PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Fuchun Sun

Also known as FU-CHUN SUN, 孙富春

Fuchun Sun is a professor in Tsinghua University's Department of Computer Science and Technology whose research spans intelligent control, robotics and embodied intelligence. He studied automation at the Institute of Naval Aeronautical Engineering and completed a PhD in computer science and technology at Tsinghua in 1997. His early work developed neural-network and neuro-fuzzy control for robots, and he became an IEEE Fellow in 2019 for contributions to robot-manipulator control. In 2024 he coauthored a survey of embodied intelligence, and in 2025 he coauthored a paper on language-conditioned robot imitation. Youth2Real, the team he leads, won the ICRA 2025 Sim2Real Challenge, two ICRA 2026 manipulation tracks and bronze in the Real-World Embodied AI Learning Challenge.

Born
1964
Works
1,036

Years link to their sources. Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026. Citations and h-index are hidden because this OpenAlex record may be incomplete or mix in other authors.

Timeline

  1. 1986–1997

    Automation degrees and a Tsinghua PhD

    He earns bachelor's and master's degrees in automation at the Institute of Naval Aeronautical Engineering in 1986 and 1989. He completes a PhD in computer science and technology at Tsinghua University in 1997.

  2. 2001–2006

    Neuro-fuzzy control at Tsinghua

    He develops neural-network and neuro-fuzzy methods for control of robotic manipulators and nonlinear systems. A Tsinghua project on multi-link flexible robots runs from 2001 to 2003, and his neural-network controller paper wins first prize at Korea's 18th Choon-Gang Academic Awards in 2003. He receives the National Science and Technology Progress Award, Second Class, in 2002, publishes a monograph on manipulator control in 2005, and receives the National Natural Science Funds for Distinguished Young Scholars in 2006.

  3. 2019

    An IEEE fellowship

    IEEE elevates him to Fellow grade in 2019 for contributions to neural-network control of nonlinear systems applied to robotic manipulators.

  4. 2024

    A survey of embodied intelligence

    In 2024, he coauthors a survey that traces embodied intelligence from its philosophical roots to contemporary advances. The paper presents Bcent, a general agent framework that integrates perception, cognition and behavior dynamics.

  5. 2025

    Language-conditioned imitation learning

    In 2025, he coauthors Long-Horizon Language-Conditioned Imitation Learning for Robotic Manipulation, which proposes an end-to-end transformer-based policy for language-guided tasks and tests it in simulation and real-world robot-manipulation experiments.

  6. May 2025

    An ICRA Sim2Real victory

    In May 2025, the Youth2Real team he leads wins the ICRA 2025 Sim2Real Challenge after eight teams advance from a two-month online simulation phase to the finals.

  7. June 2026

    Robot competitions at ICRA 2026

    In June 2026, the Youth2Real team he leads wins first place in the Human-to-Robot Handovers and Picking in Clutter tracks and takes bronze in the inaugural Real-World Embodied AI Learning Challenge.

  8. As of October 2026

    Professor of computer science

    As of October 2026, he is a professor in Tsinghua University's Department of Computer Science and Technology.

Career

  1. NowTsinghua UniversityProfessor

Education

  1. 1997Tsinghua UniversityPhD in computer science and technology
  2. 1989Institute of Naval Aeronautical EngineeringMaster's degree in automation
  3. 1986Institute of Naval Aeronautical EngineeringBachelor's degree in automation

From the biography.

  1. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Tsinghua University. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  2. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes Tsinghua University. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  3. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Tsinghua University. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  4. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorateIncludes Tsinghua University. 84% of people shaping AI with recorded undergraduate and doctoral schools changed institutions for their doctorate. Across 2,116 people with both an undergraduate degree and a doctorate recorded, we trace which undergraduate schools feed which doctoral programs, how often students stay at the same school, and how paths differ by birth-country region.

Sources and credits

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  1. Fuchun SUN-Department of Computer Science and Technology, Tsinghua University cs.tsinghua.edu.cn. Checked 22 October 2026.
  2. 2019 IEEE RAS Fellow Class Announced - IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Website ieee-ras.org. Checked 22 October 2026.
  3. A Comprehensive Survey on Embodied Intelligence: Advancements, Challenges, and Future Perspectives sciopen.com. Checked 22 October 2026.
  4. Long-Horizon Language-Conditioned Imitation Learning for Robotic Manipulation - Technical University of Munich portal.fis.tum.de. Checked 22 October 2026.
  5. Team from Tsinghua Department of Computer Science and Technology wins ICRA 2025 Sim2Real Robotics Challenge - Tsinghua University tsinghua.edu.cn. Checked 22 October 2026.
  6. Tsinghua’s Youth2Real team excels at ICRA 2026 robotics competitions - Tsinghua University tsinghua.edu.cn. Checked 22 October 2026.