Jessica Zhang
George Tallman Ladd and Florence Barrett Ladd Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Courtesy Appointment, Biomedical Engineering
Jessica Zhang is the George Tallman Ladd and Florence Barrett Ladd Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University with a courtesy appointment in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. She received her B.Eng. in Automotive Engineering and M.Eng. in Engineering Mechanics from Tsinghua University, China, and M.Eng. in Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, and Ph.D. in Computational Engineering and Sciences from the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences (now Oden Institute), the University of Texas at Austin.
Zhang’s research interests include computational geometry, isogeometric analysis, finite element method, data-driven modeling, image processing, mesh generation, and their applications in computational biomedicine, materials science and engineering. Zhang’s group develops novel algorithms on biomodeling at molecular, cellular, tissue, and organ scales, and explores applications in various application fields. She has published over 200 technical articles in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings.
Zhang is the recipient of Simons Visiting Professorship from Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut Oberwolfach of Germany, US Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, NSF CAREER Award, Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, and US Association for Computational Mechanics (USACM) Gallagher Young Investigator Award. At CMU, she received David P. Casasent Outstanding Research Award, George Tallman Ladd and Florence Barrett Ladd Research Professorship, Clarence H. Adamson Career Faculty Fellow in Mechanical Engineering, Donald L. & Rhonda Struminger Faculty Fellow, and George Tallman Ladd Research Award. She is a Fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineers (IAMBE), American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), USACM, Solid Modeling Association (SMA), and Executive Leadership in Academic Technology, Engineering and Science (ELATES) at Drexel.
Using Computational Design to Improve Modeling
Image Modeling for Biomedical Organs
Education
2005 Ph.D., Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, University of Texas, Austin
2002 Master of Engineering, Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, University of Texas, Austin
1999 Master of Engineering, Engineering Mechanics, Tsinghua University
1996 Bachelor of Engineering, Automotive Engineering, Tsinghua University
Research Interests
- additive manufacturing
- bioengineering
- biomedical engineering
- computational engineering
- computational geometry
- computational modeling
- computer-aided design (CAD)
- design and manufacturing
- digital twins
- human health
- image processing
- machine learning
- mechanical analysis
- mechanics
- medical devices
- multiscale organ simulation
Media mentions
IMACS World Congress
Zhang delivers IMACS keynote
MechE’s Jessica Zhang delivered a virtual keynote at the 21st International Association for Mathematics and Computers in Simulation (IMACS) World Congress conference.
CMU Engineering
Branching out: Modeling neurons in new ways
Predicting neuron cell growth just got a little bit easier, thanks to CMU researchers.
Biomechanics Workshop of Program Uncertainty Quantification and Stochastic Modeling of Materials on Mathematical Mechanical Biology
Zhang speaks at biometrics workshop
MechE’s Jessica Zhang spoke at Biomechanics Workshop of Program Uncertainty Quantification and Stochastic Modeling of Materials on Mathematical Mechanical Biology: Old School and New School, Methods and Applications at Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge, UK on July 31 - August 4.
IAMBE
Zhang elected IAMBE fellow
MechE’s Jessica Zhang has been elected to the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineers (IAMBE), class of 2023. IAMBE is made up of fellows who are recognized for their outstanding contributions to the profession of medical and biological engineering.
AIMBE
Zhang elected to AIMBE College of Fellow chair-elect
MechE’s Jessica Zhang has been elected chair-elect of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE)’s College of Fellows.
SIAM
Zhang named SIAM Fellow
MechE’s Jessica Zhang has been selected as a Class of 2023 Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) Fellow for exemplary research and outsanding service to the community.
SIAM
Zhang delivered plenary lecture at SIAM International Meshing Roundtable Workshop
MechE’s Jessica Zhang was an invited plenary speaker at the SIAM International Meshing Roundtable Workshop on March 6 - 9, 2023 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. She presented her latest research on modeling traffic jam and growth process of neurons using isogeometric analysis and physics-informed neural network.
Clarivate Analytics
Zhang paper recognized as top-cited article
According to Citation data from Clarivate Analytics, Mech’s Jessica Zhang’s paper “Tuned Hybrid Nonuniform Subdivision Surfaces with Optimal Convergence Rates” is recognized as one of the top cited articles published in an issue of International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering between January 1, 2021 through December 15, 2022.
SIAM
Zhang elected Program Director, SIAM Activity Group
MechE’s Jessica Zhang was elected program director of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Activity Group on Geometric Design.
Zhang presents research at International Conference on Isogeometric Analysis
MechE’s Jessica Zhang was a plenary speaker of the 10th International Conference on Isogeometric Analysis in Banff, Canada on November 6-9, 2022.
CMU Engineering
Modeling the growth process of neurons
Jessica Zhang’s lab has furthered its research with IGA analysis and accurately modeled the growth of a neuron.
International Workshop on Combinatorial Image Analysis
Zhang delivered a virtual keynote at IWCIA 2022
MechE’s Jessica Zhang delivered a virtual keynote at the International Workshop on Combinatorial Image Analysis on July 15. She presented her latest research on machine learning enhanced simulation and PDE-constrained optimization for material transport control in neurons.