Mingwang Fu (MW Fu), PhD, is the Chair Professor of Advanced Manufacturing at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He is leading the Joint Research Centre for Design & Net-shape Forming of Surface Functional Structures and is an Associate Director of the Research Institute for Advanced Manufacturing.  He is a fellow of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, and a Royal Society Wolfson Visiting Fellow. He published over 350 journal papers, 7 monographs (three of which are the first-ever in their respective fields), and one volume in the Elsevier Encyclopedia of Materials, with an H-index of 72. Recently, MW was awarded (1) the SME Frederick W. Taylor Research Medal (2026) for his outstanding contributions to manufacturing science; (2) the Khan International Award (2026) for his pioneering research and lifelong outstanding contribution to the plasticity/damage/fracture of materials (2026); and (3) LEE HSUN Research Award (2025) for his unique contributions to materials science and engineering.

MW’s research is unique in its breadth, depth, and originality, characterized by a vital mastery of modelling and numerically esoteric mathematics, including the numerical solution of high-order differential equations. Its complexity and difficulty are also highlighted by non-linearities arising from material aspects, including viscoplasticity, large-scale and non-uniform deformation, anisotropy and asymmetry, as well as by the non-linearities of geometries involved in design and manufacturing.

His research explores complex behaviors and phenomena in metal forming, advanced materials processing, materials science, and thermal engineering across different scales and domains, and addresses the interdisciplinary issues arising from their coupling and interactions among them. He pioneered or has made outstanding contributions to the following:

(1) Metal-forming and deformation-based manufacturing: MW developed systematic methods and processes for achieving defect-free, high-quality, and superior property forming through the optimal design of metal-formed parts and forming systems, as well as the prediction, control, and avoidance of stress- and flow-induced defects and microstructure-related quality issues. He established criteria for evaluating damage, fracture, and defects, and advanced understanding of the plasticity/damage/fracture/fatigue of materials. The technologies he developed have been successfully applied to the fabrication of various complex parts and components.

(2) FEM modelling and simulation: MW conducted pioneering work in viscoplastic deformation modelling and simulation, including the Newton-Raphson linearization of Visco-Plastic FEM (VP-FEM), computational accuracy studies of 2×2 and 3×3 Gaussian quadrature, and data migration and field value smoothing after re-meshing in the late 1980s, and developed a complete VP-FEM solution, which was first applied to predict flow-induced macro-defects in the isothermal forming of aviation parts (the results were published in J. Mater. Process. Technol., 1992). He developed methodologies for simulation-enabled metal-formed part design, process determination, and product quality control and properties tailoring. His research on this topic was comprehensively summarized in a dedicated monograph.

(3) Flexible die forming (FDF) aided by viscoplastic-pressure-carrying-medium (VPCM): MW developed the FDF process aided by his own coined concept of viscoplastic-pressure-carrying-medium, to simplify die structure and enhance the formability of metal sheets. This innovative forming process was used for the first time to fabricate unique, precision helicopter-joystick hemisphere sheet-metal parts and was awarded the Aviation Science and Technology Progress Award by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) in the 1990s.

(4) Injection mould CAD: MW pioneered the development of CAD algorithms and methodologies for undercut feature recognition and extraction, parting direction/line/surface generation, core and cavity creation, comprehensive injection mould system design, and simulation-enabled optimization. He established the theoretical and technological basis for developing the first commercial mould CAD system, laying the groundwork for mould CAD as a field. His research was comprehensively summarized in the first-ever monograph on mould CAD, published in 2004 and later translated into Chinese in 2010.

