Wei Zeng, PhD

Dr. Zeng is a research associate at the Center for Applied Biomechanics and he has over 10 years of experience in the area of computational mechanics and finite element modeling. After completing his MSME degree in 2008, he worked as a vehicle crash simulation/CAE engineer on vehicle crashworthiness and occupant protections for more than two years. Dr. Zeng’s PhD work focused on developing advanced finite element methods for fracture mechanics and nonlinear materials. He also served for two years as a graduate research assistant for UC P&G Simulation Center. During his postdoc training at Dartmouth College, he worked in the field of computational biomechanics, orthopaedic biomechanics, and magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). In January 2018, he joined the CAB research team, where he is working on finite element modeling and injury biomechanics, including the development and enhancement of the Global Human Body Models Consortium (GHBMC) detailed human body models. In the past five years, Dr. Zeng has published over 20 top-tier or peer-reviewed journal articles on the topics of computational mechanics, modeling, injury biomechanics, and biomedical engineering.

Education

• PhD, Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, University of Cincinnati

Research Interests

• Computational mechanics and finite element methods
• Human body modeling, injury biomechanics and orthopaedic biomechanics
• Vehicle crashworthiness, passenger car safety and occupant protections
• Simulation based design and structural optimization

Selected Publications

• An analytical review of the numerical methods used for finite element modeling of traumatic brain injury. Annals of Biomedical Engineering. 2019; 47(9): 1855–1872 [https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-018-02161-5]
• Smoothed finite element methods (S-FEM): An overview and recent developments. Archives of Computational Methods in Engineering. 2018; 25(2): 397–435 [https://doi.org/10.1007/s11831-016-9202-3]
• Smoothing technique based crystal plasticity finite element modeling of crystalline materials. International Journal of Plasticity. 2015; 65: 250–268 [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijplas.2014.09.007]
• Finite element analysis of locking plate and two types of intramedullary nails for treating mid-shaft clavicle fractures. Injury. 2016; 47(8): 1618–1623 [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.injury.2016.06.004]
• A numerical framework for interstitial fluid pressure imaging in poroelastic magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). PLoS ONE. 2017; 12(6): e0178521 [https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0178521]

For more publications see: Google Scholar | ResearchGate

Affiliations & Awards

• University of Virginia Engineering (UVERS) 2019 Research Mentor of the Year Award, UVA, 2019
• Member of the United States Association for Computational Mechanics (USACM), 2019
• The R.T. Davis Award for Aptitude and Scholarship in Computational Mechanics, 2015
• USNCCM13 (13th U.S. National Congress on Computational Mechanics) Travel Award, 2015
• GSGA (Graduate Student Governance Association) Conference Travel Award-Presenters, UC, 2015
• URC (University Research Council) Graduate Student Research Fellowship/Grant, UC, 2014