Chao Yu Chen

Chao Yu Chen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the National University of Singapore's College of Engineering. His professional email is mpechenp@nus.edu.sg and his office is located at E1A-07-09. With a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto (1995), he has extensive industry experience including work with China International Marine Containers Ltd., General Dynamics Corp., Philips, and the Canadian Space Agency before joining NUS in April 2000 after a Research Fellowship at Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology.

Dr. Chen's research spans microsystems engineering and robotics with particular focus on mechanical manipulation of physical and biological systems across micro to macro scales. His work includes developing engineering solutions for biological applications such as active manipulation of extracellular matrix stiffness, microinjection of silkworm eggs, and creating systems for high throughput transgenic silkworm creation. His laboratory also works on practical engineering applications including the ARMCON system for traffic management, polymer-based heat exchangers, and automated eyelet welding systems using mobile manipulators.

His recent publications demonstrate expertise in biomedical microsystems, with research bridging mechanical engineering principles with biological applications. The publications show a consistent focus on developing novel micro-engineering techniques for biological manipulation and measurement, particularly in the areas of cell-matrix interactions and microfluidic particle separation systems.

Dr. Chen actively supervises graduate students, with recent success noted for PhD candidate Yazhini who passed her oral examination. His research group maintains active collaborations and seeks opportunities for industry partnerships to develop practical engineering solutions based on their microsystem and robotics research.