Jian Cao
Northwestern University
Physics-based AI-assisted Property Control in Metal Additive Manufacturing
I view manufacturing as an integration platform that translates ideas and resources into products used by societies. I will present our current research efforts in advancing metal powder-based additive manufacturing processes using the combination of the mechanics-driven and data-driven approaches. 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. 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.
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. She is the Founding Director of the university research center on Manufacturing Science and Innovation at Northwestern, known as NIMSI. Cao has been the Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Materials Processing Technology since 2018. Prof. Cao is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), 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, Charles Russ Richards Memorial Award from ASME and Pi Tau Sigma, and SME Gold Medal. Prof. Cao now serves on 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.