ジアン・チャオ

Dr. Cao (MIT’95, MIT’92, SJTU’89) is the Cardiss Collins Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Director of Northwestern Initiative for Manufacturing Science and Innovation (NIMSI), and an Associate Vice President for Research (AVPR) at Northwestern University. She also holds courtesy appointments at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Prof. Cao’s major research areas include innovative manufacturing processes and systems, particularly in the areas of deformation-based processes and laser processes for additive manufacturing and surface engineering. Her work has made fundamental contributions to the characterization of the effects of material structure on forming behavior of metals and woven composites, which has been implemented in commercial FEM software. Her research has integrated analytical and numerical simulation methods, control and sensors, design methodologies to advance manufacturing processes. Current research has direct impacts on energy-efficient manufacturing, surface engineering, and distributed cyber-physical systems, including work on using machine learning for additive manufacturing and material characterization. Prof. Cao has published over 400 technical articles, including over 200 journal articles, 10 book chapters, and 15 patents. She has given nearly 150 invited talks and published op-ed articles.

Professor Cao is an elected Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), ASME, SME, and the International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP). Her major awards include Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellow (2019) from US Department of Defense, Charles Russ Richards Memorial Award (2017) from ASME and Pi Tau Sigma, SME Frederick W. Taylor Research Medal (2016), ASME Blackall Machine Tool and Gage Award (2012, 2018), and NSF CAREER Award. Prof. Cao is the Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Materials Processing Technology. She served as President of the SME North America Manufacturing Research Institute, and Chair of ASME Manufacturing Engineering Division. As an AVPR, Prof. Cao fosters the collaborations across and beyond Northwestern, and stimulates new research initiatives related to physical science and engineering. She was a program director at the National Science Foundation. Currently, she serves on a number of boards, including mHUB, the first innovation center focused on physical product development and manufacturing, and the advisory board of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley.