Xiang Chen

Xiang (Peter) Chen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography, Sustainability, Community and Urban Studies (GSCU) at the University of Connecticut. His research focuses on GIScience and community health, particularly in food access, urban health equity, and geospatial analysis. He holds a PhD from The Ohio State University and has affiliations with UConn's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health and the Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy (InCHIP).

His work integrates spatial data techniques with public health challenges, addressing issues like food environment equity, pandemic response mapping, and health disparities. Notable projects include developing GIS-based food asset maps for underserved communities and analyzing the obesogenicity of urban foodscapes using crowdsourced data. He teaches courses such as GIS applications, spatial databases, and emergency management technology.

Chen has received over 20 awards, including the 2025 Provost Award for Community Engaged Scholarship and recognition for his mosquito population modeling (MPAD framework). His interdisciplinary research bridges geospatial science with public health policy, emphasizing actionable solutions for urban challenges.