In an interview posted by the College of Engineering, Dr. Zheng discusses her academic background and research. In this interview, Dr. Zheng shares insights on her journey into mechanical engineering, discusses her motivations for joining the department, and explains the aims of her research.

Read the full interview.

Welcome to the J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering Dr. Zheng!

Dr. Zheng is joining the J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University this Spring.

Dr. Minghui Zheng’s primary area is control and robotics. One of her research directions is task sequence and robotic motion planning in a human-robot collaborative environment. She is particularly interested in such developments to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the disassembly, recycling, and remanufacturing of end-of-use products such as e-wastes. Another research direction is learning-based control to enable learning among heterogeneous drones toward their mass customization and application. Her research interests also include collaborative estimation using connected vehicles, optimization and control for power and energy storage systems, as well as iterative learning control for high-precision systems.

Dr. Zheng received her Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering Mechanics from Beihang University in 2008. After, she pursued a Master’s degree in Control Science and Engineering in 2011. She went on to earn her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkley in 2017. Upon graduation, she began her career at the University of Buffalo within the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department. In 2021, she received two distinguished awards: the NSF CAREER Award and the SEAS Early Career Researcher of the Year from UB. Dr. Zheng’s research has been supported by part of an approximate $6.5M total funding of which she is the PI or university PI. So far her share of the research funding is more than $2M. She has been working on six NSF grants as the PI.

Dr. Zheng has authored/co-authored 34 journal articles. She has published papers in major journals in her field, such as IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems, IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, IEEE Transactions on Robotics, IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, and Robotics and Computer-Integrated Manufacturing. These publications documented discoveries and insights in learning, planning, and control algorithms for collaborative robots, drones, high-precision data and energy storage systems, etc.. Dr. Zheng has authored/co-authored 36 peer-reviewed conference papers, of which two are selected among the best conference (student) paper finalists and one is selected as the best student paper on vibrations of the ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Division. Additionally, she owns two patents.

She has also taken part in many professional activities to further her leadership skills, such as being a reviewer for the NSF, organizing workshops, reviewing journals and conferences.

Her research interests include:

• Robotics, control and mechatronics
• Task sequence and robotic motion planning in a human-robot collaborative environment
• Lerarning-based control to enable learning among heterogeneous robots toward their mass customization and application
• Collaborative estimation using connected vehicles, optimization and control for power and energy storage systems
• Iterative learning control for high-precision systems