We have the honor to invite Dr. S. H. Chien, a renowned phosphate rock expert, to give a presentation on highly reactive rock phosphate in Malaysia in August 2014.
He will be sharing his knowledge with invited participants in different cities across Malaysia. He has many friends in the local plantation industry and many participants from reputable plantation companies are looking forward to learn from him as well.
We will like to introduce Dr. Chien to our seminar participants who have read his research papers but may not have met the person behind the cited works.
Dr. Chien received his academic degrees of B.S. in agricultural chemistry from National Taiwan University (1959-63), M.S. in soil chemistry from University of New Hampshire (1966-68), and Ph.D. in soil chemistry from Iowa State University (1968-72) on the solubility of different phosphate rocks for direct application.
During 1972 to 1974, Dr. Chien was a post-doctoral researcher working at Iowa State University on soil potassium and Washington University (St. Louis) on soil and fertilizer nitrogen.
Background
In early 1975, Dr. Chien joined a newly established International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC) in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, as a Principal Scientist – Soil Chemistry, until his retirement in 2006 at the age of 65. At IFDC, he continued research mainly on the use of different sources of phosphate fertilizers including the agronomic use of phosphate rock.
He also conducted research on other issues related to soil nutrients such as nitrogen, sulfur, calcium, zinc, iron, and impact of fertilizer use on environment such as cadmium, lead, and aquatic eutrophication (water bodies polluted by phosphorus nutrient). During the tenure at IFDC, he advised over 35 soil scientists and graduate students from 30 countries for their research work.
After his retirement, Dr. Chien has continued his “hobby” in doing research, attending international conferences and publications. He has published over 135 scientific papers, mainly on phosphate rock research. He is probably the world’s longest-serving researcher working on the subject of phosphate rock as fertilizer for direct application (over 48 years). Before and after his retirement, he has worked as a consultant for UN agencies (FAO/IAEA) and private fertilizer companies.
In 2004, he received the inaugural Pierre Becker Award (London) for research on fertilizers, especially on phosphate rock for direct application.