Jian Wan

Dr. Jian Wan is a Lecturer in Mechatronics and Robotics at Aston University's School of Engineering and Innovation within the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences. Previously, he held a Lecturer position in Control Systems Engineering at the University of Plymouth from 2015–2022. He earned a PhD in Information Technologies (summa cum laude) from the University of Girona, Spain, and an MSc from Northwestern Polytechnical University.

His research focuses on Constrained Optimization, Estimation and Control; Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning; and Robotics and Autonomous Systems. He leads projects like using reinforcement learning for autonomous water quality monitoring and path planning for unmanned surface vehicles (USVs). His work integrates sensor networks, control algorithms, and machine learning for applications in marine robotics and semiconductor manufacturing.

Dr. Wan has secured significant funding, including £90,722 from EPSRC for hybrid set-theoretic approaches in autonomous systems and £26,280 from GCRF for coastal marine monitoring in Malaysia. He collaborates internationally with institutions like Dalian Maritime University, ENSTA Bretagne (France), and Universiti Sains Malaysia.

He advises PhD projects on autonomous sailing and teaches advanced courses such as Machine Learning (ME4MAL) and Autonomous System Design (ME4ASD). His teaching emphasizes practical applications of robotics and control systems.

Key achievements include developing the WaveCat autonomous sailboat for marine observation and pioneering algorithms for USV platooning and obstacle avoidance. His lab focuses on smart manufacturing, sustainable development, and smart autonomous systems.

Professional contributions include editing a special issue on Smart Manufacturing for the journal Sustainability and holding SFHEA membership.