Chen-Lu Yang joined the University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth as a research engineer at the Advanced Technology and Manufacturing Center in 2002, and has been an adjunct professor of chemistry and environmental science since.

He was a research scientist at the York Center for Environmental Engineering and Science at the New Jersey Institute of Technology from 2000 to 2002. Prior to the appointment he was a research scientist with Beltran Associates, Inc. in Brooklyn, NY for six years. He received a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Feng-Chia University in Taiwan, a master's in environmental science and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology, and conducted post-doctoral work at the University of Arizona.

Yang's research activities are in the areas of electrochemical technology, heterogeneous reaction systems, and biochemical engineering. He was a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Hazardous Materials from 2001 to 2008. Currently, he serves as a science advisor to the Westport River Watershed Alliance and is an author of over forty publications in the fields of air pollution control, industrial wastewater treatment, and hazardous waste remediation.