Chen used to be a researcher at Bell Labs in the United States, where he designed the world's first high-resolution X-ray synchrotron beamline. Because he was Chinese, his colleagues called the device the dragon. The dragon was studied and used by scientists in over 10 nations, and it acquired quite a reputation as a result.
原在美國的貝爾實驗室擔任研究員的陳建德，曾設計出全球第一條高解析度 X 光同步輻射光束線，因為他的中國人背景，美國同事就建議將這條光束線命名為「龍」，這條「龍」的設計和技術曾被十多個國家學習、引用，因而聲名大噪。