Yi-Ping Chen

Yi-Ping Chen

he/his/him

A Husband, a Christian, and a Researcher in Design Optimization and Digital Twin

About Yi-Ping

I’m an enthusiastic person who loves problem solving with domain knowledge, inspiring people to pursue something great, and enjoying the process of helping people fulfill their dreams. I believe the only way to maximize the power of knowledge is through sharing, so I have been preparing myself to become a faculty member in Taiwan to serve as a mentor, an advisor, and a helper to provide opportunities for highly motivated people to learn how to define and achieve their dreams.

:man_student: My Ph.D. is all about…

My research focuses on using data-driven methods to addressing the challenges in Digital Twin and Design Optimization under Uncertainty. For instance, I integrate machine learning as a surrogate model to replace the complex system model, and develop algorithms for the real-time decision-making for Digital Twin systems, such as model predictive control (MPC), to demonstrate a set of tools that performs efficient, reliable, and online adaptable decision-making. Further, I’m also interested in sequential optimization and active learning for system-level problems and process optimization. In particular, I work with small data problems using Bayesian Optimization, where a sampling and data collection rule is developed to make the best use of every information collected, and maximize the efficiency of sampling for optimization problems.

In the rest of my Ph.D., I will dive deep into the decision-making for Digital Twin systems, developing methods for systems with heterogeneous data structure, handling emergent behaviors, and adaptations/resilience in machine intelligence.

:airplane: I was a full-time R&D engineer in the aerospace industry

I was working at National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) for 16 months as a full-time engineer. My team, the control law design team under the Flight Control Group within the Aeronautical Research Laboratory, is the leading research team in developing the next generation fighters. It is clear that I cannot reveal too much detail, but let me tell you: It was cool to be a part of the development of such a complex system! I was working on maintaining the 6-D dynamical model of the aircraft and addressing the model discrepancy with data-driven methods, preparing the core techniques for the development of the next generation fighter. Anyway, I cannot tell too much!

:mortar_board: I got my M.S. Degree in MechE, too!

I received my M.S. Degree from the MechE Department in National Taiwan University in 2020. As a part of System Optimization LABoratory (SOLAB), I started to build my knowledge in design optimization, design under uncertainty, and data-driven design. Initially, we were developing an autonomous bus from scratch, and I was in charge of the failure systems. However, as we moved on, we realized that the model of the vehicle is the core of this system, while we are still far away from calibrating it. Therefore, I started to work on the excitation and estimation of uncertain parameters in the vehicle as my master’s thesis. It was not an easy research since I had to build a vehicle model in Simulink (it took me 6 months!) and developed a series of methods. Well, I’m glad these efforts paid back – I published a journal paper for the first time of my life, and won 3 huge master thesis awards, which likely became the most important piece of my Ph.D. application package. Anyway, I enjoyed the life, the people, the advisor, and the research environment here. It was a pleasant journey.

:mortar_board: I received my B.S. Degree in MechE!

I received my B.S. Degree in the MechE Department in National Cheng Kung University in 2018 with the highest honor Phi Tau Phi. Initially, I was a nerd, a person who only cared about grades and ranking but ignored all the people around me. I ended up with a perfect ranking in the first three semesters but with no friends. Decided not to live a life like this, I dedicated myself into several student associations, trying to improve the academic atmosphere and bringing more resources to the department that allow students to pursue a different careers. During the year when I was the president of the Student Association of Mechanical Engineering, I funded the Robotics Club with Syntec Corp. and the Motorcycle Club with Kymco Corp. to support student to participate in technical competitions. The leadership positions allowed me to learn how to lead people with purpose, negotiation strategies, and fund-raising skills.

On the academic end, I was part of the Creative Mechanism Design & Education Laboratory, where I completed my undergraduate thesis on a novel design of integrated planetary gear reduction with motor rotor for electrical vehicles.

🎮 Hobbies

Outside of research, I enjoy…

:newspaper: Articles

I enjoy sharing and archiving my effort and experience in different stages, and hope they can be a reference for others who are planning on chasing the same dream!

Ph.D. Application Series