A place shares stories in my academic life.


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Honored to be on the UCI Women in Tech Applause

Unveiled on March 1st, 2023 on the UCI OIT site https://womenintech.uci.edu/applause/2023-applause-recipients/

[Read more…]

Mars Rover — Good Night Oppy

I signed up for Send Your Name to MARS as part of the history in 2011


Nite nite Oppy is a sweet documentary (in my view it is REALLY lovely!).
I honestly couldn’t imagine how these scientists planned and conducted such a long~~~ ops duration for 8 Mars years (15 Earth years).
While my ISS E-FIELD Flames operation was merely Oppy’s 0.4%, it was only 21-testday (or around 131 hours).
It is definitely that nothing compares.

And Perseverance has already been in action for 663 sols!
In my mind, it was not so long ago that it was launched and then landed on Mars several months later.
I still recall that one of my MS student who was an intern at NASA Ames at that time, described the enthusiasm and how the whole helicopter team cheer for the success of launching and landing.
It was 2020, 2021 already! [Read more…]

Interview of CAMP November Spotlight

CAMP November Newsletter of 2022


OK. It feels strange to read my words.

I really enjoy brainstorming ideas and fixing things.

Everyone needs a cheerleader that will help them thrive in STEM. But you also have to be a good listener and listen to feedback….

I try to speak in a language that students will understand to bridge the knowledge…it is about having empathy…[Read more…]

Miramar Airshow #3.5


This is my 4th time at the Miramar base, but the 3rd “Miramar Airshow” specifically.


B-52H Stratofortress, Photo credit: a passionate airshow participant

I was asked at the airshow, “Is this your first time here?” I stumbled through my words since everything feels like more than “10 years ago” and all memories are blended by now.

I was here in 2009, 2011, and 2012, [Read more…]

CSSA | Research


History creates E-FIELD Flames legacy.


California Alliance for Minority Participation Summer Science Academy, Series 2.
60+ participants in the Junior & Senior session. Hosts/guests from left: Yu-Chien Chien, Derek Dunn-Rankin, Pheather Harris, Nancy Arteaga, Leonora Peña

Dr. Dunn-Rankin & Dr. Weinberg,
with five NASA supported E-FIELD Flames Ph.D.s,
plus numerous voluntary project participants,
All of us have one common goal — Microgravity E-FIELD Flames

In 2018, we had achieved it!  
And the legacy is ongoing and weaving……
[Read more…]

ASGSR | Thora Halstead Young Investigator Award

@ASGSR2020 on facebook by American Society for Gravitational and Space Research – ASGSR

“’This award was a complete surprise, and my academic colleagues kept asking me whether I knew about it ahead of time,’ said Chien.”

“Chien’s willingness to break boundaries, stretch the envelope of customary practice, and demand fairness and conscientious treatment of all – independent of race, gender, culture and ethnicity.”

“She recognizes the challenges of being the pathfinder across the male-dominated environment prevalent in engineering, and she accepts that struggle for herself and provides the support and encouragement for those in similar circumstances.” [Read more…]

Invitation: Winter World – The Long Winter (E-FIELD Flames)

I was surprised and happy to receive an endorsement invitation for this science fiction novel.

This is my first endorsement. It actually took me a full week to formulate my thoughts in catching what I was asked for by this invitation.  Of course, I did not get to know the detailed process/steps until having a couple more email interactions, and what was not clear was the date assigned for review.  This seems familiar as if reviewing papers/proposals, but the only difference is that this is reviewing an entire book and within a couple of weeks.

I did request an extension to give myself extra time during the break to read.  Even though it is only a couple of sentences of a book blurb, I wanted to be honest in my words that reflect the best perspective, and I wanted to be sure that the blurb read properly in Mandarin (and English).

The camera flashes between the low earth orbit International Space Station (ISS) and the earth. The stories are weaving together within a realistic framework. Dashing through modern science and the author’s fictitious events. Florescent and bewildered; bizarre and curvy. It is a work of making the sci-fi aerospace dream come true.” ──  Dr. Yu-Chien Chien, Lead NASA ACME E-FIELD Flames Scientist at UCI & Director of LFA

[Read more…]

Vaccination – UCI care!

Following footprints (of Anteater) all the way and receiving temperature/symptom check.

, and received an UCI Working well hygiene bag after completion of the vaccination.
My appreciation to UCI Health and UCI Engineering!

2021 Winter Design Review

This is the virtual map of the HSSoE Senior Design Review.
It seems that there are more departments participating this time (than Fall).

There were technical issues during the first hour of the event, and showing a blank page. The IT team tried their best to troubleshoot and the event is back online an hour after.

The Hot Air Balloon – Engineering design project is here again. This quarter we have two new members and everyone is trying their best during the pandemic work from home  (WFH) remote instruction. We admit that it is indeed a challenge for designing parts without physically being there. HAB-E is not the most popular team, but we are here every year. Rain or shine, in-person or virtual, with progresses.

Behind-the-scene – Virtual 38th Combustion Symposium 2021

I still recall having a conversation in Fukuoka (2019) with a colleague about what is the weather going to be during July in Adelaide the following year. It is going to be winter!

The pandemic not only postpone this international meeting (was meant to be in July, 2020) but also shift this social event virtually online (Jan, 2021). These behind-the-scene photos are valuable because it tells the story of how the 38th International Symposium on Combustion is hosted from the other side of the earth by the Australia New Zealand Section.

