I am an Associate Professor of Computer Science at Renmin University of China. My research interest is in high-performance data systems for AI and big data analytics, particularly in cloud-native databases/data lakehouses, AI-native storage systems, and hardware-aware data processing. Before joining RUC as a faculty member, I worked at EPFL DIAS Lab as a Postdoctoral Researcher and at Tencent as a Senior Database Kernel Engineer.

I am actively looking for motivated students to work on Big Data Systems and Data for AI. 欢迎对大数据系统和AI数据系统感兴趣的优秀本科生来研究组实习和科研早陪，欢迎有意攻读硕士、博士研究生的同学和我联系。 Feel free to email me.

Research

My research focuses on building efficient data systems that bridge the gap between real-world demands and system capabilities. Key areas include:

  • Cloud-native Data Lakes — disaggregated storage and compute architectures, serverless query processing, and cost-efficient elastic analytics.
  • AI-native (multimodal) Data Systems — novel storage systems designed for AI workloads, enabling efficient data access for machine learning and analytics.
  • Hardware-aware data processing — data systems optimized for modern hardware including new storage devices, accelerators, and heterogeneous architectures.
  • Automated Database Diagnosis and Optimization — fine-grained, non-intrusive performance diagnosis and tuning for database systems.

Open Source

Pixels — An efficient storage and compute engine for both on-prem and cloud-native data analytics. Pixels features an optimized columnar storage format, serverless query acceleration using cloud functions, natural-language-aided data analytics, and flexible pricing with service-level guarantees. Key columnar storage techniques from Pixels are incorporated into China's National Standard (GB/T 41818-2022) on analytical data storage. Query execution technologies have been adopted by major cloud vendors for database product prototyping.

Experience

  • Associate Professor, School of Information, Renmin University of China, 2025 – Present
  • Assistant Professor, School of Information, Renmin University of China, 2023 – 2025
  • Postdoctoral Researcher, DIAS Lab, EPFL, 2020 – 2023
  • Senior Database Kernel Engineer, TDSQL, Tencent, 2018 – 2020
  • Ph.D. in Computer Science, Renmin University of China, 2012 – 2018
  • Visiting Ph.D. Student, The Ohio State University, 2015 – 2016
  • Research Intern, Systems & Algorithms Group, Microsoft Research Asia, 2014 – 2015

Students

Student Competition Achievements:

  • National Runner-up (2024 & 2025) in the National College Student Computer System Capability Competition — PolarDB Track
  • National Third Prize (2025) in the Database Kernel Track
  • 2024 Beijing Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis (1 of 4 in STEM across RUC)

Teaching

  • Introduction to Computer System II (ICS2) — Spring, 2024 and later
  • Practical Database Development — Fall, 2024–2026
  • Open Source Software Practice — Fall, 2026

Publications

Awards

  • China Patent Gold Award (24th, First Inventor) — the first Gold Award in the database field. Patent on database transaction processing, applied in Tencent TDSQL.
  • National & Beijing Overseas Talent Programs — selected for national-level and Beijing municipal-level overseas talent recruitment programs.
  • Outstanding Advisor & Special Contribution Award — 2024–2025 National Computer System Capability Competition for College Students.
  • Beijing Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis Advisor, 2024.