Prof. Zhenyu Zhang

Dalian University of Technology, China

Zhenyu Zhang, Professor at Dalian University of Technology, specializes in precision and ultra-precision machining technologies, including grinding, polishing, additive manufacturing, laser processing techniques and equipment. He is a nationally distinguished professor, a recipient of the Ministry of Education’s first Young Chang Jiang Scholars award, a National Outstanding Youth, a Distinguished Young Scholar of Dalian City, a top-tier talent under Liaoning Province’s “Hundreds, Thousands and Ten Thousands Talent Project,” an Excellent Science and Technology Worker of Liaoning Province, an Outstanding Master's Thesis Supervisor in Liaoning Province, and an Innovative Talent in Higher Education Institutions of Liaoning Province. He has won the First-Class National Science and Technology Progress Award (Innovation Team) once (10/15 team members). As the principal inventor, he holds 60 national invention patents and 6 US patents. As first author or corresponding author, he has published 27 SCI journal cover articles, including one with an impact factor greater than 30 and 14 with an impact factor greater than 10. As the principal contributor, he has received the First-Class Hainan Province Science and Technology Progress Award and the First-Class Innovation Award from the China Industry-University-Research Cooperation Promotion Association. His research achievements have been applied in key national institutions such as the Fifth Academy of Aerospace, China North Industries Group Corporation (Norinco), the Ninth Academy of the Nuclear Industry, and the Ninth Academy of Aerospace.

Prof. Yunqing Rao

Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China

Yunqing Rao (Professor), Professor (Grade II) of the School of Mechanical Science and Engineering at Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), and doctoral supervisor. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Manufacturing from HUST (formerly Huazhong University of Science and Technology) in 1989. After completing his master's degree in 1992, he stayed at the university to teach. In 1999, he obtained his Doctor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Manufacturing and Automation from the same institution. In 2001, funded by the Hong Kong Chiang Foundation, he attended the Industrial Production Management program at RWTH Aachen University in Germany. He was exceptionally promoted to professor in 2002. From 2004 to 2005, he was a state-sponsored visiting scholar at the Department of Engineering Science, University of Oxford. From 2006 to 2013, he served as deputy director of the National Key Laboratory of Digital Manufacturing Equipment and Technology (now the National Key Laboratory of Intelligent Manufacturing Equipment and Technology).

He has been engaged in scientific research and application development in the fields of intelligent optimization, digital and intelligent manufacturing for a long time. He has undertaken more than 20 major projects funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the 863 Program, the 973 Program, National Major Scientific and Technological Projects, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s Intelligent Manufacturing Special Fund, the National Key R&D Program, as well as defense pre-research and corporate collaborative projects. He holds more than 20 national invention patents and over 30 computer software copyrights. He has authored six academic monographs in both Chinese and English—including Intelligent Algorithms for Cutting and Packing Problem, Intelligent Nesting Optimization Technology and Its Applications, and Run-time Optimization and Analysis of Mixed-Model Assembly Manufacturing Systems—as well as two textbooks, one of which, Technology and Applications of Manufacturing Execution Systems, has been adopted by nearly 100 universities in China. He has published over 200 academic papers, with more than 100 indexed by SCI/EI.

Focusing on integrating theoretical research with production application, he led the development of an optimized production control platform for heavy equipment manufacturing workshops, which has been successfully applied in industries such as construction machinery, heavy machinery, energy equipment, and heavy steel structures. He also played a key role in developing a large-scale mixed-model production process optimization platform that has been successfully implemented in the automotive industry, both achieving significant social and economic benefits. He has received one Second-Class National Science and Technology Progress Award, two First-Class provincial/ministerial Science and Technology Progress Awards, and one Second-Class provincial/ministerial Science and Technology Progress Award.

He is a senior member of the Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society, a review expert for the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and a specially appointed expert for well-known enterprises including SANY Heavy Industry and Wuhan Huagong Laser Engineering Co., Ltd. He also serves as a reviewer for international journals such as International Journal of Production Research, Computers & Industrial Engineering, and International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology.