Yunlong is currently a PhD student supervised by Prof. Davide Scaramuzza at the Robotics and Perception Group, which is part of the Department of Informatics, at the University of Zurich, and the Department of Neuroinformatics, which is a joint institute of both the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich. During his PhD, he worked at the Biomimetic Robotics Lab at MIT with Prof. Sangbae Kim. Before his PhD, Yunlong received his master’s degree from TU Darmstadt under the supervision of Prof. Jan Peters.

In his research, Yunlong focuses on creating new control algorithms that leverage the fundamental concepts in optimal control, reinforcement learning, and differentiable physics. He has developed the Flightmare Simulator and the first reinforcement learning policy that pushes a super agile drone to its maximum performance in the physical world.

On a personal level, Yunlong has some interesting life experiences. He was born and raised in a small, remote village in South China, an area with very limited access to proper education due to poverty. From the age of six, Yunlong was involved in farming, accumulating over a decade of experience in the field. :) He also gained experience working in several Chinese factories. He financed his Master’s studies in Germany by working part-time at a software company and as a student assistant at the university. Yunlong deeply understands the value of proper education. His life goal is to eliminate the educational barriers he once faced or, at least, help others get a better education.