2006 CAFA Awards

Dr. Andrew C. Chang is a professor of soil and environmental sciences at the University of California, Riverside, and the Director of the University of California Center for Water Resources. He received his B.S. degree in agricultural engineering from the National Taiwan University in 1962, his M.S. degree form Virginia Polytechnic Institute and his Ph. D. from Purdue University in 1971.

Professor Andrew C. Chang has held a joint appointment as a faculty member in the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences and a researcher in the UC Agricultural Experiment Station at University of California since 1971. He has taught undergraduate courses in water quality, resources conservation and recovery, and professional development and graduate level courses in fate and transport of inorganic contaminants in soil and water systems and surface water quality modeling and simulation. He has directed the research programs of the Kearney Foundation of Soil Science.

His research focused on four general areas: namely, the fate and transport of trace elements in the soil and groundwater environment; the environmental chemistry of phosphorus in soils, water and sediments; the hydraulic and pollutant retention properties of soils and other porous media; and the management and regulatory aspects of reusing reclaimed municipal wastewater. His work has contributed to the technical areas of environmental chemistry and bioavailability of trace elements, water reuse and municipal sewage sludge handling and management, ³¹P NMR investigations of phosphorus in water, soil, and sediments, and NMR relaxation of water in porous media. The technical papers appeared in Journal of Environmental Quality, Soil Science Society of America Journal, Water Resources Research, Water Research, Water Science and Technology, Journal of Water Pollution Control Federation and others. He has collaborated with universities in Chile, Brazil, Taiwan, Korea and China for research and/or graduate student training. Dr. Chang is unique in that he has been very effective in translating research findings into national and international policy decisions. To this end he has contributed enormously to international agencies such as World Health Organization, United Nations Development Program, International Atomic Energy Agency, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and ultimately to the general public.

Professor Chang is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was the recipient of the Superior Service Award, Natural Resource and Environment, given by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and also received the First Place in the U.S. Environment Protection Agency Sludge Beneficial Use Award in 1991. Among his many services, he served on the review panel for the Department of Agricultural Chemistry, National Taiwan University, and for the National Research Council of the U. S. National Academy of Science. He was a convener at the 14^th International Soil Science Congress, the chairman of the organizing committee for the 4^th International Conference on Biogeochemistry of Trace Elements. Dr. Chang has given numerous invited lectures all over the world including the keynote speech at the 1992 CAFA Annual Convention.

Service Award - Professor Yorng-Yi Lee

My affiliation with CAFA began in the year of 1999 when professor Haw-Jan Wu, the former CAFA president of 1999-2000, invited me to join this fabulous team. I am most grateful to Haw-Jen for offering me this wonderful opportunity to serve this prestigious organization.

I served as secretary in the Executive Committee for five years and took the position of vice president from 2004 to 2005. I am currently serving as a board member. In the year 2000, in an attempt to reinforce the mission of rendering services pertaining to the Chinese community and to augment the public visibility of CAFA, the Board members reached a consensus to hold seminars facilitating the needs of local Chinese communities. Accordingly, I was in charge of the seminar on ˇ§Roads to Collegeˇ¨ for two consecutive years in which we offered professional suggestions and advice to high school students and their parents. Furthermore, I have been actively involved in the Forum committee which was initiated in the year 2003. Our commitment is to organize and present academic symposiums conducted by renowned scholars and researchers to the public. In 2004, I arranged a trip to City of Hope, one of the national cancer research centers, and visited its new state-of -the-art hospital. Besides, I also served in the Faculty Grant committee for the years 2004 and 2005.

In addition to serving CAFA, my history of community service in the United States traces back to 1994. I was appointed to be the commissioner on the Commission on Aging by the City Council of Monterey Park from 1994 to 1997. During these years of voluntary service, I learned much about issues on aging and matters relating to senior citizens and their programs.

Over the past 35 years, numerous people have made every endeavor and donated their precious time and money to CAFA. My contribution, compared with theirs, is merely a drop in the bucket. Nevertheless, the valuable experience and warm friendships I have gained in CAFA are my most treasured rewards. I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest appreciation to my dearest CAFA friends.

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