Wei Chen is a Chinese-American mechanical engineer known for her work on robust

engineering design The engineering design process is a common series of steps that engineers use in creating functional products and processes. The process is highly iterative - parts of the process often need to be repeated many times before another can be entere ...

, robust design of experiments, metamodeling in design,

uncertainty quantification Uncertainty quantification (UQ) is the science of quantitative characterization and reduction of uncertainties in both computational and real world applications. It tries to determine how likely certain outcomes are if some aspects of the system a ...

, and design under uncertainty. She is the Wilson-Cook Professor in Engineering Design at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

, where she chairs the mechanical engineering department.

Education and career

Chen earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, a master's degree from the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

, and a Ph.D. from the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, completed in 1995. She joined the Northwestern University faculty in 2003. She is the editor-in-chief of the ASME ''Journal of Mechanical Design'' and president of the International Society for Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization. She became chair of mechanical engineering at Northwestern in 2020.

Book

Chen is the coauthor with Christopher Hoyle and Henk Jan Wassenaar of the book ''Decision-based Design: Integrating Consumer Preferences into Engineering Design'' (Springer, 2012). She is also a co-editor of several edited volumes.

Recognition

Chen was the 2006 winner of the Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award of SAE International. She was named a Fellow of the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing ...

in 2009, and was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2019 "for contributions to design under uncertainty in products and systems, and leadership in the engineering design community".

References

External links

Home page at Northwestern Integrated DEsign Automation Laboratory
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Wei Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Chinese mechanical engineers Chinese women engineers American mechanical engineers American women engineers Shanghai Jiao Tong University alumni University of Houston alumni Georgia Tech alumni Northwestern University faculty Fellows of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering American women academics 21st-century American women