Team

Dr. Donovan Chaffart is an assistant professor at the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT)’s College of Engineering in Ningbo, China. Originating from Canada, he obtained his BASc in Nanotechnology Engineering, as well as his MASc and PhD in Chemical Engineering, from the University of Waterloo, before joining EIT as a PI. His research predominantly consists of computational simulations, numerical modelling, and AI investigations and implementations within Chemical Engineering. In particular, Dr. Chaffart is interested in improving the reliability and trustworthiness of AI in Chemical Engineering applications. Furthermore, he is interested in the development and implementation of novel modelling approaches to various Chemical Engineering systems, such as the Moving Front kinetic Monte Carlo algorithm he developed to capture moving interface systems.

Dr. Yue Yuan holds dual Ph.D. degrees from the University of Waterloo, Canada, and Tianjin University. She has more than 12 years of experience in the development and application of chemical engineering models, as well as over 7 years of professional experience working overseas. Her research focuses on the integration of diverse computational algorithms spanning multiple scales—from microscopic to macroscopic systems and from theory-driven to empirical approaches—to enable efficient prediction and comprehensive scientific interpretation of complex research systems.

Her research interests include trustworthy AI-assisted multiscale modeling for chemical engineering applications, intelligent process intensification with advanced monitoring and control, and full-scale optimization of intelligent manufacturing systems for semiconductors and electronic components. She has published more than 20 high-quality research papers in related fields.

Dr. Jesse Zhu is a Distinguished University Professor and Canada Research Chair in Chemical Engineering, at Western University. Dr. Zhu has many years of experience in the research area of powder handling, fluidized bed and multi-phase flow systems including several years at Shell in the Netherlands. With 500+ journal publications, 50+ original patents, and over 260 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows supervised, he has worked on a very wide range of R&D projects, many from the industry. In addition to fundamental research, he is particularly active in technology development and transfer, with 5 clusters of inventions/technologies commercialized or in the process of being commercialized. He is a Fellow of Royal Society of Canada and Canadian Academy of Engineering, and has received many awards including four major awards from the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering, the Syncrude Innovation Award, the Bantrel Award in Design and Industrial Practice, the John Grace Award in Particle Technology and Green Chemical Engineering, and the R.S. Jane Award (the highest career award of the society), the Fluidization Lectureship Award and the Elsevier Award for Lifetime Achievements in Particle Technology from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the Ontario Professional Engineers Engineering Medal, and the Distinguished University Professorship and the Hellmuth Prize for Achievement in Research (the highest research award) at Western University.