Ivy Chang

Ivy Chang is an Arizona native returning to teach at a school she has some familiarity with: the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University.

As a high school student at Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona, Chang worked on research with now-Emeritus Professor Nathan Newman to investigate the potential of using pyrite for solar cells.

“Many of my friends are ASU graduates and having them provide me with a student perspective as recent alumni of the inner workings of the school gives me unique insight before jumping into my new role,” Chang says.

One of her favorite experiences that solidified her choice to go into mechanical engineering was participating in a summer camp at ASU’s Polytechnic campus, where she built a Rube Goldberg machine.

“Being able to be hands on, take any household item and make various components connect, and work together in a team, I loved it so much that I made another machine for my senior project,” Chang says. “It’s fun to get creative with mechanisms.”

As a graduate student researcher at Georgia Tech, Chang used an anatomical-inspired method to translate biological features in the human hand to create a soft palm in a robotic hand. This work showed that using the palm to grasp and increase stability is important in the development of a robotic hand.

When she arrives at ASU in spring 2025, she plans to teach courses on the topics of design, dynamics and controls.

“I am excited to approach teaching like an experiment,” Chang says. “It is hard to teach only one way to a diverse student class with a variety of cultural and academic backgrounds, like the various unknowns of an experiment, and I hope to explore new methods to connect with students that may produce surprising results.”

Chang also hopes to work on initiatives to create better communication between faculty members and students.

“As a recent graduate myself, there are topics such as mental health that need to be a consideration for student well-being or better ways for students to prepare to be successful in the classroom,” Chang says. “A lot of times, students have great ideas that may just need for us to listen.”

Outside the classroom, Chang is passionate about leading K-12 outreach to introduce young students to science and engineering, creating stop motion and 2D animation, and choreographing and teaching dance fitness with Zumba.

Meet the newest faculty members of the Fulton Schools of Engineering here.

Written by Erik Wirtanen