Dingshan Sun is a Tenure-Track Researcher and PhD Supervisor at the College of Transportation Engineering, Tongji University, and a recipient of the Shanghai Overseas High-Level Talent Program (Youth). He received his PhD degree in Control Science and Engineering from Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands, in October 2023. After graduation, he continued at Delft University of Technology as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Transport and Planning, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, and joined the College of Transportation at Tongji University in March 2026.
His research mainly focuses on intelligent control of urban road traffic systems, with particular interests in modeling, optimization, and control of intelligent transportation systems. He is especially interested in the application of advanced methods such as reinforcement learning and model predictive control to traffic operations management and decision-making.
As first/corresponding author, he has published 11 papers in leading international journals and major conferences, includingTransportation Research Part C,IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, andEngineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence. He also serves as a reviewer for more than ten well-known international journals and conferences, includingIEEE T-ITS,EAAI,Control Engineering Practice,IEEE Transactions on Cybernetics,IEEE ITSC,IFAC World Congress, andTRB. In addition, he serves as the Leading Guest Editor of the special issue “Model Predictive Control: Mathematical Foundations and Emerging Engineering Challenges” in the SCI-indexed journalMathematics(JCR Q1).
Educational background
Mar. 2019 – Oct. 2023
Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands, Department of Systems and Control, PhD
Sep. 2015 – Jun. 2018
Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Aeronauticaland Astronautical Science and Technology, Master’s Degree
Sep. 2011 – Jun. 2015
Northeastern University, Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Bachelor’s Degree
Work experience
Sep. 2023 – Sep. 2025
Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands, Department of Transport and Planning, Postdoctoral Researcher
Nov. 2025 – Jan. 2026
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering, Researcher Associate
Mar. 2026 – Present
Tongji University, College of Transportation, Tenure-Track Researcher, PhD Supervisor
Research interests
Intelligent transportation systems
Traffic control and optimization
Reinforcement learning for transportation systems
Model predictive control
Complex systems modeling and optimization
Honors & Awards
Shanghai Overseas High-Level Talent Program (Youth), 2024
Publications
1.Tan, C.,Sun, D., Liu, H., Rinaldi, M., & van Lint, H. (2026). CV-MP: Max-pressure control in partially connected vehicle environments.Transportation Research Part B: Methodological,204, 103387.
2.Dabiri, A., He, K., Shi, S.,Sun, D., Lago, J., & De Schutter, B. (2025). Integrating Learning-Based and MPC-Based Control for PWA Systems: Challenges and Opportunities.Nonlinear and Constrained Control: Applications, Synergies, Challenges and Opportunities, 131-149.
3.Sun, D.*, Jamshidnejad, A., & De Schutter, B. (2024). Adaptive parameterized MPC based on reinforcement learning: A synthesis framework.Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence,136, 109009.
4.Sun, D.*, Jamshidnejad, A., & De Schutter, B. (2024). A framework combining MPC and deep reinforcement learning with application to freeway traffic control.IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems,25(7), 6756–6769.
5.Fu, J.,Sun, D., Peyghami, S., & Blaabjerg, F. (2024). A novel reinforcement-learning-based compensation strategy for DMPC-based day-ahead energy management of shipboard power systems.IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid,15(5), 4349–4363.
6.Zhang, H., Liu, X.,Sun, D., Dabiri, A., & De Schutter, B. (2024). Integrated reinforcement learning and optimization for railway timetable rescheduling.IFAC-PapersOnLine,58(10), 310–315.
7.Jamshidnejad, A.*,Sun, D.*, Ferrara, A., & De Schutter, B. (2023). A novel bi-level temporally distributed MPC approach: An application to green urban mobility.Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies,156, 104334.
8.Jeschke, J.,Sun, D.*, Jamshidnejad, A., & De Schutter, B. (2023). Grammatical-evolution-based parameterized MPC for urban traffic networks.Control Engineering Practice,132, 105431.
9.Sun, D.*, Jamshidnejad, A., & De Schutter, B. (2023). Optimal sub-references for setpoint tracking: A multi-level MPC approach.IFAC-PapersOnLine,56(2), 9411–9416.
10.Sun, D.*, Jamshidnejad, A., & De Schutter, B. (2023). Adaptive parameterized control for coordinated traffic management using reinforcement learning.IFAC-PapersOnLine,56(2), 5463–5468.
11.Remmerswaal, W.,Sun, D*., Jamshidnejad, A., & De Schutter, B. (2022). Combined MPC and reinforcement learning for traffic signal control in urban traffic networks. In202226th International Conference on System Theory, Control and Computing (ICSTCC)(pp. 432-439). IEEE.
12.孙丁山,陈丽,温余彬, &段登平. (2018).基于嵌套饱和的输入约束浮空器非线性控制.工程科学学报, 40(12), 1557-1568.
13.Sun, D., Chen, L., Zhang, G., Wen, Y., Liang, K., & Wang, X. (2018). The anti-windup controller design for multi-propeller aerostat based on nested saturation function. In2018 37th Chinese Control Conference (CCC)(pp. 5029-5034). IEEE.
14.Wen, Y., Chen, L., Wang, Y.,Sun, D., Duan, D., & Liu, J. (2018). Nonlinear DOB-based explicit NMPC for station-keeping of a multi-vectored propeller airship with thrust saturation.The Aeronautical Journal, 122(1257), 1753-1774.
15.Chen, L., Duan, D. P., &Sun, D.(2016). Design of a multi-vectored thrust aerostat with a reconfigurable control system.Aerospace Science and Technology, 53, 95-102.
Conference Presentations
1.Sun, D., Rinaldi, M., & Knoop, V. L. Traffic assignment of multi-modal transport networks based on an augmented link-based super-network model. In104thTransportation Research Board Annual Meeting (TRB), Washington DC. January, 2025.
2.Sun, D., Rinaldi, M., Calvert, S. C., & Knoop, V. L. Augmented ε-constraint-based optimization for multi-objective multi-modal transport networks management. InConference in Emerging Technologies in Transportation Systems (TRC30), Crete, Greece, 2024.