Lei Liu | Engineering | Best Researcher Award

Prof. Lei Liu | Engineering | Best Researcher Award

Professor at Zhejiang University, China

Prof. Liu Lei is a Young Profenications, information theory, and signal processing. Liu received his Ph.D. in Communication and Information Systems from Xidian University and enriched his academic foundation as a visiting scholar at NTU Singapore. His postdoctoral and research appointments span SUTD, CityU Hong Kong, and JAIST Japan. Honored under ZJUโ€™s Hundred Talents Program, he actively leads in editorial and conference roles. With a track record of cutting-edge research, Prof. Liu has authored 39+ high-impact journal articles and continues to influence future innovations in modern channel coding and massive MIMO. ๐Ÿง ๐Ÿ“ก

Professional Profileย 

๐ŸŽ“ Education

Prof. Liu Lei began his academic journey in 2011 at Xidian University, earning his Ph.D. in Communication and Information System in March 2017. During his doctoral studies, he broadened his expertise with a prestigious exchange opportunity at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore (2014โ€“2016), where he engaged with globally renowned researchers in the field of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. This international exposure shaped his foundational understanding of statistical signal processing and message-passing algorithms. His academic pursuits combined rigorous theoretical knowledge with practical algorithmic development, laying the groundwork for his future innovations in wireless communication systems and information theory. ๐Ÿ“˜๐ŸŒ๐ŸŽ“

๐Ÿ’ผExperienceย 

Prof. Liu Lei has cultivated a rich academic career across leading global institutions. He began as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at SUTD, Singapore (2016โ€“2017), followed by a Research Fellow role at City University of Hong Kong (2017โ€“2019). He then served as Assistant Professor at JAIST, Japan (2019โ€“2023), achieving top research rankings among faculty. Since 2023, he has been a Tenure-Track Young Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at Zhejiang University. His expertise spans message passing, compressed sensing, and channel coding. Prof. Liu has been active in IEEE conferences, serving in key editorial and chairing roles, and is a notable reviewer for top-tier journals. ๐ŸŒ๐Ÿ“š๐Ÿซ

๐Ÿ† Awards & Honors

Prof. Liu Lei has received several prestigious accolades for his research excellence. In 2023, he was honored with the Young Star Award and the Best Poster Award at the 30th Chinese Institute of Electronics Conference on Information Theory (CIEIT), recognizing his impactful contributions to information theory. His dedication to academic rigor earned him the Exemplary Reviewer Award from IEEE Transactions on Communications in 2020, an honor bestowed on less than 2% of reviewers. These distinctions underscore his leadership in developing cutting-edge algorithms and his commitment to advancing wireless communication systems. ๐Ÿฅ‡๐ŸŽ–๏ธ๐Ÿ…

๐Ÿ”ฌ Research Focusย 

Prof. Liuโ€™s research focuses on the development of high-performance algorithms and theoretical frameworks in wireless communications. His interests include Message Passing Theory, Statistical Signal Processing, Compressed Sensing, Modern Channel Coding, and Information Theory. He is especially noted for innovations in Approximate Message Passing (AMP) and Orthogonal AMP (OAMP) algorithms. His work aims to optimize capacity and performance in massive MIMO, NOMA, and RIS-aided systems. Prof. Liu’s vision integrates theoretical depth with engineering applications, contributing to next-generation communication systems with greater efficiency, robustness, and scalability. ๐Ÿ“ก๐Ÿ“Š๐Ÿ”

๐Ÿ› ๏ธ Skillsย 

Prof. Liu Lei has extensive expertise in ๐Ÿ“ถ wireless communication, particularly in emerging technologies such as massive MIMO, NOMA, mmWave, and Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) systems. His work contributes to optimizing spectral efficiency and network reliability in next-generation wireless networks.

In the field of ๐Ÿ“ signal processing, he is highly skilled in compressed sensing and advanced channel estimation techniques, which enhance data recovery and transmission accuracy in complex environments.

His foundation in ๐Ÿ“Š information theory is robust, focusing on coding theory, achievable rates, and capacity optimization, all critical to efficient communication system design.

Prof. Liu is also a specialist in ๐Ÿงฎ message passing algorithms, including AMP, OAMP, GAMP, and GVAMP, which he applies to both theoretical models and practical systems.

He leverages ๐Ÿ”— machine learning tools such as neural networks and variational inference to improve signal decoding.

In addition, he is experienced in ๐Ÿ“š academic publishing and ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿซ teaching, mentoring students in both foundational and advanced courses.

