Shaw H. Chen, professor and chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Rochester, has received the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences' Lifetime Achievement Award. Kevin Parker, dean of SEAS, honored Chen with a plaque for his distinguished accomplishments in research, education, and leadership, in a ceremony on Sept. 20.
"It is my pleasure to present the lifetime achievement award to Shaw," says Parker. "His research is nothing short of exemplary, and since he came to Rochester in 1981 he has proven to be an exceptional teacher as well. In addition, as chair, Shaw reinvigorated the doctoral program, hired excellent junior faculty and recruited Ching Tang as a full professor. Because of his leadership, the department is the strongest it's been in over 70 years."
"Shaw has been an exemplary chair," says Jacob Jorne, professor of chemical engineering. "He is incredibly modest for the amount of success he's had pushing the Department of Chemical Engineering to new heights, so it's only fitting that he be formally recognized this way—despite that modesty—by everyone in the school of engineering."
Shaw received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the National Taiwan University and his doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1981. Since that time, he has published over 130 papers and is regarded as one of the leading experts in the engineering of materials with special optical properties, including novel liquid crystals.