Dr. Chen obtained his B.Eng. and M.Sc. degrees in environmental science and technology from Jilin University and Peking University in China, respectively. From 2002 to 2003, he visited Environment Canada (EC) at Downsview (Toronto) and conducted research on water pollution control in the Great Lakes basin.
After completing his PhD program in environmental systems engineering at the University of Regina in 2005, he went to the University of British Columbia and continued his research as a NSERC postdoctoral fellow. In July 2006, he joined the civil engineering discipline in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science at Memorial University of Newfoundland as an assistant professor and was promoted to associate professor with tenure in March, 2011.
His research interests lie in the areas of watershed modeling and management, POPs and NPS studies, water and wastewater treatment, oil spills and offshore pollution control, waste management, site remediation, climate change and northern studies, and decision making under uncertainty.
He has acted as PI or Co-PI in over 20 research projects funded by industries, governments and communities and produced more than 130 technical publications including over 80 refereed research articles. Dr. Chen is also the founder and leader of the Northern Region Persistent Organic Pollution Control (NRPOP) Laboratory which is dedicated to R & D of innovative methodologies and technologies for pollution prevention, control, and restoration particularly in cold weather and harsh environments.