Dr. Lea-Der (LD) Chen is currently a Professor and Associate Dean for Research of the College of Engineering at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. He is the PI and Director of the NSF CREST Center for Geospatial and Environmental Informatics, Modeling and Simulation. Prior to joining A&M – Corpus Christi in July 2010, he was with the University of Iowa, holding professorial positions as well as department chair (Department Executive Officer) and center director (National Advanced Driving Simulator) positions. Chen earned his baccalaureate degree in mechanical engineering from National Taiwan University (Taipei, Taiwan), and his master's and Ph.D. degrees from the Pennsylvania State University (University Park, Pennsylvania). Upon receiving his Ph.D. degree, Chen was appointed a Research Associate at Penn State’s Applied Research Laboratory and held a non-tenure track assistant professor appointment in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Chen also had an IPA appointment at Air Force Research Lab (WPAFB, Ohio) conducting research in jet diffusion flames. His research has been funded by NSF, AFOSR, ONR, NASA, TARDEC, ARDEC, ConocoPhillips, Honda R&D, GM, Cummins Inc., and Deere & Co. Chen’s NASA-funded research included a glovebox investigation onboard the US Space Shuttle Columbia STS-87/USMP-4 Mission in November/December 1997. He has authored/co-authored more than 160 technical publications and is a co-inventor of 2 patents. Chen’s current research is in the areas of energy and coastal resilience.

Chen is a life member of ASME, a senior member of AIAA, and a member of ASEE and the Combustion Institute. He currently serves as Chair of the ASME Aerospace Division.