Dr. Morris Chang Wiki

Dr. Morris Chang (born July 10, 1931) is a Chinese-born Taiwanese-American entrepreneur, engineer, and industry pioneer, best known as the founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). Often called the father of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, Chang revolutionized the global electronics sector by creating the world’s first dedicated semiconductor foundry, which reshaped the way microchips are designed and manufactured.

Early Life and Background

Morris Chang was born in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China, in 1931, into a well-educated and cultured family. Due to the Second Sino-Japanese War and later the Chinese Civil War, his family moved frequently during his childhood. By the late 1940s, they settled in Hong Kong, which was then under British colonial rule.

In 1949, at the age of 18, Chang moved to the United States to pursue higher education. This migration coincided with the Communist victory in China, and he would never return to live in the mainland.

Education

Chang began his academic journey at Harvard University but soon transferred to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he earned both his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in mechanical engineering.

Realizing his growing interest in electronics rather than mechanical systems, he later pursued a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, which he completed in 1964 while working full-time.

Early Career at Texas Instruments (TI)

Chang joined Texas Instruments (TI) in 1958, during the dawn of the semiconductor revolution. His early work focused on germanium and later silicon transistor technology. Over the course of 25 years, he rose through the corporate ranks, eventually becoming Group Vice President responsible for the worldwide semiconductor business.

At TI, he led many initiatives:

Introduced rigorous process optimization for IC fabrication
Oversaw TI’s watch chip business, which significantly reduced manufacturing costs
Managed global expansion of TI’s production footprint

Despite being a high-ranking executive, Chang encountered glass ceilings due to his ethnicity, which partly motivated his later transition to Taiwan’s public sector.

Return to Taiwan: ITRI and the Birth of TSMC

In 1985, Morris Chang was invited by Sun Yun-suan, a former premier of Taiwan and architect of its industrial strategy, to return and help build Taiwan’s high-tech industry. He became president of the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Taiwan’s state-backed research organization.

While at ITRI, Chang formulated a bold and untested idea: to create a company that would only manufacture chips designed by others, effectively decoupling design and fabrication. At that time, semiconductor companies were vertically integrated (e.g., Intel, TI), and the foundry model did not exist.

In 1987, with funding from the Taiwanese government and Philips Electronics, Chang founded Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC).

Leadership at TSMC

As founder, CEO, and chairman, Morris Chang led TSMC from a small startup to a dominant global player. Key milestones include:

Pioneering the “pure-play foundry” model, enabling fabless companies like Qualcomm, Broadcom, and NVIDIA to flourish
Cultivating a culture of manufacturing excellence and trustworthiness, which became vital for IP-sensitive customers
Consistently investing in cutting-edge process technology, such as 7nm, 5nm, and 3nm nodes
Expanding TSMC’s global footprint with fabs in China, the U.S., and Japan

Chang served as:

Chairman and CEO (1987–2005)
Retired in 2005; returned as CEO in 2009 after the company faced competitive pressure
Fully retired in June 2018, succeeded by Mark Liu (Chairman) and C.C. Wei (CEO)

Under Chang’s leadership, TSMC became the world’s largest and most advanced contract chip manufacturer, with customers including Apple, AMD, MediaTek, and NVIDIA.

Global Impact and Legacy

Chang’s contributions have reshaped the global semiconductor and electronics landscape:

1. Inventing the Foundry Model

Enabled the fabless semiconductor revolution
Allowed smaller companies to compete without needing billions in capital for fabs

2. Transforming Taiwan

Turned Taiwan into the linchpin of global semiconductor supply chains
Created thousands of high-tech jobs and innovation clusters

3. Elevating TSMC

TSMC is now a strategic asset to global tech infrastructure and geopolitics
Widely trusted for manufacturing leadership and on-time delivery

4. Semiconductor Diplomacy

In retirement, Chang became Taiwan’s APEC representative, attending international summits on behalf of Taiwan’s president
Known for articulating Taiwan’s strategic tech role diplomatically and forcefully

Honors and Awards

Dr. Morris Chang has received numerous accolades:

IEEE Medal of Honor (2011) – for contributions to semiconductor business models
SIA Robert N. Noyce Award
Time 100 Most Influential People (2021)
U.S. National Academy of Engineering
Honorary doctorates from multiple institutions, including National Taiwan University