(5) Microforming and size effects: MW developed multi-scale forming processes, including meso-/microforming of bulk microparts by directly using ultra-thin sheets/films, progressive/compound microforming of sheet-metal parts, and other microforming processes such as ironing, flanging, heading, extrusion, and drawing. He defined, articulated, and classified the size effect (SE) and its influencing factors, providing scientific insights into SE and uncovering the physical mechanisms underlying SE and SE-induced variations in process behavior, performance, micro product quality, properties, and their scatter. These advancements have been instrumental in the fabrication of metallic bipolar plates for high-density fuel cell development and other microparts. The first-ever monograph on microforming and the first monograph on size effects in engineering were published by Springer in 2014 and by Elsevier in 2024, respectively.

(6) Material-structure-performance in 3D printing: MW conducted research on groundbreaking integrated solutions for material design, workability, high structural and functional performance of additive-manufactured (AM) or the so-called 3D printed materials and structures to enhance the potential and promising applications in emerging new fields. By integrating multi-scale monitoring systems, simulation-driven datasets, and model development aided by machine learning, MW developed advanced methods for defect prediction and avoidance, ensuring the reliable fabrication of geometrically intricate and defect-free structures, and achieved a breakthrough in AM through the developed micro-laser powder bed fusion (μ-LPBF) processes, and by innovatively regulating compositional and structural gradients to achieve superior functional performance. A monograph summarizing these findings and results will be published by Elsevier in May 2026.

MW is also serving his research community by participating in evaluations of various awards and funding applications across different countries and engaging in different professional activities, such as serving on the editorial board or as an associate editor for a number of major journals in his research areas, including:

1. Int. J. Extreme Manuf. (Impact factor (IF): 21.3, 1/71 in Engineering/Manufacturing)
2. Int. J. Mach. Tools Manuf. (IF: 18.8, 2/71 in Engineering/Manufacturing)
3. Int. J. Plast. (IF: 12.8, 3/182 in Engineering/Mechanical)
4. Int. J. Mech. Sci. (IF: 9.4, 5/182 in Engineering/Mechanical)
5. Mater. Des. (IF: 7.8, 88/461 in Mater Sci/Multidisciplinary) 
6. Int. J. Damage Mech. (IF: 3.9, 33/171 in Mechanics) 
7. J. Mater. Process. Technol. (IF: 7.5, 7/71 in Engineering/Manufacturing)
8. Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol. (IF: 3.1, 36/71 in Engineering/Manufacturing)
9. Adv. Manuf. (IF: 3.8, 28/71 in Engineering/Manufacturing)
10. Manuf. Rev. (IF: 2.8, 39/71 in Engineering/Manufacturing)
11. J. Manuf. Mater. Process. (IF: 3.3, 33/71 in Engineering/Manufacturing)
12. J. Cent. South Univ. (IF: 4.4, 19/97 in Met & Met Eng)

His major monographs include:

1. MW Fu, Size Effects in Engineering Mechanics, Materials Science, and Manufacturing, Elsevier, USA, April 2024.
2. MW Fu, Multi-scaled metallic parts and structures, in the Encyclopedia of Materials: Metals and Alloys, Elsevier USA, 1 Sept. 2022.
3. H. Li, MW Fu, Deformation-Based Processing of Materials: Behavior, Performance, Modelling, and Control, Elsevier, March 11, 2019.
4. XM Lai, MW Fu, LF Peng, Sheet Metal Meso- and Microforming and Their Industrial Applications, CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, July 27, 2018.
5. MW Fu, Design and Development of Metal Forming Processes and Products aided by Finite Element Simulation, Springer-Verlag London Ltd. Oct 22, 2016. 
6. MW Fu, WL Chan, Micro-scaled product development via microforming: Deformation behaviors, Processes, Tooling and its realization, Springer-Verlag London Ltd. Jan 4, 2014. 
7. MW Fu, JY Wang, 3D/4D printing and 3Dprinting+: Science, Engineering and Applications, to be published in May 2026. 
8. JY Fuh, YF Zhang, AYC Nee, MW Fu, Computer-aided injection mould design and manufacture, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, Aug 2, 2004 (This book was translated into Chinese and published by China Machine Press in 2010.