NanoEngineering
Department Chair
Our research focuses on 3D bioprinting and biomaterials for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications. We explore new knowledge of cell-material interactions in the full range of physical dimensions (from nano- to micro- to meso-scale), time span (from femtoseconds to months), and biological dimensions (from molecular to cellular to tissue). Our group not only investigates the fundamental scientific issues, such as cell interactions with micro and nano-environments, biomaterials science, and biomechanics, but also solves the technological and translational issues associated with tissue/organ repair and regeneration.
Bio
Dr. Shaochen Chen is a Professor and Chair in the NanoEngineering Department and Professor in the Bioengineering Department at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He is the founding co-director of the Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Center at UCSD. Before joining UCSD, Dr. Chen had been a Professor and a Henderson Centennial Endowed Faculty Fellow in Engineering in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Texas at Austin from 2001 to 2010. Between 2008 and 2010, he served as the Program Director for the Nanomanufacturing Program of the US National Science Foundation (NSF).
Among his numerous awards, Dr. Chen received the NSF CAREER award, the ONR Young Investigator award, and the NIH Edward Nagy New Investigator Award. For his seminal work in 3D printing, bioprinting, and nanomanufacturing, he received the Milton C. Shaw Manufacturing Research Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in 2017. Dr. Chen is an elected member of the US National Academy of Inventors and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts, and a Fellow of AAAS, AIMBE, ASME, SPIE, and ISNM. In 2022, Dr. Chen was awarded as a BRITE fellow of NSF to advance the 3D bio-nano-manufacturing techniques. Dr. Chen is a founder of Allegro 3D, Inc. commercializing 3D bioprinting technologies.