Yongjie Jessica ZhangView profile
Professor
Dr. Yongjie Jessica Zhang is a Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, holding appointments in both the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Biomedical Engineering . She received her B.S. and M.S. in Engineering Mechanics from Tsinghua University, followed by an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering and a Ph.D. in Computational Engineering and Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin. After a postdoctoral fellowship at ICES, she joined CMU in 2007, advancing from assistant to full professor by 2016. Research Interests : Image-based geometric modeling, mesh generation, finite element analysis (FEA), isogeometric analysis, and applications in computational biomedicine, materials science, and computer-assisted surgery. Leadership Roles : Chair of Solid Modeling Association (2019-2020), USACM Executive Committee Member-at-Large (2017-2021), and ELATE Fellow (2017-2018). Her work addresses the critical challenge of automating high-fidelity geometric modeling and mesh generation for complex domains (e.g., human anatomy), which traditionally consumes ~80% of FEA time. Her group develops AI-driven methods for multiscale modeling (molecular to organ), with applications in neuroscience , biomechanics , and 4D printing . Notable awards include the Presidential Early Career Award (PECASE) , NSF CAREER Award , and ASME Van C. Mow Medal (2025) . Dr. Zhang’s publications span over 170 peer-reviewed articles, focusing on truncated hierarchical B-splines , polycube meshing , and neurite transport modeling . She has advised more than 40 students, including PhD candidates and postdoctoral fellows. Her editorial roles include Associate Editor of Computer Aided Geometric Design and editorial board memberships in Computer-Aided Design and Engineering with Computers .








