Rate My Professor Pu Chen

Pu Chen is a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo and a member of the Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology. He holds the Canada Research Chair in Biomanufacturing. His research is at the interface of materials, biomedicine, and energy, involving the application of physical chemistry, surface thermodynamics, solid state physics, biochemistry, and molecular cell biology to biomedical and chemical engineering systems. Professor Chen aims to design and measure molecular interactions, nanostructure formation, and adsorption kinetics of peptides, DNA, small interfering RNA (siRNA), proteins, surfactants, and polymers in solution or at interfaces. His work applies techniques from nanotechnology, genomics, proteomics, and nano/microelectronics to issues in nanomedicine, biomaterials, colloid and surface science. Practical applications include drug and gene delivery, peptide-DNA/RNA binding, protein-lipid interactions, lipid bilayer and cell membrane actions, therapeutic lung surfactants, emulsification, coating, painting, thin films, surface mass and heat transfer, molecular/microsensors, nanotube membranes and bioseparation, biofuel cells, molecular sensing, and nanocellular foaming of polymers. Professor Chen’s lab has impacted emerging energy, biomedical, and chemical technologies and contributed to a start-up company focused on nano-peptide technology. He is the author and co-author of over 240 refereed journal publications and the book Molecular Interfacial Phenomena of Polymers and Biopolymers, as well as numerous book chapters. His research interests encompass nanotechnology and nanomedicine, biochemical and biomedical engineering, separation processes, surfaces and interfaces, physical chemistry, thermodynamics, drug and gene delivery, microscopy, interfacial phenomena, colloids and porous media, energy, materials science, surface thermodynamics, solid state physics, additive manufacturing, and water. Professor Chen serves on multiple editorial boards, including as Academic Editor for PLoS ONE and Editorial Board Member for the World Journal of Chemical Engineering. He earned a Doctorate in Mechanical Engineering in 1998 and a Master’s in Materials Science in 1993 from the University of Toronto, along with a Bachelor of Science in Materials Science in 1988 and a Bachelor’s in Physics in 1985 from Nanjing University. Among his honors are the Premier’s Research Excellence Award and appointment as Consultant Professor at South China University of Technology in 2007, the highest honor the university grants to outstanding external scholars. He has also held the Canada Research Chair in Nano-Biomaterials.

Professor Chen has taught courses such as CHE 231 Physical Chemistry 2, CHE 331 Electrochemical Engineering, CHE 612 Interfacial Phenomena, and NE 100 Introduction to Nanotechnology Engineering in recent years. His contributions extend to committee roles and editorial positions across various scientific journals focused on chemical engineering, nanotechnology, and related fields.