Chern received his Ph.D. in civil engineering from Northwestern University in 1984. His interests include concrete materials & mechanics research, infrastructural development and management, hazard mitigation and post-disaster reconstruction etc. Chern is the recipient of many awards, including the Outstanding Research Award from National Science Council of Taiwan; the Outstanding Industrial Reduction Award from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Environmental Protection Administration ; the Significant Contribution to 921 Chi-Chi Earthquake Reconstruction Award from the Post-Disaster Recovery Commission of Cabinet: the New Campus Movement Contribution Award due to the 921 Earthquake campus reconstruction from the Ministry of Education. In 2008, he received the International Contribution Award from the Japan Society of Civil Engineers for his outstanding contributions in promoting the cooperation among civil engineering societies in Asia. Chern also received the ACECC Civil Engineering Achievement Award in 2010 for his lifetime devotion and contributions to the world. In 2015, he received the Engineering Medal, the highest honor, from the Chinese Institute of Engineers. He received the 3rd class Order of Brilliant Star with Violet Grand Cordon from the President due to his outstanding contribution on the Typhoon Morakot Post-Disaster reconstruction in 2015.
Governmental positions
Chern has served several important roles in the cabinet, such as the Minister without Portfolio and the Minister of Public Construction Commission, the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China, Taiwan. He was in charge of formulating and implementing the Taiwanese government's national economic stimulus plan on public infrastructure. He was responsible also for the promotion of sustainable public infrastructure, taking into consideration the needs of the environment, ecology, and disaster prevention. Chern has assumed the roles of the deputy CEO and the CEO for the Morakot Post-Disaster Reconstruction Council from 2009 to 2014. Typhoon Morakot struck Taiwan on August 8, 2009, bringing torrential rainfall that triggered flooding and landslides across central and southern Taiwan. Chern stood in the frontline and has worked on post-disaster reconstruction by respectful, efficient, and innovative means. Flexible ways were adopted for the reconstruction to cope with possible subsequent hazards and post-disaster social response. Under his leadership, the Taiwanese government set up a primary social management system with an enhanced degree of disaster prevention awareness to meet the challenges posed by reconstruction. The system has effectively integrated disaster prevention, relief, and reconstruction capabilities of the government, NGOs, and enterprises. Confronted with a higher frequency and magnitude of natural disasters, the Taiwanese government has established a disaster prevention system to proactively and effectively reduce the short-term damage and long-term loss of GDP. The reconstruction results highly recognized by local and international societies, Chern became an expert in hazard mitigation and post-disaster reconstruction in Taiwan. Due to his outstanding service in the cabinet, he received the first class medal of merit from the Executive Yuan of Taiwan.
Honors and positions in academic societies
His outstanding contributions in research and application of concrete engineering have earned the honor and recognition from the American Concrete Institute. He received the Outstanding Contribution of Concrete Technology in Taiwan Award from ACI in 1997. In 1998, he was named the first ACI fellow in Taiwan. He is a fellow and honorary member of the Chinese Institute of Engineers, the Chinese Institute of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering and of the Chinese Society of Structural Engineering. He is also honorary member of the Mongolian Association of Civil Engineers and the Asian Institute of Technology Alumni Association in Taiwan. Chern is Vice-president and an academician of the Russia International Academy of Engineering and foreign academician of the Russia Academy of Engineering. In addition, Chern plays an active role both locally and internationally on civil engineering and concrete societies. He is the president of Taiwan Chapter of International Academy of Engineering. He is the past Chair of the Executive Committee of Asian Civil Engineering Coordinating Council, honorary president of the International Society for Social Management Systems, and the vice president of the Asian Concrete Federation. He was the past president of the Chinese Institute of Engineers, a leading engineering organization in Taiwan, and has served two terms as the president of CICHE and is the founder and the founding president of the Taiwan Concrete Institute.
