Wajid Ali | Brain–Computer Interfaces | Research Excellence Award

Published on by VR Research Awards

Dr. Wajid Ali | Brain–Computer Interfaces | Research Excellence Award 

Shenzhen University | China

Wajid Ali is a materials physicist and chemist at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, specializing in enhancing the stability and performance of perovskite solar cells and exploring their applications in hybrid energy systems and advanced devices such as resistive random-access memory (RRAM). His research focuses on ferroelastic twin-domains in metal halide perovskites and the integration of perovskite materials into functional energy and memory devices. Wajid has extensive experience in material characterization techniques, including transmission and scanning electron microscopy (TEM, SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV-vis and photoluminescence spectroscopy, and impedance analysis, as well as device fabrication skills for solution-processed perovskite solar cells in both conventional and inverted structures. Professionally, he has conducted research on piezoelectric and ferroelectric materials at Nanjing University of Science and Technology and served as an assistant professor teaching physics at the Royal College of Sciences in Pakistan. Wajid’s work has been recognized with awards such as the 2024 Yanchang Petroleum Outstanding Doctoral Student Scholarship, the 2023 Excellent International Students of UCAS, the Academic Innovation Award from FReCAP, the CAS-TWAS fellowship, and the Merit Award at Quaid-i-Azam University. He has contributed to over a dozen peer-reviewed publications in high-impact journals including Nature Communications, ACS Energy Letters, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Materials Chemistry and Physics, and Journal of Alloys and Compounds, advancing the understanding of ferroelasticity, lattice tuning, and suppression of non-radiative recombination in perovskite solar cells. Additionally, he has presented his research at international conferences such as the International Symposium on Solar Fuels and Solar Cells and the Young Scholars Forum on Perovskite Materials and Devices, collaborating with prominent researchers including Prof. Can Li, Prof. Xin Guo, and Prof. G.H. Jaffari.

Featured Publications

Qin, W., Ali, W., Wang, J., Liu, Y., Yan, X., Zhang, P., Feng, Z., & Li, C. (2023). Suppressing non-radiative recombination in metal halide perovskite solar cells by synergistic effect of ferroelasticity. Nature Communications, 14(1), 256.

Ali, W., Qin, W., Tian, H., Guo, J., Feng, Z., & Li, C. (2023). Tuning lattice structure of ferroelastic twin-domains achieving efficient perovskite solar cells. ACS Energy Letters, 8, 5070–5078.

Ali, W., Tian, H., Guo, J., Feng, Z., Qin, W., & Li, C. (2024). Suppressed non-radiative recombination in formamidinium lead triiodide under electric activation. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 16, 67642–67650.

Ali, W., Jaffari, G. H., Khan, S., & Liu, Y. (2018). Morphological control of 1D and 3D TiO2 nanostructures with ammonium hydroxide and TiO2 compact layer on FTO coated glass in hydrothermal synthesis. Materials Chemistry and Physics, 214, 48–55.

Zeyu Peng | Human–Computer Interaction | Research Excellence Award 

Published on by VR Research Awards

Mr. Zeyu Peng | Human–Computer Interaction | Research Excellence Award 

Migu Culture Technology Co.,Ltd | China

Zeyu Peng is an accomplished Graphics AI Algorithm Engineer based in Shenzhen, Guangdong, with a strong academic foundation in Mathematics and Applied Mathematics, earning an MSc from Wuhan University (2015–2018) specializing in Optimization Theory, Algorithms, and Applications, and a BSc from Central South University (2011–2015). Professionally, Zeyu has extensive experience in AI-driven graphics and operations research, currently contributing to Migu Culture Technology as a Graphics AI Algorithm Engineer since 2021, and previously serving as an Algorithm Engineer at China Southern Airlines IT Research Institute (2018–2021). His notable projects include developing a Speech-to-3D Facial Animation Generation engine, creating multi-style performance rule sets, and implementing both combination optimization and diffusion-based facial animation synthesis frameworks for digital humans. He has also engineered a Co-Speech Gesture Generation system leveraging language models, inverse kinematics, and diffusion models to produce contextually appropriate gestures synchronized with speech. Additionally, Zeyu has worked on FlowMatch and FastPitch-based AI voice conversion models for speech and singing applications, and contributed to large-scale aviation optimization projects such as flight pairing and crew scheduling, involving graph-based algorithms, branch-and-bound frameworks, and operations research algorithm libraries. He has developed a Facial Detection SDK with MTCNN for autonomous airport check-in systems and a luggage damage detection system utilizing object detection and classification techniques. Zeyu’s technical expertise spans C++, Python, Rust, and frameworks like PyTorch and ONNX, complemented by proficiency in LaTeX, Maya, Blender, and certifications including CET-6 and TOEFL. His research contributions are evidenced by publications in high-impact venues such as The Journal of Supercomputing and CGI2025, along with multiple patents in facial animation synthesis, video generation, and digital human animation technologies. Overall, Zeyu demonstrates a rare combination of deep theoretical knowledge, practical algorithmic implementation, and impactful contributions to AI-driven virtual reality, digital human animation, and optimization systems, establishing him as a leading engineer and innovator in graphics AI and virtual human technologies.

Profile: Google Scholar

Featured Publications

Peng, Z., Ma, D., & Lv, X. (2025, July). A two stage co-speech gesture generation method. Oral Presentation at CGI 2025.

Peng, Z., Li, H., & Wang, S. (2025, April). FaceImitate: Speech-driven 3D facial animation synthesis from imitation. The Journal of Supercomputing.

Peng, Z., & Wang, S. (2024, October 11). A video synthesis method, device, storage medium, and program product based on a classification model [Patent No. CN118764575A]. Migu Culture Technology Co., Ltd.; China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd.

Peng, Z., Wang, S., & Li, H. (2024, July 9). Facial motion prediction methods, devices, media, and computer program products [Patent No. CN118314614A]. Migu Culture Technology Co., Ltd.; China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd.