Background
Chung was born and raised in Hong Kong.
鍾端玲
Chung was born and raised in Hong Kong.
She studied at Ying Wa Girls" School and King"s College (Hong Kong). She moved to the United States in 1970 and received a Bachelor of Surgery degree in Engineering and Applied Science and an Master of Surgery degree in Engineering Science from California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 1973. Chung received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Materials Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1977.
At Caltech, she conducted research under the supervision of Political Duwez. She, along with Sharon R. Long, are among the four first women to receive Bachelor of Surgery degrees from Caltech. Her thesis was supervised by Mildred South. Dresselhaus.
In 1977, Chung joined the faculty of Carnegie Mellon University, where she taught materials science and electrical engineering.
In 1986, she joined the faculty of University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, where she directs the Composite Materials Research Laboratory and was named Niagara Mohawk (later known as National Grid) Endowed Chair Professor in 1991. In 2011, she received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain.
The main topic of her research is composite materials, with emphasis on multifunctional structural materials, materials for thermal management and electronic packaging, materials for electromagnetic interference shielding, structural materials for vibration damping, and structural materials for thermoelectricity. Chung developed "smart concrete" (concrete that can sense its own condition), a type of nickel nanofiber (also known as nickel filament, for electromagnetic interference shielding) and conformable thermal paste (for improving thermal contacts, with applications in microelectronic cooling).
In addition, she, along with Shoukai Wang, discovered apparent negative resistance in carbon fiber polymer-matrix composites.
She has edited two book series, The Road to Scientific Success and Engineering Materials for Technological Needs. Chung is a co-author of the book Piloted to Serve, an autobiography of her mother, Rebecca Chan Chung (1920-2011), a nurse with the Flying Tigers, United States. Army and China National Aviation Corporation during World World War World War II
Chung speaks in conferences, universities and community events, with topics including technology and history.
Chung is Associate Editor of the Journal of Electronic Materials and is a member of the Honorary Editorial Advisory Board of the Carbon journal, a member of the Editorial Board of the New Carbon Materials journal, and a member of the Editorial Committee of Carbon Letters.