Yung Tsang Chen front 1

Dr Yung-Tsang Chen

Associate Professor in Civil Engineering

 

Yung-Tsang (Stanley) Chen, an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Civil Engineering, has been striving to provide students with high-quality learning experience and supporting their all-around development in transferrable skills for almost ten years at UNNC. 

Dr Stanley Chen received his Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree in Civil Engineering from National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan. His research in the master programme focused on the optimal design of multiple tuned mass dampers.

Stanley was born and grew up in Taiwan, one of the most seismically active regionsin the world. Taiwan has a long history of major earthquakes that destroyed homes and businesses. During his undergraduate study, he found himself interested in knowing the knowledge of protecting buildings and civil infrastructures from being damaged by the earthquake.  Therefore, he continued his postgraduate study in structural engineering and focused on the research of optimal design of multi tuned mass dampers for high-rise buildings. One of the famous applications of this damper device is the Taipei 101 tower.

Later, he further his study on structural engineering at the University of California, Davis in the United States. The research topic was further elaborated to the optimisation of structures with supplemental braces and dampers. In addition to his research in earthquake engineering, his doctoral work was also sponsored by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). In the Caltrans’s project, he conducted field loading tests of four full scale bridge approach slabs that are 9 m long and 3.6 m wide. Based on the test results, he proposed a new bridge approach slab design to replace the existing designs to Caltrans. The proposed approach slab design was adopted by Caltrans as replacement alternative for newly constructed approach slabs in California.

After completing his doctoral work, Dr Chen moved to Jackson State University and worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher on a research project funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). In this project, he studies the effect of bridge scour on dynamic properties of the bridges. He utilised the measured dynamic response of the bridge to infer the bridge’s health condition. His research work has been published in several prestigious SCI journals in structural engineering, including Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics, Engineering Structures, Structural Health Monitoring, Journal of Bridge Engineering, ASCE, Structures, and International Journal of Structural Stability and Dynamics, all of which are SJR Q1 journals. It’s worth mentioning that in 2021, he published 5 papers in SJR Q1 journals.

Stanley told us that back to the time when he finished his Master’s degree, the computer science and information technology was a blue ocean. He attended a programming training course and became a programmer for a year. “It was a good job with decent payment, but it is not something I am passionate about. Therefore, I quit my job and started to prepare for the application for PhD study in structural engineering.”

Stanley joined the Faculty of Science and Engineering, UNNC in August 2012. He has been the convenor for eight core modules of Civil Engineering. His teaching is among one of the best in the faculty. His teaching emphasises both the fundamental theories and their applications in real-world projects in the industry. For example, in the Structural Concrete Design module for Year 4 students, students are asked to finish the analysis and construction of a 1.6 m long reinforced concrete beam from scratch to completion in the laboratory. Students are able to gain hands-on experience and observe flexural behaviour of the beam under loading. In this module, students are also required to analyse a four-story frame structure and provide details designs of the selected beam and column using modern building codes. Students need to run the structural software to analyse the frame under different types and combinations of loadings. In this course, he also introduces the Eurocodes to help students get a taste of real industry projects.

Yung Tsang Chen teaching
Dr Stanley Chen teaching the Structural Concrete Design module

 

It is a huge challenge for all the students, but when they see their output at the end of the module, they feel a true sense of achievement,” said Dr Chen.

 

 In the Nottingham Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET), he received almost full marks in the teaching of Structural Concrete Design module in the 2019-2021 academic years. This module was also awarded Zhejiang Provincial First-Class Undergraduate Module in 2021. Both are the recognitions of his devotion to teaching.

Last year, Dr Chen was appointed as the Head of the Department of Civil Engineering. He has been working closely with his colleagues to improve students’ understanding of the industry and their career paths. Guest lecturers from the industry and Civil Engineering alumni are invited to share new industrial technology development as well as personal career growth with current Civil Engineering students.

“We have many excellent graduates now working in UK, Australia, Europe, and elsewhere around the world. In China, the job market for Civil Engineering is huge, as there are always mega infrastructure projects on-going. Most of the international engineering consultation companies like Gleeds, ARUP, Atkins and LERA have branches in major cities in China. They are looking for talents and experts who are highly skilled, have international mindsets, and are equipped with transferable skills that enable them to cope with the changeable world. This is also what we have upheld and strived in teaching and learning activities!”