The Asian Scientist 100
Institution
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
Country
China
Field
Leadership
In 2018, Chang was awarded the Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Achievement Prize and named a laureate of the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science. Both prizes recognize her seminal contributions to our understanding of how aquatic vertebrates made the transition from sea to land. Chang, who became the first woman to become head of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in 1983, has three species named in her honor: the extinct sarcopterygian fish Meemannia; the theropod dinosaur Sinovenator changii; and the extinct bird Archaeornithura meemannae. She was also featured in a children’s book series highlighting outstanding scientists from Asia titled Asian Scientist Junior. (Photo: Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology)