Dr Yan Xu obtained his B.E. and M.E. degrees from South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China, and PhD degree from University of Newcastle, Australia, in 2008, 2011, and 2013, respectively. After his PhD graduation, he conducted postdoctoral research at University of Sydney with the University of Sydney Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (only 10 awarded internationally for all areas per year). In 2016, he joined Nanyang Technological University with the Nanyang Assistant Professorship (only 10 awarded internationally for all areas per year).