Huazhen Fang

Huazhen Fang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Kansas School of Engineering, where he joined in 2014. He leads the Information & Smart Systems Laboratory (ISSL) and holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science. His research focuses on enabling intelligence for complex systems through information-driven approaches.

Dr. Fang received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, San Diego in 2014, following an M.Sc. from the University of Saskatchewan and a B.Sc. in Computer Science & Technology from Northwestern Polytechnic University in China. He was a Visiting Faculty Fellow at Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories in 2022.

His research interests span Systems and Control, Advanced Battery Management, Energy Storage Systems, and Robotics, with particular focus on system modeling, estimation, control design, machine learning and numerical optimization. Dr. Fang's work has significant applications in energy management, cooperative robotics, and environmental observing systems. His research has been supported by the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, Army Research Laboratory, and Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories.

His extensive publication record shows a clear trend toward increasingly sophisticated integration of physics-based modeling with machine learning approaches, particularly in battery management systems and autonomous vehicle control. Recent work demonstrates a growing emphasis on Bayesian inference methods, distributed control architectures, and safety-critical applications of intelligent control systems.

• Faculty Early Career Award from National Science Foundation (2019)
• University Scholarly Achievement Award (2024)
• Miller Professional Development Award (2022)
• Miller Faculty Scholar Award (2018, 2019, 2023)
• Wesley G. Cramer Outstanding Mechanical Engineering Faculty Award (2016)
• Big XII Faculty Fellowship (2015)
• IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification Prize Paper Award (2024)

Dr. Fang has successfully mentored numerous graduate students through the Information & Smart Systems Laboratory, with many receiving awards for their research. His research has attracted significant funding from prestigious organizations including the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, Army Research Laboratory, and Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories. He currently serves as an Associate Editor for multiple prestigious journals including Information Sciences, IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, and IEEE Control Systems Letters.

The Information & Smart Systems Laboratory (ISSL) under Dr. Fang's leadership has established itself as a center for cutting-edge research in information-driven smart systems. The lab focuses on pushing the frontiers of information extraction, analysis and exploitation for dynamic systems to deal with system complexity and enable system intelligence. The lab actively collaborates with industry partners and local communities, emphasizing research that serves societal needs.