My appreciation to the host managing the meeting to the whole world virtually !
Photo courtesy of Adelaide host team Dr. Sun.
[Read more…]

Space experiment operation: Electric-Field Effects on Laminar Diffusion Flames (E-FIELD Flames)

YCC shares her remote space experiment operation experience of E-FIELD Flames with her appreciation for all the operation (OPS) crews at #NASA.


Full 1-minute talk at the link to the video in the image below or https://www.facebook.com/LFAMAEUCI/videos/200040868242157.

Physical Science Informatics (PSI) Plenary session in the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR) Virtual Meeting 2020 on 11/05/2020.

@LFAMAEUCI on facebook by Lasers, Flames & Aerosols 
LFAMAE

UCI LFA E-FIELD Flames study 2 (Electric-Field Effects on Laminar Diffusion Flames)

“These experiments have been in preparation since 1996 and finally completed in 2018.” DDR said.

Dr. Chien, “On the 1st test day, we had no clue about what was happening in microgravity with this behavior”


Physical Science Informatics Plenary session in the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR) Virtual Meeting 2020 on 11/05/2020.


@LFAMAEUCI on facebook by Lasers, Flames & Aerosols 

UCI LFA E-FIELD Flames studies 1 ( Electric-Field Effects on Laminar Diffusion Flames)

Physical Science Informatics (PSI) Plenary session in the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR) Virtual Meeting 2020 on 11/05/2020.

@LFAMAEUCI on facebook by Lasers, Flames & Aerosols 
LFAMAE
“In 2018 we finally got to do this space station experiment.” Prof. Dunn-Rankin said.

Full 1-minute talk at the link to the video in the image below (open new window) or https://fb.watch/bhhBnHAe9s/.

ACME space flames

30s – “If you are following ACME, you will figure out that not so long ago, the full ACME experiments had ignited 1000 flames on the International Space station (ISS).” said by Dr. Chien.

Full 1-minute talk at the link from the video link below or https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=200040868242157&ref=external

Physical Science Informatics (PSI) Plenary session in the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR) Virtual Meeting 2020 on 11/05/2020.

@LFAMAEUCI on facebook by Lasers, Flames & Aerosols 

1000 Points of Light on the ISS

Lit > 1000 flames in space now!
Electric-Field Effects on Laminar Diffusion Flames (E-FIELD Flames) experiment at UC Irvine (operated by Dr. Chien and Prof. Dunn-Rankin with NASA Glenn) contributed around 1/5th of it on the International Space Station (ISS) as one of the experiments of ACME.


@space.flames on facebook by NASA 

E-FIELD Flames microgravity image is now on the NASA Task Book Site (Electric-Field Effects on Laminar Diffusion Flames)

NASA has implemented our “E-FIELD Flames in µg on the ISS” image on the Task Book site.

This image is composed of three types of methane diffusion flame applied with different electric field forces experimented from the International Space Station. The flame images are original sizes relative to each other without alternation.

This representative image of E-FIELD Flames research is designed and created by Dr. Chien.

E-FIELD Flames image on task book site

ASGSR 2019 – American Society for Gravitational and Space Research: E-FIELD Flames

Dr. Chien presented “Microgravity Experiments Examining Electric Field Effects on Laminar Methane Gas-Jet Diffusion Flames,” at American Society for Gravitational and Space Research (ASGSR) Annual Meeting 2019 in Denver.

It was snowing outside during the talk.

Spring Design Review Display Day

The third quarter of the senior design project crossing 2018 – 2019. There are several great design projects motivated by different competitions such as different types of racecar, UAV/plane team projects. I was caught when conversing with a team member from the ConSat project (middle in the photograph).

I served as a judge in the Spring Design Project display. It is tough for the students to balance between the real-painful learning experience and the simple experience.

Life is a journey learning doing things you don’t like, and keep on going until you are love in it. That is called enjoy.

@uciengineering on instagram by The Henry Samueli School of Engineering at UC Irvine 

Early ISS results are presented at the U.S. National Combustion Meeting: Electric-Field Effects on Laminar Diffusion Flames (E-FIELD Flames)

Dr. Chien presented early ISS results of methane diffusion flame using coflow burner without coflowing gas at two different fuel concentration from the paper “Ion Current and Flame Changes with Electric Fields in Microgravity”. (see @space.flames below) She also served as the session chair of Laminar Flames.

Her supervised undergraduate senior design project team, Hot Air Balloon – Engineering, also attend and presented their hot air balloon emission measurement work.


@space.flames on facebook by NASA 

12 Years Musical Stack Challenge — Mechanical Engineering Design (MAE151)

The cheering sound with applause at the end of the musical stack challenge while doing my best to keeping the record for this final event (was holding the camera in the audience). It is honored to be one of the judges for the presentation.

@ucirvineengineering on facebook by The Henry Samueli School of Engineering at UC Irvine 
@uciengineering on instagram by The Henry Samueli School of Engineering at UC Irvine 

The full story about the musical stack challenge for the past 12 years in MAE151 — Mechanical Engineering Design,
@ucirvineengineering on facebook by The Henry Samueli School of Engineering at UC Irvine 

The prior musical stack story on engineering news in 2014,
@ucirvineengineering on facebook by The Henry Samueli School of Engineering at UC Irvine