PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Junfei Qiao

Also known as 乔俊飞, Jun-Fei Qiao, Qiao Junfei

Junfei Qiao is a control and neural-network researcher at Beijing University of Technology who applies artificial intelligence to urban wastewater treatment. With Honggui Han and other coauthors, he published self-organizing neural-network control methods for wastewater plants, including a 2014 nonlinear model-predictive controller in IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics and a 2016 self-organizing recurrent-network controller in IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems. By 2019, his AI and big-data operation system was in use at more than 50 plants in China, and a project he led won a Science Fund for Creative Research Groups award from the National Natural Science Foundation of China in 2020. His 2021 paper in IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems proposed an optimal control system with flexible objective functions. As of October 2026, he is president of Beijing University of Technology.

Timeline

  1. 2011

    COD modeling with neural networks

    In 2011, he coauthors the chapter "The Chemical Oxygen Demand Modeling Based on a Dynamic Structure Neural Network" with Qili Chen and Honggui Han, published in the book Waste Water – Evaluation and Management.

  2. 2014

    Predictive control for wastewater plants

    In 2014, he and Honggui Han publish a nonlinear model-predictive control system for wastewater treatment in IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics. It pairs a self-organizing radial basis function neural network identifier with a multiobjective optimization method, and experiments on a real treatment plant show its efficacy.

  3. 2016

    A self-organizing recurrent network

    In 2016, he coauthors, with Hong-Gui Han, Lu Zhang and Ying Hou, a nonlinear model predictive control scheme built on a self-organizing recurrent radial basis function neural network, published in IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks and Learning Systems. The network adjusts its structure and parameters together during training, and the scheme controls dissolved oxygen concentration in a wastewater treatment process.

  4. 2018

    Chapters on modeling and optimization

    In 2018, he coauthors two chapters with Hong-Gui Han. One develops an intelligent modeling approach that predicts wastewater effluent quality, and the other develops a gradient multiobjective particle swarm optimization algorithm.

  5. 2019

    AI-run wastewater plants

    In 2019, his AI and big-data operation system runs wastewater plants in Beijing, where one plant saves over six percent of electricity and over 10 percent of chemical agents. By his account, the technology is already in use at more than 50 plants nationwide, including one in Ecbatana, Iran.

  6. 2020

    A Creative Research Group

    In 2020, the National Natural Science Foundation of China awards the project "Theory and Application of Operational Optimal Control of Urban Sewage Disposal Systems", which he leads, a Science Fund for Creative Research Groups grant. It is the third time a Beijing University of Technology project wins the fund, and the core members include Academician Peng Yongzhen and Honggui Han.

  7. 2021

    Flexible objectives for optimal control

    In 2021, he coauthors, with Honggui Han, Lu Zhang, Hong-Xu Liu and Cuili Yang, an intelligent optimal control system with flexible objective functions for wastewater treatment, published in IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics: Systems. A dynamic multiobjective optimization algorithm picks suitable objective functions as conditions change, and tests on benchmark simulation model No. 1 show better operating performance.

  8. As of October 2026

    President of Beijing University of Technology

    He is president of Beijing University of Technology, where he is also a professor and doctoral supervisor. He directs the Beijing Laboratory of Smart Environmental Protection and heads the innovation research group that won National Natural Science Foundation of China funding in 2020.

  1. People shaping AI who were born in China spent 54% of recorded working years there from 2018 onIncludes Junfei Qiao. We estimate that people shaping AI who were born in China spent 54% of recorded working years there in 2018–2026, up from 51% in 2008–2017.
  2. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes Beijing University of Technology. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  3. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Beijing University of Technology. 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. Google had the most people shaping AI every year from 2014 to 2025Our estimates of which organizations employed the most people shaping AI each year from 1955 to 2025, tracing the shift from university labs to companies.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Junfei Qiao yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. The Chemical Oxygen Demand Modeling Based on a Dynamic Structure Neural Network | IntechOpen intechopen.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Nonlinear Model-Predictive Control for Industrial Processes: An Application to Wastewater Treatment Process - 文章详情页 - 北京工业大学机构库 ir.bjut.edu.cn. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. Nonlinear Model Predictive Control Based on a Self-Organizing Recurrent Neural Network - 文章详情页 - 北京工业大学机构库 ir.bjut.edu.cn. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Intelligent Modeling Approach to Predict Effluent Quality of Wastewater Treatment Process | IntechOpen intechopen.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. A Gradient Multiobjective Particle Swarm Optimization | IntechOpen intechopen.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. AI empowers urban wastewater treatment news.cgtn.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. Prof. QIAO Junfei's Team Awarded Science Fund for Creative Research Groups by NSFC-Beijing University of Technology english.bjut.edu.cn. Checked 21 October 2026.
  8. Intelligent Optimal Control System With Flexible Objective Functions and Its Applications in Wastewater Treatment Process - 文章详情页 - 北京工业大学机构库 ir.bjut.edu.cn. Checked 21 October 2026.
  9. BJUT Wins Both the Medal and the Plaque of the National Award for Excellence in Innovation-Beijing University of Technology english.bjut.edu.cn. Checked 21 October 2026.
  10. 学者信息显示 - 北京工业大学机构库 ir.bjut.edu.cn. Checked 21 October 2026.
  11. The First BJUT-led Beijing Lab of Smart Environmental Protection was Approved-Beijing University of Technology english.bjut.edu.cn. Checked 21 October 2026.