CV

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Education

• Ph.D in Industrial Engineering, University of Iowa, 2022
• M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, University of Florida, 2016
• B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, 2014

Work & Research Experience

• 08/22 to present: Research Associate HP Labs
  • Development of 3D printed electronics based on Multi Jet Fusion (MJF).
    • Optimized the process parameters and improved the electric conductivity by 100% and mechanical strength by 25%.
    • Printing quality control using CT and structured-light scanning methods.
    • Designed and fabricated multiple 3D-structured sensors and actuators for demonstration for multiple industrial customers and universities.
    • Characterization of material properties using SEM, EDS, XRD, DSC, etc.
    • Drafted and submitted multiple IP/patents, proposals, and conference proceedings.
• 08/17 to 08/22: Research Assistant University of Iowa
  • Developed a binder-free jetting-based ceramic printing process and printer.
    • Able to print complex ceramic structures with large density and strength.
    • Applications in energy devices (batteries), RF devices (antennas) and piezoelectric sensors (sonar).
  • Developed an embedded liquid metal printing process.
    • Capable of printing stretchable and low-resistance electrodes directly in silicone elastomer for underwater vehicles.
  • Developed a biomimetic self-morphing smart skin.
    • Programmable surface graphic deformation under low voltage.
    • Applications in Braille displays for blind people.
  • Developed a stereolithography-based printing process and printer for ceramics and polymer materials.
    • Application of microRNA-200c incorporated 3D-Printed bio-scaffolds enhance bone/teeth regeneration.
    • Capable of working together with deep learning algorithm for high-accuracy printing (10 µm).
  • Simulation research for the biner-free jetting-based printing process.
    • Developed a CFD model to simulate the liquid penetration behavior in powder bed under different packing density via finite element analysis (FEA) and volume of fluid (VOF) methods in ANSYS Fluid.
    • Established the numerical model to explain the dissolution-precipitation process behind the printing process via the finite element analysis (FEA) and the Level-set method in FEniCS.
• 09/19 to 12/19: Teaching Assistant University of Iowa
  • Course: Engineering Problem Solving-I (ENGR 1100)
  • Provided students with the opportunity to develop and demonstrate specific problem-solving skills such as using Creo for product design and FDM 3D printers for the fabrication, etc.
• 06/14-04/17: Research Assistant University of Florida
  • Simulation research for Woven Composite Materials via FEA method
    • Found the tensile strength of the WCM material unit by software of Virtual Textile Morphology Suite and Abaqus.
  • Developed a 2-DOF planar end effector with passive force control.
    • Tested the displacement and contact force of the end effector with encoders and made comparisons with the simulation results via MATLAB Simulink.
• 08/13-05/14: Research Internship Texas A&M University
  • Design and simulation research for Mars rover’s self-folding landing structure via FEA method.
    • It is an origami structure able to fold to target shape with certain strength and unfold into flat shape for storage.
    • Simulated the folding and unfolding process of the structure by tuning the SMA’s temperature and alloy phases via Abaqus.
    • Optimized the structure with the objective to have lowest mass together with enough bending stiffness and buckling strength via OpenDAO.

Community Activities

• 12/2021: STEM Event for Blind Students University of Iowa
  • Helped students from Iowa Blind School to learn about 3D design and printing.

Patents

• Song, Xuan, Fan Fei, and Levi J. Kirby. “Hydrothermal-assisted transient jet fusion additive manufacturing.” U.S. Patent Application 17/103,430, filed May 27, 2021.

Skills

• CAD/CAE Software: Solidworks, AutoCAD, Creo, Abaqus, ANSYS, FreeFEM, LIGGGHTS, FEniCS (python based), FiPy (python based).
• Materials characterization: Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), element analysis based on energy-dispersive X-ray (EDS), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), LCR tests, tensile, compressive, torsional, creep, fatigue, toughness and hardness testing.
• Other Software: MATLAB, C/C++, Arduino, QT Creator, OrCAD, PLC programming, NI Multisim.
• Language: Mandarin (Fluent), English (Fluent), Cantonese (Basic).

Publications

Journals

• Fei, Fan, Levi Kirby, Alexander Gralczyk, and Xuan Song. “Binder-free Additive Manufacturing of Ceramics using Hydrothermal-assisted Jet Fusion.” Journal of the European Ceramic Society (2023)
• Fei, Fan, Parth Kotak, Li He, Xiaofeng Li, Cyan Vanderhoef, Caterina Lamuta, and Xuan Song. “Cephalopod‐Inspired Stretchable Self‐Morphing Skin Via Embedded Printing and Twisted Spiral Artificial Muscles.” Advanced Functional Materials (2021): 2105528.
• Fei, Fan, Li He, Levi Kirby, and Xuan Song. “Study of Droplet Diffusion in Hydrothermal-Assisted Transient Jet Fusion of Ceramics.” Journal of Manufacturing Science and Engineering 143, no. 5 (2021): 051001.
• Fei, Fan, Li He, Baizhuang Zhou, Ziyang Xu, and Xuan Song. “Hydrothermal-Assisted Transient Binder Jetting of Ceramics for Achieving High Green Density.” JOM 72, no. 3 (2020): 1307-1313.
• Remy, Matthew T., Adil Akkouch, Li He, Steven Eliason, Mason E. Sweat, Tadkamol Krongbaramee, Fan Fei, et al. “Rat Calvarial Bone Regeneration by 3d-Printed Β-Tricalcium Phosphate Incorporating Microrna-200c.” ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering 7, no. 9 (2021): 4521-34.
• He, Li, Fan Fei, Wenbo Wang, and Xuan Song. “Support-free ceramic stereolithography of complex overhanging structures based on an elasto-viscoplastic suspension feedstock.” ACS applied materials & interfaces 11, no. 20 (2019): 18849-18857.

Conference Proceedings

• Kirby, Levi, Fan Fei, Chao Wang, and Xuan Song. “Hydrothermal Assisted Transient Jet Fusion of Ceramics: A Test Case Using Bentonite Clay.” Procedia Manufacturing 48 (2020): 797-806.
• He, Li, Fan Fei, Wenbo Wang, and Xuan Song. “Layerless Additive Manufacturing of Metal Alloy Lattices Using Immiscible-Interface Assisted Direct Metal Drawing.” Procedia Manufacturing 34 (2019): 647-654.

• He, Yusen, Fan Fei, Wenbo Wang, Xuan Song, Zhiyu Sun, and Stephen Baek. “Predicting manufactured shapes of a projection microstereolithography process via convolutional encoder-decoder networks.” In International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, vol. 51739, p. V01BT02A033. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2018.

Talks

• “Binder-free Additive Manufacturing of Ceramics Using Hydrothermal-assisted Transient Jet Fusion”, 32nd Annual International Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium (virtual), Austin, Texas, Aug. 2-4, 2021.
• “Hydrothermal-assisted Powder Bed Fusion of Ceramics for Achieving High Green Density”, 30th Annual International Solid Freeform Fabrication Symposium, Austin, Texas, Aug. 12-14, 2019.

Honors

• 2021 NSF Student Travel Award for SFF 2021 Symposium
• 2019 NSF Student Travel Award for SFF 2019 Symposium
• 2018 Graduate Poster Award, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
• 2017 Dean’s Fellowship, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
• 2014 Outstanding Final-year-thesis Award, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China
• 2013 First Prize of People’s Scholarship, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China (Top 5% of all major)