Dr. Jian Cao
Northwestern University
Presenting in Track 3: Advanced Manufacturing
Presentation Title: Physics-based AI-assisted Design and Control in Flexible Manufacturing
Abstract: Current research efforts at my manufacturing group are rooted in advancing new flexible manufacturing processes using the hybrid physics-based data-driven approaches. In this talk, I will post the manufacturing challenges that we are facing and use two flexible processes, i.e., metal powder-based additive manufacturing and rapid dieless forming for producing three-dimensional parts without geometry-specific tooling, as demonstration cases. Specifically, I will show how the integration of the fundamental process mechanics, process control, and techniques including machine learning to achieve effective and efficient predictions of material's mechanical behavior due to or during a manufacturing process. Furthermore, I will show how we use machine learning for active sensing with the goal of effective in-situ local process control. Our solutions particularly target three notoriously challenging aspects of the process, i.e., long history-dependent properties, complex geometric features, and the high dimensionality of their design space.
Biography: Cardiss Collins Professor Jian Cao (MIT'95, MIT'92, SJTU'89) specialized in innovative manufacturing processes and systems, particularly in the areas of deformation-based processes and laser additive manufacturing processes. Prof. Cao is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAA&S). She is the Founding Director of the research center on Manufacturing Science and Innovation at Northwestern, known as NIMSI. Cao is a Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), ASME, the International Academy for Production Engineering (CIRP) and SME. Her major awards include DoD Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship, ASME Ted Belytschko Applied Mechanics Award, ASME Milton C. Shaw Manufacturing Research Medal, Charles Russ Richards Memorial Award from ASME and Pi Tau Sigma, SME Gold Medal, and SME Frederick W. Taylor Research Medal. Prof. Cao was the Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Materials Processing Technology, and now serves as an Associate Vice President for Research at Northwestern, a member of the National Materials and Manufacturing Board of the National Academies, Board of Directors of SME, and Board of mHUB – accelerator for hardtech innovation and manufacturing in Chicago.