Obituary of Matthew Chao Ping Chang

Matthew Chao-Ping Chang (張 兆 平), 82, of Glen Mills, PA, passed away Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024. 

Born in China on July 17, 1941, to parents Hsiang Hsien Chang 張 象 贤 and  Hsiang Chun Peng 彭 湘 君, Matthew was born in mainland China but grew up in Tainan, Taiwan.  He attended National Cheng Kung University, graduating Summa Cum Laude, and then completed his graduate studies in physics at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where he met his wife Barbara.  In pursuit of his doctorate, he also did some graduate work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Brookhaven National Laboratory, looking for residual Big Bang energy still detectable.  Matt and Barbara married May 23, 1970, and moved to Long Island, NY, where he took his first (and last) job as professor of physics at the New York Institute of Technology.

Matt taught college students for over 50 years and became chair of the Math/Physics Department. He was fascinated by the process of learning, even creating software to teach English as a second language. He also helped seemingly everywhere at every opportunity -his business ventures ranged from owning a stationery store, a Chinese restaurant, a computer store, a mechanic’s garage, and selling herbal supplements…though he had many interests, he was most successful teaching and helping his students.  He was named Teacher of the Year several times. He was a devoted family man who would get anxious and grumpy when his wife would travel abroad to places he was not interested in seeing, but otherwise was a happy person, with a boisterous laugh that could be heard from afar (especially as his hearing began to go…). He cared for his family well, first as eldest son, then as father and husband.  He found joy in his work, in his family, in all things Chinese culture, and in good food. 

Matthew is preceded in death by his parents and sister, Maxine Yu.  He is survived by his wife, Barbara, and his three children, Amy, Sharon (Sean), and Jon, brothers John and Max, sister, Judy, and many nieces and nephews.

Visitation: Saturday, May 4^th from 10:00-10:45AM at Maris Grove Chapel, 200 Maris Grove Way, Glen Mills, PA 19342.

Funeral Service: Saturday, May 4^th at 11:00AM at Maris Grove Chapel.

Interment: Private.