorary professor to 15 leading universities in China.

Because of his numerous and far-reaching contributions to the betterment of society, his passionate commitment to academic excellence, his role in improving international and intercultural relations, and his promotion of the standards of excellence in the engineering profession, Tau Beta Pi is extremely proud to present its top national award for alumni to Professor Chang-Lin Tien.