A typical day for Dr. Peter Chen centers around ideas andexperiments that would leave most students’ heads swimming.
As a computer science professor of the University, Chen spendshis days teaching students and doing research.
“He’s an extremely enthusiastic scientist. He is doing anexcellent job and becoming extremely successful,” said Keven Smith,vice chancellor of research and graduate studies.
“Each time his work is cited — and it is cited frequently –the reputation of LSU is enhanced,” said Executive Vice Chancellorand Provost Risa Palm, who added that the University would benefitsignificantly from Chen’s international recognition.
Chen wrote his doctorate thesis at Harvard University oninnovative techniques of file allocations in computer storagedevices.
Another contribution to information technology was Chen’sEntity-Relationship modeling methodology, which is “practiced dailyby millions of software professionals in database design andsoftware development projects all over the world,” Chen said.
Recently, Chen has been working on developing new techniques toquickly identify potential terrorists.
Chen has received numerous awards throughout his career,including the Association for Computing Machinery/AmericanAssociation for Artificial Intelligence Allen Newell Award and theInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Harry GoodeAward, the previous winners of which are Nobel Prize winners.
“It’s his own momentum and capacity for hard work that hasgotten him where he is,” Smith said.
“The Pan Wen-Yuan Award indicates that the accomplishments atLSU have been recognized internationally and that LSU can competeeffectively with the top institutions in the world such as MIT,Berkeley and Princeton,” Chen said.
Basic University courses in several disciplines use Chen’sresearch in the classroom.
“LSU aspires to be one of the nation’s great universities.Reaching this status will mean that citizens of Louisiana will haveaccess, right here in Baton Rouge, to an education that iscompetitive anywhere,” Palm said.
Palm said the University is working hard to recruit and retainmore faculty like Chen as an essential part of the FlagshipAgenda.
To keep faculty members such as Chen at the University, Palmsaid, officials are working to make faculty salaries competitivethrough annual salary increases.
To obtain the award, an individual must excel in a high-techfield, Chen said. This can include electronics, semiconductors,telecommunications, information technology and informationsystems.
Chen was honored for several advances in his field.
Chen’s University research team won a $1.8 million researchgrant from the National Science Foundation for cyber security andanti-terrorism, which is one of the largest research grants theUniversity has ever received.
“Cyber security is very important to the nation,” Smithsaid.
Chen was born in mainland China and grew up in Taiwan. Hereceived a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering fromNational Taiwan University in 1968. He served one year in themandatory military service and then received a fellowship to studyat Harvard University in 1969.
Chen received his PhD. in Computer Science/Applied Mathematicsfrom Harvard in 1973.
He eventually joined the MIT Sloan School of Management as anassistant professor, and then moved on to University of Californiain Los Angeles management as an associate professor four yearslater.
In 1983, he accepted the offer from LSU as the FosterDistinguished Chair Professor and moved to Baton Rouge.
Chen was honored along with other distinguished Universityfaculty by LSU System President and Interim Chancellor WilliamJenkins and Gov. Kathleen Blanco at the state capitol in June.
Chen has held the position of M.J. Foster Distinguished ChairProfessor of Computer Science since 1983.