High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Wah Ming Chang (August 2, 1917–December 22, 2003) was a Chinese American designer, sculptor, and artist. He is known primarily for his sculpture and the props he designed for Star Trek (the original series), including the tricorder, and communicator. (While he is mistakenly credited with having created the phaser, it was actually designed by the Art Director of the original series, Matt Jefferies.)