Professor Yu specialized in process metallurgy, obtaining BEng in 1982 and MEng in 1985 from Northeastern University, PhD in 1990 from the University of Wollongong, and DSc in 2007 from the University of New South Wales (UNSW). After two-year postdoctoral experience with CSIRO Division of Mineral and Process Engineering and about half a year with the University of Wollongong as a research fellow, he joined UNSW School of Materials Science and Engineering, being Lecturer (1992-95), Senior Lecturer (1995-97), Associate Professor (1998-00), Professor (2001-14) and Scientia Professor (2007-14). In May 2014, he joined Monash University as Professor (Vice Chancellor’s Professorial Fellow (2014-2010) then Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor (2021-)), Pro Vice-Chancellor and President of Suzhou Campus which is composed of Monash-Southeast University Joint Graduate School and Joint Research Institute, and Monash Suzhou Research Institute. He is the Director of ARC Research Hub for Smart Process Design and Control. He also holds or held an honorary, concurrent or guest professorship with many other universities.
He is a world-leading scientist in particle/powder technology and process engineering, has authored/co-authored >1,300 publications (including >900 articles collected in the ISI Web of Science), organized numerous international conferences, attracted >$100M external funds mainly via various competitive grant schemes (~60 ARC DP/LP/LIEF and other national competitive grants), graduated >50 postdoc fellows and >150 PhD students, and delivered many plenary/keynote presentations at different international conferences. His work has generated a significant impact on process industries such as mineral/metallurgy/chemical/materials, and other particle-related industries such as pharmaceutical, nanotechnology, energy and environment. He is Editor-in-Chief, Handbook of Powder Science and Engineering (2014-), Executive Editor, Powder Technology (2013-), Granular Matter (2017-) and Particuology (2008-2013), while guest-editing for a number of journals and on the editorial/advisory boards of about 20 learned journals.
He has initiated a number of significant multidisciplinary research institutes/centers at the national and university levels. He was Inaugural Director of the UNSW Multidisciplinary Research Centre for Simulation and Modelling of Particulate Systems (2000-07), Deputy Director of ARC Centre of Excellence for Functional Nanomaterials (2008-10), Founding Director of Australia-China Joint Research Centre for Minerals, Metallurgy and Materials (2013-15), ARC Industrial Transformation Hub for Computational Particle Technology (2016-2021), and ARC Industrial Transformation Hub for Smart Process Design and Control (2023-). He has also been on the management committee or advisory board of various multidisciplinary research Centres, currently chairing the Technical Advisory Committee of Baosteel-Australian Universities Joint R&D Centre (2011-). While working in Suzhou, he has established the Specialized Research Institute for Process Modelling and Optimization, sponsored by Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute and Suzhou Industrial Park (2016-), Monash Suzhou Research Institute, sponsored by Suzhou Industrial Park (2020-), and BHP-Monash Knowledge Centre for Low Carbon Metallurgy, sponsored by BHP (2023-).
He is a recipient of various prestigious fellowships and awards, including ARC Queen Elizabeth II (1993-97), Australian Professorial (2005-2009) and Federation (2008-12) Fellowships, the Josef Kapitan Ironmaking Award from the Iron and Steel Society, USA (2002), Outstanding Overseas Chinese Scholar Award, China (2003), Ian Wark Medal and Lecture from Australian Academy of Science (2010), ExxonMobil Award from Australian and New Zealand Federation of Chemical Engineers (2010), NSW Scientist of the Year in engineering, mathematics and computer sciences (2010), Distinguished Visiting Fellowship Award from the Royal Academy of Engineering (2011), Top 100 Most Influential Engineers in Australia (2011), Postdoctoral Supervisor of the Year Award from UNSW (2012), Alumni Award for Research and Scholarship from University of Wollongong (2019), Shell Thomas Baron Award in Fluid-Particle Systems from American Institute of Chemical Engineers (2019), Friendship Award resprectively from Jiangsu and Jiangxi Provinces (China) and the Inaugural APPIE Computational Granular Mechanics Award of Japan (2024).
For his outstanding contribution to engineering science and application, he was elected to Fellow of Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) in 2004, Australian Academy of Science (AAS) in 2011, Royal Society of New South Wales (RSNSW) in 2014, and Foreign Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) in 2017.
In addition to various roles for Monash University and different industries, he has served for a number of governmental organizations, including the ARC College of Experts (Engineering and Environmental Sciences Panel, 2006-08) and DEST Research Quality Framework (Engineering and Technology Panel, 2007), DIISR International Science Linkage and Endeavor Scholarships/Fellowships Schemes (2009-2012), and DIISR Research Workforce Strategy - Chemical Sciences Analysis Team (2010). He also acted as Honorary Secretary, ATSE NSW Division (2006-2010), and a member of ATSE Assembly/Council in 2008-10; Chair, AAS NSW Region (2013-2014) and Member (and Chair, 2014-16), Sectional Committee – Physical and Engineering Sciences (2013-16). He is President (07-08), Chair of Advisory Board (09-10) and Honorary President (2011- ), Federation of Chinese Scholars in Australia; a Member, Overseas Expert Advisory Board – Science and Technology, Chinese Government; and a Scientific Advisor to Guangzhou and Beijing Cities.