๐Ÿ“š Publications Top Noteย 

  1. Iterative Channel Estimation Using LSE and Sparse Message Passing for MmWave MIMO Systems

    • ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿคโ€๐Ÿง‘ Authors: C. Huang, L. Liu, C. Yuen, S. Sun

    • ๐Ÿ“ฐ Journal: IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing

    • ๐Ÿ”ข Citations: 161

    • ๐Ÿ“… Year: 2018

  2. Capacity-Achieving MIMO-NOMA: Iterative LMMSE Detection

    • ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿคโ€๐Ÿง‘ Authors: L. Liu, Y. Chi, C. Yuen, Y.L. Guan, Y. Li

    • ๐Ÿ“ฐ Journal: IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing

    • ๐Ÿ”ข Citations: 151

    • ๐Ÿ“… Year: 2019

  3. User Activity Detection and Channel Estimation for Grant-Free Random Access in LEO Satellite-Enabled IoT

    • ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿคโ€๐Ÿง‘ Authors: Z. Zhang, Y. Li, C. Huang, Q. Guo, L. Liu, C. Yuen, Y.L. Guan

    • ๐Ÿ“ฐ Journal: IEEE Internet of Things Journal

    • ๐Ÿ”ข Citations: 149

    • ๐Ÿ“… Year: 2020

  4. Gaussian Message Passing for Overloaded Massive MIMO-NOMA

    • ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿคโ€๐Ÿง‘ Authors: L. Liu, C. Yuen, Y.L. Guan, Y. Li, C. Huang

    • ๐Ÿ“ฐ Journal: IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications

    • ๐Ÿ”ข Citations: 140

    • ๐Ÿ“… Year: 2019

  5. Convergence Analysis and Assurance for Gaussian Message Passing in Massive MU-MIMO Systems

    • ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿคโ€๐Ÿง‘ Authors: L. Liu, C. Yuen, Y.L. Guan, Y. Li, Y. Su

    • ๐Ÿ“ฐ Journal: IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications

    • ๐Ÿ”ข Citations: 108

    • ๐Ÿ“… Year: 2016

  6. Practical MIMO-NOMA: Low Complexity and Capacity-Approaching Solution

    • ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿคโ€๐Ÿง‘ Authors: Y. Chi, L. Liu, G. Song, C. Yuen, Y.L. Guan, Y. Li

    • ๐Ÿ“ฐ Journal: IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications

    • ๐Ÿ”ข Citations: 84

    • ๐Ÿ“… Year: 2018

  7. Memory AMP

    • ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿคโ€๐Ÿง‘ Authors: L. Liu, S. Huang, B.M. Kurkoski

    • ๐Ÿ“ฐ Journal: IEEE Transactions on Information Theory

    • ๐Ÿ”ข Citations: 83

    • ๐Ÿ“… Year: 2022

  8. Orthogonal AMP for Massive Access in Channels with Spatial and Temporal Correlations

    • ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿคโ€๐Ÿง‘ Authors: Y. Cheng, L. Liu, L. Ping

    • ๐Ÿ“ฐ Journal: IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications

    • ๐Ÿ”ข Citations: 68

    • ๐Ÿ“… Year: 2021

  9. Capacity Optimality of AMP in Coded Systems

    • ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿคโ€๐Ÿง‘ Authors: L. Liu, C. Liang, J. Ma, L. Ping

    • ๐Ÿ“ฐ Journal: IEEE Transactions on Information Theory

    • ๐Ÿ”ข Citations: 53

    • ๐Ÿ“… Year: 2021

  10. On Orthogonal AMP in Coded Linear Vector Systems

    • ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿคโ€๐Ÿง‘ Authors: J. Ma, L. Liu, X. Yuan, L. Ping

    • ๐Ÿ“ฐ Journal: IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications

    • ๐Ÿ”ข Citations: 39

    • ๐Ÿ“… Year: 2019

  11. A New Insight into GAMP and AMP

    • ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿคโ€๐Ÿง‘ Authors: L. Liu, Y. Li, C. Huang, C. Yuen, Y.L. Guan

    • ๐Ÿ“ฐ Journal: IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology

    • ๐Ÿ”ข Citations: 31

    • ๐Ÿ“… Year: 2019

  12. Over-the-Air Implementation of Uplink NOMA

    • ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿคโ€๐Ÿง‘ Authors: S. Abeywickrama, L. Liu, Y.C. Yuhao, Chi

    • ๐Ÿ“ฐ Conference: IEEE Globecom

    • ๐Ÿ”ข Citations: 31

    • ๐Ÿ“… Year: 2018

  13. Asymptotically Optimal Estimation for Sparse Signal with Arbitrary Distributions

    • ๐Ÿง‘โ€๐Ÿคโ€๐Ÿง‘ Authors: C. Huang, L. Liu, C. Yuen

    • ๐Ÿ“ฐ Journal: IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology

    • ๐Ÿ”ข Citations: 28

    • ๐Ÿ“… Year: 2018

๐Ÿ Conclusion

Dr. Lei Liu exemplifies the qualities of a Best Researcher Award recipient: depth in theoretical research, breadth in global experience, and excellence in teaching and mentorship. His leadership roles, prolific output, and rising trajectory within academic and engineering communities make him a model scholar in the communications field. While areas like applied innovation and interdisciplinary expansion offer room for growth, his current achievements already place him at the forefront of his domain.