Yu-Chien Chien

Biography

Yu-Chien Chien, Ph.D., is Director of the Lasers, Flames and Aerosols Research Group and the Keck Foundation Deep Ocean Power Science Laboratory, and Project Scientist (step I) in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of California, Irvine. Chien received a Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of California, Irvine in 2015, focusing on thermal science and combustion. Her research centers on combustion science and gas hydrate systems, with particular emphasis on electric field effects on flames and methane hydrate formation and combustion at high pressure.

Chien serves as principal investigator for NASA's Physical Science Informatics project on ion-driven winds from diffusion flames and leads the Electric-Field Effects on Laminar Diffusion Flames (E-FIELD Flames) experiments conducted aboard the International Space Station as part of NASA's Advanced Combustion via Microgravity Experiments program. She also directs research in the Deep Ocean Power Science Laboratory, where her team studies methane hydrate formation and combustion at pressures up to 200 atmospheres. Chien has secured multiple federal grants as principal investigator, including awards from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Chien is an elected member of the National Academies Committee on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space and serves as Board Director for the Institute for Dynamics of Explosions and Reactive Systems. She received the Thora W. Halstead Young Investigator Award from the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research in 2021 and was named Professor of the Year by the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering students in 2024. Chien serves as editor for special issues of Combustion Science and Technology and has authored over 20 peer-reviewed journal articles.

Education

• B.E. in Aerospace Engineering, Tamkang University (TKU), Taipei, Taiwan, 2005
• M.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics, National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), Taiwan, 2007
• Ph.D. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Irvine, 2015

Distinctions

• NASA Faculty Fellow, NASA Glenn Faculty Fellowship Program (NGFFP), 2024
• American Society for Gravitational and Space Research Thora W. Halstead Young Investigator's Award, 2021
• Advisor of the Year, Society of Women Engineers, UCI Campus Organization Volunteer Program (COVP) Anteater Awards, 2025
• Women in Technology (WiT) at UCI Applause Recipient for faculty and staff, 2023
• Professor of the Year, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Engineering Student Council (ESC), 2024
• Early Career Researcher Award, North America Taiwanese Professors' Association – Southern California Club (NATPA-SCC), 2018