MEMS Distinguished Seminar: Jian Cao, “Physics-based AI-assisted Design and Control Manufacturing Processes”

Thomas Lord Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science (MEMS) Spring 2026 Distinguished Seminar Speaker Series welcomes Dr. Jian Cao (Northwestern) to deliver the MEMS Distinguished Seminar, “Physics-based AI-assisted Design and Control Manufacturing Processes.”
Abstract: Current research efforts at my manufacturing group aim to advance the capability to co-design materials and manufacturing processes using hybrid physics-based and data-driven approaches. In this talk, I will demonstrate our work in the development of differentiable simulation tools, sensing, and process control to achieve effective and efficient predictions and control of a material’s mechanical behavior in metal additive and metal forming processes. Furthermore, I will show how we use machine learning to accelerate the physics-based simulations and to realize active sensing with the goal of effective in-situ local process control. Our solutions particularly target three notoriously challenging aspects of the process: long history-dependent properties, complex geometric features, and the high dimensionality of their design space.
Bio: Cardiss Collins Professor JIAN CAO (MIT’Ph.D, MIT’MS, SJTU’BS) 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 research center on Manufacturing Science and Innovation at Northwestern, known as NIMSI. Prof. Cao is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAA&S). Her major awards include DoD Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship, ASME Ted Belytschko Applied Mechanics Award, the inaugural ASME Devor-Kapoor Manufacturing Medal, Hideo Hanafusa Outstanding Investigator Award for Flexible Automation, 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. Cao was the Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Materials Processing Technology.