About

Hi, I am a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in the industrial engineering department at Penn State University, advised by Prof. Ilya Kovalenko and Prof. Herschel Pangborn. I build advanced optimization and learning algorithms, as well as planning and digital twin tools, to make complex networked systems more efficient and reliable. Before Penn State, I was a Research Associate at the Surbana Jurong–Nanyang Technological University Corporate Lab, working on concrete 3D printing and waste energy recovery. I earned my B.S. and M.S. degrees from Tianjin University.

I’m currently exploring internship and full-time opportunities beginning in May 2026. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to connect.

News

• [Apr 2026] I am honored to be part of a research team recently featured by Penn State News through the ICDS Digital Twins Hub Faculty-in-Residence Program.
• [Jan 2026] Our paper Energy-Aware Integrated Predictive Maintenance Planning and Production Scheduling was accepted to The 2026 American Control Conference.
• [Dec 2025] Our paper Hierarchical Model Predictive Control for Energy-aware Scheduling of Digital Twin-based Batch Manufacturing Systems was published in IEEE Transactions on Automation Science and Engineering.
• [Oct 2025] Hongliang was selected as a “Rising Star” in the ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Division.
• [Oct 2025] Hongliang’s paper Bi-level Model Predictive Control for Energy-aware Integrated Product Pricing and Production Scheduling was nominated for a best student paper award at the Modeling Estimation and Control Conference (MECC 2025).
• [Aug 2025] Our paper Energy-Aware Model Predictive Control for Batch Manufacturing System Scheduling Under Different Electricity Pricing Strategies was presented at the 2025 IEEE 21st International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE 2025).
• [Jun 2025] Our paper A Digital Twin Framework for Computer Hardware Design and Assembly: A Risk-Prioritized Approach was presented at the ASME 2025 20th International Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference (MSEC 2025).

Experience

• Research Assistant, Penn State University
  • 08/2021 - Present
  • Built a control-oriented, system-level digital twin with dynamic modeling: demo
  • Developed scalable bi-level optimization for coupled decision-making
  • Built an LLM-powered generative digital twin for adaptive systems
• Research Associate, Surbana Jurong NTU Corporate Lab
  • 01/2020 - 08/2021
  • Performed LCA for 3D concrete printing in construction
  • Developed cold energy recovery concepts for LNG storage
  • Built energy demand forecasting models

Service

• Journal Reviewer: IEEE TASE, IEEE RAL
• Conference Reviewer: CASE 2024/2025, ACC 2024/2025, MECC 2024/2025

Teaching

• IE 312: Product Design and Manufacturing Processes
  • Teaching Assistant, Penn State University, 2021 Fall/2022 Spring
• IE 306: Machining Process Design & Analysis
  • Teaching Assistant, Penn State University, 2022 Fall