The 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) and the High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance convened recently in Shanghai, where Yang Jian, Associate Professor at Beihang University's School of Computer Science and Engineering, was honored with the prestigious WAIC Yunfan Award "Rising Star" distinction.

This marks the third consecutive year that a Beihang-affiliated researcher has received this accolade. In 2024 and 2025, the same award went to Gong Ruihao, a young faculty member at the School, and Qin Haotong, a distinguished alumnus, respectively.

Group photo of the 2026 WAIC Yunfan Award "Rising Star" recipients. Yang Jian is among the honorees.

Group photo of the 2025 WAIC Yunfan Award "Rising Star" recipients. Gong Ruihao is among the honorees.

Group photo of the 2024 WAIC Yunfan Award "Rising Star" recipients. Qin Haotong is among the honorees.

The WAIC Yunfan Award is organized under the guidance of the WAIC Organizing Committee and jointly administered by the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Synced, and the Global AI Academic Alliance. The "Rising Star" category specifically recognizes outstanding Chinese AI researchers under the age of 30 worldwide, selecting 15 recipients annually based on their originality, growth potential, and technological and industrial impact. The 2026 cohort of winners hails from leading global institutions, including Harvard University, Stanford University, and Google DeepMind.

Over the past three years, the three Beihang recipients have each made distinctive contributions to the field of AI. Qin Haotong specializes in model compression and acceleration; Gong Ruihao focuses on efficient deployment of models at the chip and system levels; and Yang Jian concentrates on the practical application of code large language models in real-world software development workflows. Though their research directions vary, all three share a common mission: to make AI computation faster, AI applications more effective, and AI technologies more genuinely useful for both scientific research and industrial innovation.

Beihang University has strategically aligned its AI development with national priorities and cutting-edge frontiers, deepening interdisciplinary research in areas such as swarm intelligence, unmanned systems, embodied intelligence, AI security, intelligent manufacturing, and AI for Science. As the core driver of AI research at Beihang, the School of Computer Science and Engineering builds upon its strong foundations in computer science and software engineering to bridge the gap between theoretical innovation and tangible real-world impact in both technology and industry.

Editor: Lyu Xingyun