About Me
Hi! I am Peining Zhang (William)
I am a first-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech, advised by Prof. James Kong. My research focuses on applying neural operators to solve partial differential equations (PDEs) in additive manufacturing.
Before joining Virginia Tech, I received my B.Eng. in Systems Engineering from City University of Hong Kong, where I was supervised by Prof. Cheng Liu and focused on structural health monitoring using digital twins. In the summer of 2024, I also conducted research at KTH Royal Institute of Technology under the supervision of Prof. Zhibo Pang, exploring embodied AI for real-world systems.
Research Interests
Structural Health Monitoring
Monitoring and diagnosis methods for civil infrastructure with an emphasis on reliability, condition awareness, and long-term deployment.
Digital Twin Technologies
Integrating sensing, modeling, and system representations to support diagnosis, maintenance, and infrastructure management.
Data-Driven and Physics-Informed Modeling
Combining engineering knowledge with data-centric methods for robust system understanding and decision support.
Embodied AI for Engineering Systems
Exploring AI methods that interact with real-world systems and support adaptive, resilient engineering workflows.
News
I will begin my Ph.D. at Virginia Tech. Go Hokies!
I received my undergraduate degree with Magna Cum Laude honors.
Work Experiences
Ph.D. Student
Virginia Tech
Conducting research in industrial and systems engineering on structural health monitoring, digital twins, and intelligent infrastructure systems.
Summer Researcher
KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Worked with the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science on embodied AI for real-world systems.
Undergraduate Researcher
City University of Hong Kong
Studied systems engineering and contributed to research related to digital twin technologies for civil infrastructure.
Publications
Literature Review of Digital Twin Technologies for Civil Infrastructure
Cheng Liu, Peining Zhang, Xuebing Xu
Journal of Infrastructure Intelligence and Resilience, 2(3), Article 100050
Honors and Awards
master in touching fish
Services
Graduate Teaching Assistant
ISE 2214 Lab, Virginia Tech
Assisted with lab instruction, grading, and office hours.
Educations
Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering
Virginia Tech
B.Eng. in Systems Engineering
City University of Hong Kong