Tien Chi Chen ’50

Tien Chi Chen ’50, of San Jose, Calif.; Oct. 6. In 1956 he joined IBM and played a pivotal role in the development of supercomputers and computer architecture, which led him to earn multiple outstanding contribution awards. In 1979, he became a visiting professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in the department of electronics. He assumed the additional position of Head of United College in 1980 and retired for the first time in 1992. He returned to CUHK in 1997 and continued to teach until his second retirement in 2014. CUHK bestowed on him the title of Honorary Fellow of the University in 2003 and he was also a Life Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. An avid lover of Chinese food and wine, he and his wife coauthored Everything You Want to Know About Chinese Cooking. He is survived by his wife, Pearl Kong Chen; a daughter and son-in-law; two grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.