Chan grew up in Canton, China, where his father, Chen Jitang (a Guangxi ancestry), was a warlord and the leader of Guangdong province from 1929 to 1936.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, his father fled to Taiwan and sent the 19-year-old Shu-Park to the United States to obtain an education.
[6] In 2009, an article in AsianWeek stated that "over 80% of all microprocessors designed and developed within the last 20 years have been created or touched by technology generated from Professor Chan’s students.
He wrote the 1972 textbook Analysis of Linear Networks and systems: A Matrix-Oriented Approach with Computer Applications (Addison-Wesley) together with his brothers Shu-Yun and Shu-Gar Chan; they dedicated the book to their father.
"[4] A few weeks before construction was scheduled to start, the project was cancelled due to changes in the Chinese government, leading Chan to return to the United States.
[1] He died in Hong Kong on February 22, 2013, the same day that International Technological University was accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.