NIHERST: Caribbean Icons in STI

Ivan Chang-Yen was born in Guyana in 1947. He was one of nine children born to Chinese parents, David and Ivy Chang-Yen, who had immigrated to Guyana. Both of his parents came from China at a young age without having ever obtaining a formal education past primary school. Nevertheless, they were resourceful and committed, and their success in raising and educating their family was heavily dependent on their own logic and common sense. Ivan had a laid-back childhood and his environment was clean, picturesque and the perfect place to develop a love for nature and science. He spent many hours playing in pastures and clean rivers, fishing and running barefoot without a care. Unlike children of the present generation, he was not bogged down with “extra lessons” after school to pass competitive examinations at a young age.

He attended the Central High School until the age of 12, when his parents paid for him to attend Queen’s College. While growing up he wanted to be a doctor, but he knew that his parents could not afford to send him to medical school and he did not think that his grades were outstanding enough to obtain a scholarship. He attended the University of Guyana, where he pursued his first degree in chemistry. He also worked at Queen’s College during his first year, attending classes and working Monday to Saturday each week. After obtaining his Bachelor of Science Degree in 1971, he worked as a research assistant in natural product research at the University for two years, simultaneously pondering his academic and professional future.

Chang-Yen felt he wanted to be a biologist and his performance in biology was always better than in chemistry, but he also realised that training in chemistry would give him better opportunities to get a good job. He therefore took the bold step of heading to England to pursue a Master’s degree in Analytical Chemistry at the University of Bristol. It was a bold venture: when he made this decision, he had no funding and had a wife and a young daughter. However, he was determined to see his dreams through to the end.

Chang-Yen studied for long hours, bearing the harsh winters with shoes and clothing which offered bare protection. He learned how to cook (in the laboratory with his fellow students!) while his wife worked, and the couple resolved to overcome their circumstances with sheer determination. Although Chang-Yen was not totally certain of the academic path he was going to take, he soon recognised that the relatively new field of analytical chemistry was a pivotal area in the global research and development thrust. After completing his Master’s degree in 1974, he went straight on to do his doctoral degree, obtaining his PhD in 1976, also from the University of Bristol.

His experience in England served him well. Not only did he obtain higher qualifications, but he also obtained a greater appreciation for the Caribbean. He returned to the Caribbean and took up a lecturing post at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad in 1977. At the University, he initiated the first analytical chemistry program at UWI, a program which has since produced over 400 graduates and which inspired the UWI campuses in Jamaica and Barbados to develop similar programmes.

When Dr. Chang-Yen first started working in analytical chemistry, it was a relatively obscure field but he used his research to emphasise this science’s ability to benefit the wider society. In developing this curriculum, he engaged in close collaboration with local institutions and industries to meet local and regional needs.

Dr. Chang-Yen’s resourcefulness has extended to his research effort. His teaching programmes in analytical chemistry have emphasised the need to be realistic, pragmatic and innovative in research. Amidst his undeniable success as an educator and researcher, he retains modesty as well. Rather than claiming sole credit for the development of analytical chemistry at UWI St. Augustine, he is quick to point to the tireless efforts of Dr. Jones and Dr. Chattergoon, whose work preceded his and who worked alongside him.

Some of Dr. Chang-Yen’s main contributions are well-known in Trinidad. He did studies on the presence of heavy metals and hydrocarbons in water, sediments and biota in the marine environment. He was responsible for the fingerprinting of hydrocarbons in the marine environment. He also conducted research on shellfish toxins, mycotoxins and pesticide residues in foods and lead poisoning, also playing a role in the remediation of lead-contaminated sites.

In the last area, Dr. Chang-Yen was involved in a national programme that researched the lead-contamination of a rural squatter community by improperly disposed car batteries. The persons who lived in the area were tested for lead accumulation by a research team, made up of people from both the analytical chemistry unit and the Ministry of Health. Dr. Chang-Yen was awarded the 1998/99 Dean’s Award for Postgraduate Research for developing novel environmental risk assessment systems for lead-polluted sites. The research was timely, relevant and necessary for public welfare and demonstrated the practical value of his research.

Dr. Chang-Yen has published extensively, produced seven technical reports on laboratory and environmental assessments, and made over 75 international and local conference presentations. His expertise has been sought after by many agencies, and his public service is demonstrated by his membership on many boards and committees including the Institute of Marine Affairs, a Cabinet-appointed committee on lead pollution, Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards committees on effluent standards for Trinidad and Tobago and laboratory accreditation and the Environmental Management Authority committee on removal of lead from gasoline.

Dr. Chang-Yen rues that children ought to dream more, yet too many haven’t the time to do so. They do not have time to relax, to think, to lie on the ground and watch the clouds go by, to let their mind go free. His advice to today’s young people is: “Dream and think about things you would like to do and not what somebody else wants you to do; become people of tomorrow rather than people who just follow others of today”. He notes also that children need to believe that the Caribbean has the people that can make a difference and suggests that perhaps a lot of people are lost to the region because no appreciation is shown for their efforts. In his opinion, the West Indies needs to develop traditions of excellence in ideas and products.

As a scientist, Dr. Chang-Yen’s mind is constantly engaged in thinking of ways to do things more efficiently and effectively, but he too takes the time to relax and to think. In his spare time, he pursues many hobbies that keep him ‘close to the earth’: he can cook, he makes local wines and he grows orchids. He also enjoys the special hobby of black and white photography.

Although he has no open regrets, he admits that perhaps he could have come to terms with life earlier. Although some would call the time spent in soul-searching as wasted, he sees a value even in this because during this time, he was able to learn a lot. Achievement is important but it cannot occur without learning.

Ivan Chang-Yen - Analytical Chemist

Ivan Chang-Yen
- Analytical Chemist