Director Biography

Tony Shi, Assistant Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering & Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Tony Shi received his B.S. in Pure and Applied Mathematics from China University of Geosciences, Beijing in 2011 and his Ph.D. in Management Science and Engineering from Peking University in 2017. He was a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 2017 to 2019. He started his faculty position as an Assistant Professor of Engineering Management at the University of Tennessee Space Institute in 2020, after completing a one-year postdoctoral appointment at the University of Tennessee Space Institute. He moved to the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2022, and he became an Affiliated Faculty of Machine Tool Research Center and Institute of Advanced Materials and Manufacturing in 2022. He accepted an appointment as an joint Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2025. 

Dr. Shi's research interests are manufacturing processes and systems innovations by establishing the mathematical relationships of machines, tools, processes and materials, with a focus on metal additive manufacturing, machining, hybrid manufacturing and smart manufacturing, to advance next-generation design and manufacturing. His research areas are 

• Solid-state additive manufacturing, machining, hybrid manufacturing, smart manufacturing

• Machine-tool-process-materials relation: mechanics, vibration, materials behaviors, CNC design

• Machine tool vibration theory and applications for machining and additive friction stir deposition

• Analytical and numerical process modeling from machine tool to materials behaviors 

• Dynamical systems modeling, bifurcation, control and automation for manufacturing processes

• Physics-based machine learning and artificial intelligence for modeling and optimization

His work has made fundamental contributions to advance machine tool vibration theory from machining to additive friction stir deposition (AFSD). For machining, he has established an accurate and scalable framework of bifurcation and stability analysis, ChatterStabilizer, that advances the well-renowned stability map generation methods developed for chatter suppression over the past sixty years. For AFSD, he is pioneering the AFSD machine tool vibration theory and extending it to materials behaviors to achieve machine-tool-process-materials convergence. His research vision is to establish a systems approach of machine-tool-process-materials convergence, to make manufacturing machines acquire the capabilities of thinking about manufacturability, stability and materials elements, including geometry, surface, structure, property and performance. His work aims to enable innovations in additive, subtractive, hybrid and smart manufacturing to achieve localized production of high-quality parts and products for addressing the supply chain challenges towards a sustainable future, with broader applications in aerospace, defense, automotive and energy sectors.

Dr. Shi’s approach is to perform fundamental research in support of this goal, while taking care to consider its integration with practical implementation, engineering education and workforce development. Through this combined agenda, students at many levels are trained to acquire physics-based modeling capabilities coupled with fundamental experimental techniques and data analytics skills, including physics-based machine learning. His educational vision is to enable students to have strong problem-solving capabilities and a beautiful mind of design and manufacturing to contribute to their careers and life, and human society. So far, as the major professor, Dr. Shi has mentored 4 Ph.D. students, 1 D.Eng. students, 3 Master students, 3 undergraduate research assistants, and 12 undergraduates for their career developments. As a committee member, he has mentored 19 Ph.D. students in Mechanical Engineering (7), Electrical Engineering (2), Mathematics (1), Sports Psychology and Motor Learning (1), Data Science and Engineering (1), as well as Industrial Engineering (7), and 12 Master students including 10 online students.

Dr. Shi has published 37 technical articles and given over 20 technical presentations, including the keynote talk at the 2025 Mid-Year Industry Advisory Board Meeting of NSF IUCRC Manufacturing & Materials Jointing Innovation Center. He is a core faculty member of NSF Engineering Research Center HAMMER – Hybrid Autonomous Manufacturing, Moving from Evolution to Revolution. Dr. Shi’s research has been supported by NSF, DoE-Oak Ridge National Laboratory, DoD-Southeastern Advanced Machine Tools Network and AI Tennessee Initiative.

Frederick W. Taylor (1856-1915), Father of Manufacturing Engineering & Industrial Engineering

Milestones of Machine Tool Chatter Theory and Applications