Monday
Caroline Cao – University of Illinois
Medical Training Using Simulation in Extended Reality
Caroline G. L. Cao received a Ph.D. in mechanical & industrial engineering from the University of Toronto in 2002. Professor Cao is a researcher, educator and entrepreneur with extensive experience in the design and development of medical systems and devices, and enabling technology (AR/VR, simulation and training, decision aid, sensory substitution, navigational aid, robotics, etc.) for minimally invasive surgery and robotic surgery. Prior to joining UIUC, she was International Chair for Industry of the Future and Professor of Computer Science at IMT Atlantique in Brest, France, and Adjunct Professor in the Future Industry Institute at University of South Australia, from 2021 to 2023, where she developed partnerships with industries to address challenges in Industry 4.0 and 5.0 (e.g., digital twins, human-robot interaction, artificial intelligence, XR technology, system resilience). She is a recipient of the US National Science Foundation Career Award, a US Fulbright Scholar award, and the International Chair of RFI ATLANSTIC 2020 in France. Professor Cao is an elected Fellow of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), the International Ergonomics Association (IEA), and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). She is an Associate Editor of the journal Human Factors. Dr. Cao is currently President-Elect of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.
Tuesday
Cecilia Leal – University of Illinois
How Fat Cells Get Smarter
Cecilia Leal has been a professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois’ Grainger College of Engineering since 2012. Her lab investigates lipids, soft, and often living materials for which she has received numerous awards such as the 2016 NIH Director’s New Innovator and NSF CAREER Awards. Cecilia is often in the list of excellent teachers ranked by her students and received the 2022 College Award for Sustained Excellence in Community Engagement.
Wednesday
Amy Wagoner-Johnson – University of Illinois
Engineering Tools to Understand Pregnancy and Fertility
Amy Wagoner Johnson is an Andersen Faculty Scholar and Professor in Mechanical Science & Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Grainger College of Engineering. She is also a Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago Investigator and a Fellow of AIMBE and ASME. She was the inaugural Department Head of Biomedical and Translational Sciences in the Carle Illinois College of Medicine, the first engineering-based college of medicine. Her biomechanics research focuses on women’s health, especially on pregnancy and fertility. Using multiscale imaging and mechanical testing, she studies how changes in the cervix influence its mechanics and contribute to preterm birth, as well as how environmental toxicants impact uterine structure and mechanical function, leading to infertility.
Thursday
Xiaojia Shelly Zhang – University of Illinois
Bio-Inspired 3D Printed Materials to Support Bone Healing
Dr. Xiaojia Shelly Zhang is a David C. Crawford Faculty Scholar and Associate Professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC). She directs the MISSION (MuIti-functional Structures and Systems desIgn OptimizatioN) Laboratory. Dr. Zhang holds B.S. and M.S. degrees from UIUC and a Ph.D. degree from Georgia Tech. Her research explores topology optimization, inverse design, 3D/4D printing, and data-driven models to develop multi-functional, sustainable, and resilient materials, structures, and robots for applications at different scales. Dr. Zhang serves on the Executive Committee of the International Society of Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization (ISSMO) and is a Review Editor for the Journal of Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization and an Associate Editor for the Journal of Applied Mechanics. She is the recipient of the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the ASME Journal of Applied Mechanics Award, the DARPA Young Faculty Award, the AFOSR Young Investigator Award, the Leonardo da Vinci Award from ASCE, Dean’s Award for Excellence in Research, Dean’s Award for Early Innovation, the DARPA Director’s Fellowship, the Thomas J.R. Hughes Young Investigator Award from ASME, UIUC Campus Distinguished Promotion Award, the Henry Hess Early Career Publication Award from ASME, the Haftka Young Investigator Award from International Society for Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization (ISSMO).
Friday
Elahe Soltanaghai – University of Illinois
Sensing Beneath Forest Canopy
Elahe Soltanaghai is an assistant professor of Computer Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research spans the areas of wireless networking and sensing with applications in IoT, Cyber-Physical Systems, and Mixed Reality. Previously, she was a postdoctoral researcher at Carnegie Mellon University. She received her PhD in Computer Science from University of Virginia. Her work has been published in premier conferences and journals in the areas of mobile and ubiquitous computing and network systems. She has been named one of the 10 Rising Star Women in Networking and Communications in 2021. She is also the recipient of Google Research Scholar Award (2022), and ACM SIGMOBILE Dissertation Award (2021).
