Biography

Robert F. Chen

Bob Chen is a professor of Environmental, Earth and Ocean Sciences and the principal investigator of the Center for Coastal Environmental Sensing Networks (CESN) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. He received his A.B. from Harvard University in Chemistry and Physics and his Ph.D. in Oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, he has remained at UMassBoston since 1993. His research interests include the sources, transformation and fate of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in coastal waters, the detection, fate and effects of organic contaminants in the coastal ocean, the biogeochemistry of carbon in coastal regions, the development of fluorescence-based sensors for environmental applications, the development of instrument packages for high spatial resolution studies of estuaries, and the application of coastal sensor networks to societal needs. He is also dedicated to ocean and environmental science education and outreach at the local, national and international levels.