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Wei Chen
Associate Professor

Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
Northwestern University
2145 Sheridan Road, Rm. M116
Evanston, IL 60208-3111, USA

TEL: 847-491-7019
FAX: 847-491-3915

weichen@northwestern.edu

link to research site

BS Mechanical Eng., Shanghai Jiaotong University(1988)
MS Mechanical Eng., University of Houston (1992)
PhD Mechanical Eng., Georgia Institute of Technology (1995)

Honors and Awards

  • Ralph R. Teetor Education Award, Society of Automotive Engineering, 2006.
  • Intelligent Optimal Design Prize, 18th International Conference on Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology, 2005. 
  • National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Award, 1996 – 2001.
  • ASME Pi Tau Sigma Gold Medal achievement award, 1998.
  • Black & Decker Best Paper Award, 1998.
  • Alcoa Foundation Research Award, 1998
  • Sigma Xi Doctoral Dissertation Award, Georgia Tech Chapter, 1996.
  • Associate Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA), 2003 – present.
  • Associate Editor, ASME Journal of Mechanical Design
  • Review Editor, Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization
  • Member of Editorial Board, Engineering Optimization

Research

Design Optimization; design under uncertainty; multidisciplinary design optimization; simulation-based design; design theory & methodology.

Dr. Chen is the Director of the Integrated DEsign Automation Laboratory (IDEAL). Her research goal is to develop rational design methods based on optimization techniques and statistical methods for use in engineering design and manufacturing problems. Her current research topics include robust design, reliability engineering, simulation-based design, multidisciplinary design optimization, enterprise-driven collaborative design, decision-based design (DBD), and model validation.

In the Classroom

Professor Chen has taught the courses: Intro to Mechanical Design and Manufacturing, Engineering Design (Capstone Design), Computational Methods for Engineering Design, Engineering Optimization for Product Design & Manufacturing, and Advanced Computational & Statistical Methods for Engineering Design.

Selected publications

Lewis, K., Chen, W., and Schmidt, L., eds, Decision Making in Engineering Design, ASME Press, New York, 2006.

Apley, D., Liu, J., and Chen, W., “Understanding the Effects of Model Uncertainty in Robust Design with Computer Experiments”, ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, 128(4), 745-958, 2006.

Liu, H., Chen, W., Kokkolaras, M., Papalambros, P., Kim, H., “Probabilistic Analytical Target Cascading – A Moment Matching Formulation for Multilevel Optimization under Uncertainty”, ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, 128 (4), 991-1000, 2006.

Wassenaar, HJ, Chen, W., Cheng, J., and Sudjianto, A., “Enhancing Discrete Choice Demand Modeling for Decision-Based Design”, ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, 127(4), 514-523, 2005.

Chen, W., Jin, R., and Sudjianto, A., 2004, “Analytical Variance-Based Global Sensitivity Analysis in Simulation-Based Design under Uncertainty”, ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, 127(5), pp.875-886, 2005.

Jin, R., Chen, W., and Sudjianto, A., "An Efficient Algorithm for Constructing Optimal Design of Computer Experiments" Journal of Statistical Planning and Inference, Vol, 134 (1), pp. 268-287, 2005.

Du, X, and Chen, W., "Sequential Optimization and Reliability Assessment Method for Efficient Probabilistic Design" ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, 126(2), pp. 225-233, March 2004.

Wassenaar, H. J. and Chen, W., “An Approach to Decision Based Design with Discrete Choice Analysis for Demand Modeling”, ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, 125 (3), 490-497, September 2003.

Jin, R., Du, X, and Chen, W., “The Use of Metamodeling Techniques for Optimization under Uncertainty”, Journal of Structural & Multidisciplinary Optimization, 25(2), 99-116, 2003.

Du, X. and Chen, W., “Efficient Uncertainty Analysis Methods for Multidisciplinary Robust Design”, AIAA Journal, 40(3), 545-552, 2002.

Du, X. and Chen, W., “Towards a Better Understanding of Modeling Feasibility Robustness in Engineering Design”, ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, 122(4), 385-394, December 2000.

Du, X. and Chen, W., “Methodology for Managing the Effect of Uncertainty in Simulation-Based Systems Design”, AIAA Journal, 38(8), 1471-1478, 2000.

Chen, W. and Lewis, K., “A Robust Design Approach for Achieving Flexibility in Multidisciplinary Design”, AIAA Journal, 7(8), 982-989, 1999.

Chen. W., Wiecek, M., and Zhang, J., “Quality Utility: A Compromise Programming Approach to Robust Design”, ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, 121(2), 179-187, 1999.

Chen, W., Allen, J.K., and Mistree, F., “The Robust Concept Exploration Method for Enhancing Concurrent Systems Design", Concurrent Engineering: Research and Applications, 5(3), 203–217, 1997.

Chen, W., Allen, J.K., Tsui, K-L, and Mistree, F., "A Procedure for Robust Design" ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, 118 (4), 478-485, 1996.