Cheng Zeng

Hi! I am an Experiential AI postdoctoral fellow working with the Engineering team at the Roux institute of Northeastern University, co-mentored by Nathan Post and Jack Lesko. My research lies at the intersection of materials science, data science and additive manufacturing. I am interested in solving complex engineering problems with machine learning, numerical simulations and physical models. My research areas at Roux include materials design, artificial intelligence and additive manufacturing.

Prior to joining Roux, I received a PhD in Engineering at Brown University. En route to my PhD degree, I also received a secondary Master’s degree in Data Science via Brown’s Open Graduate Education Program. At Brown, I worked at the Catalyst Design Lab under the direction of Andrew Peterson. My PhD research is focused on the development of machine learning methods and atomistic physical models to accelerate rational catalyst design. A key highlight of my work is that a combination of developed machine learning and physical models enables pinpointing nanoparticle alloys with the best possible electrochemical catalysis (e.g. Co–Pt nanoparticles for oxygen reduction reaction). Prior to Brown, I got a Bachelor and Master in Materials Science and Engineering from Tsinghua University. At Tsinghua, I worked with Yunhan Ling on oxide films resistant to hydrogen permeation.

Currently I live in Portland of Maine with my wife and son. Outside office, I like long-distance running, machine learning competitions on Kaggle, and playing Nintendo Switch games.