The University of Michigan – Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute (UM-SJTU JI, JI hereafter) students maintained their unparalleled performance in the year of 2022, as many received wide attention because of their outstanding achievements in various fields including academic study, innovation and entrepreneurship, public welfare, cultural and sports activities. The following are examples of such students who helped building up reputation of JI as one of the best international engineering institutes in China and the world.

Shuoding Wang, key player of SJTU team winning Shanghai soccer league champions

Shuoding Wang, a senior student majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering, played for the SJTU soccer team as its striker. The SJTU team won the championship in the 2022 Shanghai University Soccer League matches at the beginning of the year.  As captain of JI soccer team, Wang led his team winning runner-up in the SJTU Freshmen Cup in 2019 and claimed the title of Best Striker.

Yuchen Xu, composer of popular pandemic-themed song Red – SJTU 

In March, Shanghai was hit by a new wave of COVID-19 resurgence. During the lockdown period of SJTU campus, JI senior student Yuchen Xu composed his musical work Red – SJTU. The song depicting the courageous fight against the pandemic on the campus has become popular among SJTU students.

Runxi Wang and Yuqi Gu, winners of “Women in Technology” award in the Adaptative Computing Challenge 2021

In April, JI undergraduate student team composed of two juniors majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Runxi Wang and Yuqi Gu, claimed the inaugural “Women in Technology” award in the Adaptative Computing Challenge 2021 with their research project entitled “J-Eye: Intramuscular Site Detection for Autonomous Injection”. The Adaptative Computing Challenge competition launched in 2020 by the world’s largest Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) supplier AMD-Xilinx and Hackster.io, the world’s fastest growing community dedicated to learning hardware, is the largest annual FPGA design competition catering for worldwide developers.

Jin Ping Lim, winner of 2022 SJTU Excellent International Graduate award

In May, JI undergraduate student Jin Ping Lim won the 2022 SJTU Excellent International Graduate award. The Malaysian student majoring in Mechanical Engineering is one of the 10 winners selected from all international undergraduate students on SJTU campuses who are expected to graduate this year. “During my study at JI on the Minhang campus of SJTU, I have been trying to challenge myself by choosing the more difficult courses so that I could learn more and improve myself more quickly. Although my campus life was greatly affected by the pandemic, I really enjoy being a surfer against the wind at JI and have managed to adapt to the changes of life,” said Lim.

Jovan Yap, new vice president of JI International Student Association

Jovan Yap from Singapore is a sophomore student majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He was elected as vice president of JI International Student Association this year. Yap regards himself as a friendly, cheerful and approachable person who is interested in artificial intelligence (AI) and data science and has hobbies including travelling, sports such as golf and basketball, playing violin and piano. Yap plans to work in China after graduation. “I hope to be the bridge for the exchange of ideas and collaboration between countries, especially in engineering. By sharing our knowledge and cooperation, the world can continue to push the boundaries of science and engineering. In the future, I will actively seek to establish more partnerships and projects and be the link between different countries, so that we can prosper together through mutual benefits,” he said.

Yifan Wu, winner of SJTU Excellent Doctoral Graduate Development Scholarship

Yifan Wu obtained his doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering from JI in 2022 and was awarded SJTU Excellent Doctoral Graduate Development Scholarship, which serves to provide financial support for his postdoctoral research at Harvard University. Wu is also winner of SJTU Merit Student, KLA-Tencor Scholarship, and SJTU Outstanding Graduate awards. He published numerous papers on leading international journals including Journal of Power Sources, The Journal of Physical Chemistry C and ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

Junzhen Wang, winner of SJTU Excellent Doctoral Graduate Development Scholarship

Junzhen Wang obtained his doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering from JI in 2022 and was awarded SJTU Excellent Doctoral Graduate Development Scholarship. Honored as a 2022 Shanghai Outstanding Graduate, Wang is also winner of National Scholarship for his undergraduate and graduate studies, KLA-Tencor Scholarship, SJTU Merit Student, Best Paper Award. He has published 16 papers at international journals and conferences. Wang has received letters of admission from Stanford University and Imperial College London to pursue postdoctoral studies.

Cheng Zheng, gold prize winner of China International College Students’ ‘Internet+’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition 

Cheng Zheng is a sophomore student majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering. As project leader, Zheng worked with Yidi Huang and a few other fellow students and clinched the gold prize in the 8th China International College Students’ ‘Internet+’ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition Shanghai Division for their project Degage White: a brushless tooth flusher. He also led his team winning the first prize at 2022 China-U.S. Young Maker Competition Shanghai Division.

Wanxuan Ming, winner of JI Tang Junyuan Scholarship

Sophomore student Wanxuan Ming majoring in Mechanical Engineering is determined to pursue the interdisciplinary study of mechanical engineering and environmental engineering, and bring new ideas to the field of environmental protection. She is current at University of Michigan to attend her dual bachelor’s degree program in environmental engineering. Ming is also winner of JI Outstanding Freshman Scholarship, National Scholarship for Undergraduate Student, John Wu and Jane Sun Excellent Scholarship, Tang Junyuan Scholarship and first prize of Odyssey of the Mind World Finals.

Yuxiang Chen, winner of JI Tang Junyuan Scholarship

Sophomore student Yuxiang Chen majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering is winner of John Wu and Jane Sun Excellent Scholarship and Tang Junyuan Scholarship. He is an active participant of student union activities and an excellent runner with titles including runner-up of men’s individual 10,000 meter and championship of Shanghai marathon event as a SJTU team member.

Aotian Yu, class monitor of JI Student Leadership Program

In November, JI kicked off its student leadership program for the purpose of fostering international visions and patriotic feelings, broadening minds and sharpening practical skills for students who are expected to be future leaders. Sophomore Aotian Yu was appointed class monitor of the first batch of leadership trainees. He is winner of two National Scholarships, John Wu and Jane Sun Sunshine Scholarship, SJTU Merit Student awards.

Nuocheng Ji, SJTU’s 2022 Person (Student) of the Year

JI undergraduate student Nuocheng Ji was named SJTU’s 2022 Person (Student) of the Year in December. As a junior student majoring in Electrical and Computer Engineering, he received wide attention earlier this year after his story of building up a virtual 3D SJTU campus using talents of the sandbox game Minecraft was reported by mainstream media such as People’s Daily. Ji also displayed his outstanding academic and technological capabilities through in-class and extracurricular activities, which brought him many SJTU and JI awards including SJTU Outstanding Student, JI Outstanding Leadership Award, Tongsheng Feng Scholarship.