Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University, 2023
  • M.S., Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University, 2020
  • B.S., Mechanical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 2016
Professional Honors
  • First Place - Ph.D. Student Paper Competition, Mechanical Engineering Division, ASME 2022
  • Professional Development Fellowship, 2021
  • Columbia International Fellowship, 2019
  • Chinese National Scholarship, 2013 & 2014
  • Honors Student, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 2013 & 2014
Professional Affiliations
  • American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Languages
  • Mandarin Chinese

Dr. Fang specializes in mechanics of materials, custom mechanical testing, and finite element analysis. Trained as a mechanical engineer with a focus in medical research, he uses the combined strength of experimental testing and computational analysis to evaluate various materials and mechanical systems. His expertise also includes the acquisition, interpretation, and modeling of data collected by a wide range of imaging modalities (e.g., ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging).

Before joining Exponent, Dr. Fang obtained his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Columbia University. His research focused on characterizing the mechanical behavior of biological tissues to understand the failure mechanisms of preterm birth, the leading cause of neonatal birth worldwide. He performed mechanical testing, including indentation and uniaxial tension testing coupled with digital image correlation (DIC) and conducted computational modeling on primate reproductive organs. Through this work, he developed expertise in the characterization of the mechanical behavior of hyperelastic, viscoelastic, and anisotropic soft materials. Additionally, he had extensive experience working in medical settings including recruiting and obtaining informed consent from human subjects, discussing surgical procedures with surgeons, and performing tissue dissection in the operating room.