Niu Ziru, class of 2026 in Electrical Engineering at ZJUI, has defined his undergraduate journey through interdisciplinary learning, research exploration, and sustained voluntary service. He has been awarded the Zhejiang University Third-Class Scholarship, the Shangde Student Scholarship, and numerous accolades for his outstanding contributions to public service, leadership, and innovation. Over his four years at ZJUI, he has logged over 1,200 volunteer hours, founded the Yingzhu Volunteer Service Team, and been selected for the 28th Graduate Volunteer Teaching Group of Zhejiang University. He will spend one year teaching in Dalad Banner, Ordos, Inner Mongolia, before returning to Zhejiang University to pursue his master’s degree in Electrical Engineering.
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Over the past four years, Niu has dedicated himself wholeheartedly to voluntary service. In August 2022, he founded the Yingzhu Volunteer Service Team, and its name was inspired by the ancient Chinese proverb: "The faint light of fireflies and candles can still add brightness to the sun and moon." Under his leadership, the team has grown to nearly 30 core members and carried out sustained, impactful initiatives: raising scholarships and essential supplies for underprivileged students, providing one-on-one academic guidance and mentorship to first-year university students, and organizing neighborhood service events. In January 2025, the team was honored as an Excellent Red Cross Volunteer Service Organization of Jinan City in recognition of their outstanding contributions.
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This same spirit of connection also shaped the way Niu approached his academic journey at ZJUI. ZJUI’s interdisciplinary culture empowered Niu to bridge knowledge across fields. For example, in ECE 385 Digital Systems Laboratory, he built a fully functional Flappy Bird game on an FPGA platform, integrating digital system design, graphics rendering, interactive controls, and hardware-software co-design. This hands-on project gave him a tangible understanding of how diverse technical tools can come together to solve real-world problems.
This cross-disciplinary mindset also encouraged him to compete in the Zhejiang University Concrete Dragon Boat Competition. As team captain, Niu guided his group through every stage of hull design, material testing, and structural optimization. After taking home second place in their debut year, the team returned the following year with a refined design featuring an innovative shrimp-boat-inspired hull structure, and claimed the championship. For Niu, this experience perfectly embodied the essence of engineering iteration: identifying gaps, iterating on solutions, and learning through hands-on practice.
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Niu’s research journey began by stepping outside the traditional boundaries of electrical engineering. While working on a neuroscience project investigating anxiety-like behaviors in mice, he mastered core experimental techniques and noticed a critical pain point: much of animal behavioral research still relied on labor-intensive manual observation. He subsequently led a project that applied deep learning to automate mouse pose estimation and optimize the algorithm for a three-choice maze behavioral model. He also leveraged computer vision techniques for automated crack detection in structural materials. These diverse research experiences helped him crystallize his academic vision: harnessing computational methods to extract insights from complex data and build intelligent solutions for engineering systems.
In September 2025, he joined the research group of ZJUI Associate Professor Diao Ruisheng, where he focused on developing intelligent applications for power systems. He aimed to bridge advanced algorithms with real-world power system challenges, spanning grid analysis, system modeling, and intelligent decision-making.
As he embarks on the next chapter of his journey, Niu carries forward the core values that have defined his time at ZJUI: intellectual curiosity that transcends disciplinary boundaries, resilience in the face of uncertainty, and a deep commitment to turning compassion into meaningful, lasting action. Looking ahead, he will write his youth on the teaching podiums of Inner Mongolia and continue to delve deep into the research field of intelligent power applications, living out the mission and responsibility of youth in the new era.
