Prof. Chen was born in Huhhot City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in November 1962. He joined the communist party of China in June 1983, received his B.S. and M.S. in Civil Engineering from NJTU in 1983 and 1990 respectively and received his Ph.D. from BJTU later. From March 1993 to October 2004, he successively took positions as vice chairman of the Department of Civil Engineering of the School of Civil Engineering and Architecture; associate dean of the School of Civil Engineering and Architecture; director of the Office of Admissions and Employment; director of the University Office, etc. In October 2004, he was appointed vice president of BJTU. He was a senior visiting scholar to Queensland University of Technology in Australia from February 1999 to March 2000. In 1995, he was awarded the “May Fourth” badge and praised as one of the Excellent Young Talents in Science and Technology by the Ministry of Railways. In 1996, he was awarded as the Young Disciplinary Leading Figures of Beijing.