Prof. Tarek I. Zohdi
Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of California, Berkeley

Modeling and Simulation Tools for Industrial and Societal Research Applications: Digital-Twin Construction and Machine-Learning Based Optimization

ABSTRACT: A variety of seemingly disparate physical processes can be treated with similar modeling and simulation tools.  In this presentation, Professor Zohdi will discuss the modeling and rapid digital-twin simulation of the following:

• Advanced manufacturing: 3d-printing, robots, lasers, and solid processing
• Energy management: grid resiliency, storage, data centers, and integrated circuits
• Solar, food farming, and renewables: energy capture, optimization, and agrophotovoltaics
• Fire and climate modeling: ignition, growth, propagation, and ember flow
• Pandemic and public safety: transmission, decontamination, and vaccine-design
• Aero/astro: drones, aerial firefighting, asteroids, satellite constellations, and ballistics

Professor Zohdi will also discuss aspects of machine-learning based nonconvex optimization, utilizing multiphysics paradigms.  The tools range from discrete element methods, computational optics, and voxel-based computation to agent-based modeling, all connected together via machine-learning algorithms.

BIOGRAPHY: Tarek I. Zohdi received his Ph.D. in 1997 in Computational and Applied Mathematics from the University of Texas at Austin and his Habilitation in General Mechanics (Allgemeine Mechanik) from Gottfried Leibniz University of Hannover, Germany, in 2002.  He is currently a Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Chair of the Designated Emphasis Program in Computational and Data Science and Engineering, Associate Dean for Research in the College of Engineering, and holder of the W. C. Hall Family Endowed Chair in Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley). He also holds a Faculty Scientist position at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.  He has published over 200 archival refereed journal papers and eight books.  In 2012, he was elected President of the United States Association for Computational Mechanics (USACM) (2012-2014).  He is an Editor-in-Chief of the leading journal in his field, Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering and serves on 11 editorial boards of international journals.  He is also the co-founder and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the journal Computational Particle Mechanics.  Overall, he has given more than 200 plenary, keynote, and contributed lectures at conferences, universities, and other research institutions.  He is active in modeling, high-performance simulation, and machine learning to develop digital-twin technologies in six industrial research areas: (1) high-strength fabric, (2) highly heterogeneous and composite materials, (3) fire-control technologies, (4) food systems, (5) advanced manufacturing processes, and (6) unmanned aerial vehicles and lidar technologies.  In 2000, he received the Zienkiewicz Prize and Medal given by The Royal Institution of Civil Engineers in London.  In 2003, he received the Junior Achievement Award given by the American Academy of Mechanics.  In 2008, he was elected Fellow of the International Association for Computational Mechanics, and in 2009 he was elected USACM Fellow.  In 2017, he received the UC Berkeley Distinguished Teaching Award, the highest award for teaching at UC Berkeley.  In 2019, he was elected Fellow of the American Academy of Mechanics-only one new fellow is inducted in the nation and in the Americas each year.  In 2020, he received the prestigious Humboldt-Forschungspreis (Humboldt Research Prize).  The prize, given by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of the German Government, recognizes renowned researchers outside of Germany whose “fundamental discoveries, new theories or insights have had a significant impact on their own discipline and who are expected to continue producing cutting-edge achievements in the future.”  He received it in the area of Mechanics in recognition of lifetime achievements.  For more information, see http://www.me.berkeley.edu/people/faculty/tarek-i-zohdi.