Lee, Jay

Dr. Jay Lee is Clark Distinguished Professor and Founding Director of Industrial AI Center in the Mechanical Engineering of the Univ. of Maryland College Park. His current research is focused on developing non-traditional machine learning technologies including transfer learning, domain adaptation, similarity-based machine learning, stream-of-x machine learning, as well as industrial large knowledge model (ILKM), etc. In addition, he emphasizes “Industrial Physical AI” over purely digital AI or physical AI, focusing on how AI can interact with and improve physical assets (machines, turbines, complex engineering systems, etc.) to achieve resilient and sustainable performance.  

Previously, he was the founding director of National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) on Intelligent Maintenance Systems (www.imscenter.net) in partnership with over 130 global company members and the Center was selected as the most economically impactful I/UCRC in the NSF Economic Impact Study Report in 2012. He mentored his students won 1st prize on Data Challenge Competition (PHM Society) 6 times during 2008-2023 as well as developed a number of start-up companies including Predictronics through NSF iCorps in 2013.  

He is a member of Global Future Council on Advanced Manufacturing and Production of the World Economics Council (WEF), a member of Board of Governors of the Manufacturing Executive Leadership Council of National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), Board of Trustees of MTConnect, as well as a senior advisor to McKinsey. He has been nominated as chair of ASTM newly established AI in Manufacturing Committee (F50). 

He served as Vice Chairman and Board Member for Foxconn Technology Group (during 2019-2021 and led the efforts to receive the first WEF Lighthouse Lights-out Factory Award in 2019, and also advised Foxconn business units to successfully receive five WEF Lighthouse Factory Awards. He also served as Director for Product Development and Manufacturing at United Technologies Research Center (now Raytheon Technologies Research Center) as well as Program Director at the U.S. National Science Foundation, overseeing major national research initiatives such as ERCs and I/UCRCs. He also contributed to early machine learning history as part of the team at the U.S. Postal Service that developed the first handwritten ZIP code dataset used in Yann LeCun’s landmark 1989 backpropagation research. 

He is fellow of ASME, SME, PHM Society, ad ISEAM and currently serves as Editor-in-Chief for IOP Journal on Machine Learning: Engineering. He was selected as 30 Visionaries in Smart Manufacturing in by SME in Jan. 2016 and 20 most influential professors in Smart Manufacturing in June 2020,and received SME Eli Whitney Productivity Award and SME/NAMRC S.M. Wu Research Implementation Award in 2022. His book on Industrial AI was published by Springer in 2020.