Dr. Cheng is Professor and Chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Toledo, directing the Cyber-physical Human ENGineered Systems (CHENGS) group, with expertise in intelligent infrastructure (e.g. underground sensing), IoT, and CPS (including autonomous systems, e.g. autonomous drones). While serving as a Computer Science and Engineering faculty at Lehigh University, he was a founding member of the INE (Integrated Networks for Electricity) research cluster and a leadership council member of the I-CPIE (Institute for Cyber Physical Infrastructure & Energy). Dr. Cheng was a Visiting Professor at TU Dortmund and University of Science and Technology of China during his sabbatical year and he also worked at Rutgers University and Duke University in his Ph.D. studies. He was a Faculty Senator and a Faculty Tri-Chair of Council for Equity and Community at Lehigh University.

Dr. Cheng's latest research focuses on CPHS (Cyber-Physical-Human Systems) and is geared toward enabling intelligent infrastructure based on the convergence of real-time sensing, model-driven data analytics, and machine learning through inter-disciplinary projects, such as CPS and IoT projects funded by NSF (National Science Foundation) including a NSF CPS Breakthrough project and a NSF Middleware Initiative project, DOT (Department of Transportation), and PITA(Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance), and smart grid and cyber security projects funded by DOE(Department of Energy) and PITA. He is also an expert in ad hoc networks (NSF, DARPA and PITA projects). His research has also been funded by ABB, Agere Systems, East Penn Manufacturing, Ingersoll-Rand, and PPL. He has advised more than 10 Ph.D. students and postdocs, in addition to 25 Master's degree theses, and co-authored more than 100 papers. Dr. Cheng is a keynote speaker at 2015 IEEE International Conference on the Edges of Innovation for Smarter Cities and an awardee of Christian R. & Mary F. Lindback Foundation Minority Junior Faculty Award.