Faculty Directory

Dr. Po-Yen Chen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD), with an affiliate appointment in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is also a core member of the Maryland Robotics Center (MRC) and the Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute at Maryland (AIM). Dr. Chen earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from National Taiwan University (NTU) and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Prior to joining UMD, he served as an Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and conducted independent research as a Hibbitt Early Career Fellow at Brown University.

Awards  & Honors

2026                   64th Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) Award, Taiwan

2026                   Winner of the IC Taiwan Grand Challenge (ICTGC)

2026                   Allan P. Colburn Memorial Lectureship of University of Delaware

2025                   Maryland Research Excellence Honoree of UMD

2024                   Shining Star Award, American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)

2023                   Winner of UMD’s Invention of the Year Award (Information Sciences)

2023                   Faculty–Student Research Award (FSRA) of UMD

2023                   Young Innovator Award by Nano Research, Springer

2022                   John C. Chen Young Professional Leadership Scholarship, AIChE

2022                   Innovative Early-Career Engineers, National Academy of Engineering (NAE)’s U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Symposium

2022                   Finalist of UMD’s Invention of the Year Award (Information Sciences)

2021                   Fellow of Vebleo

2021                   Member of Global Young Academy (GYA)

2020                   AIChE 35 Under 35 Award, AIChE

2020                   Innovator Under 35 in Asia, MIT Technology Review (MITTR)

2020                   Inspiring Research Mentor Award, NUS High School of Mathematics & Science

2019                   Outstanding Young Principal Investigator Award, AIChE Singapore Local Section

2019                   Emerging Investigator, J. Mater. Chem. B, Royal Society of Chemistry, UK

2018                   A*STAR AME Young Investigator Award, A*STAR, Singapore

2015                   Hibbitt Early Career Fellowship, Brown University, USA

2014                   MIT-Eni Energy Fellowship, MIT, USA

2013                   National Study Abroad Fellowship, Taiwan

2011                   MIT-Eni Energy Fellowship, MIT, USA

2009                   Dr. An-Tai Chen Scholarship (Best Undergraduate Researcher), NTU, Taiwan

2009                   Presidential Awards (Top 5% Undergraduates), NTU, Taiwan