Alex Chang

During the day, Alex is a Machine Learning Engineer at a major tech (FAANG) company, which is only the latest in a series of career moves applying STEM to everyday life. Previously, Alex had been a researcher in a physical chemistry lab, a management consultant in the Middle East, a lead data scientist for the top app in the Apple app store, a Stanford economics teaching assistant, and, once upon a time, one of the top 20 chemistry high schoolers in the United States. The pivots in his nontraditional path reflect Alex's approach to learning and interacting with the world: for any topic, there are multiple layers of understanding, each of which adds a different perspective, all of which are required for mastery. To a scientist, first principle derivations are sacrosanct; to an engineer, value is directly correlated with usefulness; and to students, well, they just want to know how we got into these topics to begin with.

This drive to see the complete story has served Alex well not only professionally, but also in his teaching. He was one of the highest rated TAs in Stanford's Introduction to Economics course. As a teacher for underserved kids at a non-profit, he was able to make chemistry relevant. And as a tutor, both at Stanford and beyond, he's been highly sought after, especially in subject areas that are traditionally frustrating for most students such as organic chemistry, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, and linear algebra.

In his free time, Alex can be found working on his hand balancing and aerial straps. This year, he impulse-bought a piano and is currently learning Chopin's Ballade No 4 to justify that purchase.