Background
Chen, Fengshan Frank was born on December 1956 in Taichung, Taiwan. Son of Yau-Yuan and Chu-Kuan (Lan) Chen.
Chen, Fengshan Frank was born on December 1956 in Taichung, Taiwan. Son of Yau-Yuan and Chu-Kuan (Lan) Chen.
Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering, Tunghai University, 1980. Master of Science in Industrial Engineering, University Missouri, 1985. Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial Engineering, University Missouri, 1988.
Dr. F. Frank Chen is the Lutcher Brown Distinguished Chair in Advanced Manufacturing University of Texas at San Antonio where he served as the Interim Department Chair of Mechanical Engineering (2006-2007) and founded the Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Lean Systems (an Engineering/University level Center) and served as the center director (2007-2015). Before joining UTSA in 2006, he had been with Virginia Tech as the John L. Lawrence Endowed Professor of Manufacturing Systems Engineering with its Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering since 1999. Dr. Chen was the founding Director and led the area of Flexible Automation and Lean Manufacturing Technologies of the Center for High Performance Manufacturing at Virginia Tech (2001-2006). Having support and participation from more than twenty faculty members at multiple universities, he established this interdisciplinary research center at Virginia Tech in 2001, with approximately $9 million, multiple years of funding from the Virginia’s Commonwealth Technology Research Fund, industry equipment and institutional matching funds. Before returning to academia in 1991, he was with Caterpillar Technical Center and held positions as a Manufacturing Systems Engineer in the Machining & Automation Division, a Senior Manufacturing Systems Engineer in the Metrology and Process Control Division, and a Project Manager leading a corporate research and technical services group with specialization in design and control of manufacturing cells.
His current research interests include lean tools and concepts for product development, healthcare, government/public sectors and R&D operations, design and operation of energy efficient buildings, intelligent manufacturing, and enterprise integration and transformation. As the author or co-author of over 200 technical papers and reports (87 appeared in refereed, archived journals), Dr. Chen was an associate editor of SME Journal of Manufacturing Systems (2008-2015) and has served in the editorial board of the International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology where he also served as an editor or co-editor of two special issues on neural network and Petri nets applications in manufacturing and design. Dr. Chen has also served as editor and special issue editor for Flexible Services and Manufacturing Journal and editor of three special issues for the International Journal of Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing. His book entitled Trends in Supply Chain Design and Management: Technologies and Methodologies (Springer Series in Advanced Manufacturing, 454 pages, ISBN: 1846286069) has appeared in March 2007. He serves as the editor of Book Collections on Enterprise Engineering and Sustainability area for the Momentum Press. Dr. Chen also served as conference co-chair (2011) and chair (2014) of the International Conference on Flexible Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing (FAIM).
Dr. Chen demonstrated prolific research careers in both industry and academia. He received the Distinguished Services Award from VP-Technical Services of Caterpillar Inc. in 1991. As one of the nine NSF nominated engineering professors in the nation who received the 1996 Presidential Faculty Fellows (PFF/PECASE) Award from President Clinton at the White House, Dr. Chen has served as a principal investigator of over $13 million externally funded research projects and equipment grants sponsored by agencies such as National Science Foundation, Caterpillar Inc., Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Army Research Office, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and more recently Sandia National Laboratories since 1991. Dr. Chen was instrumental in re-activating the Central Illinois IIE Chapter 080 and served as the chapter V.P. and Chairman of Technical Program Committee in 1990-1991. Dr. Chen has supervised 30 Ph.D. dissertations and postdoctoral researchers and 48 M.S. Theses/Projects so far. He has served in many research proposal review panels for organizations such as NSF, Ireland Science Foundation, Louisiana Department of Education, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and Taiwan Ministry of Education. He was also a keynote speaker at several international conferences and as a distinguished lecturer at many institutions including a visiting chair professorship at National Tsinghua University (Taiwan), National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, and Tunghai University. As an effective educator/researcher, he received the College of Engineering Awards for Excellence in Research at UTSA and at Virginia Tech, the Top Grant Producers Award from FIU President, Best Teaching Award from the Lean Division of the Institute of Industrial Engineers, Teacher of the Year Award from IIE Student Chapter at FIU, and the Award for Excellence in Teaching (as a graduate instructor) from the Mathematics Department at University of Missouri
Member Institute Industrial Engineers (vice president central Illinois chapter 1990-1991), Society Integrated Manufacturing, Society Manufacturing Engineers (Excellence in Research Project award 1987), Operations Research Society of America.
Married Eunice, April 25, 1985. Children: Joyce J., Louis L.