Provided are adaptive heat transfer methods and systems for uniform heat transfer to and from various types of workpieces, such as workpieces employed during fabrication of semiconductor devices, displays, light emitting diodes, and photovoltaic panels. This adaptive approach allows for reducing heat transfer variations caused by deformations of workpieces. Deformation may vary in workpieces depending on types of workpieces, processing conditions, and other variables. Such deformations are hard to anticipate and may be random. Provided systems may change their configurations to account for the conformation of each new workpiece processed. Further, adjustments may be performed continuously of discretely during heat transfer. This flexibility can be employed to improve heat transfer uniformity, achieve uniform temperature profile, reduce deformation, and for various other purposes.