New Dean with Electrical Engineering Background

Newly appointed Dean of the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST), Taiwanese-born Professor C. L. Philip Chen, is due to take office next month.
The recruitment process for the position was a global process attracting applications from more than a dozen renowned scholars across the world.
Prof. Chen received his M.S. degree from the University of Michigan, USA in 1985, and his Ph.D. degree from Purdue University, USA, in 1988. Both degrees are in Electrical Engineering.
He was with the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, from 1989 to 2002 as an assistant, associate, and tenured full professor before he joined the University of Texas, San Antonio, where he currently serves as a Professor and Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
Also serving as the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies of the College of Engineering, his current research interests include theoretical development in computational intelligence, intelligent systems, robotics and manufacturing automation, networking, diagnosis and prognosis, and life prediction and life-extending control.
He has been a visiting research scientist at the Materials Directorate, US Air Force Wright Lab, a senior research fellow sponsored by the US National Research Council, and a research faculty fellow for NASA Glenn Research Center for several years.
After taking up office, Prof. Chen hopes to further improve UM’s “strength” areas, such as information security system, structural and environmental engineering, and medical science and engineering, in hopes of propelling UM to a leading status in such areas in Asia.