Tianyi Chen

Tianyi Chen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering at Oregon State University's College of Engineering, where he has been employed since 2018. His primary research focuses on nuclear materials science, utilizing techniques including irradiation experiments, microstructure analysis, multiscale mechanical testing, and molecular dynamics simulations.

Chen holds a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from Texas A&M University (2015), an M.S. in Nuclear Engineering from the same institution (2013), and a B.S. in Physics from Peking University (2010). Prior to joining Oregon State, he served as a postdoctoral research associate in the Nuclear Materials Science and Technology Group at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

His research investigates radiation-induced defects in materials, nanomechanical property characterization, and high-throughput material qualification techniques. Chen leads the Materials for Extreme Environments & Nuclear Applications (MEENA) Research Group, which develops characterization methods for extreme service conditions. His publications demonstrate consistent focus on microstructure-property relationships in nuclear materials, particularly through nanoindentation techniques and dislocation behavior analysis.

Research in Chen's group has been supported by grants including the U.S. Department of Energy's Nuclear Energy University Program (Project No. 14-6346).