Skip Navigation

Wei Chen Named Director of Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering

NEWS
Headshot of Wei Chen.
Photo by Travis Caperton.

Wei Chen Named Director of Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering


By

Jacob Muñoz

jmunoz@ou.edu

Date

Sept. 9, 2025

NORMAN, OKLA. – The University of Oklahoma has announced Wei R. Chen, Ph.D., as director of the Peggy and Charles Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering (SBME). He has served as Stephenson Chair and professor of SBME and became its interim director last year.

“Dr. Chen is a leader in both biomedical engineering and our OU community, and we’re pleased to have him guide our Stephenson School as it enters its next decade,” said John Klier, Ph.D., dean of the Gallogly College of Engineering.

Under Chen’s leadership, the school will continue its transformational work in health care education and research. SBME was founded in 2016 and welcomed its 10th undergraduate class this fall. Before joining the University of Oklahoma in 2020, Chen served as professor of biomedical engineering and dean of the College of Mathematics and Science at the University of Central Oklahoma. 

His contributions toward cutting-edge cancer research, including the treatment of late-stage, metastatic cancers and the mechanisms behind antitumor immune responses, earned him the title of Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors last year. Chen has also received numerous other awards and honors, including Fellow of the International Society for Optics and Photonics and Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

About the University of Oklahoma

Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. As the state’s flagship university, OU serves the educational, cultural, economic and health care needs of the state, region and nation. For more information about the university, visit www.ou.edu.


Recent News

Campus & Community
December 09, 2025

Goodman to lead Advanced Radar Research Center

Nathan Goodman, Ph.D., has been named director of the Advanced Radar Research Center (ARRC), effective immediately. Goodman, who has served as interim director since July 2025, has also been appointed an Associate Vice President for Research and Partnerships.


Campus & Community
December 09, 2025

Oklahoma Poison Center Issues Holiday Safety Warning on Button Batteries and Other Seasonal Dangers

The Oklahoma Poison Center is reminding families that button batteries remain one of the most dangerous holiday hazards. Ingestion can cause severe internal burns, permanent injury or death. More than 3,400 people swallow button batteries each year, most of them children.


Research
December 08, 2025

OU Researchers Develop Magnetically Doped Quantum Dots, a Breakthrough in Materials Science

A team of University of Oklahoma materials scientists has done what many in the field thought impossible: magnetize quantum dots by “doping” them with manganese. The implications span everything from how we power our homes to how we build computers, scan for diseases, grow crops and illuminate our world.