After graduating from Tianjin Nankai High School, he matriculated at Tsinghua University Department of Chemistry in 1927.

Chien continued his study in chemistry at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC) where he obtained a M.S.

Chien returned to China after obtaining PhD and joined the Peking University Department of Chemistry.

In 1949, Chien went to Taipei, and was recruited professor of chemistry and the provost of the National Taiwan University, by its then-president Fu Sinian.

In 1964, Chien was elected Academician of the Academia Sinica division of physical and mathematical sciences.