Prof. Chiu-Wen Chen is a Distinguished Professor at the Department of Marine Environmental Engineering, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST), Taiwan. Prof. Chen currently serves as the director of the Center for the Study of Sediments (NKUST). Prof. Chen's research focuses on environmental chemistry, water quality (seawater, drinking water) analysis, marine environmental pollution monitoring, and sediment pollution monitoring. She has published over 400 research articles and 8 book chapters in international SCI journals. Prof. Chen has received the Undersea Technology Medal of the Republic of China and the Outstanding Industry-Academic Award. She was also selected as one of the "World's Top 2% Scientists - by Stanford University Releases List (2023)" for Environmental Sciences.

Recent years have seen increasing attention to issues of sediment accumulation and pollution in estuaries, coastal areas, commercial ports, and fishing ports. With the government officially incorporating sediment pollution into environmental protection regulations, there is a growing demand for research and development in sediment monitoring, management, and treatment technologies, especially for sediments in commercial and fishing ports. Due to navigation safety concerns, ports must regularly dredge sediments. However, pollution from upstream rivers and operational activities results in contaminated sediments that must be treated before disposal or reuse. Therefore, the "Center for the Study of Sediments" was established in October 2014 with the main purpose of integrating overall resources to conduct sustainable work on sediment monitoring, on-site remediation assessment, sediment environmental management, and off-site treatment technology development. The center aims to provide professional services on sediment-related issues, nurture marine science and technology professionals, and achieve sustainable maintenance of aquatic environments. The center will leverage abundant academic research and development capabilities, valuable instrumentation resources, and comprehensive hardware and software facilities. It will collaborate with domestic fishing and commercial ports and public and private companies to implement pioneering and practical academic research to achieve excellence, development, and sustainable operations.