Chen Simon K.

MADISON, Wis. _ Simon K. Chen, a leading diesel engine expert and philanthropist, died of an apparent heart attack on Monday, June 13, at his home in suburban Middleton. He was 84 years old.Dr. Chen, born in Beijing, immigrated to the U.S. after World War II. He and his wife, Rosemary, and their children established deep roots in the Chicago area and in Madison where they maintained close links to the University of Wisconsin.Dr. Chen, a renaissance man with interests in Chinese art, world history, wood working and music, tennis and ping pong and was a long-time collector of Chinese art. He and Mrs. Chen contributed most of their art collection in 2007 to the Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin.After he retired as a mechanical engineering consultant, Dr. Chen dedicated himself to writing the history of his family, which he published in 2008 as the ``Chen Family History\'\' that explained how global events, wars and revolutions influenced his family\'s long heritage in China and move to the U.S.As a youth, Dr. Chen moved with his parents Hoshien and Lin Sie Zhao, to Paris where his father was part of the Chinese diplomatic delegation at the League of Nations. His family settled in the French Concession neighborhood of Shanghai in 1934. Dr. Chen lived in Shanghai during the Japanese occupation 1937-1945 and studied engineering at Jiao Tong University, graduating in 1947. In 1948, he sailed aboard the USS General Meigs, a former American troop ship, for the U.S. to study at the University of Michigan where he earned a masters degree in mechanical engineering in 1949.During the 15-day ocean voyage, he met Rosemary Ho, a native of Wushi. They later married and raised a family of three daughters - Margaret Chen (Young), Lillian Chen-Byerley, Vivian Chen (Lewis) and son Victor Chen.After earning his master\'s degree from the University of Michigan in 1949, Dr. Chen went on to the University of Wisconsin in 1950 where he received his PhD in mechanical engineering in 1952, after studying a year in Northwestern University in 1949-50. While Dr. Chen pursued graduate studies in the U.S., the long-festering Chinese civil war took a decisive turn in the form of a Communist victory that wiped out the Chen family\'s property in China. He and his parents and sister Victoria, fled to the U.S. to join the rest of the family (his brother Robert Chen and sisters Paula Chow and Jeannie Harris) who also had come to the U.S. to study. Another brother, Jack Tchen, was born later in the United States.After graduating with his doctorate, Dr. Chen joined International Harvester (IH)_ the trucking and farm equipment manufacturers now known as Navistar _ where he worked for 17 years and rose to be the company\'s chief engineer. While at the IH, he earned his MBA from the University of Chicago\'s executive MBA program in 1964. As an inventor, he responsible for the patent of the camshaft vibration damper and the pre-combustion chamber for an internal combustion engine. He left IH to become vice president for large engines at Fairbanks Morse Colt Industries, the Beloit, Wis., manufacturer of power generators and maritime engines. When his unit was bought out by Tang Industries, he became president of Beloit Power and Energy, supplying stand by generator sets for nuclear power. After Litton bought Tang Industries and closed down research activities in 1979, Dr. Chen started his own consulting firm, Power and Energy International and served as President until 2006. His awards included the Arch T. Colwell Merit Award from the Society of Automotive Engineers and the Distinguished Service Award in 1973 from the University of Wisconsin College of Engineering. He was a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, The Combustion Institute, Sigma Xi and Beta Gamma Sigma and the Bascom Society of the Wisconsin Foundation. He had several U.S. patents and had published papers in the field of combustion engines. Through his promotion and effort in working with the Diesel Engine Manufacturing Association he has developed industry-wide standards for exhaust emission and noise abatementAs a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers, Dr. Chen was a frequent contributor and received an award honoring his contributions as well as established the SAE in Taiwan. He was well known in the engineering community for his dedicated work as mentor for many students over the years. Dr. Chen was a proud brother in the FF Fraternity, a nation-wide group of Chinese Americans.During his long career in mechanical engineering based in the Midwest, Dr. Chen and his family lived in Maywood, Park Forest and Hinsdale, Ill., and Delavan and Madison, Wis., where he retired.He is survived by wife, Rosemary, their children, his brother and sisters Jeannie, Paula, Robert and Jack, and nine grandchildren. A memorial service will held at 2 p.m., on Saturday, July 16, at the Mechanical Engineering Building, 1513 University Blvd., Madison, Wis. 53706.In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions could be made in the memory of Dr. Chen to either the University of Wisconsin\'s Department of Mechanical Engineering or the Chazen Museum of Art, attention Eric Yin, at the University of Wisconsin Foundation. Memorials: In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions could be made in the memory of Dr. Chen to either the University of Wisconsin\'s Department of Mechanical Engineering or the Chazen Museum of Art, attention Eric Yin, at the University of Wisconsin Foundation. . Service: A memorial service will held at 2 p.m., on Saturday, July 16, at the Mechanical Engineering Building, 1513 University Blvd., Madison, Wis. 53706.