After studying Rail Vehicle Engineering at Southwest Jiaotong University, China, Prof. Liu obtained his doctorate and habilitation about the dynamics of rail vehicles and wheel-rail contact at the Politecnico di Milano, Italy. Following various academic stations, his career path led him to TU Dresden last year, where he completed a research stay at our faculty as a Dresden Senior Fellow. We are now delighted to announce his appointment as Professor of Rail Vehicles at our faculty – a great occasion to speak with him about his field of research and his future plans as a professor.

LD: Welcome to our faculty, Prof. Liu! We are happy to have you with us. What excites you about rail vehicles and what areas do you focus on in your research?

BL: Thank you so much for the welcome. It's my great pleasure!

I have loved trains since I was a kid. Trains are among the largest moving machines on Earth. For me, that is amazing. And what excites me about rail vehicles is their unique nature of the combinations of complexity and societal impact. The railway system is quite complex. It's highly integrated, including trains, tracks, infrastructure, and operations influencing one another. So even with small improvements at one end, you may generate considerable gains at the other end, for example improvements of the performance, safety or reliability. That is what fascinates me.

My research is mainly about the rail vehicle system dynamics and train-track interaction. It´s also about the design of a vehicle and its components and additionally the monitoring of the conditions of vehicles. I'm particularly interested in how these areas, what I just mentioned, can be well understood through theoretical analysis and experimental approaches such as the experiments in the laboratory or even the field testing.

LD: So there are lots of connections to other disciplines, that sounds very interesting! How do you think you can contribute your experience to the chair? Do you already have ideas for future projects?

BL: I think I can contribute by bringing together the academic knowledge and the practical experience that I gained from the close cooperation with industry partners and international institutions. My research background in the railway engineering field across different countries has exposed me to the diverse cultures and problem-solving approaches, as well as emerging research agendas in this particular field, which I believe is helpful.

Regarding the future project, I see strong potential in data-driven maintenance strategies leveraging AI technologies and condition monitoring, as well as in advanced modelling approaches that are used for the creation of digital twins for vehicle systems and the high-fidelity models for simulations. It can be used to predict the behaviour of the entire vehicle system. And some other things, like simulation-based methodologies to support the certification process for the newly designed concept or improved design of the existing vehicles, and innovative design for components of the vehicle for low noise, low maintenance operations. These are very important aspects for the industry.

LD: Do you see any connections between your research and TU Dresden's Excellence Strategy 2028 and the area of “Automated and Connected Mobility” mentioned therein?

BL: Absolutely. The automated and connected mobility requires vehicles that are not only reliable but also smart. The railway system itself is quite complex and you also need new technologies to support it. Our research can contribute for instance to improve the vehicle system dynamics and the performance for autonomous operations. Creating digital twins can enable predictive maintenance and safer interactions between the vehicle and the infrastructure. Developing innovative technologies for maintenance strategies or condition monitoring is also part of that. I see these topics are quite in line with the excellent strategy you just mentioned.

LD: What should students at the faculty know about you, and what can they expect from you?

BL: I think the students should know that I enjoy working closely with the students and I'm also happy to support them for their academic growth. I value curiosity, independence, this is very important, and also open communication. And I will be more than happy to share my experience to help them to discover more about railway vehicle technology or in general railway vehicle field, that could be their future career - at least from my chair point of view.

What they can expect, I can provide, of course, approachable supervision and guidance in terms of both theoretical support and practical insights to share with the students; research projects  connected with the real-world industry problems; and the opportunities to contribute to international cooperation or international events such as international conferences and workshops.

My goal is to support our students to build the skills to solve the complex challenges in the evolving railway industry and to prepare them to become, let's say, internationally competitive professionals equipped with both theoretical and practical foundations ­ it is very important for their future.

LD: Could you already get to know Dresden and is there anything you´d like to learn about?

BL:As I was already here during my stay as Dresden Fellow, I did have the chance to get to know the city. First of all, it's a beautiful city, and I am impressed by the unique blend of history, culture, tradition, and also innovation. I really appreciate the balance between the urban life and the nature surroundings. I would like to discover more about the city itself across the history and  meet more local people, new colleagues, new students. Also I would like to know more about the faculty and, let's say, the working system, because it looks to me different from China and Italy.

LD: And now you have enough time to discover everything. I wish you a good start and again, it's great to have you here. Thank you very much.

BL: It's also my pleasure to be part of it. Thank you!