Lingnan University President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science Prof S. Joe Qin and Lingnan Fellow of the Lingnan University Institute for Advanced Study (LUIAS) and internationally renowned chemical engineering scholar Prof Ignacio E. Grossmann attend the 22nd IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (IEEE CASE 2026) in Shenyang, Liaoning Province. From left: Lingnan University President and Wai Kee Kau Chair Professor of Data Science Prof S. Joe Qin, Prof Ignacio E. Grossmann, and Prof Tang Lixin, Vice President of Northeastern University.
Prof Grossmann’s plenary speech covered integrated planning and scheduling of batch plants, as well as bi-level decomposition methods for addressing complex optimisation problems. He also explored the motivations for enterprise-wide optimisation, noting that global industries today face intense international competition and increasingly complex logistics, while businesses are under pressure to reduce costs and inventories and minimise their environmental impact. These challenges require more effective integration of production, logistics and enterprise decision-making to improve overall operational efficiency.
Prof Grossmann is an elected member of the US National Academy of Engineering and an internationally renowned scholar in process systems engineering and computational optimisation. He has made significant contributions to optimisation, decision-making, chemical production and supply chain management. He is currently the Rudolph R. and Florence Dean University Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. He was conferred the title of Lingnan Fellow by the Lingnan University Institute for Advanced Study (LUIAS) at Lingnan University in 2024. His research has contributed to the development of mathematical programming models and solution methods, and he has authored more than 800 papers and several influential books, including Systematic Methods of Chemical Process Design and the more recent authoritative textbook Advanced Optimisation for Process Systems Engineering.
The participation of the two scholars representing Lingnan University at theinternational academic conference IEEE CASE 2026 demonstrates the University’s close engagement with the international academic community in data science, artificial intelligence and interdisciplinary research. It also promotes the exchange of the latest research findings between researchers and industry practitioners, and facilitates discussions on developments in industrial optimisation, data science and related technologies.
