Elevating excellence for tomorrow’s innovators: Jianlin ‘Jack’ Cheng

Jianlin “Jack” Cheng, a Curators’ Distinguished Professor in the University of Missouri College of Engineering, is an expert in electrical engineering and computer science. At Mizzou, he’s passing on his knowledge and preparing the next generation to solve some of society’s most pressing issues through use of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI).

Mizzou Engineer lends protein prediction expertise to climate change studies at Danforth Plant Science Center

An inter-institutional research team is using the power of computational analysis to pinpoint which plant genes confer resilience against rising temperatures that threaten global food supplies in the coming decades. Mizzou Engineering Professor Jianlin “Jack” Cheng — one of the first scientists in the world to use deep learning, a powerful artificial intelligence technique, to predict protein structures — adds a unique perspective to the work. Since 2018, he’s been collaborating with Dr. Ru Zhang, a plant scientist at the Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, to leverage computational tools in the study of plant genes.