• Professor, Industrial & Systems Engineering
  • Mike and Sugar Barnes Professor II, Industrial & Systems Engineering
Image of Zhijian Pei

Educational Background

  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign – 1995

Research Interests

    • Additive manufacturing
    • 3D bioprinting
    • Machining of semiconductor materials

Certifications & Memberships

  • American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
  • American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE)
  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Fellow
  • Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) Fellow
  • Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Fellow

Awards & Honors

  • Departmental Outstanding Faculty Research Award – 2024
  • College of Engineering Excellence Award for Service – 2023
  • IISE Manufacturing & Design Division Outstanding Service Award – 2020
  • NSF Director's Award for Excellence Program Director – 2015
  • NSF CAREER Award – 2004

Selected Publications

  • Pasha, M.M., Pei, Z.J., Kao, Y.T., and Dubovick, K., 2025, “Effects of ultrasonic vibration intensity and initial powder amount in the hopper on powder dispensing rate in binder jetting additive manufacturing,” Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing, Vol. 9, No. 8, 268. (https://doi.org/10.3390/jmmp9080268)
  • Akib, Y.M., Bedsole, C.O., Sanders, J., Warren, H., Pei, Z.J., and Shaw, B., 2025, “Binder jetting 3D printing of biomass-fungi composite materials: a preliminary experimental study,” Biomimetics, Vol. 10, No. 7, 441. (https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics10070441)
  • Rahman, T.T., Wood, N., Pei, Z.J., Qin, H.M., and Mohan, P., 2024, “Effects of extrusion pressure during 3D printing on viability of human bronchial epithelial cells in 3D printed samples,” Biomimetics, Vol. 10, No. 5, 297. (https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics10050297)
  • Khan, F., Sanders, J., Arman, M.S., Pasha, M.M., Kachur, S., and Pei, Z.J., 2025, “Fabrication of SiC-aluminum composites via binder jetting 3D printing and infiltration: a feasibility study,” Journal of Composites Science, Vol. 9, No. 3, 111. (https://doi.org/10.3390/jcs9030111)
  • Li, Y.Z., Pei, Z.J., and Cong, W.L., 2025, “Parametric and theoretical study of hole quality in conventional machining and rotary ultrasonic micro-machining of silicon wafers,” Precision Engineering, Vol. 93, pp. 167-176. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.precisioneng.2025.01.008)