Zhen Chen

Zhen Chen is a Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Nuclear Engineering Program at the University of Missouri, with an adjunct appointment in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. He specializes in blast-resistant design, nanotechnology, and simulation-based engineering science. His research focuses on material failure under extreme conditions, multi-scale modeling, and computational mechanics. He has received prestigious awards including the NSF CAREER Grant and ASME Fellowship.

Education: PhD (University of New Mexico), MS (University of New Mexico), BE (Shanghai University). Prior to MU, he worked at Sandia National Laboratories and the New Mexico Engineering Research Institute.

Research Interests:

• Blast-resistant structural systems
• Nanoporous materials and nanotechnology
• Material point method (MPM) and computational modeling
• Multi-scale simulation of materials
• Failure mechanisms in metals and composites

Recent work emphasizes fluid-solid interactions in explosion-resistant designs, strain localization in laminated glass, and atomistic studies of nanoporous materials. Over 200 peer-reviewed articles demonstrate his contributions to computational mechanics and material science.

Awards and Grants:

• NSF CAREER Award (2015)
• ASME Fellow (2019)
• Funding from NSF, AFOSR, ARO, and Sandia National Labs

His work bridges micro- and macro-scale phenomena, with applications in aerospace, civil infrastructure, and defense systems. Active collaborations span mechanical, nuclear, and materials engineering disciplines.