People

Director

Dr. Chang S. “CS” Nam received a Ph.D. from the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech. Having held department-level leadership roles as chair and head, he currently serves as Interim Director of the Center of Excellence in Product Design and Advanced Manufacturing (CEPDAM), where he leads interdisciplinary, industry-engaged research and education programs that integrate advanced manufacturing testbeds, data-rich learning environments, and AI-enabled cyber-physical systems. He is also an affiliate professor of the UNC/NCSU Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, Psychology and UNC-CH Brain Research Imaging Center (BRIC). 

His scholarship focuses on intelligent industrial systems at the intersection of human-centered AI, quantum-enabled computing, and advanced manufacturing. His research seeks to develop intelligent systems that can sense and interpret human and system states, predict emerging needs and conditions, optimize complex decisions, and adapt their actions in uncertain, safety-critical, real-world environments. Core areas include human-centered AI and adaptive intelligent systems, including human–AI–robot teaming, multimodal human-state and intent modeling, neuroergonomics, and human-centric digital twins; quantum-enabled intelligent industrial systems, including AI-guided quantum algorithm engineering, hybrid quantum-classical computing, hardware-aware execution, and quantum utility and reliability; and AI-enabled autonomous and resilient manufacturing, including industrial AI, cyber-physical manufacturing systems, intelligent robotics, adaptive inspection and quality assurance, and resilient manufacturing.

He has published 87+ peer-reviewed journal articles, 24+ book chapters, 98+ refereed conference papers, and six edited books. His research has been supported by federal agencies including the National Science Foundation (NSF), Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and National Security Agency (NSA). Nam is the recipient of the NSF CAREER Award (2010), Outstanding Researcher Award (2010-2011), and Best Teacher Award (2010-2011). He is the HFES fellow, and the Editor-in-Chief of the Research in Biomedical Engineering and Technology. For details, see my Research Profile.