Dr. Chen is a Professor of Geography at Michigan State University and a fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS, 2011) and Ecological Society of America (ESA, 2014). He serves as the Editor-in-Chief for two book series: 1) Landscape Ecology (Springer); and 2) Ecosystem Science and Application –ESA (HEP & De Gruyter) as well as the journal Ecological Processes. Also, he is the founder and chief scientist of the US-China Carbon Consortium (USCCC).
Research Interests
- Ecosystem processes and biophysical feedbacks
- Human activity
- Forest fragmentation & edge effects
- Landscape ecology
- Micrometeorology
- Coupled nature and human (CNH) systems
- Carbon/water fluxes
Current Projects
Dr. Chen leads the Landscape Ecology and Ecosystem Science lab (LEES), which investigates the combination of human actions with environmental functions—particularly within eastern Asia and the Midwest, USA. Much of the research collects and monitors biophysical and land cover changes, such as carbon cycling, evapotranspiration, and plant growth (diameter at breast height, nitrogen levels). His lab provides many data and learning resources and is open to collaboration.