Integrated Systems Engineering Associate Professor Michael A. Groeber is the new director of The Ohio State University’s Simulation Innovation and Modeling Center (SIMCenter).
Established in 2013 with a $5 million gift from Honda R&D Americas, SIMCenter’s multidisciplinary teams research and apply methods for virtual product development and virtual manufacturing, while spurring the creation of innovative engineering solutions using primarily physics-based modeling. Projects span diverse applications such as software validation of autonomous vehicles, joining of lightweight materials, noise reduction in dishwashers and drones, and improvement of energy capture from wind turbines.
An Ohio State engineering alumnus, Groeber also is an associate professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, associate director for manufacturing at the Institute for Materials and Manufacturing Research and faculty director of the Artificially Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (AIMS) Lab.
His research group has focused on developing autonomous robotic systems that integrate physics-based modeling, real-time data collection and analysis, and artificial intelligence for manufacturing, handling, and inspecting engineering components. Groeber has also been a co-developer and inventor of SIMPL and DREAM.3D, a unique software library and application package that integrates a flexible, hierarchical data structure with numerous digital microstructure, image processing and data analytics tools to facilitate the advancement of integrated computational materials engineering.
“My passion and vision are in the integration of simulation, data analytics and process optimization to advance manufacturing and design,” said Groeber. “SIMCenter, in collaboration with myriad research centers at Ohio State, is uniquely positioned to be a major force in manufacturing’s resurgence in the U.S.”
Groeber plans to continue to foster the largely physics-based simulation experience and research at SIMCenter, while augmenting with new advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) to accelerate and improve accuracy of the simulations. Additionally, he wants to focus on building collaborations with physical centers, such as the Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence, Nanotech West Lab, and the new Honda-Ohio State battery cell research and development center, among others.
“These collaborations are critical to develop technologies around digital twinning and the creation of cyber-physical systems that can be optimized through AI/ML to improve processes in these applied centers,” said Groeber.
Prior to joining Ohio State, Groeber worked for 10 years in the metals processing and characterization, sensing and analytics research groups within the Air Force Research Laboratory. He received his B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from Ohio State in 2003 and 2007, respectively.
“Mike’s experience leading large collaborative efforts between computational modeling, AI, machine learning, and experimental research groups have prepared him well to lead this next phase of SIMCenter,” said College of Engineering Associate Dean for Research Seth Weinberg. “Throughout his career, Mike has been successful in interdisciplinary team building, especially with our industry and government partners.”
Groeber is also driven by increasing diversity in STEM fields. He is PI for the Minority Leaders-Research Collaboration Program II, funded by the Air Force Research Lab to enable collaborative research with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) to engage a diverse pool of talent in support of the nation's air, space, and cyberspace technology needs.
Published by the College of Engineering on November 11, 2024.